The Ricochet Podcast

It's finally here: 2025! And your favorite podcast is finally back in order to maintain some continuity in these tempestuous times. James, Charles and Steve cover raging fires in Los Angeles and the jaw-dropping incompetence of the Golden State's leadership. On a cheerier note, they enjoy the changes taking place in Canada and at Meta, Inc. Plus, Dan MacLaughlin joins today to discuss Jimmy Carter...

For the last podcast of the year, Steve, Charles and Rob pull out all the stops to grab the attention of podcast listeners worldwide: some theology here, a little healthcare debate there, a few notes on Congress' gargantuan Christmas list. Plus, there's the WSJ  write-up on the efforts to conceal Joe Biden's decline, Kirsten Gillibrand's ERA absurdity, and some insights from Rob on how show-biz wi...

In times such as these, the challenge is packing all the news into a single episode. James, Steve and Charles do their best to move with lightning speed through Biden's shower of clemency, UFOs in New Jersey, then across the Hudson River for the hard left's justifications for last week's coldblooded murder in Manhattan side-by-side with their fury over Daniel Penny's acquittal. All of this before...

Ricochet presents a special Yuletide episode featuring Joseph Bottum, author of  Frankincense, Gold, and Myrrh: A Christmas Chrestomathy .  In under an hour, he and Peter cover crammed cities and the rural expanse, crime and charity, the written word and the reader's mind—all with thoughts on the Christmas spirit in a contemporary setting.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker....

John Yoo returns to discuss a lotta legal stuff this week. He talks presidential pardons, Daniel Penny, United States v. Skrmetti  and the murder of UnitedHealth's CEO in Midtown Manhattan.  Plus, after an extra-long Thanksgiving season hiatus, the boys are back with much to be grateful for.  Sound from today's open: Chris Wallace predicted Hunter pardon on June 10; Ted Cruz reacts on NewsMax and...

About what President Trump is planning to put in his cabinet... Lileks, Cooke and Hayward have opinions on the digestibility of some of the picks. They're joined by Andy McCarthy to discuss the stunning nomination of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, and the gang gets into what Trump will need for his cleanup on aisle DC.   - Soundbite from this week's open: Rep. Max Miller (R - OH 7) ABCNews YouTu...

Who better to talk to on our post-election victory lap episode than the man who saw it coming? Henry Olsen joins after proving correct in his daring prediction in the New York Post of a Trump-led red wave. We get into how he called it and his detailed post-op report. We also give him the chance to take off his analyst cap to do a little rooting for the team. And, of course, we get into his 2017 bo...

It's the last episode before the election, and given the anxiousness surrounding this cycle, we've recruited Andrew Klavan to bring his good cheer, wit and wisdom to put us at ease. We get his take on the race and field a few predictions, along with his perspective on America's cultural whirlwind—everything from the suffusion of the arts and tech to modern manhood and the search for enduring truth...

Rob Long takes a break from Biblical Greek to catch up with a few of his favorite laypeople. He gives James and Steve his early impressions of the coursework and classmates at Princeton Theological Seminary. Then the trio moves onto our favorite events since we've last seen the future father: the post-Brat Summer letdown for Harris; the meltdown over Trump's shift at McDonald's; and the left's res...

We can debate all we want about the Doomsday Clock's latest setting, but one needn't be a foreign policy expert to know our proximity to midnight is too close for comfort. As it happens, though, we have a foreign policy expert (and soldier) with us today. H.R. McMaster returns to discuss the dangerous moment we're in, what needs to be done with the precious time available, and why American officia...

This week we cover a handful of great tug-of-war games, past, present, and future. Charles McElwee, founding editor of RealClearPennsylvania , returns to the podcast to give an election season tour of the swingy Keystone State. Next, Tevi Troy joins for a discussion about the epic clashes between America's masters of the universe and their presidents. (Be sure to get a copy of his new book,  The P...

With Israel's stunning string of victories over its enemies and the approaching anniversary of October 7th, Eli Lake returns to the Ricochet Podcast. He gives his take on the reasons for the administration's dithering support and rallies for the West to give its ally a greenlight! Plus, Charlie, Peter and James discuss the Veep debate, the averted longshoremen's strike and an ineffective Federal E...

