Let’s just get this out of the way right at the top: Yes, we missed a show last month. And many of you noticed, and correctly surmised why. So it was important that we did one this and not wait until the last few hours of November to put it out. That said, we can’t ignore what’s going on in the world right now, so this outing is er, long (no pun intended) on current events and short on the pop culture content. But there are plenty of laughs nonetheless, and (we hope) some insights and observations on current events. Here’s hoping we can get back to our normal course of juvenile double entendre programming next month.

The fight for our civilization is here, and today’s guest is no stranger to the fray. Christopher Rufo is a member of the New College of Florida board and the mastermind of a number of projects devoted to winning the culture war. He’s the author of the new bestseller America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything, which covers why the right’s been on the losing side, and today he chats with Rob, Peter and James about how we can turn the tide. If you’re seeking bold strategies on how to save our country, this is the podcast for you.

 

Even a pessimist would have reason experience surprise and consternation by the extent of our institutional crises. It’s revealed that American students know nothing of the history of the Holocaust and the story of the Jewish people in its aftermath. We’ve seen our government progressively possessed by the whims of influencer representatives. Even today’s guest Yuval Levin, who’s painstakingly documented this descent, is a bit bewildered. He joins Rob, James and Peter as they cover everything from Jewish students being forced to hide in a library, to priorities for Israel and of course on to the People’s House and the hopes we may yet hold out for it.

– Audio from today’s opening is new Speaker Mike Johnson’s first address to Congress.

That war in the Middle East had been predicted did little to allay the shock of all who’ve followed the news from Israel since October 7th. Today’s first guest Niall Ferguson was among those who made such a prediction. He joins to discuss the Second Cold War, why it’s warming up, and the difficulties the US will face if the temperature continues to rise. And Eli Lake joins to expound upon a shift in Israel’s national security policy as the country concludes that existence in a world that contains Hamas is impossible.

 

It was no great secret that a single match could put fire to the 2023 Republican coalition in the House. But that didn’t make the incediary Tuesday any less remarkable. To discuss what it means for the party’s near future and for conservativism more broadly, Rob, Peter and James are joined by the erudite Ben Domenech.

And considering that the happiest news of the week is Biden’s DHS being forced to waive federal laws to build a spot of border wall makes the hosts think about Rome once again.

It’s almost the end of the month and that means it’s time to squeeze another episode of GLoP just before the deadline. This time: Jonah is a rambling man, another deep dive on vintage TV shows, including indelible male and female characters, Rob pitches his I Dream of Jeannie reboot, some dark jokes, and yes, more on Bewitched from America’s foremost Bewitched pundits.

TikTok tells us that the boys are thinking an awful lot about Rome. But we grownups of the Ricochet Podcast want to hear about the Spartans,  so we’re joined by Hillsdale College’s Paul Rahe to learn about proxy war, ancient and modern. He helps Peter, James and Rob connect the dots between Sparta’s success in bleeding the Athenians in Sicily to the machinations of the global superpowers in the 20th Century on to today. Listen in to understand how a foreign policy that fails to take Thucydides into account is doomed. (Be sure to preorder your copy of Dr. Rahe’s Sparta’s Sicilian Proxy War: The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta.)

Also, catch some good ole fashioned rants about the latest state of emergency on our border; and find out which Monty Python star James got to gab with in London.

 

As the lines that used to distinguish the political and the legal are blurring, and the sense that the country is swirling down the drain is hard to shake, it’s nice to at least have good company. Rob and Peter chat with Andy McCarthy to discuss the ‘impeachment inquiry’ into the Biden Family’s influence peddling and the administration’s apparent obstruction.

And if you’re in need of a good cheering up, you can hear about swell innovations in toilet seating. Maybe political chaos will be good for Capitalism!?

The boys are back! That’s right: you can hear Peter, Rob and James on the same episode of the Ricochet Podcast. They consider Eric Adam’s unwitting vindication of the migrant-to-sanctuary city assistance program, along with the precipitous decline of Hollywood’s major studios.

And Barton Swaim visits to expand on his excellent Wall Street Journal column, where he applies the left’s favorite terms of the Trump era to the president of whom they are more obviously applicable. He also has some encouraging words for those of us who worry for the future of the printed word.

GLoP is back and just under the wire for this month’s outing. In this installment, we cover why you can’t get a cold drink in Europe, a GLoP tribute to game show hosts including the recently departed Bob Barker, TV shows that mis-identify themselves, Rob’s childhood trauma with his brother, and more.

