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Series

3 Whisky Happy Hour, 620 episodesBeyond the Polls, 178 episodesGLoP Culture, 210 episodesJames Lileks’ The Diner, 101 episodesMartini Shot, 176 episodesMom Wars, 58 episodesSmart Girl Politics, 16 episodesThe Back of the Book, 46 episodesThe Dave Carter Show, 109 episodesThe Ricochet Podcast, 691 episodes

Recent Episodes

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Captain James T. Kirk and the Constitution

John Yoo is back this week, but Lucretia is away for once, but in her place we have special giest Michael Stokes Paulson of the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minnesota, who is the author of, among many other significant legal articles, "Captain Kirk and the Enterprise of Constitutional Interpretation: Some Modest Proposals from the 23rd Century." It turned out to be very timely as we received the sad news of the passing of Patrick Stewart, which started off a fresh round of the SciFi equivalent of the debate between the ancients and the moderns, that is, Star Trek: The Original Series, or Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Captain Kirk versus Captain Piccard. (I'll merely note that Shatner Lives!) Prof. Paulson has some excellent and serious consitutional reflections from an Original Series episode called "The Omega Glory," and all three of us indulge our best Shatner imitations. But we also get a recollections of Paulson's role in the nomination of David Souter to the Supreme Court in 1990. So as Piccard might say, now that this episode has been posted, Make it so! to be on the top of your podcast queue.

Hosted by John Yoo and Steve Hayward

The Ricochet Podcast
The Ricochet Podcast

Treats, s’il vous plaît!

Steve and James embrace the Halloween mindset with a chat about a cast of characters who transcend space, time, and barriers of language and even reality. They brace themselves for the midterms, swap a couple scary movie suggestions, and offer a proper send-off to Sir Patrick Stewart. The inestimable biographer Andrew Roberts joins to discuss his latest work, Napoleon and His Marshals: Victory, Rivalry, Betrayal. Along with detailing the extraordinary talent behind the Grande Armée, the trio draws attention to parallels that contemporary expansionists, visionaries, and magalomaniacs would do well to remember. (And speaking of treats, be sure to get your code for a whopping discount on a Ricochet subscription for your first year!) Opening sound this week: The late Sir Patrick Stewart at Just for Laughs in Montréal in 2015. Closing music: "Space Journey," by Daniel Inrem via MotionArray.

Hosted by James Lileks and Steve Hayward, with guest Andrew Roberts

Beyond the Polls
Beyond the Polls

The Prediction Exchange

Midterms are just days away, so it's busy season for everyone in the election prediction biz. This week, there's no rant and no ads; just Henry and a couple of sleep-deprived friends to help you get your bearings ahead of another high-stakes cycle. First up is Sean Patrick Maloney—former U.S. Ambassador to the OECD and the CEO of the Coalition for Prediction Markets. He joins to explain the derivative markets that have shaken up polling. Next, Cook Political's Jessica Taylor surveys the Senate seats swinging in the balance. And lastly, Scott Braddock of The Quorum Report drops in to discuss the uncharacteristically tight races in Texas. Be sure to follow Henry on X to catch his Election Night livestream! We'll be up reporting the returns from poll closures on the Atlantic and remain until the Alaskans have their say.

Hosted by Henry Olsen

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Knowledge or Not, Here We Come

This week's delayed episode is a throwback to the old days, with just Steve and Lucretia in attendance because travel schedules disrupted all three of the 3WHH bartenders. So the original dynamic duo just kick around some news highlights of the week and offer a couple book recommendations. Is "not to my knowledge" Ilhan Omar's version of Bill Clinton's "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" (IF "Ilhan Omar" is her real name)? This appears to be one of those cases where the media's favorite mistaken cliché about Trump—"the walls are closing in"—appears to apply. And what's up with the polls? Hard to tell, even from the real ones, let alone the fake ones and the media's psyop that is trying to suppress Republican turnout. It's all very weird. Finally, Lucretia and Steve share two books currently on the top of their reading pile. Lucretia is reading Raymond Ibrahim's Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam, while Steve recommends Rupert Darwall's The Age of Error and the West's Undoing, just from our friends at Encounter Books.

