The Ricochet Podcast

Ok. We know you’re bummed. There’s no R> Podcast this week because we decided to take the Fourth of July holiday on the backend this year. But don’t despair. Because James Lileks is The Hardest Working Man in Show Bidness™ he still showed up to do his part for this week’s edition of The Best of Ricochet on the Radio America Network (“Check Local Listings,” as the man says…) and is bringing the....

To kick off a great Fourth of July Weekend we’ll need firecrackers, but, of course, only with adult supervision. For the former, we’ve got John Yoo filling in for Rob and Charles C.W. Cooke as our first guest – for the latter, Mr. Bill McGurn. To start, Peter and James get to pick Yoo’s brain on a few of the recent Supreme Court decisions along with Bill Cosby’s release. Then Charlie gives an ode....

We’re rollin’ in the dough this week with a double dip of interesting business talk. First up are Thomas Gryta and Ted Mann of The Wall Street Journal who look at the rise and fall of one of America’s iconic companies. In Lights Out: Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric, Gryta and Mann lay out the consequences that came from believing in the mythology GE created for itself. Source Bec...

They asked for an honest conversation on race, right? Enter this week’s guest Charles Murray, author most recently of Facing Reality: Two Truths about Race in America. He and guys jostle on this most sensitive of subjects, but do so with the kind of generosity you can only find on Ricochet (We let things be too chummy around here!) Rob, Peter and James also get into the G7 and a rudderless Biden.....

We’ve got another Happy Hour show this week! (If you haven’t heard, we like Happy Hour.) And who better to spend it with than our very own members? Rob, Peter and James field questions from the men and women who make Ricochet the best “place” for civil conversation and debate. So grab your favorite cocktail, beer or wine and enjoy another episode from the website whose biggest problem is that we.....

What can we say? We enjoy a good time on Ricochet, and today’s episode is no exception. After slogging through Fauci emails, the guys get to chat with London’s honorable firebrand, Laurence Fox. He goes over the silver lining of his lost bid for mayor, and his future as an actor-turned-outspoken-conservative. Then Rob and James muse over a piece in The Atlantic on America’s drinking problem... Sou...

If your for seeking out the good amid the darkness these days, this episode’s for you. The doctors are in! And while the prognosis ain’t great, we’re gonna do what we can! First up is our friend Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who keeps us up to date on all things CoViD. Then we’re joined by Glenn Loury, the legendary Professor of Economics at Brown University and also the creator of one of America’s most.....

We start this week easy as one of our hosts reports from wonderfully peculiar city of New Orleans. Then Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) joins to discuss the coming cyberwars and he and James exchange words about football. Then Zachary Karabell joins to talk about his newest book: Inside Money: Brown Brother’s Harriman and the American Way of Power, a history of the legendary private investment.....

Who says we don’t break news on this show? The whole gang is back this week, and they’re joined by National Review’s senior political correspondent, Jim Geraghty for a long chat on Republicans leaving the party, fealty to you-know-who, and an update on Wuhan lab theories. Then, Elliot Abrams, who’s most recently served as President Trump’s Special Representative to Venezuela and Iran... Source Bec...

Rob’s out in an interview with Greg Gutfield, so it’s just Peter and James this week. Even so we’ve got a packed podcast-full of wonders and terrors. First up is Niall Ferguson to discuss his brand new book, Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe. He and the hosts explore our fascination with disaster. (Be sure to catch his interview with Peter on Uncommon Knowledge as well!) Then they’re joined by......

We’ve got a packed, super-sized show for you this week, so let’s get right to it: first up (right at the top of the show), tech columnist Benedict Evans who takes us through the Facebook v. Apple privacy controversy and explains why Apple may not have the moral high ground they think they do. Then, Grace Church High School math teacher Paul Rossi (you must read the article he wrote for our friend....

There’s a lot at stake in this week’s jam-packed podcast. First up we’ve got Byron York (he of the Byron York Show on this very network) to update us on the administration that sees crises everywhere – except for the one at the border. Then the hosts get to chat with Andrew Gutmann, the New York parent who made waves recently for a publicized letter excoriating the fancy Brearly School for... Sour...

Rob Long returns this week – meaning we’re back to business. We’re joined by Harmeet Dhillon to discuss her upcoming legal battle with Twitter, representing James O’Keefe of Project Veritas, along with the many she’s fought over the last year against Gavin Newsom. Then we’ve got Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies to discuss the latest developments on our border crisis. Also... So...

