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John Hinderaker

John H. Hinderaker practiced law for 41 years, enjoying a nationwide litigation practice. He retired from the practice of law at the end of 2015, and is now President of Center of the American Experiment, a think tank headquartered in Minnesota.

Series

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Recent Episodes

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

The Three (Five!) Whisky Happy Hour: Election Night Vigil Edition

For our many regular listeners who were not able to join us last night for our live taping of this special mid-week episode that included Scott Johnson and (very late) John Hinderaker (hence the "Five Whisky Happy Hour"), much of what we talked about has been overtaken by subsequent vote counts and other results. But we did have a number of questions and issues that should still be of interest even after the dust settles today, such as why the polls were wrong again, what's wrong with the exit polls, why the legacy media looks increasingly mediocre as well as biased, why the big winner of this election cycle—and an important harbinger for the future—is Joe Rogan. On the Power Line main site for this episode over-eager listeners will be able to listen to a bonus "overtime" recording where we brought in a number of listeners to comment widely on a number of things, some of them beyond just the election.
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July 2020

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Happy 200th To Us!

For our 200th podcast, we assembled all four Power Line Beatles, John, Paul, George and Ringo Steve and Scott, to kick around various current topics, including Steve's own experience with cancel culture, the state of the presidential race, whether the United States might actually break up after this election regardless of who wins, and above all some reflections on 18 years of Power Line, where we have (according to our site meter) posted over 57,000 items. This special episode is a crossover event, edited down from a live VIP chat session held late in the week, in which we took audience questions. So once you'd paid your Ricochet monthly dues, you should consider becoming a Power Line VIP subscriber, too. You not only get ad-free access to the site, but invitations to participate in special events and occasional premium content.
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3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

A Few Minutes with Gov. Kristi Noem

The centerpiece of this week's show is an in-depth interview John Hinderaker conducted this week with South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who has charted her own course in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in her state, refusing to shut down the state's economy, and getting out ahead of the virus with a common sense approach. Gov. Noem is getting high marks for her steady and independent leadership, gaining her a place on the "great mention" list of potential presidential candidates in the future. She says she has no such plans at the moment, but you never know! Steve Hayward sets up the interview with some background conversation with John about the history and political changes in South Dakota and other plains states over the last few decades. In short, this is not George McGovern's upper midwest any more. And then Steve talks a bit with Kathryn Hinderaker (who is somehow related to John!) about her observations about the darkening campus scene, about which she has lots of experience as a recent graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota.
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June 2020

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Power Line’s Fab Four on Our Crazy World

On Wednesday, "The Beatles" (John, Paul, George and Ringo Scott, and Steve) got together for a live online VIP chat session, covering everything from the riot scene, the fall election, statue-tipping, The NASCARash, and other sports. A lot of VIP members who couldn't make the show asked if we'd make available a recording, and we decided to make a highlight reel into a podcast and offer it to the public. If you're a VIP member, we thank you, and if you're not, here's a sample of the live, interactive meetup you can participate in for just a few dollars a month. I edited the show down by more than a third, cutting out not merely redundancies, but an interminable reminiscence of the Minnesota Twins move from DC to Minnesota back in the ancient of times. Some other episode perhaps. John Hinderaker is in the host chair for our VIP videochats. Take it away, John.
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May 2020

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Breaking: Facebook’s ‘Supreme Court’? (With a Side of the Flynn Case)

John Hinderaker joined me today to co-host this special edition of the show. Yesterday Facebook announced the creation of a 20-member oversight board that some media accounts describe as a "supreme court" to advise and in some cases rule on what kind of material can be taken down from the popular global site. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been talking about this idea for a while, saying saying in 2018 that he wanted to create “some sort of structure, almost like a Supreme Court” for users to get a final judgment call on what is acceptable speech. Two members of the oversight board caught our immediate attention as both are long time friend and readers of Power Line: Michael McConnell of Stanford Law School, who will co-chair the oversight board along with Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a former prime minister of Denmark; and John Samples of the Cato Institute. And we were fortunate to get both Mike and John to join us today to walk through how the oversight board will operate, and what kind of free speech law and principles should apply to a global platform. But wait—there's more! In the middle of our taping the news broke that the Justice Department had dropped the prosecution of General Michael Flynn, despite Flynn having pled guilty to charges way back in 2017. Our own Scott Johnson, who has been following the case and updating readers on a daily basis as the Justice Department case against Flynn unraveled, joins us at the end to give his reaction and sum up this scandalous episode, offering some speculation about what might be the next shoe to drop.
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March 2020

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Wot Happened? Who Knows the Thing?

