The Ricochet Podcast
842 episodes - English - Latest episode: 23 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.2K ratingsWeekly episodes of Ricochet’s flagship podcast feature our hosts James Lileks, Rob Long, Peter Robinson, and guests discussing the issues of the week.
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Episodes
Discover the City of David
April 06, 2023 22:54 - 1 hour - 68.7 MBSince the Ricochet Podcast will be on haitus next week, we've got a big episode to tide you over! We're not only jam packed with extra gab time but with today's guest Ze'ev Orenstein, we head the birthplace of our Judeo-Christian tradition. His organization is excavating the City of David, making it possible for those currently celebrating Passover, Holy Week and Ramadan (or any curious visiter) the chance to walk through the grand sites of their prophets, preists and kings. The fellas also...
Courting Trouble
March 31, 2023 21:00 - 1 hour - 60.2 MBThis one's gonna be tough to beat! We've got the details of a Tom Wolfe novel playing out in real time. From a corrupt DA to a presidential scandal involving an adult film star. Plus we've got fan-favorite John Yoo! Need we say more? There's some more AI chatter; and Peter's ticker is finally working!
Destiny, Demos and Graphics
March 24, 2023 21:39 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBIt's a trip around the world on this week's Ricochet Podcast. Our guide is AEI's Nick Eberstadt. He keeps up with all the little details that are often overlooked by prognosticating pundits. How do China's age distribution and Russia's health profile for young men hinder their ambitions? Are we in a position to sway India to the West? What other friend prospects are out there? He has answers to all the questions most of us have never thought to ask. And optimism, too! The guys also talk about...
Bank On It
March 17, 2023 22:07 - 1 hour - 61 MBTo mark the third anniversary of America’s Covid lockdown hysteria Rob, James and Peter give their uncredentialed thoughts on Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse and the FDIC doing something very different than what it was created for. They think through free market solutions, the fate of little banks and the buildings and what they meant for small town America. The guys also chat with Stanford Review... Source
An American Centenarian and The American Century
March 10, 2023 21:43 - 58 minutes - 53.5 MBWilliam Buckley attracted a lot of attention—and we’re all the better for it. But his big brother Jim was no small player in the conservative rebound that saved the country in the late 20th Century. On March 9th the elder Buckley celebrated his 100th birthday, and Jack Fowler joins to remind us of the significance of the WWII veteran and member of the small club of public servants who’ve served in... Source
The Digital Cloud and a Faint Silver Lining
March 04, 2023 00:29 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBAre you faring well in the digital apocalypse? Did you even know it had already arrived? Fret not! Our old friend James Poulos is here to help. His latest book Human, Forever is the guide to protecting your incommensurable humanity from the technologies that threaten to make us interoperable and mechanical. It is indeed good news to be human! The challenge of the 21st Century will be for us to... Source
Button Pushers Everywhere!
February 24, 2023 23:22 - 1 hour - 64.9 MBThere’s a lot to gab about this week, so it’s a good thing our hosts had some extra time. Among other things, the trio delve into the moral scolds who think it’d be a great idea to bowdlerize our favorite children’s stories; and they’re glad to hear how Vivek Ramaswamy will shake things up as the newest Republican candidate for 2024. Then Eli Lake, who spoke with the hosts the day after the... Source
The State of Education
February 17, 2023 22:22 - 1 hour - 61 MBThe hour may be late to protect America’s future, but all is not lost. We can sense this thanks to the actions of men like today’s guests. Mark Bauerlein joins Rob, Peter and James to discuss how universities have robbed the young of the grand narrative, along with his work at Sarasota’s New College. Andrew Gutman, who made headlines two years ago as a frustrated father willing to speak up... Source
Chat CCP
February 10, 2023 22:16 - 1 hour - 60.1 MBFor all the talk of walking and chewing gum vis-a-vis America’s looming threats to national security, have you ever asked whether China is the walking part or the chewing gum? Elbridge Colby has. He joins Rob, James and Charles to explain why the analogies to multitasking are divorced from our current defense strategy — such as it is — and why even thinking back to the Cold War can only do so much... Source
Hullaballoon
February 03, 2023 21:30 - 59 minutes - 54.6 MBThere’s no other way to put it: the viral video showing Tyre Nichols vicious beating at the hands of Memphis police officers was shocking and despicable. Rafael Mangual — the head of research for the Policing and Public Safety Initiative at the Manhattan Institute — joins James, Peter and Steve to explain why activists and politicians are wrong to see this as a vindication of their insistence on... Source
Fill Your Hands!
January 27, 2023 22:34 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBAgree with him or not, our guest today is a man of true grit. Former Navy SEAL and representative of Texas’ 2nd congressional district, Dan Crenshaw joins the podcast to discuss the Intel Community; the rising temperature of the conflict in Ukraine; and our very own border, which, you may have heard, has its own problemos. Florida man Charlie Cooke is with us again, and he’s got thought on... Source
Elephant Trainer
January 20, 2023 21:17 - 57 minutes - 53 MBEven if it weren’t for voter sentiments over the last few years, a slew of electoral losses might make changes at the RNC seem like a no-brainer. And yet there’s only one member of the committee who’s willing to do anything about the party’s dismal performance. Harmeet Dhillon returns to lay out her impressive list of ideas to break the GOP’s addiction to losing. (Visit her site to support however... Source
Ridin' in Biden's Classified Corvette
January 13, 2023 20:44 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBLast August when the FBI raided former President Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-A-Lago, we were told that DOJ finally had him where they wanted him. Now, five months later, we find out the real crime is that Trump forgot to store his documents under the little known and under-appreciated Corvette exemption clause of the Espionage Act. Andy McCarthy stops by to explain how then Vice-President... Source
Burning Down the House
January 06, 2023 22:49 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBIsn’t this a way to start out a New Year? We’re breaking all sorts of precedents, starting off with a long thoughtful discussion on the state of American football. We talk about the Damar Hamlin incident from the Monday Night game in Cincinnati and then give a hail and farewell to “The Pirate,” Coach Mike Leach of Mississippi State and then local man has a nervous breakdown over the recent play of... Source
The Passing of Pope Benedict: A Conversation with Father Paul Scalia
January 06, 2023 21:38 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MBOn the occasion of the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Peter Robinson discusses his career and legacy with Father Paul Scalia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tiny Tim Takes on Scrooge
December 23, 2022 22:21 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBThe ghost of Christmas’ Present is here with words for the Bankman-Frieds. Since Peter’s just down the road, he’s got the top dog-walkers on the case listening in; Rob has some culinary advice for Andrew Robinson (who premiers on the podcast this week); Mr. Lileks posits the nobility of the trades he got to know in chilly Fargo, ND. And as Tiny Tim observed, “God bless us, every one. Source
Own Goals
December 16, 2022 21:55 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBWe couldn’t call it a year without both Founders on board, so with Rob out and about (there are rumors that he’s actually working…) we actually present our penultimate episode for the Year of Our Lord 2022. James and Peter work a two-man booth and they go fission for clean energy, talk about the journo meltdown on Twitter and then talk a little football… or is it soccer? We also welcome in our old... Source
Me and My Shadow (Banned)
December 09, 2022 22:22 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBThey say you are the company you keep. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya learned that the hard way after he started cavorting with a bunch of fringe lunatics bent on killing grandmas — Or no, wait… the other thing. It was time spent with fellow reputable, highly credentialed scientists that got him into trouble. With the released Twitter files that show he was placed on an actual blacklist... Source
Seditious TikTokin'
December 02, 2022 22:42 - 1 hour - 66.7 MBMuch as the world benefit from a new dance craze, it would behoove us to ensure that China doesn’t use our moves against us. Our first guest Geoffrey Cain is all too familiar with what the CCP can do with surveillance technology. He sits down with Rob, James and Charles to touch on the protesters, the extraordinary police state they’re up against, and he tries to convince a skeptical Rob and James... Source
We're FTXed!
November 18, 2022 22:20 - 1 hour - 63 MBAnother reminder that glitter doesn't always lead to gold. FTX and its oh-so-scruffy whiz kid have tanked, and they're bringing a lot of risk takers down with them. But some of us can't help but wonder if they were even tricked by actual glitter. If they had been paying attention to Rich Goldberg—host of our Cryptonite podcast—they might've seen it coming. If they tune in today, they might at least learn a lesson or two. And while we're on the subject of misguided expectations, we've invited ...
