The Dispatch Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Bodega Campaign Tactics | Roundtable Apr 19, 2024

Show notes

As Congress devolves into high school drama, Sarah, Jonah, and Mike discuss the fight over aid to Ukraine and Israel and the resulting threats to oust Speaker Mike Johnson.

The Agenda:

—Internal drama and blocks to getting foreign aid passed

—Polling shows Trump losing his lead in swing states

—Trump’s bodega campaign tactics

—Latinos’ affinity for Trump: real or media illusion?

—The need for messianic figures in politics

—Assessing the Biden administration’s public-facing stance on Israel

—Does spanking children reveal a cultural divide between the elites and working-class people?

Show Notes:

—Mike Johnson’s interview with Jake Tapper

—National polling

—Nick Catoggio’s Boiling Frogs on Mike Johnson

—This week’s Collision

—The Commentary Magazine podcast

—Jonah’s G-File on the messianic temptation

—The Remnant with Eli Lake

—Matthew Yglesias on “the spanking gap”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to Read Politics and Politicians | Interview: Carlos Lozada Apr 15, 2024

Show notes

Jamie is joined by New York Times opinion columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Carlos Lozada to discuss his new book, The Washington Book: How to Read Politics and Politicians. The two discuss how to read a politician’s memoir and the failures of The 1619 Project.

The Agenda:

—Does everyone use a ghostwriter?

—Insights from the acknowledgments section

—Inside Obama’s presidency

—Has The 1619 Project harmed the NYT’s brand?

—The worst books by politicians

Show Notes:

—Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama

—Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose

—Decision Points

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No True Conviction on Abortion | Roundtable Apr 12, 2024

Show notes

Sarah, Steve, and Jonah react to Donald Trump’s milquetoast yet controversial statement on abortion and how it's confusing Republican abortion policy at large.

The Agenda:

—What do people really think about abortion?

—Conviction vs. convenience on the abortion issue

—Israel’s pullout from southern Gaza

—Is Israel making the same mistakes as America?

—Craziness on college campuses

—Trump’s “Sister Souljah” moment

—Does Hamas have “enough” living hostages?

—How NPR lost America’s trust

—What have we gotten wrong?

Show Notes:

—Trump’s “rogue cops” comment

—2022 midterm exit polls

—David French’s writing on a “pro-life culture”

—The Dispatch editorial on the lesser of two evils

—Trump: “Take the guns first, go through due process second.”

—The Dispatch Podcast with Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Debating the Israel-Hamas War | Interview: Mehdi Hasan Apr 08, 2024

Show notes

Mehdi Hasan, former MSNBC host and co-founder of the media outlet Zeteo, joins Jamie for a heated debate about Israel’s response to Hamas’ October 7 attack and the accusations that the IDF is committing war crimes.

The Agenda:

—Laying out the current situation in Gaza

—The issue of proportionality in the use of force

—Debating casualty numbers from the Gaza Health Ministry

—The feasibility of a two-state solution

—The question of war crimes

—The United States’ role in the conflict

Show Notes:

—"Mansour Abbas Is an Arab and a Proud Israeli"

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Biden’s Losing the Vibe War | Roundtable Apr 05, 2024

Show notes

Jonah the usurper invites Kevin, Mike, and Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle on today’s episode of The Dispatch Podcast for some unfettered, wide-ranging punditry stretching from Biden’s wobbling support of Israel to the political implications of Florida’s abortion law.

The Agenda:

—World Central Kitchen deaths in Gaza

—Biden’s balancing act between addressing concerns from the pro-Palestinian crowd and supporting Israel

—The Florida Supreme Court upholds the state’s six-week abortion ban, but the pro-life victory could be short-lived

—California's housing crisis and the state's regulatory barriers

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gaza Changed Urban Warfare | Interview: John Spencer Apr 01, 2024

Show notes

Jamie is joined by John Spencer, an author, former colonel in the California State Guard, and urban warfare expert with 25 years of experience in the Army, to examine Israel’s tactics in Gaza and weigh in on allegations the IDF is committing genocide and/or war crimes.

The Agenda:

—Joe Rogan accuses Israel of genocide

—John’s experience in Gaza

—War is not quantitative

—How to determine proportionality

—"High threshold of civilian death"

—We are at war with ignorance

—H.R. McMaster’s “zero-dark-thirty fallacy”

—Reception of his expertise in Ukraine vs. Gaza

Show Notes:

—John: Israel Has Created a New Standard for Urban Warfare. Why Will No One Admit It?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About That NBC News Drama ... | Roundtable Mar 29, 2024

Show notes

The hiring and firing of Ronna McDaniel at NBC News brought up mixed feelings for the staffers at The Dispatch. Sarah, Jonah, Steve, and David (French!) open up about their own complicated relationships with mainstream media, the problems with hiring partisans into newsrooms, and whether McDaniel is a good avatar for any of these questions.

The Agenda:

—Roles of ideological purity in media

—The crew’s experiences at their respective news outlets

—Steve’s behind-the-scenes insight into McDaniel’s Meet the Press interview

—The changing definition of RINO

—The lack of truthfulness in news outlets

—Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ballot-access dilemma

Show Notes:

—Meidas Touch article on Ronna McDaniel hiring

—Vox hit piece on Sarah Isgur following CNN exit

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Blindspots of Partisan Media | Interview: Brian Stelter Mar 25, 2024

Show notes

Brian Stelter, longtime media critic and author of Network of Lies, joins Jamie on today’s episode of The Dispatch Podcast to discuss the state of newsrooms nationwide in an age of ideological division, debate the blindspots of partisan media, and offer thoughts on the future of journalism.

The Agenda:

—Overcorrecting coverage of Trump

—Trump’s influence on ratings

—COVID-19 coverage and school closures

—Reporting on race riots

—Forgetting 2020

—The New York Times' newsroom culture

—Going independent and successful alternative media platforms

—Stelter’s take on what CNN should do now

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Double-Hater Voter | Roundtable Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

Sarah, Jonah, Steve, and Mike dive into the latest punditry—Ohio’s primary, Trump’s trials, and the Middle East—before veering off into an Abraham Lincoln and 1619 Project cul-de-sac.

The Agenda:

—Bernie Moreno wipes the floor

—Jonah pushes back on reveries of self-congratulation

—Who are the double-haters in the 2024 election?

—An update on Trump trials

—The worst “win” you can have as a prosecutor

—Sen. Chuck Schumer’s speech on Israel

—Abraham Lincoln, worth our time

—Happy birthday Jonah!

Show Notes:

—The Collision on Fani Willis

—Original Jurisdiction on Judge Aileen Cannon's clerks quitting

—The Remnant with Allen Guelzo

—Lincoln’s second inaugural address

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should the U.S. Defend Taiwan? | Interview: Dan Negrea and Matthew Kroenig Mar 18, 2024

Show notes

Former Trump administration official Dan Negrea and national security strategist Matt Kroenig join Jamie to discuss their book We Win, They Lose. Jamie challenges their thesis that a Trump-Regan foreign policy fusion is possible.

The Agenda:

-The current international landscape

-China’s aggressive military operations and Taiwan

-Can Americans stomach backing Taiwan in war?

-Trump’s switch on a TikTok ban

-The Biden administration’s failure to deter Russia

-Is there really a Trump-Regan policy fusion?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices