Citizen McCain with Meghan McCain

Three years after the October 7 attacks on Israel, where are we now, and why does antisemitism seem to be getting worse? Meghan McCain and Miranda Wilkins welcome journalists Jamie Kirchick and Eve Barlow for a candid, emotional and sometimes heated conversation about the anniversary of October 7, the rise of antisemitism and the political and cultural fallout that continues to divide the country. Jamie explains the phenomenon of the “October 8th Jew,” while Eve weighs in on the growing pressure for celebrities to publicly declare their positions on Israel and Gaza. The conversation turns to Tucker Carlson's bizarre World War II debate with Jacob Rees-Mogg, his relationship with JD Vance and what it could mean for the Republican Party heading into 2028. Then there's Hollywood. Adam Brody's comments about Gaza have sparked a public rebuke from the rabbi who advised him on 'Nobody Wants This,' while Zach Bryan's “Free Palestine” shirt has Meghan, Miranda and their guests debating celebrity activism, social pressure and whether taking a political stand has become its own form of publicity. The panel also examines divisions within the Democratic Party, Michigan's Senate race and why the Palestinian cause has become intertwined with other political and social movements. Plus, a Citizen McCain viewer joins the conversation with a question for Jamie and Eve. But first, Meghan and Miranda tackle the disturbing discourse surrounding the Cornell sexual assault allegations, including Megyn Kelly's comments about the accuser's appearance. The two discuss consent, compassion, victim-blaming and why a woman's looks have absolutely nothing to do with whether she was assaulted. And because it's still Citizen McCain, there's also an explorer voluntarily taking an inflatable raft into the Congo, some very cozy fall recommendations and a little Halloween excitement. It's a serious anniversary, an important conversation and an episode that doesn't shy away from difficult subjects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What exactly is happening with Tucker Carlson? Meghan McCain and Miranda Wilkins are trying to figure that out after Tucker's bizarre debate with former British cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg somehow turned into a conversation about whether Britain should have fought Hitler in World War II. Writer and comedian Bridget Phetasy joins them to unpack the clips, the internet rabbit holes fueling this stuff and the much bigger political question: What does Tucker's relationship with JD Vance mean heading toward 2028? Meghan also shares some behind-the-scenes stories from her years at Fox News, while Bridget weighs in on the changing political mood in Texas, Ken Paxton and whether Republicans risk losing independent and suburban voters. Then the conversation gets more personal as Meghan, Miranda and Bridget talk about Israel, the increasingly intense pressure to publicly declare a side on social media and the antisemitism Jewish Americans are experiencing right now. Plus, Tom Cruise has a massive box office bomb, Meghan and Miranda are VERY ready for Nathan Fielder's Elizabeth Holmes movie, Ashley may have encountered a haunted antique doll, and there's more Citizen McCain salon news. Bridget Phetasy is always one of our favorite people to have on, and this one goes everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Election Day is getting closer, the polls are getting weirder and Washington has officially entered full midterm obsession mode. Democratic strategist and former Biden White House Press Office chief of staff Yemisi Egbewole is back to help Meghan McCain and Miranda Wilkins make sense of the increasingly chaotic midterm map. Is the much-hyped blue wave actually coming, or are Democrats getting ahead of themselves? The three dig into Texas, where Ken Paxton is giving Republicans plenty to worry about, the races tightening in places nobody expected, what Maine could tell us about the mood of the country and why prediction markets may not be telling us nearly as much as people think. Then there is 2028. Yes, already. Meghan has had ENOUGH of everyone treating JD Vance like the Republican nomination is a coronation, especially as Eric Schmitt's name is already being floated as a possible running mate. That conversation gets even messier after Schmitt's spectacular Hawkeyes-versus-Hawks faceplant during the Jack Smith hearing, with former Klobuchar staffer Yemisi giving us the inside baseball on exactly how a Senate hearing goes that wrong. Plus, Mauricio Umansky says he's considering running for mayor of Los Angeles, which naturally requires an emergency Housewives-meets-politics summit. Meghan and Miranda also disagree over the now-infamous lone juror from the Lindsay Clancy trial, Amy Klobuchar gains some new fans and we ask the most important question in Washington right now: blue tsunami, blue wave or blue trickle? