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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:

Sacrilege for Sale Mar 29, 2024

Show notes

The Atlantic's Peter Wehner joins the panel to discuss Trump hawking a "patriotic" Bible, accusations of lawfare regarding Trump's trials, and Putin's war on truth.
Highlights / Lowlights:

Mona— What Would You Have Israel Do to Defend Itself? (David Brooks, NYT)
Damon— Tucker Carlson's hilariously wrong prediction that Sam Bankman-Fried would avoid justice because he was a megadonor.
Peter— Lowlight: Jesus's Crucifixion. Highlight: Easter, of course.
Linda— Bridge collapse brings stark reminder of immigrant workers’ vulnerabilities (WaPo)
Bill— Democrat who ran heavily on abortion rights, IVF wins Alabama special election (WaPo)

Trump is Hard Up for Cash Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

Nicholas Grossman joins the panel to discuss Trump's money troubles as a national security threat and political challenge, the "bloodbath" brouhaha, and Schumer's speech about Netanyahu.
highlights / lowlights
Damon: Miranda's Last Gift by David Frum.
Mona: The U.S. is no longer one of the 20 happiest countries. If you're young, you probably know why.
Bill: Graham calls for interest-free loans to Ukraine: ‘New way of doing business’ (The Hill)
Nick: Once More With Feeling: Banning TikTok Is Unconstitutional & Won’t Do Shit To Deal With Any Actual Threats by Mike Masnick (TechDirt)
LINDA: 12,000 More Visas for Afghans Who Helped US Military Included in New Funding Deal (Military.com).
Appeals court raises doubts of legality of new Texas deportation law, SB4, pointing to past rulings (Houston Chronicle)

Trump's Georgia Acts Were Even Worse Than You Thought Mar 15, 2024

Show notes

Michael Isikoff, co-author of Find Me the Votes: A Hard-Charging Georgia Prosecutor, a Rogue President, and the Plot to Steal an American Election, details some of the undercovered aspects of Trump's 2020 election subversion. The panel also discusses how the Biden reset is going.
highlights / lowlights
Mona: Warden is ousted as FBI raids California women’s prison known as the ‘rape club’ (LATimes).
Damon: American politics is undergoing a racial realignment (FT) and a thread from the author, John Burn-Murdoch.
Bill: 2024 Michigan: Trump Leads Biden In 5-Way Race (Quinnipiac Poll)
Michael: Trump’s Biden Mockery Upsets People Who Stutter: ‘We’ve Heard This Before’ (NYTimes).
Linda: Literary Magazine Retracts Israeli Writer’s Essay as Staffers Quit (NYTimes).

The Dreaded General Election Arrives Mar 08, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s episode, Philip Bump of The Washington Post joins guest host A.B. Stoddard and the usual crew to discuss the beginning of the general election.
highlights / lowlights

A.B.- The NC Exit Polls where voters thought Trump had better physical and mental fitness to be President than Haley.

Philip- The Crazy Collapse of the House G.O.P.’s Impeachment Case Against Biden

Bill- Ukraine outgunned 10 to 1 in massive artillery battle with Russia

Linda- Mitch McConnell endorses Donald Trump for president after years of frosty ties, and the 9-0 SCOTUS ruling.

Damon- The 9-0 SCOTUS ruling on Trump and the 14th Amendment.

The Threat of Christian Supremacism Mar 01, 2024

Show notes

David French of The New York Times joins the panel (plus Cathy Young) to discuss the Supreme Court's gift to Trump; Mitch McConnell's tainted legacy; and the threat from Christian supremacism.
highlights / lowlights
Mona: Stephen Richer's interaction with TPUSA activist about her voter registration.
David: Dune 2
Cathy: Yulia Navalnaya addresses European Parliament after Alexei Navalny's death
Why the Kremlin Tried to Obstruct Alexei Navalny’s Funeral
Bill: Why Americans are still angry about inflation, even as it cools by Heather Long
Damon: Why the Supreme Court Should Grant Certiorari in United States v. Trump

The Consequences of Jack Smith's Rush to Trial

Putin's GOP Enablers Feb 23, 2024

Show notes

AEI's Kori Schake joins to discuss Ukraine funding, GOP's moral and strategic collapse, Nikki Haley's role, calls for a Gaza ceasefire, and more.
highlights / lowlights
Damon: John Avlon: I'm running for Congress.
Linda: Something’s Fishy About the ‘Migrant Crisis’
A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes
Liberation Struggle
Kori: NATO Gives Ukraine the Go-Ahead to Cross Putin's Red Line
Mona: What Losing My Two Children Taught Me About Grief
Bill: For Gen Z, an Age-Old Question: Who Pays for Dates?

Should Democrats Dump Biden? Feb 16, 2024

Show notes

Chris Cillizza joins the panel for a thought experiment on Biden, as well as the NY special election and its implications for November, NATO, and whether today's GOP as bad as 1930s GOP?
highlights / lowlights

Mona: Why Americans Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out by Derek Thompson
Bill: lowlight: Trump says he would encourage Russia to attack Nato allies who pay too little

highlight: Putin Says He Was Disappointed by Tucker Carlson’s Soft Questions
Linda: The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2024 to 2034 (look at pages 5-7)
Damon: What I Saw Inside the DeSantis Campaign by Nate Hochman
Chris: The Corruption of Lindsey Graham by Will Saletan

Betraying Ukraine, Episode 3 Feb 09, 2024

Show notes

The Dispatch's Scott Lincicome returns to discuss cheap avocados, the "China shock," and other economic matters. The panel then discusses the GOP heel turn on the border, betraying Ukraine, and whether the Crumbley verdict was a step too far.
highlights / lowlights:
Mona: As Kids, They Thought They Were Trans. They No Longer Do. (Pamela Paul, NYT)
Linda: Isaiah Berlin and the Tragedy of Pluralism (Damon Linker, Persuasion)
1961 Debate Between Malcolm X and James Baldwin
Bill: Firing Ukraine’s top general would be a mistake (Adrian Bonenberger, The Hill)
Damon: Special Counsel Robert Hur's Biden classified documents report.

Do People Care That Trump's a Sociopath? Feb 02, 2024

Show notes

ABC's Jonathan Karl joins to discuss Trump's under-covered first two years as post-president. Also the immigration deal that isn't.
highlights / lowlights
Damon: Baumgartner by Paul Auster
Linda: After a Decade of Decline, the US Undocumented Population Increased by 650,000 in 2022, Journal on Migration and Human Security
Things Fall Apart: How the Middle Ground on Immigration Collapsed, New York Times
Mona: MAGA Has TDS—Taylor Derangement Syndrome, A.B. Stoddard, The Bulwark
Jonathan: Lowlight: The collapse of the Ravens and Lions in the NFL playoffs.
Bill: EU Leaders Agree to $54 Billion Ukraine Aid Package as Hungary’s Orban Backs Down, Wall Street Journal

Can Haley Make a Difference? Jan 26, 2024

Show notes

Yascha Mounk joins to consider the NH results, Greg Abbott's defiance of the Supreme Court, and a dissenting view on a much-praised TV series.
highlights / lowlights
Mona: Jamie Dimon Joins the Trump Normalizers by Dennis Aftergun and Walter H. White, Jr.
The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen
Yascha: Emmys 2024: Succession, The Bear and Beef among winners

'I just love you': Tim Scott and Donald Trump's other challengers fall in line
Damon: The 25th Anniversary of The Sopranos
Linda: Remembering Bayard Rustin by Arch Puddington
Bill: Netanyahu rejects Hamas conditions for Israeli hostage deal

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