

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

Oct 7, 2022 • 1h 18min
Pennsylvania Polka
America never fails to be interesting, and she tends to kick it into high gear around Election Day. Take Pennsylvania, for example. The Keystone state has shaped into one that is a much watch around this time – and on this go around, we’re watch Dr. Oz and John Fetterman… This is why we’re lucky to have our new friend Charles McElwee of RealClearPennsylvania to take us into the trenches of this... Source

Sep 30, 2022 • 1h 8min
The World Is Not Enough
It’s hard to win these days. Not only do we have worries about war, we’ve got worries over worries about war. Is the Biden administration’s foreign policy dangerously cautious? That’s what Peter and James discuss – and argue about – with our guest, AEI’s Kori Schake. The hosts (minus Rob, who was off podcasting elsewhere…) also chat about Italy’s Giorgia Meloni; James gets peeved, and it’a lots of... Source

Sep 23, 2022 • 1h 9min
Hot For Cleveland
Today we cover breaking news and the hardly recognizable past. Toby Young joins at the top to to tell us about his personal experience with PayPal’s shot at free speech. Later, our old pal Troy Senik returns to give Grover Cleveland the reassessment he deserves. (Get a copy of Troy’s book here!) Peter, James and Charlie (Rob’s sub for the day) chew over the FBI given whistleblower Kyle Seraphin’s... Source

Sep 16, 2022 • 1h 12min
Faith in Princes, Faith in God
As promised our old friend David Limbaugh returns to the podcast to rant a bit and maybe pitch a few books on the side. We talk open borders and Martha’s Vineyard and then cover his latest volume, The Resurrected Jesus: The Church in the New Testament, which he wrote with his daughter, Christen Limbaugh Bloom. We also welcome in American Enterprise Institute scholar Nicholas Eberstadt (fresh from... Source

Sep 9, 2022 • 1h 1min
A Very Fond Farewell
It’s hard to call it unbelievable when a 96-year-old mortal shuffles off, but Queen Elizabeth II’s final departure has had a peculiar effect. Hoping to have the feeling articulated without sentimentality, we asked on a couple English friends ( Charlie Cooke filling in for Peter and London Calling’s Toby Young) to discuss her importance, and what her death means for the Commonwealth. Source

Sep 2, 2022 • 1h 4min
Dramatic Docs
You saw the pictures! The walls are finally closing in; or maybe it’s the floor that’ll finally move in on Trump! Or maybe everyone should cool their jets, as our guest Bill Barr might recommend. The former Attorney General joins us again to discuss what we know (and don’t know) about the latest legal troubles for the former president. Without getting ahead of the facts, Barr thinks through the... Source

Aug 26, 2022 • 1h 11min
Tossing The Elf Out With The Chump Change
It’s hard to put words to the audaciousness of President Biden’s latest charade. Good thing we have an Englishman! Our friend Charlie Cooke is filling in for Peter and James to talk about Joe’s promise to liquidate the American social contract. He and Rob also get into midterms and search in vain for a Republican national agenda. And since we can’t help but cling to a bit of good news, Dr. Source

Aug 19, 2022 • 1h 6min
Fishing Expedition
Since our plans to hide away forever at a remote Minnesotan lake house were dashed – on account of James not having one for us – we decided instead to jump on into the mucky swamp that’s swallowed up our institutions. At least we have Eli Lake (who, as you’ll hear, knows everybody) to tour us through the law enforcement agencies who’ve undermined their standing with the public in order to get the... Source

Aug 12, 2022 • 1h 22min
We Called It A Raid…
We’re not short on takes about the search (or whatever you wanna call it) at Mar-a-Lago this week; but one can’t ever get enough of people who know what they’re talking about when it comes to something as big as this! Ricochet’s old friend Andy McCarthy joins to provide just that kinda commentary. He gives some essential vocab clarifications; lays out the charges he believes the Justice Department... Source

Aug 5, 2022 • 1h 5min
Face-Saving Megalomaniacs
With all the sound and fury surrounding Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, we think it’s timely to hear from an expert on the Indo-Pacific to see if it signifies much. Misha Auslin, host of The Pacific Century, joins to do just that. He identifies the silver lining in the whole affair; elucidates how China’s strategy has frozen us from stating our interests; points to the return of the engagement... Source