Hosted by 'Lucretia' and Steve Hayward

The Ricochet Podcast
The Ricochet Podcast

A Great Deal of Ruin, Indeed

The great Douglas Murray, bestselling author of The Strange Death of Europe and On Democracies and Death Cults, joins James and Steve to discuss the mass immigration problem he's been sounding the alarm on for over a decade. As ever, Murray is unflinching in defense of civilization against the barbarous rioters and the myopic elites enabling them. Plus, James and Steve raise an eyebrow each at Ilhan Omar's uncertainty over an important detail about one of her marriages. The duo also talk about all kinds of food: fast, foreign, and regrettable. Opening sound: A French storekeeper pleads with rioters while Emmanuel Macron claims there’s nothing to see here and Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers have their final debate (WXYZ - Detroit) Closing music: "Say Less," by sviridpavlov via MotionArray

Hosted by James Lileks and Steve Hayward, with guest DMDouglas Murray

Beyond the Polls
Beyond the Polls

Throwing Cold Water on the Blue Wave

There's no getting around the fact that Republicans are unpopular these days or that they're in for an unpleasant midterm. But should we really believe the flood will reach the Midwest or Rust Belt districts that elevated President Trump to double-digit margins? Patrick Rufini, founding partner of Echelon Insights, doesn't think so. He sits down with Henry to make his case. Plus, Henry draws an important distinction between the lead and the level of predicted vote share to explain why all 2-point edges should not be considered equal. And for today's ad of the week, he examines the viral attack and response in the especially fierce battle for Ohio between Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton. Can't get enough of Henry's election analysis? Subscribe to his free weekly newsletter, "Margin of Victory," for invaluable insights every Wednesday.

Hosted by Henry Olsen, with guest PRPatrick Ruffini

The Back of the Book
The Back of the Book

Does Reality Await, or Is This It? What the Strokes Reveal About the Past – and Future – of Rock

Twenty-five years ago, the New York City band The Strokes released one of the most widely hyped debut albums in rock history. Critics saw them as the saviors of rock n’ roll. But if the cultural influence of modern rock music is any indication, that promise fell short. In his new book Is This It: The Never-Ending Rise and Fall of the Strokes (and Rock ‘n’ Roll), music journalist Steven Hyden considers the fickle fate of rock through the trajectory of the Strokes’ career. He joins the podcast to discuss how the Strokes fit into rock history, why they captured such attention, and what their latest releases indicate about the future of music. He and Chris also discuss cigarettes, the return of Oasis, and Wisconsin sports culture.

Hosted by Christopher J. Scalia

Mom Wars
Mom Wars

The Due Time

This week, Bethany is joined by Helen Raleigh, a writer, entrepreneur, and speaker, for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, observed on October 15th. This episode comes with it a trigger warning for those for whom this topic is too difficult to listen to. You can follow Helen's work at theduetime.com.

Hosted by Bethany Mandel

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Saving Western Civilization Edition

John Yoo turns up this week, along with a cameo from our favorite classicist Alex Priou, for an episode that ranged widely from McDonald's to the prospective deportation of Ilhan Omar to women's "athleisure-wear" in the gym, but in the end resolves to a common theme: are we going to be able to save Western Civilization from those relentless attacks from the Left? (And if you don't think McDonald's is important to Western Civilization, you aren't paying attention!) We have our usual spectrum of views about the whole "civic education" enterprise, and our cameo conversation with Alex Priou of the University of Austin looks at the conservatives who didn't like Secretary Marco Rubio's speech in Athens last week. For the record, we liked it a lot.

