The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast

On episode 32—released on the 32nd of the month—Charles talks to Gareth Russell, who wrote a book about the Titanic (Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era) and who, a couple of years ago, was invited to take a trip on the Titan submersible that sank this week. Among the topics Charles and Gareth discuss are why the Titanic continues to command such interest, whose fault its sinking was, when the conspiracy theories started, and if its ethical to go down to what is, in effect, a mass grave.The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.  

On episode 31 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast—this one with 100% less Luther Abel—Charles chats with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya about his reflections on the pandemic. What did he get right? What did he get wrong? Has the public health establishment learned its lesson? Does it deserve to be trusted? If so, how would we get back to that? Does Dr. Bhattacharya share Charles's enthusiasm for the vaccine? What, if anything, did Anthony Fauci get right? Answers abound.Charles is now back from Italy, and in possession of quite a lot of wine.The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.  

On episode 30 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles welcomes back his old Mad Dogs and Englishmen co-host, Kevin Williamson, to talk about cities, crime, whether libertarians were wrong about marijuana legalization, going to Italy, shooting snakes with revolvers, and who is going to be the Republican nominee in 2024. No PPE money was destroyed during the making of this podcast.N.B. Charles is now on vacation. The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast will return in two weeks.The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.  

In this special "pop-up" episode, Charles talks to Andy McCarthy about why, since Episode 5, Andy has changed his view on whether or not the FBI is irredeemable and should be abolished.The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.  

On this week's episode of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast—the first since Charles got a haircut—Charles talks to Elbridge Colby about Taiwan. Among the topics discussed are why Taiwan matters more to the United States and the West more generally than, say, the Falkland Islands; whether Americans are prepared for an invasion; if China is our biggest geopolitical threat; and, if it is, what this tells us about our ideal Ukraine policy.Charles also answers a question: "Why do most state legislatures have a Senate?"The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.  

Is free speech more at risk in the U.K. or the U.S.? Should Britain adopt a First Amendment? How can it possibly be legal for the police to place "non-crimes" on Brits' criminal records? Why is Scotland so censorious? And is it getting better? On Episode 27, Charles talks to Toby Young about these questions and more.He also discusses the delicious political candidacy of Calvin Ball (yes, really!), and answers a question about martial arts.The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.  

Episode 26 begins with a Q&A. The first question has to do with infringements on constitutional rights. “Why is it okay to infringe on a right when it comes to requiring voters to register, but it isn't okay to infringe on a right when it comes to requiring gun owners to register?” The second returns to a familiar frame: “As a well known rollercoaster aficionado, what four ‘coasters would be on your Mount Rushmore?” Then it’s on to a chat with Sonny Bunch, of the Bulwark, about the state of modern cinema. As a self-professed “movie idiot,” Charles asks how Sonny became a critic, how one can tell what’s a Good Film, why the Oscars seem so far removed from films people actually want to watch, and why Hollywood is hooked on remakes, reboots, sequels, and spinoffs?The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.  

This week's episode features another whole-show conversation, this time with Daniel Hannan, the writer, blogger and Conservative member of the British House of Lords. Charles and Daniel chat about William Shakespeare, the subject of Daniel's fantastic piece in the most recent issue of National Review. On the table are whether Shakespeare invented the modern human, how Shakespeare wrote his plays, why the Japanese think Shakespeare is Japanese and the Germans think Shakespeare is German; and whether some of Shakespeare's work is too unbearable to watch.Additional note: The man that hath no music in himself / Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds / Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils / The motions of his spirit are dull as night / And his affections dark as Erebus / Let no such man be trustedThe dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.  

On episode 24, Charles starts off by answering two questions. (1) "Were he alive today, would Ben Franklin be repairing old cars or modifying golf carts?" (2) "What do you think the practical end goal of judicial Originalism is supposed to be?"Then it's time for a conversation with pollster and strategist, Giancarlo Sopo, who answers questions about the GOP's challenges going into 2024. Is abortion going to drag Republicans down in swing states? How much will January 6 continue to matter? Does DeSantis have a better chance than Trump? And what are the Democrats' liabilities?The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.  

On this 23rd—but not 22nd or 24th—episode, Charles starts by taking on the preposterous idea that if one thinks that Donald Trump ought to have been impeached for what he did in 2021, the unrelated criminal case against him in New York must therefore be correct.Afterwards, Charles talks to Stanford's Lanhee Chen about whether California is salvageable, and then, on the Color Supplement, discusses the joy of half-dead cars with Luther Abel, who confirms that, in the Midwest, the quadratic spacing solution needs to be more viscous so that the cold weather doesn’t contract the tetrafarseling or shimmy the wanglepins.The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.