Post Mortem and a Retortum
November 11, 2022 22:45 - 1 hour - 68.4 MBTuesday was a buzzkill. How bad, exactly? Not sure yet… Arizona’s taking its time again. Which makes it the perfect opportunity to have a surprise guest appearance from Ricochet’s very own Jon Gabriel, Arizonan and King of all the stuff. Jon breaks down the state’s second consecutive election breakdown. He’s also got some pleasantly bold predictions! Then we’re joined by Luke Thompson... Source
A Perfect Storm of Tipping Points
November 04, 2022 21:29 - 59 minutes - 54.2 MBThere is a tide… and depending on who you ask, Democracy is either drowning in it or she’s catching some righteous swells. With Peter and Rob elsewhere, James links up with guests- slash-hosts Charlie Cooke and Steve Hayward to soak up the vibes. There’s blue check mania and sleeper issues puzzling pollsters; not to mention Covid amnesty and Michael Beschloss coming down with whatever Chris Hayes... Source
Let That Sink In
October 28, 2022 22:50 - 1 hour - 66 MBWe may be approaching the spookiest day of the year, but it’s the government that give grownups nightmares on all the rest of them. California isn’t ordinarily a place where suspenseful midterms happen, though our first guest Lanhee Chen has something to say about that. Running to be the Golden State’s top fiscal watchdog, he’s getting dangerously close to becoming the boogeyman for California’s... Source
Stick With Us
October 21, 2022 21:58 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBThis week we’re talkin’ midterms and one very short term. England has been especially interesting these last few months, and we’re always happy to have Toby Young with us. He has much to say about the lightning-fast deterioration of Liz Truss, and the Conservative Party that may go down with her. Then Jim Geraghty returns to breakdown this peculiar midterm cycle. He gets into Fetterman, Oz, Walker... Source
Podcasting In America
October 14, 2022 21:32 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBEven without being on the ballot, Democrats are determined to make the midterms about Donald Trump. And since that’s what they want to talk about, we wanted to hear from our friend Debra Saunders again, whose just launched her podcast Covering Trump. Deb fields questions from Rob, James and Charles about meat-and-potatoes stories, the mythological neutral reporter, and the incentives to write... Source
Pennsylvania Polka
October 07, 2022 21:59 - 1 hour - 71.1 MBAmerica never fails to be interesting, and she tends to kick it into high gear around Election Day. Take Pennsylvania, for example. The Keystone state has shaped into one that is a much watch around this time – and on this go around, we’re watch Dr. Oz and John Fetterman… This is why we’re lucky to have our new friend Charles McElwee of RealClearPennsylvania to take us into the trenches of this... Source
The Pennsylvania Polka
October 07, 2022 21:42 - 1 hourAmerica never fails to be interesting, and she tends to kick it into high gear around Election Day. Take Pennsylvania, for example. The Keystone state has shaped into one that is a much watch around this time – and on this go around, we're watch Dr. Oz and John Fetterman... This is why we're lucky to have our new friend Charles McElwee of RealClearPennsylvania to take us into the trenches of this fractious purple state. Next we get a chance to catch up again with Larry Kudlow. (If you haven'...
The World Is Not Enough
September 30, 2022 20:43 - 1 hour - 62.6 MBIt’s hard to win these days. Not only do we have worries about war, we’ve got worries over worries about war. Is the Biden administration’s foreign policy dangerously cautious? That’s what Peter and James discuss – and argue about – with our guest, AEI’s Kori Schake. The hosts (minus Rob, who was off podcasting elsewhere…) also chat about Italy’s Giorgia Meloni; James gets peeved, and it’a lots of... Source
Hot For Cleveland
September 23, 2022 20:57 - 1 hour - 63.1 MBToday we cover breaking news and the hardly recognizable past. Toby Young joins at the top to to tell us about his personal experience with PayPal’s shot at free speech. Later, our old pal Troy Senik returns to give Grover Cleveland the reassessment he deserves. (Get a copy of Troy’s book here!) Peter, James and Charlie (Rob’s sub for the day) chew over the FBI given whistleblower Kyle Seraphin’s... Source
Faith in Princes, Faith in God
September 16, 2022 22:27 - 1 hour - 66.3 MBAs promised our old friend David Limbaugh returns to the podcast to rant a bit and maybe pitch a few books on the side. We talk open borders and Martha’s Vineyard and then cover his latest volume, The Resurrected Jesus: The Church in the New Testament, which he wrote with his daughter, Christen Limbaugh Bloom. We also welcome in American Enterprise Institute scholar Nicholas Eberstadt (fresh from... Source