Hosted by 'Lucretia', John Yoo, and Steve Hayward, with guest Alex Priou

The Ricochet Podcast
The Ricochet Podcast

A Pain in the Polls

The midterm polls sure don't paint a rosy picture for Republicans. While Henry Olsen, Ricochet's in-house election analyst, isn't here to pretend the data suggest otherwise, he joins James, Charles, and Steve to add dimension to the GOP's bleak prospects. Listeners brave enough for the cold facts will hear important lessons about the Republican Party's growing pains, the value of persuasive speech during tough times, and the necessity of message discipline in getting through them. The gang at least finds some consolation in the fact that the ascendant progressive wing of the Democratic Party will likely weigh down the whole if (or when) they overreach. Ricochet 5 is here! Stay tuned till the end to hear Charles give a rundown of the new features. And check out the new site here: https://ricochet.com Opening sound this week: Susan Collins and Troy Jackson have their final debate interrupted (WCSH Portland), and the President weighs in on the El Sayed candidacy in Michigan. Closing music: "Rendezvous" by Dux, via MotionArray

Hosted by Charles C. W. Cooke, James Lileks, and Steve Hayward, with guest Henry Olsen

Beyond the Polls
Beyond the Polls

Way On Base

The midterms are just weeks away, and Democrats are still enjoying a historically large lead in the generic congressional ballot. In response, the president is jetting about to rally support in key states. However, unlike the boldly expansive campaigns of MAGA ascendancy, his visits to safe districts reveal a defensive strategy aimed at mitigating losses. Henry rants his way through this development and draws attention to others that casual observers might miss, as he comes closer to finalizing his big election prediction. Plus, we look at two ads that bet it all on Independents. Stay tuned till the end for Henry's thoughts on late pitches for these ambitious campaigns to flip a Minnesota Senate seat and Montana's 1st Congressional District. Follow the midterms like a pro! Subscribe to Henry's weekly newsletter, "Margin of Victory," for invaluable insights every Wednesday.

Hosted by Henry Olsen

The Ricochet Podcast
The Ricochet Podcast

Thumos and a Touch of Swaggart

With each passing wild week in the West, it can feel like a tall order to request an unequivocal defense of it. But when there's a meme, there's a way, and if Marco Rubio has taught us anything, it's that he's always up for the job. James, Steve, and Charles celebrate his statesmanship displayed on Wednesday's Acropolis speech; wonder about the wisdom of the proposed live streaming of the firing-squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter; and bristle at Abdul El Sayed's response to being confronted with "dumb questions" about who our friends and enemies are. Despite it all, they find much to look forward to in our living, breathing, loud-talking and fast-walking civilization on a hill. Sounds from this week's open: The late televangelist Jim Bakker advises against self-pity; Marco Rubio "testifies to a debt that no lapse of time, no distance of space, can ever extinguish." Closing Music: "Reverie," composed by Robert Schumann, performed by Bruno Freitas

Hosted by Charles C. W. Cooke, James Lileks, and Steve Hayward

Beyond the Polls
Beyond the Polls

The Trump Tornado and Danger in the Dust Bowl

There's good news and bad news, Toto: We are still in Kansas, but it's not the safe state we'd grown used to. With the midterms less than a month away, and reports confirming the GOP's move to divert funds to tightening races in the agricultural belt, Henry opts to fly solo this week to survey the windswept field ahead of the battle. Considerable movement has occurred in response to the president's bold maneuvering after returning to office, particularly among the Independents and MAGA-lite Republicans who helped elect him. But is a complete leveling inevitable? Not so, says Henry, who offers a lesson from the 2022 midterms that Republicans have curiously left on the table so far. Plus, Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers has a new ad that reveals an important detail about this cycle's swing state playbook. Can't wait til Thursday for Henry's election insights? Subscribe to his weekly newsletter, "Margin of Victory," for an early look at his latest thoughts on the approaching midterms.

