The band is back together. Helen, Emile, Sohrab, and Micah discuss the debt ceiling deal Kevin McCarthy made with Joe Biden. Is the House speaker right to be proud of it? Meanwhile, GOP governors are sending National Guard troops to the southern border to do the jobs American federal bureaucrats won't do. And how could we forget? The high holy days of America's civil religion are upon us in the sacred month of June.

Picks of the week:

Emile: C. Boyden Gray: The Passing of an Uncommon American Conservative, by Michael C. Desch

Helen: France Contemplates the Bear, by Christopher Caldwell

Sohrab: Don't Ask, Don't Tell in Ukraine, by Bradley Devlin

Micah: Conservatives on Target, by Carmel Richardson