First, apologies to all of our faithful listeners for being 24 hours late with this edition of the Ricochet Podcast — we were felled by technical issues yesterday with the first half of the show. But this one is worth the wait: first, Original Cast Member Rob Long is back from making TV great again and has been seated in his rightful place in the host chair (from Miami Beach, no less). Then, NYT columnist Ross Douthat stops by to talk about his thoughtful new book To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism (yes, of course you should pre-order it). It’s a ruche discussion about faith, religion, and Pope Francis. Then, back to more secular matters with the always current Byron York, who brings us up to speed on the Mueller investigation,. the Omnibus spending bill, and some Stormy weather predicted for Sunday night. Uh oh.

Music from this week’s show: Melancholy Serenade by The Jackie Gleason Orchestra