The Dispatch Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Why GOP Candidates Are Ignoring Trump Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

Mike Warren is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Megan McArdle, and Kevin Williamson to discuss why GOP midterm candidates aren’t heeding President Donald Trump’s electoral advice, as well as Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French’s racist tweet about a University of Texas football game.

The Agenda:

—GOP candidates ignoring Trump

—Making the election about Trump

—Bo French’s anti-Indian racism

—"Just talk about Abdul El-Sayed"

—NWYT: Demolishing the Kennedy Center

Show notes:

—Jonah Goldberg: Where Have the Grown-Ups Gone?

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Will Artificial Intelligence ‘Kill Us All?’ Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Mike Warren, and Klon Kitchen to discuss the resignation of an Anthropic researcher over concerns that AI may “kill us all,” yet another flip-flop by the Trump administration on Ukraine, and President Trump’s $5,000 bribe to voters during the midterm convention.

The Agenda:

—Jacob Coxon's resignation tweet

—Pacing the AI frontier

—The Hugging Face incident

—AI and foreign policy

—Russia strike near David Petraeus

—NYWT: Trump bribing voters

Show notes:

—James Miller: Why AI might kill everyone

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Did We Win the War on Terror? Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Mike Nelson, and David French to discuss former President George W. Bush’s response to the 9/11 attacks, how the tragedy shaped domestic policy today, and whether or not we won the war on terror.

The Agenda:

—Remembering the events over the course of the day
—How lives were changed after 9/11

—Journalism’s evolution after the attacks
—Did we win the war on terror?
—The enemy gets a vote

Show notes:

—President Bush’s address to Congress following the attacks

—David French’s Atlantic article on why he served

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After Trump Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Michael Reneau to discuss our latest editorial on a post-Trump reality, comments by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff to Vladimir Putin as the U.S. pursues negotiations for an end to the Ukraine war, and finally, a Labor Day edition of Not Worth Your Time.

—Previewing The Dispatch’s editorial on what’s next for the GOP

—Addressing the “Burn it all down” crowd

—You don’t know what time is it

—James Carville's checking the temperature

—Let’s talk about followership

—The un-American display of Steve Witkoff

—Not Worth Your Time: Employment

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Can the GOP Survive Trump’s Approval Numbers? Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Mike Warren, and John McCormack to discuss Trump’s role within the Republican Party in the upcoming midterms and the Democratic Party’s association with Hasan Piker.

The Agenda:

—Trump’s impact on Republican candidates

—Democrats and Hasan Piker

—The Senate race in Texas

—Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District

—The Senate race in Ohio

—NWYT: Fantasy football

Show notes:

—Mike Warren’s newsletter Next Right

—FantasyPros

—Footballguys

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The Pentagon’s Unprecedented Plan for Venezuelan Oil Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Mike Nelson to discuss the Trump administration’s oil deal with Venezuela and the state of the Iran war six months in.

The Agenda:

—Venezuela oil deal

—Delcy Rodríguez’s presidency

— “We should have the taken the oil!”

—The Venezuela model in Iran

— “No, Iran is not winning”

—NWYT: Milos Yiannopoulos’ deportation

Show notes:

—Wall Street Journal's reporting on the oil deal

—Washington Post reporting on U.S. military leadership

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The AI Data Center Moral Panic Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Megan McArdle, and David French to discuss the political battle over data centers and Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada.

The Agenda:

—Data center u-turn

—How data centers affect communities

—National security implications

—Misinformation about data centers

—The U.S.-Canada trade war

—Worth your time: Dolly Parton

Show notes:

—Megan McArdle’s podcast

—Wall Street Journal’s AI op-ed

—Fox News poll on data centers

—Why’d You Come In Here

—Dolly Parton's Johnny Carson song

—The Wailin' Jennys—Light Of A Clear Blue Morning

—Dolly’s Light of a Clear Blue Morning

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How The U.S. Racked Up Its $40 Trillion Debt Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Mike Warren to discuss the U.S. crossing the $40 trillion debt threshold and the prospect of “growing our way out of it.”

The Agenda:

—Kevin explains how we got here

—Entitlement spending

—What would Paul Ryan do

—The DOGE effort

—Growing our way out of debt

—NWYT: Adulthood disappointments

Show notes:

—Kevin's Wanderland

—Kevin on the tragedy of U.S. debt

—Steve Hayes on DOGE

—"DOGE—the UNIPARTY killed it because it was working too well."

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Why Trump Is Snubbing South Korea Aug 21, 2026

Show notes

Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Mike Nelson, and Kevin Williamson to discuss President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back military exercises with South Korea, his “good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” and the U.S. munitions crisis.

The Agenda:

—Scaling back South Korea exercises

—Trump’s “relationship” with Kim Jong Un

—Abandoning Japan

—The U.S. munitions crisis

—Southern lane of the strait

—NWYT: The end of Colombia House mail-order club

Show notes:

—North Korea missile barrage

—Oil drilling in Greenland

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What’s Next for the Right? Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

Steve Hayes is joined by Mike Warren, Jonah Goldberg, and Chris Stirewalt to discuss the future of the conservative movement ahead of the 2026 midterms and 2028 GOP primaries.

The Agenda:

—Subscribe to The Dispatch’s new newsletter, Next Right

—The war for the GOP

—Trump’s successor

—Ideological demography of Republicans

—2028 GOP primaries

—Mike’s conversation with Gov. Brian Kemp

—NWYT: Aspic

Show notes:

—Mike Warren on CNN

—How unpopular is Donald Trump?

—Boiling Frogs on non-MAGA Republicans