A Very Fond Farewell
September 09, 2022 21:12 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBIt’s hard to call it unbelievable when a 96-year-old mortal shuffles off, but Queen Elizabeth II’s final departure has had a peculiar effect. Hoping to have the feeling articulated without sentimentality, we asked on a couple English friends ( Charlie Cooke filling in for Peter and London Calling’s Toby Young) to discuss her importance, and what her death means for the Commonwealth. Source
Dramatic Docs
September 02, 2022 11:02 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBYou saw the pictures! The walls are finally closing in; or maybe it’s the floor that’ll finally move in on Trump! Or maybe everyone should cool their jets, as our guest Bill Barr might recommend. The former Attorney General joins us again to discuss what we know (and don’t know) about the latest legal troubles for the former president. Without getting ahead of the facts, Barr thinks through the... Source
Tossing The Elf Out With The Chump Change
August 26, 2022 20:52 - 1 hour - 65.2 MBIt’s hard to put words to the audaciousness of President Biden’s latest charade. Good thing we have an Englishman! Our friend Charlie Cooke is filling in for Peter and James to talk about Joe’s promise to liquidate the American social contract. He and Rob also get into midterms and search in vain for a Republican national agenda. And since we can’t help but cling to a bit of good news, Dr. Source
Fishing Expedition
August 19, 2022 21:58 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBSince our plans to hide away forever at a remote Minnesotan lake house were dashed – on account of James not having one for us – we decided instead to jump on into the mucky swamp that’s swallowed up our institutions. At least we have Eli Lake (who, as you’ll hear, knows everybody) to tour us through the law enforcement agencies who’ve undermined their standing with the public in order to get the... Source
We Called It A Raid…
August 12, 2022 23:32 - 1 hour - 75.4 MBWe’re not short on takes about the search (or whatever you wanna call it) at Mar-a-Lago this week; but one can’t ever get enough of people who know what they’re talking about when it comes to something as big as this! Ricochet’s old friend Andy McCarthy joins to provide just that kinda commentary. He gives some essential vocab clarifications; lays out the charges he believes the Justice Department... Source
We Called It A Raid...
August 12, 2022 23:23 - 1 hourWe're not short on takes about the search (or whatever you wanna call it) at Mar-a-Lago this week; but one can't ever get enough of people who know what they're talking about when it comes to something as big as this! Ricochet's old friend Andy McCarthy joins to provide just that. He gives some essential vocab clarifications; lays out the charges he believes the Justice Department is actually seeking; and ponders how and when the ethos of the agency went awry – and how he thinks it could be b...
Face-Saving Megalomaniacs
August 05, 2022 20:55 - 1 hour - 59.3 MBWith all the sound and fury surrounding Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, we think it’s timely to hear from an expert on the Indo-Pacific to see if it signifies much. Misha Auslin, host of The Pacific Century, joins to do just that. He identifies the silver lining in the whole affair; elucidates how China’s strategy has frozen us from stating our interests; points to the return of the engagement... Source
Toss ‘Em In The Pin
July 29, 2022 20:55 - 1 hour - 58.8 MBIt’s a free-for-all on the Ricochet Podcast this week! Rob and Peter are off enjoying the last gasp of Summer, so filling in are the effervescent John Yoo and the mysterious “Lucretia”. Our official guest is Rafael Mangual, the newly minted author of Criminal (In)justice, which compiles his years of studying criminality in the U.S. and the progressive inaction of those charged with fighting it. Source
Toss 'Em In The Pin
July 29, 2022 20:44 - 1 hourIt's a free-for-all on the Ricochet Podcast this week! Rob and Peter are off enjoying the last gasp of Summer, so filling in are the effervescent John Yoo and the mysterious "Lucretia". Our official guest is Rafael Mangual, the newly minted author of Criminal (In)justice, which compiles his years of studying criminality in the U.S. and the progressive inaction of those charged with fighting it. Steve Hayward also pops in from Scotland, as seeing John and his Power Line Podcast co-host Lucreti...