How in the heck did Joe Biden's mummified campaign come back to life? Or is it just back to zombie status—still dead, but up and moving and menacing the living? That's the main subject of this week's fast-paced, high energy episode featuring Power Line's own John Hinderaker and listener favorite "Lucretia." (Our conclusion is that Democrats decided they are more the party of creeping socialism than Bernie socialism, in which case it is better to have an actual creep as the nominee.) We also break down Sen. Chuck Schumer's startling threat to the Supreme Court, which is even worse than it sounded when put in a larger context, and we also kick around the coronavirus and its potential political effects. We manage to sneak in some of our favorite Joe Bidenisms along the way, and a few "lyin' dog-faced pony soldier" insults. Exit bumper music this week is a longer excerpt of our opening bumper music that people occasional ask me about, which is "Buster," by moe.
Guest:
"Lucretia"
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December 2019

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Power Line’s Year in Review and 2020 Preview

Our final episode of 2019 brings together the entire Power Line gang—John, Paul, Scott, and Steve, along with "Ammo Grrll" Susan Vass—for a look at the current scene and a look ahead to next year. Consisting of excerpts from a recent Power Line VIP member live video chat, John Hinderaker hosts as we review the farce of impeachment, the state of the Democratic nomination contest (including how big a buffoon Joe Biden is), what blue states might actually be in play for Trump (including even Minnesota?!?!), along with a detour into the confused Israeli political scene, and culminating in a constructive proposal from Susan for replacing "The View" on ABC with a show a sane person might actually want to watch. Happy new year, and best wishes from the Power Line crew.
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August 2019

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

A Double-Header: The 1619 Project, and Our Rotten Universities

This special double-header-end-of-summer Power Line Show features Steve Hayward and Power Line co-founder John Hinderaker venting about the "1619 Project" along with "Lucretia," Power Line's International Woman of Mystery. The "1619 Project" is so badly flawed that in the coming weeks we're going to produce a series of special shows going point-by-point through its poisonous defects, and explaining why the color-blind principles of the old civil rights movement, derived from the Declaration of Independence, are the best hope for unifying the American people. And that's just the warm-up act. The second half of today's show features Steve and John Yoo in a recent joint appearance on the topic of the rot in our universities today. If this combo doesn't help you milk the soft power dividend in these final dog days of summer, then nothing will. Exit music this week is Eric Clapton's "The Core," which is fitting for a discussions of universities that no longer have a solid core.
Guests:
JYJohn Yoo"Lucretia"
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December 2018

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

A New Year’s Eve Reunion for ‘The Beatles’

Getting Power Line's own "fab four" (John, Paul, George and Ringo, Scott and Steve) together at once is almost as hard as getting The Beatles back together, even though all of the Power Line Fab Four are still living. But we did better than that: For our special year-end wrap-up and prediction show, we also assembled "Yoko Ono" (Susan Vass, aka "Ammo Grrrll") and "Brian Epstein" (aka, Joe Malchow, who really is our Supremo Producer). We reviewed a few loose ends from the political news of 2018, talked about the politics of Silicon Valley, and made predictions for 2019, which hopefully no one will write down because they will surely be wrong, as most predictions are. Ignore the argument at the end between Steve and Joe about which California appellation produces the best red wines. Joe is wrong.
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October 2018

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Conservatism and Its Enemies

A slight departure for the Power Line Show this week: Steve Hayward has lost his voice (bringing cheer to his critics and enemies), and couldn't do the author interview planned for this week, so John Hinderaker stepped in to host this episode with special guest. . . Steve Hayward! Just how does that work, you say? Well, Steve is currently giving a series of periodic lectures on conservatism at Yale under the auspices of the William F. Buckley Program at Yale, and in lieu of our usual interview, we decided to drop in Steve's first lecture on "Conservatism and Its Enemies." Yes, the title is an homage to Karl Popper's most famous title, but the theme of the talk is actually an attempt to get away from the central "friends vs. enemies" theme of that other famous Carl (Schmitt), and figure out instead how left and right can better "achieve disagreement." Another enigmatic phrase? You'll just have to listen to find out how it works. End bumper music this week is Perpetual Groove, "All This Everything, Pt. 1."
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June 2018

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

The IG Report, and the Latest Big Wave Surf Forecast

Steve Hayward is joined this week by Power Line's own John Hinderaker and Power Line's eminence grise behind the curtain, Joe Malchow, to dissect the key takeaways of the Inspector General's findings about the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton. The second half of this episode features Henry Olsen with his latest "surf report" about where the Democrats' "blue wave" stands at the moment. Hint: Democrats shouldn't be waxing up their longboards just yet.
Guest:
Henry Olsen
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May 2018

