Stay ConnectedWeekly episodes of Ricochet’s flagship podcast feature our hosts James Lileks, Steve Hayward, Charles C. W. Cooke, and guests discussing the issues of the week.
Listen to The Ricochet Podcast, along with more than 40 other original podcasts, at Ricochet.com. No paid subscription required.
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Sometimes life feels like a freak show, and the sane can either take it in or turn away. This week gave us more glimpses of horror than usual, which tends to make folks more amenable to harsh punishments. James, Steve, and Charles consider the death penalty in light of the heinous crime of an unsuccessfully executed Tennessee woman; they wade through the cloudy "Cornell Seven" case and draw important distinctions between moral depravity and criminality; and they look to riots in France and wonder whether la République and la révolution will ever square themselves in l’Hexagone.
Plus, Charles has an announcement about Ricochet 5.0!
Sound from this week's open: Marine Le Pen responds to the riots in France. And our own John Yoo talks about execution methods on Fox News.
Closing music: "Waltz for the Elephants" by Ziv Grinberg
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What exactly do the fight to save Piddington in Oxfordshire, the public betrayal of Najya Hannah-Jones by her activist mom, Trump's deal with Greenland, Russia's cultural inferiority complex, and a lesbian bar in Massachusetts have in common? For those of us who haven't worn an N-95 mask in at least five years, the distinctions are clear. Even so, they each command the attention of James, Charles, and Steve, who remind us that praxis rarely makes perfect.
Opening sound this week: Nikole Hannah-Jones talks about her child’s school at the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2018 and lesbians on TikTok say, “Keep it on the QT.”
Closing music: "Revolution" by Willow McKenna via MotionArray.
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Sometimes our topsy-turvy world is more dizzying than usual—and in those times, it's best to stand on a firm foundation and in the company of dependable people. Rob Long returns to chat with Charles and Steve about controversies of all shapes, sizes and comprehensibility, from Bo French and the "NETTR" movement, a right planning to buy votes with $5,000 checks and a prudish left shocked by the... apolitical appeal of Sidney Sweeney.
Sound clips from this week's open: Gavin Newsom hubris on Hollywood and Sydney Sweeney seduces the betting man
Closing Music: "Can't Stop," by Wake the Wild via MotionArray
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It's been a quarter century, but the fury and grief have not dimmed in the slightest. James, Steve, and Charles recall that fateful day and reflect on life in America since.
Sound from this week's open and close: The Brooklyn Youth Chorus sings the Star Bangled Banner at today's September 11th memorial in New York City.
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AI has many amygdalae flooding nervous systems with warnings; a rising share of Americans look toward digital technology with deep suspicion; and a data center revolt is underway. The worries are increasingly apocalyptic. But it's not that America has never experienced a transformation of comparable scale, only that no living American is old enough to remember it—or so argues today's guest: Mark Mills, author of The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and A Roaring 2020s. Mark, the erudite optimist, addresses everything from the cold realities behind development, construction, and energy considerations to productivity gains, labor participation, sociocultural cohesion, and cybersecurity risks.
Plus, while on the subject of the tumultuous present, James, Steve and Charles reflect on Ryan Reynolds' thoughts on the traumatic 1980s; Steve thinks through a proposal to curb bad actors in the "non-profit sector"; and while they look forward to cutting the rug at the White House's new ballroom, the trio find themselves baffled by Chief Justice Robert's sudden fretting over standing.
Opening sound this week: Jason Kelce and his friends at Garage Beer want you to send your pee to data centers, and Ryan Reynolds tells Variety he was traumatized by the tumultuous 1980s.
Closing music: Radetzky March Op. 228 performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra (via MotionArray)
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Canada is back in the news, but not in the good way like you want. So Steve and James find themselves weighing in on another renamed body of water while wading through the latest wave of weekly events. There's also curiously leaked reporting on CIA chief John Radcliffe's mission to Moscow, investigations into the Soros-backed DAs responsible for catch-and-release criminal justice, and another rich-kid commie duty-bound to lecture from the family's waterfront property.
This week’s opening sound: Al Michaels starts Prime’s Thursday Night NFL schedule from a city on the Great Lakes and Alice Weidel (AfD) declares Germany is finished with immigrants.
Closing music: "County Waltz," by promusic24 (via MotionArray)
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It's just James and Charles this week at the post: Post-elections in Florida, Minnesota, and South Carolina - post-mortem on l'affaire de Arday - and the post-partum madness of Lindsay Clancy, who is on trial in Massachusetts for murdering her three children and receiving an inexplicably large amount of support.
Opening sound this week: Sen. Darline Graham on American foreign policy and hospital chaplain Sheila Cavanaugh testifying in the Clancy trial.
Music this week: Enigma Variations: Nimrod (via Motion Array)
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For once, we can all agree with AOC: Woke 1 was crazy. But rather than laugh it off and set the stage for "true woke has never been tried," perhaps we could ask the youths to learn from their mistakes. To that end, we were pleased to chat with Evan Barker, a former fundraiser who worked within the Democratic Party's establishment and progressive insurgent wing. Having left the party in disgust in 2024, she penned the just-released New York Times bestseller, Nothing Left. James, Steve, and Charlie sat down with Evan to hear her story.
Plus, the trio discuss JD Vance's take on how to sway the youngins from socialism; the Trump admin's new childhood vaccination policy; and the coming Reagan biopic about the 1986 Reykjavik Summit with Gorby.
Opening Sound this week: AOC laughs off “Woke I” on ABC’s This Week, and Karen Friedman Agnifilo, attorney for Luigi Mangione, talks about his“unfair” treatment.
Closing Music: "Je Plante Mes Légumes," by Bamtone via MotionArray
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Britain is on its seventh prime minister since bidding adieu to the EU a decade back. There’s news of once-unimaginable crimes and ethnic strife shaking once sleepy shires. Even model citizens like scholar-slash-philanthropist and casual world-class athlete Jason Arday are having a hard go of it. For the lowdown on the United Kingdom’s political crisis, we’re joined by our new pal, historian and commentator Dominic Green.
Plus, the regular hosty blokes see plenty of problems on our side of the pond, especially after the DSA proves that they can win statewide primaries outside coastal enclaves. But there’s always plenty to be cheery about in the land of opportunity, like DIY burritos, roaring roller coasters, and albums so familiar that you can spot the covers from miles away.
Opening sound this week: Hasan Piker says, “(Screw) Black people!” James Carville says “I’m outta here” to Fox News, and UK MP Rupert Lowe says, “Everybody has to go!”
Closing music: "God Save the Queen," by Ian Post (via MotionArray)
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It's a milestone episode! Number Eight Hundred. That calls for a celebration. Not only does Ricochet co-founder Peter Robinson join to host, but our dear pal Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is able to take a moment away from running both the NIH and CDC to talk about the downfall of Anthony Fauci and his team's work to restore public trust in America's leading public health and scientific institutions. With the disarming humility we've always known him for, Dr. Jay explains what he found most striking about Fauci's journal entries and evastions before Congress. The gang then pivots to what must be done to prevent a bureaucrat from acquiring such dictatorial powers and taxpayers from having to fund their own pandemic.
Plus, Robinson, Hayward and Lileks wish the DNC luck in staving off the DSA; they find in our techno-innovators things to be hopeful for despite a generation that knew not the Soviets; they have a friendly debate over the triviality of pop-culture; and they say farewell to a departed Ricochet member.
Sound from this week's open: Senator Rand Paul questions Anthony Fauci before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Closing Music: "Center of the Universe" by Markus Little, via MotionArray
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