Eli Lake, a seasoned reporter for The Free Press, dives deep into the political dynamics surrounding Kamala Harris's rise as the presumptive presidential nominee. He draws fascinating parallels between American political narratives and historical instances of censorship in the Soviet Union. Lake discusses the absurdities of modern politics, urging the need for humor amidst serious issues. He also critiques the media's role in shaping public perception and highlights the tension between truth and party loyalty, offering listeners a thought-provoking perspective.

*This episode originally ran on September 7, 2024 on Honestly with Bari Weiss* After Oct. 7, 2023—when Hamas attacked Israel— students at colleges across America etched themselves into infamy with the most dramatic campus protests in a generation.In preparation for the 2024 fall semester, some major universities—from NYU to UCLA—have implemented new rules and decided to enforce old ones to protect Jewish students from activists who had declared sections of campus no-go zones for Zionists. Universities that turn a blind eye to the Tentifada phenomenon now risk violating federal statute. Nonetheless, the chaos appears to be returning. At Temple University, protesters marched in solidarity with Palestinian “resistance against their colonizers.” Last week, a man attacked a group of Jewish students with a glass bottle on the University of Pittsburgh campus outside the school’s “Cathedral of Learning.” Meanwhile at the University of Michigan, four agitators were arrested during a “die-in.”So clearly the danger is not yet over entirely for campuses, even though some of the steam may be leaving the movement. The Democratic National Convention, for example, was supposed to be the exclamation mark of rage, but the protests barely registered as a tussle. But history teaches us that it takes only a few student true believers to make quite a mess once they decide that boycotts and sit-ins aren’t making a difference. Eli Lake looks at America’s history with Ivy League domestic terrorists. More than 50 years ago, campus unrest also spilled into the streets and moved off the grid as a small and lethal group of radicals called the Weather Underground took the plunge from protest to resistance. But the Weather Underground railed against the establishment. Today’s campus protesters are supported by it. Call them. . . the Weather Overground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*This episode originally ran on July 4, 2024 on Honestly with Bari Weiss* On our nation’s 248th birthday, Joe Biden faced the wrath of a thousand pundits. The whole world watched the elected leader of the world’s oldest republic befogged, slack-jawed, and mentally vacant in a debate he had to win. A poll from CBS showed that after Biden’s infamous debate performance last week, 72 percent of registered voters believed the man lacked the cognitive ability to be president. Even his closest friends and sycophants were pleading for the old man to hang it up. The New York Times editorial board. Former advisers to Barack Obama. Columnist and Biden’s personal friend, Tom Friedman, said he wept in a hotel room in Portugal while watching the debate. They had seen enough. And yet, Biden’s White House is still shrugging it off. It was just a debate, they told us. Don’t let 90 minutes define years of accomplishments. But it was not just a debate. It was indelible and undeniable proof that the leader of the free world lacked the stamina and acuity to do the job for four more months, let alone four more years. Then-president Lyndon Baines Johnson found himself in a similar position in 1968. Johnson was losing the country, and in the middle of the primary he decided to bow out. Eli Lake tells the story of what happened in 1968 when President Johnson decided he was not fit for reapplying for his job. He listened to his critics and backed away from the White House, allowing the Democrats an opportunity to stage an open convention to choose their next candidate for the presidency. But why did the party want him gone so badly? And how did this seismic decision work out? It’s a tale of murder, war, and riots that culminated in the most explosive convention in the history of America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices