The Dispatch Podcast That’s A Wrap | Roundtable
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Dec 23, 2025 
Join conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg, journalist Megan McArdle, and editor Mike Warren as they reflect on the year's biggest stories. They dive into immigration policies and their political fallout, highlighting China's tech advancements and underreported tensions in Asia. The trio discusses the rise of autonomous vehicles and the growing national debt. They also critique media sensationalism around figures like Elon Musk and Candace Owens. Celebrating advances in gene editing, they end on a hopeful note, looking forward to a more reasonable political landscape in 2026.
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Immigration Enforcement As Defining Policy
- The Trump administration's immigration enforcement was the year's most consequential domestic policy move. It fulfilled campaign promises and shifted Hispanic approval dramatically against Trump.
China's Photolithography Breakthrough
- China appears to have made a high-end photolithography prototype, weakening Western export controls. That could materially change the global AI and semiconductor race if it scales.
Climate Consensus Losing Its Center
- The climate-response consensus fractured in 2025, altering policy expectations worldwide. Energy realities and political backlashes made aggressive decarbonization plans politically untenable.