To The Contrary with Charlie Sykes

Author and Senior Editor of Arc Digital, Nicholas Grossman, joins Charlie to discuss the White House's "hype videos" concerning the War in Iran, the economic consequences of the conflict and how the SAVE act may affect the upcoming midterms.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this solo episode, Charlie is recapping the long awaited firing of Homeland Security Secretary. He also answers the questions you sent us on a wide range of current issues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh Barro, co-host of Central Air and author of the Very Serious Substack, joins Charlie to discuss a wide range of political news: the Iran war, the Texas primaries, Anthropic, and Trump’s tariff obsession. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum joins Charlie to try to figure out why we're at war with Iran. Is it about Trump's friends and business partners in Gulf states and Israel? Was Iran a long-term obsession of Trump? Or is it just the ultimate wag-the-dog move for him at this moment? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Atlantic writer, Tom Nichols, joins Charlie to discuss the rise of extremist ideologies within the Republican Party, the Epstein files, and whether we're going to war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Voters have soured on Trump, but polls suggest they still have their doubts about Democrats. Long time Democratic strategist and president of The Searchlight Institute, Adam Jentleson, joins Charlie to discuss past mistakes and the challenges now facing the Democratic Party. Also, Trump's State of the Union, and Senator John Fetterman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamil Smith, a columnist at The Guardian, and lecturer at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, joins Charlie to discuss the State of the Union, Trump's blatant racism, and the latest environmental policy shift you probably didn't hear about.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former Congressman and now children’s book author, Adam Kinzinger, joins Charlie to discuss Lindsey Graham’s behavior at the Munich Security Conference, the Trump administration inching closer to a conflict with Iran and how all this foreign policy affects the political landscape at home.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tara Palmeri, host of  The Tara Palmeri Show  and the author of the newsletter “The Red Letter”, joins Charlie to discuss the latest on the Epstein scandal that shadowed almost every aspect of the second Trump presidency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susan Glasser of The New Yorker joins Charlie to talk about Trump's attempt to arrest and indict six sitting members of Congress, Marco Rubio in Munich, and DHS asking tech companies to expose the personal details of "anti-ICE" social media accounts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Frum of The Atlantic joins Charlie to break down the shifting public opinion on Trump, Pam Bondi’s congressional testimony, and how AI is changing us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reporter Ashley Parker spent eight years at  The Washington Post  before joining  The Atlantic . She’s been watching the recent moves by owner Jeff Bezos and the paper’s leadership, and explains to Charlie why she believes they may be leading the paper toward its demise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Wehner, a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum, joins Charlie to explain why some evangelicals see Trump as a defender of their values. Also: Bad Bunny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following Jeff Bezos's gutting of the Washington Post, economist Justin Wolfers joins Charlie to try to unpack billionaires' actions. Also, how's the American economy really doing these days? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Garrett M. Graff, a contributing editor at WIRED and former editor of POLITICO Magazine, joins Charlie to try to answer that question. Also (not unrelated): where did the Proud Boys go? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Legal analyst and Talking Feds host, Harry Litman, joins Charlie to talk about Trump shutting down Kennedy Center, the release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos, and the dire state of the U.S. Attorney office for the District of Minnesota. To read Litman's piece on the Kennedy Center: Trump Meets Lincoln, Doesn’t Recognize Him Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristy Greenberg, former Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and a legal analyst for MS Now, joins Charlie to dive into the current legal landscape and discuss the integrity of our justice system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike Pesca, host of  The Gist , joins Charlie to unpack how the administration’s “chaos is a ladder” approach to immigration enforcement is failing. Public perception is shifting and ICE is increasingly viewed as the problem, not the protesters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine Stewart, journalist and author of the book  Money, Lies, and God  joins Charlie to process the killing of Alex Pretti and share insights from her work on the New Right.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New York Times Opinion writer David French joins Charlie to discuss the rising tensions in Minneapolis and Trump's newly formed "Board of Peace." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Wehner, a contributing writer at  The Atlantic  and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum, joins Charlie to discuss the latest DHS video and why many evangelical pastors are not standing up to Trump. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie invites Joe Klein, political commentator and author of  Primary Colors , to discuss the 1961 film  Judgment at Nuremberg  and the 2025 film  Nuremberg , and why they resonate today. They also talk about some of the latest news, their political trajectories, and their disagreements.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olivia Troye, a former DHS official who served under Trump during his first term, joins Charlie to talk about the week’s news and what’s been worrying her lately, including the dangers of DHS messaging on social media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and contributing writer at The Atlantic, joins Charlie to explain why he thinks Trump is following a European authoritarian playbook.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Miles Taylor, a former DHS official during Trump's first term, joins Charlie to dissect the administration's response to the ICE killing of Nicole Renee Good in Minneapolis.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.