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Charles Lipson

Charles Lipson teaches international politics at the University of Chicago. He also writes for students about academic success and honest work at the university level.

Series

3 Whisky Happy Hour6 episodes

Recent Episodes

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

The Three Whisky Happy Hour: Supreme Court Coup Edition

Hoo boy, is this episode off the hook! First, "Lucretia" staged a coup, usurping Steve's host role, and punishing him for his bad puns, but we finally get to the main event, which is a long conversation with the great Charles Lipson about his recent article, "Packing the Court, Then and Now." We take a while to get to the subject, however, in favor of a long prologue about high school whisky exploits, "Bootleggers and Baptists," and other frivolities. But eventually we get down to the serious lessons for today from FDR's "failed" court-packing scheme of 1937. Lipson contests the conventional historical account, arguing that FDR successfully intimidated the Court into blessing his New Deal predations against limited government. Steve and Lucretia concur, but argue that the whole story is actually much worse than Charles makes it out. And there's a very contemporary parallel, as the current proposals for court-packing track FDR's rhetoric and rationale very closely. (If you have time, read FDR's March 9, 1937 "fireside address" attacking the Supreme Court, and note how leftists today are using many of the same talking points.) It's a long, sprawling, raucous episode—and we didn't even have that much whisky!
Host:
Steve Hayward
Organization
Ricochet

January 2021

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

The Three Whisky Happy Hour: Open Mic Edition

Lucretia and I decided to pour triple shots and host an open bar episode of our regular whisky-drenched dialogue with two special guests, Power Line co-founder John Hinderaker, and Charles Lipson, frequent contributor to The Spectator and other publications. Partly this is because Steve wanted some company in the weekly "getting-thrashed-by-Lucretia" moments. And also because we taped this episode with a live virtual Zoom audience of Power Line VIP members, which kind of made it an open mic edition. Naturally there was only one topic: how to think about this disastrous week in Washington, and where do we go from here? Steve and Charles are critical of Trump, while John and Lucretia urge us not to look beyond the massive hypocrisy and bad faith of Democrats and the media (but we repeat ourselves). What messages and strategies ought conservatives—and the reeling Republican Party—adopt going forward? What does the political landscape look like now that the Democrats control the Senate? Do we really want to repose our fate into the hands of Joe Manchin? Settle in with your favorite drink (Steve had a peaty Japanese whisky, because it seemed to pair best with the temptation to commit hari-kari), and give a listen.
Host:
Steve Hayward
Organization
Ricochet

November 2020

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Can We Transition? Charles Lipson Says Yes, We Can!

Can American democracy walk and chew bubble gum at the same time? Charles Lipson thinks so, arguing in the Wall Street Journal today that normal transition activities can and should take place even as President Trump pursues his legal challenges to the election results. Lipson, professor emeritus of Political Science at the University of Chicago, is no shrinking violet when it comes to thrashing the left; he's been arguing for months that the FBI attempted coup against President Trump is the biggest scandal in American history, nonetheless thinks that proceeding with a normal transition process will "show that amid deep political division, we can rely on constitutional norms, procedures and institutions." From there we ponder the truly mind-boggling aspects of this election (such as the fact that Trump got 10,000 more votes in San Francisco than he did in 2016), and what are the prospects for "Biden-Harris" Administration, as it now being strangely called. Hmmm, what could that nomenclature be about?
Host:
Steve Hayward
Organization
Ricochet

August 2020

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

The Three Whisky Happy Hour, with Guest Bartender Charles Lipson

This week's Power Line Three Whisky Happy Hour finds Charles Lipson bellying up to the bar for a flight of whiskys that begins with a tale of his mis-spent youth discovering the "bootleggers and Baptists" hypothesis in the course of violating numerous federal and state laws, as well as his legendary Henry Kissinger impression. We take up three topics to go with three shots of whisky: the rapid transition from "broken windows" policing to "break our windows" policing, as Charles explained in his terrific RealClearPolitics column on this topic late last week. Then we turn to analysis of the surprise announcement of the Israel-UAE rapprochement last week, which took everyone by surprise. More to come perhaps? Finally, what does Charles make of the presidential race, and Biden becoming Kamala Harris's running mate? We all agree that Harris "doesn't wear well," but that doesn't mean the Harris-Biden ticket can't win. We ran long as usual, but stick to the end and you'll hear Lucretia and Steve talk about some new grilling exploits.
Host:
Steve Hayward
Organization
Ricochet

May 2020

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Trumping Obama’s Legacy, with Charles Lipson

Barack who? Is it just me, or is Obama the incredibly shrinking president, destined already to be remembered in the same league as John Tyler or Warren Harding? Charles Lipson, emeritus professor of politics at the University of Chicago, is out today with a terrific article at RealClearPolitics, "Trump's Methodical Destruction of Obama's Legacy," that walks through how President Trump is step-by-step dismantling Obama's presidency, culminating with last week's revelations about the FBI and Justice Department going after Michael Flynn in ways that may yet become one of the greatest scandals of presidential abuse of power in our history. We also talk about the election scene and why neither of us can conceive of Joe Biden winning the election—all things being equal, which they may not be, and we even indulge a little sports talk at the end.
Host:
Steve Hayward
Organization
Ricochet

May 2019

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

‘No Ad Hominem Arguments’: A Conversation with Charles Lipson

This week Steve Hayward talks with Charles Lipson, the Peter Ritzma Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Chicago, about how to talk and argue about matters amidst the increasingly bitter polarization of our time. But along the way we revisit his idiosyncratic intellectual odyssey that brought him from rural Mississippi to the Ivy leagues. In addition to his academic work on international relations, you can read Charles's popular writing on current events at RealClearPolitics, where his most recent article explores how the spying on the Trump campaign in 2016 may come back to haunt Joe Biden's candidacy. The main takeaway from our discussion is "no ad hominem arguments." If we all strove to live by this rule, this would be a better world. But you're going to want to stick around to the very end of the conversation, where Charles indulges us with his spot-on Henry Kissinger impersonation. Exit music this week is "Arms Akimbo" by Hot Buttered Rum.
Host:
Steve Hayward
Organization
Ricochet