

The Ricochet Podcast
Ricochet
Weekly episodes of Ricochet’s flagship podcast feature our hosts James Lileks, Steve Hayward, Charles C. W. Cooke, and guests discussing the issues of the week.Listen to The Ricochet Podcast, along with more than 40 other original podcasts, at Ricochet.com. No paid subscription required.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 26, 2025 • 52min
The Prince of Peace
The executive branch's ambitious prosecutors have made first strikes against familiar, yet evasive, foes. That means it's time to bring back John Yoo — legal scholar, gastronome, Eagles fan — to parse through the Comey indictment, jurisprudence regarding domestic terror, and the legitimation of using military force against Venezuelan drug runners. Plus, Steve, Charlie, and James nod along to Trump's riff at the U.N. General Assembly but remain wary of the big warning against a common pain reliever. Sound clip from this week's open: President Trump goes off script at the U.N.Please visit this week's sponsors!Cozy Earth: Go to cozyearth.com/RICOCHET for up to 40% off your new favorite pajama set and blanket!Prize Picks: Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/RICOCHET and use code RICOCHET and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup!

Sep 19, 2025 • 55min
Free Speech, Rightly Handled
Steve Hayward is back with James and Charles after a few weeks away, and the trio sits down with Josh Hammer, senior editor-at-large of Newsweek, to talk about his murdered friend, Charlie Kirk. The gang discusses the Turning Point enterprise, the mission of its founder, and the ugly attempts by clickbait peddlers to contort the late-Kirk's message.Plus, the hosts break down everything right and wrong with Jimmy Kimmel's suspension, Pam Bondi's comments, the proposed investigation into Antifa, and the latest on the TikTok deal. Sound from this week's open: Trump and Jimmy Kimmel's latest public comments about each other.

Sep 12, 2025 • 50min
A Turning Point
James and Charles discuss the political assassination of Charlie Kirk and the disturbing implications it has for a country founded on certain inalienable rights.Sound from this week's audio: Utah Governor Stephen Cox announces the capture of the shooter.Photo: Dennis MacDonald / Shutterstock.comPlease visit today's sponsor, Cozy Earth: CozyEarth.com and use code RICOCHET at checkout for up to 40% off

Sep 5, 2025 • 55min
It's a Wonder Why They're Losing to This Guy
Steve Hayward is traveling abroad, so Ricochet co-founder Rob Long takes a break from his seminary studies to join James and Charlie in a discussion of worldly ways this week. The trio discusses property taxes, crazies with guns, and Bari Weiss's making a big deal over The Free Press. Plus, there's a comedian on trial in the UK, sustained outrage over Trump's law-and-order blitz, and disappointment among his enemies that he could be away from the cameras and alive at the same time.- Sounds from this week's open: Tim Waltz on Donald Trump's "death" earlier this week, and Donald Trump's announcement that he was not dead earlier this week.- Visit this week's sponsor, Prize Picks, and use code RICOCHET and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup!

Aug 29, 2025 • 56min
Burning Issues
This week's podcast starts out on a somber note, as this week's tragic news of the attack on Annunciation Catholic school hits unsettlingly close to home for one of our hosts. James, Charles, and Steve then chat with Will Chamberlain about next week's NatCon conference taking place in Washington, DC. The trio also weighs in on flag-burning.- Sound from this week's open: Jesse Merkel, who lost his 8-year-old son Fletcher in the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting on Wednesday speaks to the media.

Aug 22, 2025 • 1h 4min
Saddled In for Pain
Democrats have been worked up this week over congressional redistricting in Texas. But, hypocrisy aside, could this be a low priority for a party well into the double-digits in favorability? To get a sense of what the left ought to be doing instead, we welcome Ruy Teixiera back to the podcast to discuss the now-endangered liberal patriot. (Be sure to subscribe to his Substack of the same name!) Plus: James, Charles and Steve suss out the raid on John Bolton's house, have their voices heard on mail-in ballots, and collectively grimace at the Cracker Barrel rebrand. Opening sound this week: Sen. John Kennedy (R - LA) on the Democrats ( via Fox News) and John Bolton on Trump (CNN)Please visit our fantastic sponsor for this week's show: Get a FREE report with all the details at Bank on Yourself.com/ RICOCHET

Aug 15, 2025 • 59min
Root Causes and Summit Highs
Noah Rothman returns ahead of Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin to give a foreign policy progress report of the president's second term. He gets into the fraught history of US-Russia negotiations, applauds the latest maneuvers in the Middle East, and applies a big-picture framing of the geopolitical status quo in response to the charge that collapse is imminent. Plus, Charlie, Steve, and James discuss the federalization of law enforcement in D.C. and the administration's announcement of potential weed reform. Sound from this week's open: President Trump and House Minority Leader Jefferies on DC police “scheme.”Please visit our fantastic sponsors:Cozy Earth: Upgrade your summer. Go to cozyearth.com/RICOCHET for up to 40% off best-selling temperature-regulating sheets, apparel, and more.Qualia Senolytic: Take control of your cellular health today. Go to qualialife.com/ricochet and save 15% to experience the science of feeling younger.

Aug 8, 2025 • 53min
Cradle of Civilization
In less than eighty years, the US has slipped from its baby boom heyday to a baby bust. Timothy Carney, author of Alientated America and Family Unfriendly, joins the Ricochet Podcast to discuss the implications and potential consequences of the nation's waning will to procreate. Steve, Charles, and James gab about the fuss over gerrymandering, appraise Trump's warning to DC leadership, and consider the predicament before Israel as they plan to occupy Gaza City.- Sound from this week's opening: Jim Acosta interviews an AI version of deceased Parkland shooting victim.

Aug 1, 2025 • 51min
Forever in Blue Jeans
Another workweek, another outrage, another Casual Friday. Lileks, Hayward, and Cooke remain (reasonably) laid back in the face of madman theory in action, tariff tranches, deadly predators, and pun-heavy advertisements.- Sound from this week's open: Sydney Sweeny promoting American Apparel jeans and Donald Trump explains how to escape from alligators.

Jul 25, 2025 • 1h
Weaving Together European Conservatism(s)
At 750 episodes, the Ricochet Podcast is ready to accept the responsibilities that come with joining the ranks of august institutions and fellow pillars of Western Civilization. To that end, our princely hosts, James, Charles, and Steven, convene with Ellen Fantini of The European Conservative for a digital roundtable on her magazine's unique efforts to restore the rites of the proud cultures on the other side of the Atlantic. Plus, the gents discuss the revisited Russiagate scandal, the Colbert affair, and Hunter Biden's...uh...transfixing effort to revive the family name. Sound from this week's open: Tulsi Gabbard answers a question at Wednesday's White House press conference, and Stephen Colbert offers another of his "satirical witticisms."Check out Ricochet sponsors:Bank on Yourself: Get a FREE report with all the details at Bank on Yourself.com/ RICOCHETCozy Earth: Upgrade your summer. Go to cozyearth.com/RICOCHET for up to 40% off best-selling temperature-regulating sheets, apparel, and more.