The mediating technologies of the new century were welcomed as wonderous life enhancers. A few decades later, we often talk about how the devices we can't put down poison our culture, politics, and relationships. Christine Rosen  joins to discuss her latest book, The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World .  (Don't let the title scare you off! Christine brings good cheer and...

Peter's back! After a whole summer away, he, James and Steve have quite a bit to catch up on. What more is there to say?  - Opening soundbite this week: FNC’s Peter Doocy spars with KJP at the White House Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support .

The contemporary social planner seems to favor all sorts of peoples' movements—except for the kind that involves automobiles, driven by citizens away from dense urban cores into the suburbs that they can afford. Today, Joel Kotkin (author of The Human City and The Coming of Neo-Feudalism ) joins the podcast to discuss the new class of urbanists who brim with ideas for a city that won't work for th...

They say Labor Day marks the ordinary American's starting point for following a particular election cycle, setting off a scramble for undecides by campaigners and a busy couple of months for pollsters. Henry Olsen returns to discuss where things stand in the presidential race as we head toward the first debate; he offers some potential outcomes that will determine the extent of the Republican majo...

It's a big legal stuff week for Donald Trump. Naturally, we phoned our pal Andy McCarthy. Andy brings breaking news on Judge Merchan’s sentencing schedule, his hot take on Jack Smith’s superseding indictment in the election interference case, and adds a detailed reaction to Mark Zuckerberg’s admission of acquiescing to censorship pressure from government officials.  Plus: Charlie, Steve, and James...

The Democratic National Convention Dance Party has come to a close. Now that they’ve had time to overcome the disappointment that Beyonce didn’t show, Steve, James, and Rob are left wondering: can the left pull off the continuity/new path forward message they’ve settled on? Plus, with Rob back, we’re treated to a story about his attempt to win the ’92 election with the help of Murphy Brown and Rus...

We've heard it said, "Go woke, go broke," but is it really panning out that way? This week Fox Business's Charles Gasparino joins James, Steve, and Charlie Cooke to say exactly that in his fittingly titled book  Go Woke, Go Broke: The Inside Story of the Radicalization of Corporate America.  Plus, the hosts break down the absurdity of Kamala Harris's economic proposals and joyful gaslighting; they...

There's a lot of joy in the air. Or so we're told by the Jolly Dad VP nominee Tim Walz. To step past the vibes for a moment, we talk with John H. Hinderaker, president of the Minneapolis-based Center of the American Experiment. He takes us through the methods and policies of Governor Walz, which reveal a less-than-pleasant character. Plus, he sticks around with James, Steve, and "Lucretia" to disc...

Yuval Levin joins James, Rob and John Yoo to remind us of the Constitution's unifying purpose in the era of polarization and mutually held suspicions between the parties. His latest book,  American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation―and Could Again , disputes the prevailing pessimism as well as passive optimism, settling instead on a hopeful case for American coalition building. Plu...

Back in 2002, Ruy Teixeira took note of demographic trends that spelled good news for the Democratic Party's 21st-century prospects. Just two decades after the release of  The Emerging Democratic Majority,  he found himself wondering something else entirely: Where Have All the Democrats Gone?  With what appears to be the coronation of Kamala Harris, he and the gang consider how pessimism, disorder...

Another crazy week in American politics, another milestone. The Ricochet Podcast hits the 700-episode mark, and the chatter continues. Ann Coulter drops in — more briefly than expected, due to technical issues — to give us her hot take on the Republican National Convention. Then James, Steve, and Rob debate the Republican platform for the 21st century, find common ground on brass bands and Doric c...

Joe Biden is adamant about staying in the race. It's a fitting move for the leader of a party that has lost its long-held advantage in voter identification. Beyond the Polls host Henry Olsen joins James, Rob and Steve Hayward to dive into the Democratic Party's dilemma, the global political realignment, and the here-to-stay Populist Era. - This week’s audio: A trio of Biden gems in a week full of...

Whoever decided to place a presidential debate smack dab in the middle of the Supreme Court's decision calendar was either crazy or a genius. It not only gives us plenty to talk about  but it gives a certain podcaster the rare opportunity to praise Donald Trump (Yes, really.) The Powerline men, John Yoo and Steve Hayward join Rob and Peter to review the debate and parse the thinking of the high co...