Is that the standard now? Jay and Mona consider the travails of Virginia’s governor, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Elizabeth Warren and many others in this age of shame and shamelessness. They also talk Green New Deal, Kim Jong Un, and much more.
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That was the past week. Jay and Mona cover it, with poll data, a little Starbucks, a little Medicare for All, and some reminiscences about the religion of anti-racism.
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Beholding the government-shutdown fiasco, Jay recalls an old term: “goo-goo.” He and Mona discuss “the wall and the cave,” the Democratic field so far, and “The Three Amigos.” They also ask if the U.S. remains serious about NATO. Mona recounts a personal experience of Roger Stone.
Music from this week’s show: Fazil Say plays his famous jazz version of Mozart’s “Rondo alla turca,” live and in concert.
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A loaded question. There is lots of agreement and some disagreement with this honest man. Then Jay and Mona launch into the news of the week: Bill Barr, the wall, Brexit, left-wing conspiracy theories, and a mini-debate about Ann Coulter.
Music from this week’s episode: Misirlou – Greek Version
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Over the Wall, the R’s and the Dems are playing a game of chicken. That’s one thing Mona and Jay say about this shutdown drama. Who’s going to swerve away first? Is the border a genuine national emergency? Then our hosts talk about Tucker Carlson’s monologue heard ’round the world, or certainly ’round the Right, as Mona says: What are the limits of government? What can government do for people? What should it? Also included in this episode are the greatness of California (whatever its problems), the malice of dictators, the glory of music, and other vital subjects. Have a listen.
Music from this week’s episode: The Allegretto from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, played by the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell
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Elizabeth Warren is running. The Boston Globe’s Jeff Jacoby analyzes her “likeability” among other things with Mona. Jay joins later to talk about another Massachusettsite – or is it Utahite?
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DonorsTrust David French joins Jay and Mona to explode myths (“Flynn was framed!”) and analyze where things stand with a president unmoored. Secretary Mattis is gone, but Steven Miller goes on and on.
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Casper Jay is back. Mona and Jay lament the passing of the Weekly Standard, note the president’s ISO for COS, ask about the wall, talk a little Russia, a little Flynn, and Cohen, and praise the free press and Hedy Lamarr.
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In this bonus episode, Mona and colleagues discuss the work of the late Bruce Cole – a believer in America who left a great legacy.
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Calm It sounds like a PR firm or a face cream, but it’s our two guests this week. Bloomberg’s Eli Lake sits in for Jay as co-host, and Eliana Johnson of Politico offers her insights on staff shake-ups at the White House. Eli and Mona then talk Russia, N. Korea, and climate. We got out to some music in honor of The Weekly Standard:
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Casper Mona went splat and broke her wrist, but still shows up. She and Jay talk trade, Amazon and its critics, election fraud, Deep Fake fraud, Jim Acosta, entitlements, and the passing of three notable men.
Music from this week’s episode: “Sea Murmurs,” by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, played by Brinton Averil Smith (cello) and (his wife) Evelyn Chen (piano)
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Calm Mona and Jay begin with a guest, Charles Lane. (Jay is late but butts in when he arrives.) They talk about the midterm elections and about Central America. Chuck has done extensive reporting from Latin America, as well as several other regions around the globe. Today, he is an editorial writer and columnist for the Washington Post. After Chuck leaves, Mona and Jay continue to talk about the elections, and about language, and about music, etc. Mona says it’s one of her missions in life to mix it up with lefties. Jay says – as he has many times before – “You’re a better man than I.”
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Calm Jay and Mona talk about the eternal curse of anti-Semitism, executive orders – who’s for them, who’s against them and does it depend entirely upon whose ox is gored? Left wing and right wing violence. And the most underrated flavor.
Music from this week’s show: Camille Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre
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Calm In this (typically) wide-ranging hour, Mona and Jay talk about the caravan, up from Central America: Is it salted with Middle Eastern terrorists? They also discuss our northern neighbor, Canada, which has just legalized pot: What effect will that have? Other subjects include Steve King, George Soros, Nikki Haley, John Bolton, and Emmanuel Macron. Mona mentions Tchaikovsky, so the show goes out with some of his music: the Scherzo from his Symphony No. 2, played by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Lorin Maazel.
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Calm Charlie Sykes joins Mona to chew over the past week and exult in a new project they’ve helped to create. Then Mona and Jay review the lessons of the Khashoggi story, the “woman thing,” Betsy DeVos, and much more. It’s a wide-ranging discussion!
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Casper That’s the song they play at the end – sung by Tony Bennett, whom Jay passed on the streets of New York the other day. Before they get to the moon, so to speak, Mona and Jay talk about North Korea, the Kavanaugh drama, and a host of other issues, including a perennial: personal responsibility. Who wants to take it? Noble and rewarded are those who do.
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Jay and Mona muse on the nature of guilt, the human condition, whether old people know anything about sex and violence, believing all women/condemning all men, and much more.
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Legal eagle Ed Whelan joins to talk Kavanaugh and its permutations. Jay and Mona then turn to Democrats beclowning themselves, Trump doing the same, armchair analysis of Lindsay Graham, an act of conscience at Google, and tennis stars losing it.
Music from this week’s show: Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 3, played by Martha Argerich and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Abbado
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Casper The Weekly Standard’s Michael Warren shares thoughts on who wrote the NYT op-ed and other topics. Jay and Mona then turn to Alex Jones and Rubio, the Democrats who can’t do civility, our overvaluation of the Supreme Court, and more.
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Mona and Jay talk about the weather, yes. But also a range of other issues, some of them entailing heat. They talk about Ron DeSantis, John McCain, Donald Trump, the Catholic Church, a horrific suicide, and more. The “more” includes two men who lived very useful lives: Neil Simon, the playwright, and Henry Arnhold, a banker. The podcast goes out with a dance by Federico Mompou, played by one of his great champions, the pianist Alicia de Larrocha.
Music from this week’s episode: Frederic Mompou: Canciones y danzas
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