The Kabuki People Want To See
July 22, 2022 21:00 - 1 hour - 66.6 MBWith heat waves, and the inevitable extinction of humanity practically around the corner, why not talk about what’s happening in the cool, comfortable theaters that we’re told are also doomed? To help us keep things light and pleasant, we’ve recruited film critic Sonny Bunch to chat about the elegiac Top Gun: Maverick, the rockin’ biopic Elvis, and the not-so-buzzy Lightyear. The trio also get... Source
Hot and Free
July 15, 2022 21:36 - 1 hour - 57.3 MBThis week, it’s another round of Question Time, this week with actual (OK, former) British person Charles C.W. Cooke sitting in for Peter Robinson, We cover Florida, guns, newspapers, — an entire smorgasbord of topics (what’s British for smorgasbord?). Music from this week’s episode: I Know There’s An Answer by The Beach Boys... Source
Not Done With Fun
July 08, 2022 20:47 - 1 hour - 66 MBWe’ve made it to 600, and in spite of the seemingly never-ending buffet of bad news that got our hosts talking in the first place, we manage to have a good time. Our first guest is Noah Rothman, whose latest book, The Rise of the New Puritans: Fighting Back Against Progressives’ War on Fun, takes a deep dive into the fanatics out to break up our good time. Then Toby Young (host of Ricochet’s very... Source
Judgment Day
June 24, 2022 19:19 - 1 hour - 75.3 MBWhoa. Wow. Golly. And Hooray! Big news from SCOTUS today. A fifty year judicial error is finally corrected, and Ricochet’s Supreme Court expert John Yoo joins us at the top of the hour to explain. He talks about the unofficial Thomas/Alito court, discusses what this could mean for other landmark cases, along with a few other fresh decisions that, on any other day, would’ve merited a visit from our... Source
Judgement Day
June 24, 2022 19:08 - 1 hourWhoa. Wow. Golly. And Hooray! Big news from SCOTUS today. A fifty year judicial error is finally corrected, and Ricochet's Supreme Court expert John Yoo joins us at the top of the hour to explain. He talks about the unofficial Thomas/Alito court, discusses what this could mean for other landmark cases, along with a few other fresh decisions that, on any other day, would've merited a visit from our good pal Mr. Yoo. Perhaps providentially, we asked AEI fellow and a charter school founder Ian R...
No Safe Spaces with Ann Coulter
June 17, 2022 22:30 - 1 hour - 69 MBThere are too few refuges for free speech. But on Ricochet our cup overfloweth! To keep things going full speed, we asked our friend Ann Coulter on to dish out an abundant full scoop. She’s just launched her new Substack and podcast to push back on… well, just about everyone who she believes is getting in the way of freedom, America and the families who make it great. As is her wont... Source
On The Cusp of the Volcano
June 10, 2022 21:08 - 1 hour - 76.5 MBThere are few on planet Earth who’ve spilled as much ink over concerns on Western Civilization’s decline as today’s guest Douglas Murray. Nevertheless, he’s betting long on America even though he’s well aware of the onslaught recounted in his latest bestseller, The War on the West. (Order your copy today!) Murray takes us through the complications of finding things to agree on when the past is... Source
Ancient Highs and Lows
June 03, 2022 21:52 - 1 hour - 71.9 MBThis week we move from the pits of a senseless war to the mount of the royal jubilee, and cover quite a bit of terrain in between. Our first guest is exiled Soviet dissident Yuri Yarim-Agaev, whose extensive knowledge of Vladimir Putin is tough to match. We get his take on the man and his motivation; how the supposed mastermind of intelligence operations became the victim of Russian disinformation... Source
Doing The Right Something
May 27, 2022 20:55 - 1 hour - 62 MBWith a catastrophic tragedy in the news, the Ricochet mood is a bit more serious; but that doesn’t mean bad policy or sentimental grandstanding are appropriate courses of action. That’s why this week, we’ve invited a Second Amendment expert and parent on to the show. The one and only Charles C.W. Cooke. He fields questions on the horror in Uvalde, the reaction from politicians and the press... Source
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
May 21, 2022 00:46 - 1 hour - 65.5 MBRob’s off on vacation, but Peter’s back from the Promised Land! Thankfully you won’t have to wait until his next episode of Uncommon Knowledge is released to hear from Yoram Hazony, author of Conservatism: A Rediscovery. Yoram has revisited the past in the hopes of finding something new that conservatives will desperately need in order to offer something other than a another variant of liberalism. Source
Live . . . From New York!
May 13, 2022 21:52 - 1 hour - 78.5 MBWhile Peter’s venturing about the real America, James is vacationing between the Hudson and East rivers so he can meet up with his pal Rob–and, more importantly!–fellow Ricochet members for our first pub crawl! We hope you won’t miss it; but don’t worry, we’ve got more events to come. (There’s even a surprise announcement for our next one herein!) First up is a man who needs no introduction. Source