Hosted by Henry Olsen

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

Godwin’s Law Edition

Sitcom viewers will recall the "Soup Nazi" from Seinfeld, but the famous Soup Nazi needs to yield to the latest iteration of this low form of comedy, as this week's episode features the person who has been called "the Shampoo Nazi"—Charles Haywood. We would have thought that people named "EricKKK EricKKKson" (see how easy it is to be stupid?) would know Godwin's Law, whose most important corollary application is that the first person to resort to Reductio ad Hitlerum is immediately deemed the loser of the debate. Charles Haywood is a person of considerable controversy these days, and to be sure he has some exotic opinions, which listeners should check out for themselves at his capacious website, The Worthy House, in particular his Foundationalist Manifesto. Harry Jaffa, the person who wrote the infamous phrase "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice" for Barry Goldwater (and who got called a Nazi for saying this in 1964), also wrote: "'Provocative articles' are worthless unless they can be tested."

Hosted by 'Lucretia' and Steve Hayward

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

The Left’s Death March Picks Up Speed

Way back in the 1970s, Malcolm Muggeridge wrote a classic essay entitled "The Great Liberal Death Wish," but in recent years this formulation has become more pronounced. Forget abortion: the leading edge of Progressive "compassion" is "assisted" suicide, which, while claiming to be in the cause of "relieving suffering," looks to be much more insidious when you look closer at what is really happening. John Yoo is away this week, so Lucretia and Steve welcome Wesley Smith as the special guest host for this episode. Wesley is the director of the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism, a regular contributor to National Review, and author of more than a dozen books, several of them co-authored with Ralph Nader in his misspent youth! Wesley has been on the death-cult-of-the-left beat for a long while now, but the details of what is going on are truly shocking—and needless to say, ignored by the mainstream media. (Also, we should mention, he is a fellow podcaster, with a weekly show called Humanize. Put it in your rotation! In light of the seriousness of this week's subject, we decided to omit our usual Babylon Bee headline roundup at the end, but we do have a "cameo" toward the end this week from "Henry Kissinger," reflecting on what's going on with the Iran War.

Hosted by 'Lucretia' and Steve Hayward

The Ricochet Podcast
The Ricochet Podcast

Feeling Judgey

Sometimes life feels like a freak show, and the sane can either take it in or turn away. This week gave us more glimpses of horror than usual, which tends to make folks more amenable to harsh punishments. James, Steve, and Charles consider the death penalty in light of the heinous crime of an unsuccessfully executed Tennessee woman; they wade through the cloudy "Cornell Seven" case and draw important distinctions between moral depravity and criminality; and they look over to France, where the people of Paris swarmed the streets to see the Pope last week and which is today in flames as second- and third-generation immigrants riot. Makes you wonder whether la République and la révolution will ever square themselves in l’Hexagone. Plus, Charles has an announcement about Ricochet 5.0! Sound from this week's open: Marine Le Pen responds to the riots in France. And our own John Yoo talks about execution methods on Fox News. Closing music: "Waltz for the Elephants" by Ziv Grinberg

Hosted by Charles C. W. Cooke, James Lileks, and Steve Hayward

Beyond the Polls
Beyond the Polls

All About Exit Polls

Americans are often in a hurry, always looking for ways to save time. Yet back in the olden days, whenever Americans held an election, the public had to wait until every ballot was tallied before an official announcement of the results. Though that remains the method for squeaker contests, election-day reporting outlets strive to stay ahead of the curve wherever possible. Enter the exit pollers. Henry sits down with Joe Lenski, Executive Vice President of the survey research firm SSRS and co-director of The Voter Poll. Joe's here to explain how his team goes about sampling actual ballot-casters so the American people can get quicker (yet still accurate) calls on election night. Plus, keeping predictive power in mind, Henry reverse-engineers the generic ballot from the past three midterm elections to gauge who will win the House tug-of-war in November. And we take in Susan Collins' clever pitch to her Red Sox country voters about Yankee Chuck Schumer's attempts to influence the contest in Maine. Catch Henry's latest PostOpinions piece to see his midterm model. While you're there, subscribe to his weekly newsletter, "Margin of Victory," for invaluable insights every Wednesday!

