The Mona Charen Show

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**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.

Latest Episodes:

Most Corrupt Ever Jun 02, 2025

Show notes

The Atlantic's Jonathan Rauch joins Mona to talk about Trump's Achilles Heel.

Conservatism RIP? May 26, 2025

Show notes

Jay Nordlinger returns to discuss whether conservatism remains valid in the MAGA era.
Sponsors: Listen now to the NPR Politics Podcast, only from NPR – wherever you get podcasts.
REFERENCES:

Against All Hope – Armando Valladares
Memoir of a Cuban dissident imprisoned for his anti-Castro beliefs.
Children of Monsters – Jay Nordlinger
Referenced indirectly by Mona as part of Jay’s dissident coverage; a book profiling the children of dictators.
Peace, They Say – Jay Nordlinger
JayNordlinger.com, Jay’s new Substack.

How Americans Can Cease Being Rich May 19, 2025

Show notes

Economist Noah Smith delves into the myth of the "hollowed out" middle class, the folly of protectionism, and more. He and Mona differ on Trump's handling of Covid and . . . American chocolate.
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The Mona Charen Show is a weekly, one-on-one discussion that goes in depth on political and cultural topics. New shows drop Mondays. Find this show wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Add the show to your player of choice, here.

Nobody Dresses Anymore May 12, 2025

Show notes

Columnist and music critic Jay Nordlinger joins Mona for an excursion into classical music. No coat or tie required.
REFERENCES:
Here’s a list of every musical piece played in the episode.

Thomas Tallis – Motet from the Gospel of John
Johann Sebastian Bach – Preludio from Partita in E major for solo violin
J.S. Bach (arr. Rachmaninoff) – Preludio (Bach/Rachmaninoff transcription)
Ludwig van Beethoven – Final movement from a String Quartet in C major
Léo Delibes – “Flower Duet” from Lakmé
Giuseppe Verdi – Duet from Otello
Antonín Dvořák – Humoresque
Antonín Dvořák – Humoresque (Jazz rendition)
Maurice Ravel – Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn
Sergei Prokofiev – “Dance of the Knights” from Romeo and Juliet
Sergei Prokofiev – “Midnight” from Cinderella
Scott Wheeler – “If I Had a Wife” (song cycle Serenata)
Daniel Asia – “My Father’s Name Was” (from Breath and a Ram's Horn)
Lee Hoiby – “Goodbye, Goodbye World”
Philip Glass – Violin Concerto No. 2, The American Four Seasons, final movement

Dealmaker: The Greatest Trump Myth May 05, 2025

Show notes

The New Yorker's Susan Glasser joins Mona to discuss Trump's big beautiful deals, the cowardice of the press, and more.
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References:

The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 by Susan Glasser and Peter Baker
"Letter from Trump’s Washington" (Glasser's New Yorker column)
Donald Trump’s first 100-day interview with Time magazine
Donald Trump’s interview with The Atlantic magazine
Pompeo Declaration (2018)
Opinion by Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson on Abrego Garcia (Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals)
AP’s lawsuit regarding press access and the Gulf of Mexico naming controversy

The Case for Class-Based Affirmative Action Apr 28, 2025

Show notes

Mona talks with Richard Kahlenberg about a proposal to make college admissions more fair in a post race preferences world.
The Mona Charen Show is a weekly, one-on-one discussion that goes in depth on political and cultural topics. New shows drop Mondays. Find this show wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Add the show to your player of choice, here.
Listen now to the NPR Politics Podcast, only from NPR – wherever you get podcasts.
Get PrivacyHawk and run your FREE privacy scan here! Use code MONA20 (iOS) / mona20 (Android) for full access to the Platinum Suite: $1M ID theft recovery insurance, dark web alerts, sensitive info monitoring, and much more—all at a special price!
📚 References
Books:

Richard Kahlenberg, Class Matters: The Fight to Get Beyond Race Preferences, Reduce Inequality, and Build Real Diversity at America's Colleges(2024)
Derek Bok, The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions(1998) — study on affirmative action outcomes.
Affirmative Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions, edited by Richard Kahlenberg (2010)

MAGA Grievance: A Short History Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

The Atlantic's Peter Wehner offers insights into the transformation of the GOP from the party that passed PEPFAR to the MAGA warriors of today.
The Mona Charen Show is a weekly, one-on-one discussion that goes in depth on political and cultural topics. New shows drop Mondays. Find this show wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.
Go to Hungryroot.com/CHAREN and use code CHAREN to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life.
REFERENCES:

Peter’s recent work at The Atlantic
Jesus and John Wayneby Kristin Kobes Du Mez
The Closing of the American Mindby Allan Bloom
The Power of the Powerless and Summer Meditations by Václav Havel
The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
1984 by George Orwell

Is Free Speech on Life Support? Apr 14, 2025

Show notes

Greg Lukianoff of FIRE joins Mona to discuss why free speech matters (hint, it's not for the powerful) and how left and right are attempting to destroy it.
The Mona Charen Show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/mona and get on your way to being your best self.
REFERENCES:
The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All―But There Is a Solution by Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott.

Bad Politics Poisons Science Apr 07, 2025

Show notes

The Atlantic's Helen Lewis joins Mona to talk about Andrew Tate, backlash to MAGA in Europe, and how polarization suppresses reasonable doubts about treatment of trans kids.
References:
When You’re MAGA, They Let You Do It... Why Trumpworld is just fine with Andrew Tate’s violent misogyny, by Helen Lewis
The Global Populist Right Has a MAGA Problem...In Europe, Trump looks too extreme even for many right-wing insurgents, by Helen Lewis
What the Left Refused to Understand About Women’s Sports... Female athletes said competing against trans women was an injustice, by Helen Lewis.
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A Small d Democratic Hero Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

In this show before a live audience, Mona talks with Stephen Richer about standing up for reality, tangling with Kari Lake, and his political future.
Head to moshlife.com/MONA to save 20% off plus FREE shipping on the Best sellers Trial Pack.

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