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What really happened inside the Kennedy Center after President Trump and his allies took control? Former Kennedy Center visual arts staffer Josef Palermo joins Meghan McCain and Miranda Wilkins for an exclusive, in-depth conversation about what he says he witnessed from inside one of America's most iconic cultural institutions. Palermo says he went into the job knowing he wasn't a Trump supporter but believing the Kennedy Center should belong to all Americans, regardless of politics. Instead, he describes a workplace where morale collapsed, longtime employees disappeared, political influence grew and leadership made decisions that left him increasingly alarmed. He takes us inside the controversy over high-dollar tickets offering proximity to President Trump, plans to remove and replace artwork throughout the Kennedy Center, the disappearance of historic artifacts from the African Room, questions surrounding hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars allocated for renovations, and why he believes the institution never needed to completely shut down. Palermo also recounts the day he was laid off, the severance agreement that came with an NDA, why he refused to sign it and how he ended up in Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's office just five days later sharing what he knew with investigators. Meghan and Miranda press him on what he personally witnessed, what he believes went wrong, who he holds responsible and whether the Kennedy Center can still be saved. This is Josef Palermo's firsthand account of what happened behind the scenes and why he decided to speak out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Knowles joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation that goes exactly where you'd expect it to go... and then several places you absolutely wouldn't. First, we're obsessed with the surprise Nathan Fielder documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, which leads to a never-before-fully-told story about meeting the Theranos founder at the height of her girlboss fame. The security detail. The turtleneck. The room full of powerful men hanging on her every word. And the Birkin bag that immediately raised one very important question: if you supposedly don't care about fashion, why are you carrying one of the most coveted handbags on earth? Then Michael joins us to talk about why the Holmes story still fascinates people, his new Daily Wire movie 'Run Hide Fight: Infidels,' and his viral interview with Clavicular, the looksmaxxing influencer who is now facing serious criminal allegations. We get into the darker corners of internet culture, what teenage boys are absorbing online, and why consequences and accountability suddenly seem to be up for debate. Plus, we talk midterms, AOC, the future of the Democratic Party, and somehow still find time for an emergency Housewives intervention before signing off. And yes, Miranda is back. Allegedly with scurvy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The band is finally back together! After an extremely unwelcome battle with shingles, Miranda Wilkins is back in studio with Meghan McCain, and apparently decided easing herself back in was not an option. Meghan and Miranda start with Patrick Clancy’s emotional ‘60 Minutes’ interview about the murders of his three children, his decision to forgive Lindsay Clancy and the internet conspiracy theories that have followed him. Miranda watched the entire interview and has THOUGHTS, while Meghan has some serious questions about why ‘60 Minutes’ chose two men to lead a conversation so deeply rooted in motherhood and postpartum mental health. Then former Obama campaign and White House aide Ravi Gupta joins for a surprisingly candid conversation about what Democrats are getting wrong. They tackle the party’s identity crisis, its struggle with male voters, the staggering money gap heading into the midterms, whether America’s political class is simply too old, and why Mitch McConnell’s return to the Senate is bringing back some uncomfortable memories of Dianne Feinstein. But the conversation goes well beyond politics. Ravi talks about his new book ‘The Invisible List,’ the careers most likely to survive the AI revolution, why he took up powerlifting in his 40s and the reminder that sometimes the thing you keep telling yourself you’ll do “someday” needs to happen now. Plus, Texas and Kansas become races to watch, Miranda immediately resumes her duties wrangling the 2WAY audience, and Meghan reminds everyone that spooky season is officially here. Miranda is back. Nature is healing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meghan McCain is holding down the fort while Miranda Wilkins continues recovering from shingles, and there is A LOT to get into. Ryan Girdusky joins Meghan to break down Republicans’ increasingly ugly midterm picture, rising gas and grocery prices, what’s going wrong in Texas, Mitch McConnell’s return to Washington after 93 days out of public view, and the bizarre sight of Gavin Newsom and Jake Tapper