There’s post-debate analysis, and then there’s post-debate analysis with Henry Olsen. Henry talents with numbers and genius for the politcal metaphor will make you rethink Wednesday’s showdown in Milwaukee. Henry takes us through the snap polls, considers the candidates’ new prospects, and posits a game changer (or two) that the casual debate watcher may have overlooked. (And once you’ve enjoyed this eye-opening discussion enough to make you hungry for more, you can hop on over to listen to Mr. Olsen’s very own podcast, Beyond the Polls.

Plus, Peter’s back! Hear all about his peregrinations, along with other chatter about well-charted waters.

We’re erring on the side of positive expectations again. This time with Bjørn Lomborg. His new book is Best Things First. There he sets his sights on cost effective, acheivable goals that will lift the world’s poorest out of miserable conditions and inch us along in the direction towards those sustainable goals we hear about so much. We ask the minuscule billions of dollars question: Are the world’s most prosperous ready for such tangible win-win?

James, Rob and Steve aren’t quite done with Barbenheimer; they discuss Ohio’s pro-life prospects; and muse on words that make them feel sophisticated.

Another week, another indictment. Another president, another scandal. So we call on the house prosecutor, Andy McCarthy, to weigh the evidence before us and join Messrs. Lileks, Long and Cooke as they debate the merits of the cases against both Trump and Biden and see where we think we stand.

But more importantly, James has thoughts on the cultural event of the decade. Yes, he has seen Barbie.

We have a lot for you this week! Covering everything from atoms to commodities and precivilization to our indictmentpalooza. James, Rob and Steve discuss the latest from Mar-a-Lago; Hunter’s crumbled plea deal; and the disengenous reaction to Florida’s African American History curriculum .

They also enjoy some good news with guest Marian Tupy, whose latest book Superabundance reminds us of mankind’s still-favorable prospects for grow and flourish in the years to come. The guys consider the difference between the environmentalists who’ve spent years predicting doom and the economists who bet on progress.

The days of Carter era malaise were bad, bad, bad. But at least the man had the decency to speak honestly about the nation’s troubles. Joe Biden on the other hand insists on telling us that everything’s great. We discuss this along with the frowny faced Republicans who hope to challenge him and the proscpects for an American rebound with Kim Strassel, author of the just-released The Biden Malaise.

Charles, James and Rob cover New York’s claim to be uniquely burdened by illegal immigration; the akward position Democrats are in by wanting to rid themselves of the formerly uber inspiring Kamala Harris; and the media’s flip on state governments pressuring schools to follow their rulings now that Newsom’s twisted team doing it.

Scary times could be just around the corner. To help you prepare for that we’ve invited our old friend Carol Roth to stop by and talk about her new book, You Will Own Nothing… because you don’t have to be a parnoid prepper to be prepared for what’s coming.

And, of course, James Lileks, Rob Long and Steve Hayward (sitting in again for the roaming Peter Robinson) cover the more immediate news coming down from the Summit – the NATO Summit, The Family Leadership Summit in Iowa (with Tucker Carlson presiding) and the Mickey Mouse Summit where Disney introduces a Latina Snow White and the Lone Dwarf while their CEO Bob Iger announces “that it’s not our goal to be involved in a culture war.” Say wut?!?

This month on America’s most beloved podcast, we’ve got some thoughts on Der Schwarzenegger, movies we hate, why Rob Long never reads the comments, and the guys solve the mystery of who dropped their bag of cocaine in the White House.

It seems Democrats are confident that racial preferences are the only way for Black Americans to succeed. Our all-American guest Ian Rowe disagrees. Why’s he so sure? Because he sees stellar achievement everyday in his charter schools in the Bronx. Ian covers why the left’s prescriptions to equality are wrongheaded and harmful, along with why his are working.

Rob, James and Steve (filling in for the hooky-playing Peter) get into all sorts of trouble when the teacher’s away: literal high crimes, misdemeanors and other bad behavior.

Conservatives are set to celebrate another year of invigorating Supreme Court decisions. Ricochet’s old pal “Two-Shoes” John Yoo even goes so far as to suggest that America can finally get back to business—just in time for the Fourth of July. He and the gang go through the big ones of this session: Race-based affirmative action, religious freedom for both practice thereof and freedom of speech; then on to student loan ‘forgiveness’,  gerrymandering and more.

The boys also discuss foreign fires, fireworks and drafting with ChatGPT.

Yep. it’s another GLoP and this month, we’ve got some Rank Punditry® on a certain ex-President’s legal trouble (consider yourself warned, Spatial Dendrites), a GLoP tribute to the retiring Pat Sajak, bad English accents, another installment of the GLoP Book Nook, and more.