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

The ‘Flight 93 Election’ Comes in for a Landing

Steve Hayward and John Hinderaker interviewed Michael Anton, former senior staffer at Trump's National Security Council and author of the controversial "Flight 93 Election" article from September 2016, at the Ricochet Podcast Summit in Washington. Anton revisited the infamous article, shared his insights about Trump's political character, and also regaled the live audience with a great tale of what it's like to be a chef for a White House state dinner.
Guest:
MAMichael Anton
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February 2018

January 2018

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Life After Franken in Minnesota

Steve Hayward and John Hinderaker take note of the exit of Al Franken from the Senate, and how it has thrown Minnesota politics into a state of turmoil, making it ground zero for the mid-term election later this year. Unnoticed by the national media, Minnesota has been slowly turning into a red state—Trump nearly won it in 2016—and this year will see two Senate races as well as a governor's race. Steve and John also talk a bit about energy policy and why the renewable energy fetish is biting people hard in northeastern states this week.
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September 2017

The Ricochet Podcast
The Ricochet Podcast

When the Robots Rule

This week, we've got Powerline's John Hinderaker in the Long Chair®, John Yoo protecting us from sentient robots (read his new book Striking Power: How Cyber, Robots, and Space Weapons Change the Rules for War ), and the Hoover Institution's Kori Schake with some thoughts on how to take down Rocket Man. Also, Minnesota statues and other assorted ephemera. Music from this week's podcast: Rocket Man (feat. Iron Horse) by Pickin' On Series from The Bluegrass Tribute to Classic Rock Hits. I'm afraid I can't do that, @EJHill.
Guests:
JYJohn YooKSKori Schake
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October 2016

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Strange Times

Tonight, John, Scott and Steve got together to talk about the strangest political season of modern times. Questions abound: Does Trump still have a chance? Will tomorrow night’s debate matter? Will the Hillary Clinton scandals that have come out recently give Trump a shot in the campaign’s waning days? How about the Senate? Can the Republicans hold it? If Hillary wins and the Senate is 50/50, will control of the Senate depend on a special election in Virginia? What about the House? Is there a danger that the Democrats could retake the House as well as the Senate? And, finally, if Hillary wins following a virtually issues-free campaign, will she have a mandate to govern? Or will she be a lame duck from the day of her inauguration? The episode winds up with an interview with Senator Ron Johnson, the man standing in the way of Russ Feingold’s return to the Senate. The interview should be more than enough to convince you to go here and contribute to Johnson’s campaign.
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July 2016

June 2016

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Moral Narcissism, with Roger Simon

Tonight John, Paul, and Steve kicked around some of the major news stories of the day, including the terrorist attack in Orlando and the Democrats’ effort to change the subject to gun control. Also, Donald Trump’s train wreck of a campaign: can it get back on track? They were joined by Roger Simon, author of the just-released I Know Best: How Moral Narcissism Is Destroying Our Republic, If It Hasn’t Already. The conversation with Roger was lively, as always.
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May 2016

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Frankfurters All the Way Down

This episode of the Power Line podcast features an interview with Michael Walsh about his recent book The Devil's Pleasure Palace: The Cult of Critical Theory and the Subversion of the West. Walsh explains how most of the nihilistic radicalism of our time derives from the "Frankfurt School," the group of mid-20th century emigre philosophers whose eclectic post-Marxist thought can be found at the root of nearly everything wrong today. Overturn just about any radical thinker today and, to paraphrase the famous Bertrand Russell story, you're likely to find that it's "Frankfurters all the way down."
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January 2015

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Who Beat Up Harry Reid? And Announcing the #KirbyDelauter Awards

Power Line's John Hinderacker and Steven Hayward follow up yesterday's BREAKING NEWS Power Line show with analysis of the big interview with former CBS reporter Shayrl Atkisson. Then we find out that Speaker John Boehner's job might not be as easy as some pundits would like you to think. Seriously, no matter what the guy does, he ticks off a significant percentage of Republicans. But then again, about the spending, Mr. Speaker... Then the Power Line guys wonder what the heck happened to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). Was there a fight? What's the other guy look like? But most important, what time did Reid visit the ER? There's a big difference between 2:00 am on January 1 and 2:00 pm on January 1. Finding out when Reid went to the hospital will help determine if the "exercise accident" story is true, or if the former King of the Senate had some, errrr ... "Nevada Problems." And then the guys finish the episode with a new award for very, very dumb politicians. And remember folks, both parties have elected stupid people. But to quote M*A*S*H, this guy, a Republican, has risen to a new low. BONUS: This is not satire.
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November 2014

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Introducing Power Line: Obama’s Gift to Republicans

You read them. You love them. And now they have their very own show. In their first episode, John Hinderaker, Scott Johnson, Paul Mirengoff, and Steven Hayward are joined by Michael Barone to dissect the numbers behind the GOP's historic election. Is President Barack Obama the gift that going to keep on giving to Republicans?
Guest:
MBMichael Barone
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