attempting to convince America they know how to fly fish. Then Sarah Fraser joins for a very different kind of chaos. Meghan and Sarah get candid about motherhood, miscarriages, fertility, egg donation and why neither of them has any interest in becoming a sourdough-making trad wife. Then they dive into the disturbing scandal surrounding Kim Zolciak’s family and the questions it raises for Bravo, the latest on Perez Hilton’s recovery, and, because we apparently can’t quit them, Harry and Meghan’s messy new life back in the UK. Plus, why the “girlboss” era may have sold women a lie, what really matters when the career highs stop feeling so high, and Sarah commits the ultimate Citizen McCain sin: defending Meghan Markle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miranda Wilkins makes a shingles “proof of life” appearance before Meghan McCain dives into a packed show with Anang Mittal and Elisha Krauss. First, Meghan and Anang react to the racist backlash over Indian-American students celebrating a University of Texas football win and ask what the growing rhetoric on the right could mean for Republicans, JD Vance and Usha Vance. Then they tackle the AI panic: are the robots actually coming for us, or do Silicon Valley companies have their own reasons for warning that their technology is becoming dangerously powerful? Elisha Krauss joins to break down the Republican midterm convention, which Meghan compares to a “fake Gucci bag,” the “48” chants for JD Vance, Trump’s $5,000 check proposal and whether Republicans are trying to crown their 2028 nominee years before voters have their say. Plus, the vandalized Charlie Kirk statue, Republicans’ problems in Arizona, Harry and Meghan’s new life back in the UK, and the one thing everyone can agree on: ‘Widow’s Bay’ deserves some Emmy love. Editor’s Note: This episode was recorded Monday, September 14 at approximately noon ET, before the Emmy Awards and before Sen. Mitch McConnell returned to public view and the U.S. Senate later that day after a three-month absence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miranda Wilkins is out with shingles, Producer Ashley has the flu and COVID, and somehow Citizen McCain is still standing. With Miranda under strict orders to rest, Meghan McCain is joined by guest co-host Kristen "Colonel Kurtz" Lacefield, who's back after a six-month hiatus from YouTube and ready to sound off. Meghan and Kristen take on "Trump-a-palooza," MAGA's midterm strategy and a growing problem for Republicans: are they driving women away? From trad-wife culture and homeschooling to slut-shaming, "childless cat ladies" and the online right's increasingly hostile rhetoric toward women, they ask whether conservatives are making the same mistake with young women that Democrats made with young men. Then, Meghan and Kristen go head-to-head over the Lindsay Clancy case, the insanity defense, the divided jury and why the case has become such a cultural flashpoint. Plus, why Kristen disappeared from YouTube, why she's coming back, and why disagreeing with your friends shouldn't mean destroying the friendship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meghan McCain and Miranda Wilkins are joined by longtime friend, conservative radio host and Verdict with Ted Cruz co-host Ben Ferguson for an episode that goes from true crime to Texas politics to midlife crisis cars faster than you can say "halfway to 90." First, the Lindsay Clancy case is back in the headlines, and the conversation gets heated. Meghan and Ben fiercely push back on the online movement defending Clancy and question whether the insanity defense has become a way to excuse the most horrific crimes. Miranda, who experienced medicated postpartum depression after the birth of her second daughter, offers a different perspective on mental illness, psychosis and why the three children at the center of the case cannot get lost in the debate. That leads to a larger conversation about crime, mental illness and public safety following the shocking random stabbing of a young mother in New York City. Plus, Meghan admits she's changed her mind about marijuana legalization after watching weed become virtually inescapable in cities like New York. Then it's off to Texas. Ben breaks down why Democrats continue pouring money into the state, whether James Talarico could actually pose a threat, why Meghan is nervous about Ken Paxton, and what turning Texas blue would mean for Republicans nationally. A Citizen McCain viewer even jumps in to challenge Ben's prediction and make the case that Republicans should be much more worried. And because this is Citizen McCain, there's also Ben's new midlife crisis dream car, Meghan's desperate desire for an Evel Knievel-inspired Bronco, Miranda's declaration that she's officially done with pants, spooky season excitement and a preview of some new Citizen McCain YouTube exclusives. Politics, crime, culture and chaos. Just another Wednesday at Citizen McCain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices