The Ricochet Podcast

We open with some thoughts on the just concluded Democratic convention, and then segue into our guest, Avik Roy. His interview with Vox has been discussed extensively on Ricochet, and we give him the full court Ricochet Podcast press. Is the GOP on life support as Avik suggests and can be saved? Or, is everything just fine, and the party should stay the course? We delve into all of that with Roy.....

The moment we’ve been preparing for all year finally arrived this week: Donald J. Trump is the Republican Party’s nominee for President of The United States. With the help of the Washington Post’s ace political reporter Bob Costa, we break down the whole week, from the family member speeches, Ted Cruz’s speech, Trump’s own speech ( and Peter Robinson’s brush with the Trump campaign)... Source Beco...

This week, Lileks is on vacation so we asked our good friend Larry Kudlow to sit in his chair as we welcome the Manhattan Institute’s and Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Riley to the show to discuss the events of the last week. Yes, we also cover the presumptive nominee, and Larry makes a valiant effort to convince one of the hosts to support his candidate. Was Larry successful? Source Become...

This week, we take a little break from politics to bring you one of our favorite people — writer/director Whit Stillman, who’s new movie Love & Friendship is in theaters now. We talk Jane Austen (the movie is based on Austen’s novella Lady Susan), his writing process, and some of Stillman’s favorite films. Then, Charles C.W. Cooke, newly minted National Review Online Editor (and co-host of the...

There’s a sit-in in the House, and the Emperor has no money. Seems like old times, except for the fact that we invited Twitter-famous Sonny Bunch to sit in for the traveling Peter Robinson. In addition to the fore-mentioned topics, in this completely Member Feed inspired show, the guys cover Gaius’ post A Thought Experiment: Inspired by Sen. Rubio, Robert Zubrin’s Campaign Launched to Free the......

This week, a debate about guns, some inside dope about Trump, courtesy of the great Byron York, one final conversation about Brexit compliments of the ever brash James Delingpole, and the complexities of giving up the thing you know. Music from this week’s episode: Happiness Is A Warm Gun by The Beatles The brand new opening sequence for the Ricochet Podcast was composed and produced by James... S...

Another momentous week calls for a momentous podcast with Ricochet Editor-In-Chief Jon Gabriel sitting in for Rob Long. We’ve got Washington Post political correspondent Bob Costa on Trump and Bezos, and almost independent Presidential candidate David French, who clues us in on what might have been. Finally, some thoughts about The Greatest, Muhammad Ali. RIP. Music from this week’s episode: The.....

It’s another Super-Sized edition of the Ricochet Podcast (1 hour and 20 minutes!) and we’re all over the map and all over the news to bring you very best in podcast punditry. First up, the great George Gilder (his new book The Scandal of Money: Why Wall Street Recovers but the Economy Never Does is a must read) stops by to talk about why conservatives have such a hard time winning the economic......

We recorded this one yesterday in New York City, and due to travel and other issues, we’re posting it now. We talk Trump, the now official Republican nominee, get the inside scoop on that Facebook meeting from our guest Brent Bozell, and a theory about Joe Biden. Yes, Joe Biden. Finally, what’s Peter Robinson’s favorite Bob Dylan lyric? The answer may surprise you (it surprised us). Happy summer.....

This week, we present a super-sized edition of the Ricochet Podcast (75 minutes plus of thoughtful jabbering!) where within, we attempt to answer a few burning questions: First, is Peter Robinson in the tank for Trump? Rob Long and James Lileks investigate. Then, Tevi Troy stops by to opine on his recent Politico piece, How GOP Intellectuals’ Feud With the Base Is Remaking U.S. Politics. Then... S...

As we adapt to a world where Donald Trump is the Republican nominee for President, we figured we ought book some very grounded guests for this week’s show. So listen in as we welcome Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The Governor has a new book, Broken But Unbowed: The Fight to Fix a Broken America. We also discuss bathrooms and his good friend Ted Cruz’s plans for the future. Then, The Weekly Standard’...

One of the nice things about being the Top Conservative Podcast is that we get to have the coolest and smartest people on the right stop by to chat. Case in point this week as we welcome two of the biggest brains on the right, Yuval Levin and Dr. Thomas Sowell. Yuval’s WSJ essay The Next Conservative Movement is a must read, and while you’re at it, order his forthcoming book The Fractured... Sourc...