We recorded this one on Friday evening, which is the reason most of you are receiving it on Saturday. We’re sorry about that, but to make up for it, we cast around for the perfect ensemble and we think we nailed it: Steve Hayward, John Yoo, and Erick Erickson. The latter joins to give us the lowdown on all of the politics in Georgia, which he knows better than anyone. After that, it’s a bit of an....

This week, we start in California, which is the subject of two piece published by The Founders in the current issue of National Review. Then, all the way from South Africa, COVID sceptic Nick Hudson, CEO of PANDA, a collective of leading scientists, actuaries, economists, data scientists, statisticians, medical professionals, lawyers, engineers and businesspeople working as a collective to replace...

We’re late –really late– so we’re going to make this brief: we’ve got our old friend Mickey Kaus to talk about Biden’s immigration policy, California politics, and other assorted ephemera, and we’ve got Mary Eberstadt on her book Primal Screams:How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics. We also punditize (yes, we just invented that word) Biden’s press conference, and debate what city......

This week, in an unparalleled act of commitment, we persisted and Naomi Wolf is our guest this week. It’s a fascinating, surprising, and yes, hopeful conversation and we’re very grateful she agreed to join us. But see what you think. Then, the delightful Deb Saunders –on hiatus from covering the White House– joins us to talk about how the current White House is covered vs. the last one and the......

Hello, Ricochet Podcast listeners This is a special preview of Rob Long’s weekly commentary podcast Martini Shot. To subscribe to the show, search for “Rob Long Martini Shot” on your favorite podcast platform or go to MartiniShotPodcast.com and click on the subscribe links. In this episode, Rob is re-reading David Allen’s “Getting Things Done,” but it’s not working out so well. Source Become a sup...

This week, Ricochet editor and podcaster to the stars Troy Senik stops by to talk about his new venture, Kite and Key Media, which produces explainers about issues in the news. So you could argue that this show is an explainer about explainers, but we are not going to be that meta. We also delve into the news of the day, including good governors and bad, what the heck is going on with President......

This week, Steve Hayward sits in for Rob (just a scheduling issue, not a Big Trip) and we’ve got British free speech advocate Laurence Fox and our good and very smart friend Dr. Jay Bhattacharya back to give some advice and comment on the state’s emerging plans to re-open. Also, a recent survey has some surprising results and Steve and Peter defend a maligned movie. Music from this week’s show......

This week, we go it alone. And by that we mean no guest, just our guys performing some Rank Punditry® on the news of the day, energy on Texas, WandaVision (well, James tries to talk about it), Rob’s recently completed trip to Kenya, Peter’s sojourn in Wyoming, and various other personal and political points of interest. We’ve also got new Lileks Post of The Week, courtesy of David Foster (our... S...

This week, we’ve got Powerline’s Steve Hayward sitting in for Rob Long ( who’s busy being lionized) as we bid a sad so long to Conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh. Then, Ayaan Hirsi Ali stops by to discuss her new book Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women’s Rights. Also, be sure to visit her new website and subscribe to her new podcast. Also, Ted Cruz defies The Wall and goes to......

This week, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) –soon to be Citizen Portman– stops by to discuss impeachment, working with the Biden administration (or not as the case may be), his plans for the future, why he decided to throw in the towel in terms of the Senate, and yes, how this year’s popcorn crop is looking at his farm in Ohio. Also, Rob Long is going on safari (really!), Peter Robinson is looking... So...

This week, Jason Riley stops by to talk about his new documentary, Thomas Sowell: Common Sense in a Senseless World, which aside from being great, is also free to stream on YouTube. So the second you finish this podcast, we expect you will watch it. But before we get to Jason, we visit with Steve Krakauer, who writes the must-read Fourth Watch newsletter about all things media. Source Become a sup...

This week, Robin Hood is back, and this time he’s running a Wall Street retail brokerage firm. But the whole “take from the rich, give (or more accurately, keep) for the (relatively) poor” thing is still in effect. To discuss, we’ve got WSJ columnist Gerard Baker who explains and opines on it. Then our favorite Congressional correspondent on the planet, the Washington Examiner’s Susan Ferrechio......