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The Mona Charen Show — News
The Mona Charen Show

After a great five year run on Beg to Differ, Mona Charen brings you a new show dedicated to deepening your understanding of complex issues and trends facing society. Each week she’ll engage an expert for a probing discussion that goes past the day’s headlines.

Copyright: © Bulwark Media

Latest Episodes:

Why One Never Trumper Can't Endorse Kamala Harris Oct 25, 2024

Show notes

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat joins the regular group to discuss his objections to Harris, the likelihood of a Trump fascistic reign, and which party has gone crazier.
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Highlights / Lowlights

Ross: Can AI be blamed for a teen’s suicide? (NYT)

Damon: Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos (MAX)

Linda: The Ghosts of John Tanton (ProPublica)

Mona: The Envy of the World (The Economist)

Bill: The Fight for a New Israel (Dahlia Scheindlin, Foreign Affairs)

An Underrated Threat: The Trump Corruption Oct 18, 2024

Show notes

The New Yorker's Susan Glasser joins the group (plus Philip Bump) to discuss Harris's Fox interview, Trump's spiraling mental state, and the oligarchy/corruption a second Trump term would usher in.
Highlights / Lowlights
Mona: Harris Needs a Closing Argument. Here's One. By Bret Stephens
The FTC is making it easier to cancel subscriptions.
Damon: Confessions of a Republican Exile by David Brooks
A spate of recent content from Matthew Yglesias
Susan: The Gates of Gaza by Amir Tibon
Philip: A preview of this weekend's "How to Read This Chart" newsletter
Linda: The General's Warning by Tom Nichols

What Would a Second Trump Term Mean for US Leadership? Oct 11, 2024

Show notes

NY Times columnist Bret Stephens joins to discuss the Iranian threat (to Israel and the US), the amazing Israeli penetrations of Hezbollah and Iran, and the fate of NATO, Ukraine, etc in a Trump 2.0 world.
TV Recommendations of the panelists:
Mona: Call My Agent
Damon: Game of Thrones
Bill: Babylon Berlin
Linda: Slow Horses / Pachinko

Vance Impersonates a Decent Guy Oct 03, 2024

Show notes

The Financial Times's Ed Luce joins to discuss the VP debate, the future of MAGA, and the Israel/Iran war.

The Gender Chasm Sep 27, 2024

Show notes

Mona’s highlight: The impartiality of the DOJ, indicting members of the sitting party in power when they commit crimes.
Tim’s lowlight: The failure to have more than one debate.

Tim’s highlight: The young, hungry, improbable turnaround of the Detroit Tigers.

Sonny’s highlight / lowlight: Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis.

Sam’s highlight: Ohtani’s historic 50-50 season.

Sam’s lowlight: The indictment of Eric Adams.

Bill’s highlight: VP Harris’s economic speech on building and permitting overhaul.

Does Trump's Tough Guy Persona Really Work in World Affairs? Sep 20, 2024

Show notes

AEI's Kori Schake joins the group to discuss Trump's "crazy guy" strategy, the 111 GOP leaders endorsing Harris, and Hezbollah's exploding pagers.
Show Notes:

Referenced: U.S. Shrugs as World War III Approaches, by Walter Russell Mead (WSJ)
Highlights / Lowlights

Kori: Gov. Mike DeWine defending Ohio against MAGA’s lies about Springfield (ABC)
Damon: The tired dance of the demagogue by Matthew Yglesias (Slow Boring)
Mona: How an AI ‘debunkbot’ can change a conspiracy theorist’s mind (Popular Science)
Linda: The Exotic Cat-Eaters of Springfield, Ohio by Kevin Williamson (The Dispatch)
Bill: The Future of Free Speech by Lee C. Bollinger and Geoffrey Richard Stone (Dædalus)

The MAGA Bubble Burst Sep 13, 2024

Show notes

Third Way's Matt Bennett joins to discuss the debate, Harris's centrism, and which candidate would be better on inflation.
Highlights / Lowlights

Mona: Why Mike Lee Folded by Tim Alberta, The Atlantic.

Matt: The lies being pushed about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, and the political opportunism of a young boy’s death.

Damon: Behind the Catholic Right's celebrity-conversion industrial complex (Vanity Fair)
Linda: What led to rumors Trump shared about Venezuelan gangs taking over a Colorado building? (NBC)
Bill: Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild

Tucker Carlson: Anchor on Trump/Vance? Sep 06, 2024

Show notes

Lawyer Kim Wehle discusses her book on the pardon power. The group then delves into Israel/Gaza, campus protests redux, and Tucker Carlson "Just asking questions" about Holocaust denialism.
Highlights / Lowlights
Mona: Andrew Egger's "Pennsylvania Man Speaks" reporting.
Bill: The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and the Disuniting of America
Linda: Republicans Seize on False Theories About Immigrant Voting (NYT)
Damon: DOJ alleges Russia funded US media company linked to right-wing social media stars (CNN)

The New Kamala Harris Aug 29, 2024

Show notes

The Atlantic's Peter Wehner joins the group to discuss the DNC and Harris's new tone, Trump's pivot on abortion, and the misfit toys (RFK Jr., Gabbard) of the Trump campaign.
Highlights / Lowlights:

Mona: Can We Be a Little Less Selective With Our Moral Outrage? by Bret Stephens in The New York Times.

Peter: Lowlight: Trump Insists He Won California in Wild, Jesus-Filled Rant With Dr. Phil (Daily Beast)
Damon: Highlight: Conservatism: The Fight for a Tradition by Edmund Fawcett

Bill: Highlights: The Return of Hamiltonian Statecraft by Walter Russell Mead and Stopping the Next China Shock by Aaron L. Friedberg
Linda: Highlight: Making Race Skin Deep by Quico Toro in Persuasion

How Far Can the Vibes Carry Kamala? Aug 23, 2024

Show notes

Andrew Egger subs for the vacationing Mona, and A.B. occupies Damon's seat, as The Deseret News's Samuel Benson joins regulars Bill and Linda to discuss the unity and vibes at the Democratic Convention, while the panel weighs how RFK's exit from the race is likely to affect the November election.
Highlights / Lowlights

Andrew: Highlight: Gov. Tim Walz's Speech, and his family's reaction.
A.B.: Highlight: Doug Emhoff's remarks on anti-semitism, and that protests did not disrupt the convention.
Linda: Lowlight: Systemic Test Racism in Chicago (WSJ)
Bill: The slow counting of ballots in Pennsylvania, and the failure to fix this glaringly obvious problem.
Samuel: Lowlight: The slowness with which anti-semitism was addressed at the Democratic Convention.
Highlight: A moment of prayer he witnessed by Jewish men at night outside of the convention hall.

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