It’s not often that a news story breaks while we’re recording the podcast, but that’s exactly what happened today. We started off talking politics with Bill Kristol and Michael Barone (the former on #NeverTrump and the possibility of a third party and the latter on the now very important California primary and Michael’s WSJ piece “Trump Can’t Break the Republican Party”) and wound up discussing......

A little more than 6 years ago on a rainy day in the back room of a bungalow in Venice, California, we recorded the first Ricochet Podcast on an old school MacBook. The cast has changed slightly since then, but through one and a half Presidential cycles, two mid-terms, countless culture wars, good guests, bad guests, Skype glitches, and even bad weather, we have persevered. So it’s with great... S...

This week, some insight into the TV viewing habits of your favorite podcasters, followed by the very smart opinions of Wall Street Journal Opinion Page Editor Bret Stephens. Then, #NeverTrump progenitor and founder of The Resurgent Erick Erickson stops by to make the case (as if we needed the help) as to why Trump cannot be allowed to win the White House. Also, Lazy_Millennial‘s post Bernie: The.....

Well, it’s another week that we must bring you yet another sobering meditation on the state of the Grand Old Party. Today, the Wall Street Journal’s Dan Henninger stops by to discuss his recent column Obama’s Greatest Triumph (it’s paywalled, but the gist is that The president is “is now close to destroying his political enemies—the Republican Party, the American conservative movement and the... S...

Another week, another set of brand name guests to debate the issues of the day. This week, first up is Karl Rove who stops by the discuss his terrific new book, The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters. How is an election held a 120 years ago relevant today. “The Architect” spills the beans. Then, our old friend David Limbaugh (AKA El Rushbro) cruises by to educate.....

This week, we bring you two very different views of the current state of the Republican Party courtesy of two of the smartest observers we could find. First, former RNC chair and Mississippi governor Haley Barbour stops by to remind us to be adults and remember that Donald Trump will be a better president than Hillary Clinton. But later, the great Charles Murray (read his incredible essay “Trump’s...

This week’s podcast is a large as the plains that our guest, Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) hails from. We go from Trump, to party loyalties, to Rubio vs. Cruz, to remembering Nancy Reagan, Camille Paglia, and more. With the Senator, we delve into his very public argument against Donald Trump as the party standard bearer, why he’s a conservative, and the upcoming battle over the next Supreme Court... So...

As we recorded this week’s podcast, Mitt Romney was giving the stem-winding speech of his life in Utah against the candidacy of Donald Trump. We cover that in real time with our guest Rick Wilson. Prior to that, our old friend and Ricochet Super Fan, Purdue University President Mitch Daniels stops by to talk about political correctness on campus and throw some light in the state of the country at....

A few times a year, we take break from guests and the news cycle and throw the floor open to you, our valued Ricochet members. Even with one man down, we take on favorite trees, the election, best books, and a plethora of other topics. Thanks to all who submitted questions. We’ll do this again in the summer. Music from this week’s episode: What Do You Mean? by Justin Bieber The opening sequence......

We’re all over the galaxy this week with our guests The Federalist’s Ben Domenech and Ricochet’s own Saturday Night Science guy himself, the always awesome anonymous. Ben stops by to discuss the unpredictable election cycle and throw some shade The Donald (you comment, we listen). Then, we get our wonk on with anonymous who explains gravitation waves (we were told there’d be no math on this... Sou...

Let’s get right to the point: we’ve got Larry Kudlow (shameless plug: listen to Kudlow and Pawlenty’s Money & Politics podcast) who may or may not be the next Senator from Connecticut to school on why Donald Trump ought to be taken seriously and other matters both political and economic, followed by the great Michael Barone, who joins us from the side of the road in South Carolina. Source Beco...

We’re into the meat of the primary season now, so the time for talk is over — it’s time for action! Unless you produce a podcast — then we need more talk. And this week, we bring you two of the best talkers in the biz: the great John O’Sullivan and Fox News analyst and columnist and editor for The Washington Times Monica Crowley. We talk Ted, Trump, Bernie, Hillary, and yes, even some folk music....

This week, we settle all family business (so the saying goes) as after 18 months of jabbering about the election, voters in Iowa are actually going to the polls. To get the best insight into this long awaited event, we go to two experts actually at Ground Zero, aka Des Moines. The Washington Examiner’s Byron York weighs in on the race and National Review editor Rich Lowry describes the aftermath.....