Hosted by Henry Olsen

Mom Wars
Mom Wars

Betrayal

This week, Bethany sits down with her old Ladybrains co-host Mary Katharine Ham to discuss the viral New York Times Magazine essay about how Nikole Hannah-Jones betrayed her daughter by sending her to a failing New York City public school. Note: This episode was recorded before the release of the This American Life episode featuring Hannah-Jones and her daughter, Najya.

Hosted by Bethany Mandel, with guest MKMary Katherine Ham

The Back of the Book
The Back of the Book

The Declaration of Independence: Its Intellectual and Material History

Let’s keep celebrating the semiquincentennial by tackling the remarkable history of our most inspirational founding document. Historian and Hoover Institution fellow Michael Auslin joins the podcast to discuss National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America. He and Chris cover the document’s chaotic creation, its less-than-ideal preservation, and its enduring impact on almost ten generations of Americans. Show Notes: Michael Auslin’s book, National Treasure Michael’s book event at AEI Time Stamps: 1:45 Myths and misconceptions about the Declaration 12:40 The forgotten Declaration takes center stage 23:34 The Civil War and consent of the governed 28:33 More reasons to loathe Woodrow Wilson 33:45 MLK and the “promissory note” of equality 42:30 The Declaration’s core claim of unity 46:16 The DSA’s challenge to the greatness of the Declaration 49:03 The Declaration preserved and displayed Opening and closing music: Brendan Benson, “Spit It Out,” used with permission from the artist. Produced by Keira Stenson.

Hosted by Christopher J. Scalia, with guest MAMichael Auslin

September 2026

GLoP Culture
GLoP Culture

Clowns Are Buoyant

Clowns are buoyant, which may explain how this podcast stays afloat. This month, Jonah, John, and Rob ponder the lousy-man theory of history, admire a podcast whose hosts actually do research, and demonstrate why seminary hasn’t made Rob any less cranky. Along the way: TV greatness, a longstanding dispute over Miller’s Crossing, and the academic credentials of professional clowns.

Hosted by John Podhoretz, Jonah Goldberg, and Rob Long

3 Whisky Happy Hour
3 Whisky Happy Hour

What the Hell Is This?

We don't know how to describe this episode. We start out by looking over the forthcomong docket of cases for the new term of the Supreme Court that begins next week, but then John Yoo, back from playing hookie last week, drops in a mischievous question about the "theological-political question," and proved anew that Pavlov's theory still works, as Lucretia and Steve bit, hook, line, and sinker, as the story goes. But the gang also goes on to the juicy media and higher education stories of the week, including the latest embarrasment of Nicole Hannah-Jones discovering that New York's public schools are really bad, and how Cambridge University predictably wimped out on the promised "investigation" of the Jason Arday scandal. This, and Steve's latest short-form book review, and much more!

Hosted by John Yoo, 'Lucretia', and Steve Hayward

The Ricochet Podcast
The Ricochet Podcast

Everything is Everything is Revolutionary Praxis

What exactly do the fight to save Piddington in Oxfordshire, the public betrayal of Najya Hannah-Jones by her activist mom, Trump's deal with Greenland, Russia's cultural inferiority complex, and a "COVID-conscious" lesbian bar in Massachusetts have in common? For those of us who haven't worn an N-95 mask in at least five years, the distinctions are clear. Even so, they each command the attention of James, Charles, and Steve. The trio reunites to remind us that praxis rarely makes perfect. Opening sound this week: Nikole Hannah-Jones talks about her child’s school at the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2018 and lesbians on TikTok say, “Keep it on the QT.” Closing music: "Revolution" by Willow McKenna via MotionArray.

Hosted by Charles C. W. Cooke, James Lileks, and Steve Hayward

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