

The Mona Charen Show
The Bulwark
After a great five year run on Beg to Differ, Mona Charen brings you a new show dedicated to deepening your understanding of complex issues and trends facing society. Each week she'll engage an expert for a probing discussion that goes past the day's headlines.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 20, 2023 • 1h 4min
The Marjorie Taylor Greene Majority
The Atlantic's Ron Brownstein joins the group to discuss Kevin McCarthy giving the crazies the keys. Plus, Biden's attempt to pivot on immigration, and will Ukraine get the tanks it needs?
highlights/lowlights
Linda's:
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/19/supreme-court-could-not-identify-who-shared-draft-abortion-opinion-00078602
Ron's:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/us/politics/republicans-trump-house-oversight-committee.html
Damon's:
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2023/01/19/how-republicans-view-their-party-and-key-issues-facing-the-country-as-the-118th-congress-begins/
Bill's:
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/boris-pistorius-serve-next-german-defence-minister-source-2023-01-17/
Mona's:
https://www.deseret.com/2023/1/18/23558984/social-media-big-tobacco-teens-anxiety-depression-spencer-cox-utah
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 13, 2023 • 60min
Classified Shmasified
Arc Digital's Nick Grossman joins the group to discuss Biden's classified documents mess, the GOP majority's foreign policy confusion, free speech on campuses (and in Florida) — and more.
highlight/lowlights:
Bill's:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/12/poland-leopard-tank-company-ukraine/
Linda's:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/11/opinion/republican-party-future.html
Damon's:
https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/contemporary-israel/12801/on-that-distant-day/
Nick's:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-64219119
Mona's:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/09/books/prince-harry-book-royal-family.html
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 6, 2023 • 59min
McCarthy Sells His Soul for Nothing
Charlie Sykes joins B2D to discuss the House soap opera — from the comical to the consequential.
Highlights/lowlights
Charlie's:
https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-ohio-kentucky-mitch-mcconnell-6123aeccfa1c71bad84f57e735962f2f
Damon's:
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/ron-desantis-just-as-bad-as-donald-trump-2024
Bill's:
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/gop-hardliners-angle-for-plum-posts-as-price-of-mccarthy-votes-1.1865718
Linda's:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/29/opinion/eliot-waste-land-poetry.html
https://gideons.substack.com/p/is-the-land-waste
Mona's:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/25/us/reading-literacy-memphis-tennessee.html
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 23, 2022 • 1h 5min
How to Disempower the Extremists
Katherine Gehl — the originator of Alaska's Ranked Choice Voting system — discusses progress on reforming our primary elections. The group then weighs in on Zelensky's historic visit, Elon's fate, Trump's taxes, and the immigration stalemate.
Highlights/Lowlights
Bill's:
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-zelenskyys-visit-represented-bipartisan-masochism
Damon's:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/23/nyregion/george-santos-republican-resume.html
Mona's:
https://russroberts.medium.com/the-economist-as-scapegoat-91b317a6823e
Linda's:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/veterans-congress-abandoning-afghan-allies-spending-bill-rcna62686
Katherine's:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/12/22/omnibus-bill-senate/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 16, 2022 • 53min
Bad Science; Good Science
Jesse Singal joins to discuss the fraught discourse on trans treatment. The group then turns to Ron DeSantis' possible big blunder embracing anti-vaxers and a great scientific breakthrough (and its detractors).
Highlights/lowlights:
Mona:
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/helping-trans-kids-means-admitting-what-we-dont-know.html
Damon:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/us/politics/trump-nft-trading-cards-superhero.html
Bill:
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3767169-mccarthy-taps-mike-gallagher-to-chair-planned-china-select-committee/
Linda:
https://www.slowboring.com/p/cryptocurrency-is-the-segway-of-finance
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 9, 2022 • 58min
Bibi is Back
Amir Tibon of Haaretz joins to explain how Netanyahu won again and what his new coalition means for Israel, for US/Israel relations, and possibly, for Ukraine. Also, the shape of American politics after Georgia's runoff.
Highlights/Lowlights:
Mona's
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/03/president-emergency-power-student-loan-forgiveness/
Damon's
https://damonlinker.substack.com/p/germany-foils-a-far-right-coup-plot
Amir's:
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2022-12-07/ty-article/.premium/raphael-warnock-buoyed-by-jewish-vote-defeats-herschel-walker-in-georgia-senate-runoff/00000184-ea07-d9f1-a9e6-efc7797d0000
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/us/politics/trump-constitution-republicans.html
Linda's
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-curriculum-wars-are-based-on
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63900099
Bill's
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-congress-expected-pass-bill-protecting-same-sex-marriage-2022-12-08/
https://globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/growing-us-divide-how-long-support-ukraine
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 2, 2022 • 58min
Boy Troubles
Richard Reeves discusses his book Of Boys and Men. The panel then considers China's COVID turmoil, and the poisons unleashed by Trump into our national bloodstream, including anti-Semitism.
Highlights/lowlights:
Mona:
https://www.thebulwark.com/putins-bogus-blame-nato-excuse/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/palo-alto-recycling-asia-garbage-waste-rcna58633
Linda:
https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000008634824/afghan-refugees-biden.html?act[…]ies-bar®ion=header&pgtype=Article&playlistId=video/opinion
Damon:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/30/elon-musk-twitter-success-luck/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/29/mass-shootings-conservative-pundits-responsibility/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nov 18, 2022 • 1h 2min
Righting the Ship
Bret Stephens joins the group to share reflections on Trump's prospects, lessons for both parties from the midterms, and changing your mind in public.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nov 10, 2022 • 53min
The Biggest Loser
Sarah Longwell joins the group to evaluate the momentous midterms.
highlights/lowlights
Mona's:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/07/putin-backs-down-ukraine-turkey-china-india/
Bill's:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/world/europe/ukraine-russia-kherson-retreat.html
Linda's:
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/21/texas-republican-democrat-hispanic-voters/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nov 4, 2022 • 1h 2min
Moral Illness
Ruy Teixeira joins the panel to evaluate the coming election, the attack on Paul Pelosi, and the argument that both Biden and Harris should stand down.
highlights/lowlights:
Mona's
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/sohrab-ahmari-thinks-that-the-anti?r=6jqoy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Linda's
https://quillette.com/2022/10/27/fdr-and-the-holocaust/
Bill's
https://www.npr.org/2022/11/03/1133848992/ethiopia-tigray-war-peace-deal-truce-eritrea
Damon's
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/02/world/middleeast/israel-election-netanyahu.html
Ruy:
https://www.dw.com/en/bolsonaro-meets-lulas-team-to-begin-transfer-of-power/a-63645795
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices