

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 5, 2024 • 1h 5min
"Harvard Shmarvard"
Nick Grossman of Arc Digital joins to discuss plagiarism, double standards, DEI, Israel, Iran, and Hamas.
highlights / lowlights
Mona: Hydroxychloroquine could have caused 17,000 deaths during Covid, study finds and Florida surgeon general calls for halt on mRNA covid vaccines, citing debunked claim
Damon: The Law and High Politics of Disqualifying President Trump by Steve Vladeck
Nick: Slow Horses on Apple+ and Why the GOP Doesn’t Really Want a Deal on Ukraine and the Border by David Frum.
Linda: ‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7
Bill: Fed Minutes Suggest Rate Hikes Are Over, but Offer No Timetable on Cuts and Kyiv Issues Dire Warning After 'Record' US Patriot Sweep

Dec 29, 2023 • 60min
"Will Haley's Stumble Matter?"
Guest host A.B. Stoddard and special guest Jim Swift join the panel to discuss Nikki Haley's Civil War / slavery stumble in New Hampshire.
highlights / lowlights
A.B. Stoddard: What Mitt Romney Saw in the Senate by McKay Coppins (The Atlantic) and My Father, My Faith, and Donald Trump by Tim Alberta (The Atlantic)
Jim Swift: The Day After: The Night My Father Scared America, read by A.B. Stoddard (The Bulwark)
Damon Linker: The Rise of Narrative and The Fall of Persuasion by Leon Wieseltier (Liberties)
Linda Chavez: Here’s the Civil War history they didn’t want you to know by Howell Raines (WaPo)
Bill Galston: Ukraine Doesn’t Need All Its Territory to Defeat Putin By Serge Schmemann (NYT)

Dec 22, 2023 • 1h 8min
Did Colorado's Supreme Court Do the Right Thing?
Eric Edelman joins the group to consider whether Trump should be barred by 14th amendment, prospects for Ukraine, and whether Americans' sour views on the economy are right or wrong.
highlights / lowlights
Mona: Right-wing pundits tremble in fear of … tap-dancing, by Catherine Rampell (WaPo)
Eric: The mystery of the missing binder: How a collection of raw Russian intelligence disappeared under Trump (CNN) / Trump repeats 'poisoning the blood' anti-immigrant remark (Reuters)
Damon: Rudy Giuliani's descent into bankruptcy, a personal story.
Linda: Florida Republican Party censures chairman Christian Ziegler, by Lori Rozsa (WaPo)
Bill: Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy following $146 million defamation suit judgment

Dec 15, 2023 • 60min
America Retreating from World Leadership
The podcast discusses the GOP House's move towards impeaching Biden and the Supreme Court's potential action on Trump's 'immunity'. They also touch on the effectiveness of activism, Congress's approval barring a president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO, and a plan to save Harvard. Other topics include fixing the Insurrection Act, Andre Braugher's death, and the US's pivot away from world leadership.

Dec 8, 2023 • 1h 9min
"Dictator on Day One"
Democracy scholar Rachel Kleinfeld joins Beg to Differ to discuss polarization, violence, the GOP, the rule of law, Ivy League hypocrites, and more.
highlights / lowlights
Mona Charen: What Is Happening at the Columbia School of Social Work? by Pamela Paul
Damon Linker: A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending. and The Trump dictatorship: How to stop it, both by Robert Kagan
Bill Galston: The troubling testimony of Ivy League professors before the House on anti-semitism on campus.
Linda Chavez: Why Dostoevsky Loved Humanity and Hated the Jews by Gary Saul Morson

Dec 1, 2023 • 1h 1min
The Immigration Threat to Biden's Reelection
Noah Smith joins to talk about the border crisis and its political implications as well as Haley's surge (if it is one).
highlights / lowlights
Mona Charen: An Insider’s Guide to the Most Important Story on Earth by Matti Friedman (Tablet) and What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel by Matti Friedman (The Atlantic)
Noah Smith: People are realizing that the Arsenal of Democracy is gone
Damon Linker: The global demographics Twitter / X account @nonebusinesshey
Bill Galston: Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago by Ronen Bergman and Adam Goldman (NYTimes)
Linda Chavez: Once again: Speaking freely doesn’t mean speaking without consequence, by Philip Bump (WAPO)

Nov 24, 2023 • 48min
"Terrible Choices for Israel"
Israeli journalist Amir Tibon joins Mona Charen to discuss surviving a terrorist attack, Biden's support for Israel and progressive reactions, collapse of support for Netanyahu, options for Gaza's rule, and hopes for improved security and trustworthy leadership.

Nov 17, 2023 • 1h 8min
Can Biden Turn This Around?
The Economist's Idrees Kahloon joins to discuss whether Israel is losing the propaganda war; Biden's chances to revive his popularity, and Nikki Haley's narrow shot at the brass ring.
highlights / lowlights
Linda Chavez: Sweeping Raids, Giant Camps and Mass Deportations: Inside Trump’s 2025 Immigration Plans (NYT)
Idrees Khaloon: The George Santos House Ethics Committee Report.
Damon Linker: Some young Americans on TikTok say they sympathize with Osama bin Laden (CNN)
Mona Charen: Ukraine Indicts Officials Linked to Efforts to Investigate the Bidens
Bill Galston: Senator Mullin's Senate Fight Club

Nov 10, 2023 • 1h 7min
Scary Polls and Scary Pols
Chris Cillizza and Will Saletan join the crew to discuss election outcomes, the GOP debate, generational divide about Israel, and polls. They also touch on abortion's impact on elections, Biden's weaknesses, and banning cell phones at schools.

Nov 3, 2023 • 1h 3min
American World Leadership in Crisis
NY Times journalist Bret Stephens joins the panel to analyze the Gaza war, America's declining stomach for world leadership, the House's new speaker, and sagging GOP support for Ukraine.