The Ricochet Podcast

By Ricochet

What's The Ricochet Podcast about?

Weekly episodes of Ricochet’s flagship podcast feature our hosts James Lileks, Rob Long, Peter Robinson, and guests discussing the issues of the week.

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The Ricochet Podcast episodes:

04.19.2024
We'll Have Manhattan
We'll have Manhattan, The D.A. and a jury, too...And so we begin with apologies to Rodgers and Hart as our intrepid founders find themselves in the Big Apple together just as Donald Trump's criminal trial in the Stormy Daniels hush money...
04.12.2024
Realty Check
James Lileks is back in the house, ladies and gentlemen! And speaking of houses, Jack Ryan joins the podcast to explain his war against the National Association of Realtors. (Pre-order your copy of the book he's co-authored: Bringing Adam Smith into...
04.05.2024
Earthquakes and Political Shaking
AEI's Matthew Continetti joins the Ricochet Podcast to discuss the internecine fight over the future of conservatism and the Democratic Party's abandonment of Israel. Plus, Peter and Rob have a bit of fun with earthquakes and hippie terrorists; swap lab...
03.29.2024
About the Lamb, Not the Ham
Andrew Klavan returns to the Ricochet Podcast for a special Good Friday/Easter episode! He, Rob and Peter cover everything from antisemitism—the devil's flagpole, as Drew calls it—and what it really means to believe that Christ is King; on to poetics,...
03.22.2024
When Bureaucrats Gather
Richard Epstein brings his encyclopedic knowledge to help break down some of the pivotal matters being debated in Congress and before the Supreme Court. Plus, James and Rob look back on the Covid lockdowns four years later, along with Minneapolis'...
03.15.2024
The Visual Fallacy
Thirty years back, filmmaker Whit Stillman charmed audiences with a comedy about two Americans abroad in chaotic Cold War Europe. He joins Rob, James and Peter to discuss his movie Barcelona, cinema as an artform and as a business, and...
03.08.2024
Ancient Ideas and the Spectacle of the Union
It's the Cooke and Lileks Show today! The duo delve into the egregious State of the Union address, and lament the erosion of the enumerated powers doctrine. They talk TikTok and the Energy and Commerce Committee's unanimous bill against the...
03.01.2024
Drunken Monkey Business
This week the Three Whiskey Happy Hour gang join James for a riotous good time, even as discuss and debate their beloved nation's precarious situation. They cover Joe Biden's visit to the border, Donald Trump's appeals to the Supreme Court,...
02.23.2024
Accept NO Imitation
The forces against free speech are at again! Whether or not you've heard of NewsGuard or the Global Disinformation Index, rest assured that they're intently interested in where you get your information. Joining Peter, Rob and James today is David...
02.16.2024
Rock Me Amadeus
We've got a special number for ya, folks. Instead of a guest or even politics, Charles Cooke, James Lileks and Peter Robinson talk football and music. Tune in for a recap on the Super Bowl—get Charles' take on the season...
02.09.2024
Working Properly
We're reminded often to mind our "work-life balance", but perhaps that distinction is drawn too plainly. Today we hear from David Bahnsen, author of the just-published Full Time: Work and the Meaning of Life, who makes the case that what...
02.02.2024
Where and When to RUNRWAway
Do you ever get that queasy feeling by the occassional thought that the people running our foreign policy agenda are, well… dumb? We do too. And so does our guest Rich Goldberg, who had to explain some basics to the...
01.26.2024
Country on the Wire
The GOP primary is basically dunzo. Time to look ahead towards the general election, the future of the Republican Party, even on to the generations that will take it over one day. To do so our merry Ricochet gang is...
01.19.2024
Twirling Twirling Into The Future
One caucus down and it appears the whole GOP primary is decided. Thankfully when you get a guest like Henry Olsen (EPPC senior fellow and host of the must-listen Beyond the Polls podcast) everything stays fresh and interesting. Henry has...
01.12.2024
Frozen in the Safe Lane
Iowa braces for a cold Caucus Night and now the Trump, DeSantis, Haley and Ramaswamy teams have their work cut out for them to keep their engines from stalling. Since blizzardous conditions are keeping us from visiting, we asked Jim...
01.06.2024
Finding the Way Back
The trio is back for 2024! The reunited gang is happy to welcome back Ayaan Hirsi Ali to discuss the West's crisis of confidence and its fumbling attempt at post-Judeo-Christianity. Plus James, Rob and Peter have a few thoughts about...
12.29.2023
God of the Two-Faced Podcast
Ok. We lied.We swore that we we're going to take this week off. But we're not. So just like Janus, the two-faced God of Duality, we're here to kick down the door of the New Year and not be content...
12.22.2023
Have Yourself a Merry Little Podcast
We end our podcasting year with a special edition of the Ricochet Podcast as James Lileks takes you through the Christmas memory book. So gather 'round the hearth and revel in our gift to you. Merry Christmas and we'll see...
12.16.2023
The Authentic Ethos with Glenn Loury
The tippi-toppers of higher ed are out of breath—they've run themselves into nonsensicle circles. But today's guest Glenn Loury is breathing easy. He, Peter and Rob discuss the Ivy League, Claudine Gay and the advancement of Black Americans, both due...
12.08.2023
The Controligarchs are Coming!
Once upon a time Americans could reliably count on reporters to follow the money to stay up on what the world's powerful players were up to. If you've ever despaired that those days are gone forever, we want to provide...
12.02.2023
Kissinger's Legacy
Henry Kissinger is gone after a century on Planet Earth. The most influential diplomat of the last fifty years, he's never been short of fierce criticisms from both the left and right. The great war historian Victor Davis Hanson returns...
11.17.2023
Trending and Blowin' Up!
Perhaps you're failing to vibe with Bin Laden and thus feeling a bit behind the times. Then again, you could be a sane person with a moral compass. James, Charles and Steve cover this and more with Noah Rothman, author...
11.10.2023
Panda-monium and Other Evils
We've made it to number 666! Unfortunately among the three of them James, Steve Hayward and Charles Cooke haven't a single sinister plan to reveal. They do however have lots to say about Wednesday's debate; progressive love for Hamas and...
11.03.2023
The Long Arc Forward with Christopher Rufo
The fight for our civilization is here, and today's guest is no stranger to the fray. Christopher Rufo is a member of the New College of Florida board and the mastermind of a number of projects devoted to winning the...
10.27.2023
Under The Influence
Even a pessimist would have reason experience surprise and consternation by the extent of our institutional crises. It's revealed that American students know nothing of the history of the Holocaust and the story of the Jewish people in its aftermath....
10.20.2023
This Year in Israel
Nice as it would be to turn away, the Ricochet Podcast follows up on the chaos covered last week with a new pair of guests. David P Goldman joins for the first time to o lay out China’s long term...
10.13.2023
They're Called "World Wars" for a Reason
That war in the Middle East had been predicted did little to allay the shock of all who’ve followed the news from Israel since October 7th. Today's first guest Niall Ferguson was among those who made such a prediction. He...
10.06.2023
What You See is What You Gaetz
It was no great secret that a single match could put fire to the 2023 Republican coalition in the House. But that didn't make the incediary Tuesday any less remarkable. To discuss what it means for the party's near future...
09.29.2023
Phool Around Phind Out
Citizens of Philadelphia are the latest victims of "wilding nights," watching helplessly as chortling teens smash storefronts and ransack the goods inside. These aren't unheard of events, but they're becoming more frequent. To sort out the ideologies and policies that...
09.22.2023
The Spartan Lifestyle
In a world gone mad, there's something comforting about turning attention to crazier days that somebody else had to suffer through. TikTok informs us that the boys are thinking an awful lot about Rome, we grownups are joined by Hillsdale...
09.15.2023
Potty Talk
As the lines that used to distinguish the political and legal are blurring, and the sense that the country is swirling down the drain, it's nice to at least have good company. Rob and Peter chat with Andy McCarthy to...
09.08.2023
Pumping Iron
The boys are back! That's right: you can hear Peter, Rob and James on the same podcast. They consider Eric Adam's unwitting vindication of the migrant-to-sanctuary city assistance program, along with the precipitous decline of Hollywood's major studios.And Barton Swaim...
08.25.2023
Beyond the Polls (There Be Dragons!)
There's post-debate analysis, and then there's post-debate analysis with Henry Olsen. Henry talents with numbers and genius for the politcal metaphor will make you rethink Wednesday's showdown in Milwaukee. Henry takes us through the snap polls, considers the candidates' new...
08.18.2023
A Sparking Powerline
We've got a crossover episode, folks! Our friends of the Three Whiskey Happy Hour podcast (Steve Hayward, "Lucretia" and John Yoo) join to talk about the wacky legal matters of our time. There are environmentalists claiming the positive right to...
08.11.2023
Heightened Risibility
We're erring on the side of positive expecttions again this week with Bjørn Lomborg. His new book is Best Things First where he sets his sights on cost effective, acheivable goals that will lift the world's poorest out of miserable...
08.04.2023
Weighing the Charges
Another week, another indictment. Another president, another scandal. So we call on the house prosecutor, Andy McCarthy, to weigh the evidence before us and join Messrs. Lileks, Long and Cooke as they debate the merits of the cases against both...
07.28.2023
Abundant Malthusiasm
We have a lot for you this week! Covering everything from atoms to commodities and precivilization to our indictmentpalooza. James, Rob and Steve discuss the latest from Mar-a-Lago; Hunter's crumbled plea deal; and the disengenous reaction to Florida's African American...
07.21.2023
All Smiles
The days of Carter era malaise were bad, bad, bad. But at least the man had the decency to speak honestly about the nation's troubles. Joe Biden on the other hand insists on telling us that everything's great. We discuss...
07.14.2023
To Serve Man
Scary times could be just around the corner. To help you prepare for that we've invited our old friend Carol Roth to stop by and talk about her new book, You Will Own Nothing... because you don't have to be...
07.07.2023
A Great Education and... Extracurricular Activities
It seems Democrats are confident that racial preferences are the only way for Black Americans to succeed. Our all-American guest Ian Rowe disagrees. Why's he so sure? Because he's sees acheivement everyday in his charter schools in the Bronx. He...
06.30.2023
The Democrats-Only Love Motel
Conservatives are set to celebrate another year of invigorating Supreme Court decisions. Ricochet's old pal John Yoo even goes so far as to suggest that we can finally get back to business. He and the gang go through the big...
06.23.2023
Busted and Babeling
Messrs. Lileks and Robinson chat with Peter Schweizer, best-selling author of Red Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, to discuss the malfeasant Biden family and the cronies who give them cover. Then David Berlinksi stops by to...
06.16.2023
Marching On With Newt Gingrich
Peter, James and Charles Cooke sit down with the one-and-only Newt Gingrich to discuss his newly published March to the Majority and, in doing so, put the astonishing Republican Revolution of 1994 in the context of today's congressional abandonment of...
06.09.2023
E.T. and His Boundless Orks
From the esoteric and the imperian to the specfic and the political. And then on to aliens! James, Rob and Steve Hayward chat with Patrick Deneen, author of Regime Change: Towards a Postliberal Future. They discuss the deliterious effects of...
06.02.2023
Deal With It
Larry Kudlow is back! And he brings good news, among other things. The guys get his take on the dealings of this Kevin McCarthy fellow, along with predictions on forthcoming (eventually!) market corrections, and his optimistic assesment of American work,...
05.26.2023
Over Target
Guests are fun 'n all but sometimes bros just gotta stick to the core group. Lileks, Robinson and Long discuss everything from a rumble in James' once quiet neighborhood to Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis, Jay Bhattacharya and a certain company...
05.19.2023
In Need of an Unbiased Machine
Rob, Peter and Steve Hayward discuss the border, banking and the lovely North Dakota with Senator John Hoeven; and then dig into the Durham Report with legal scholar/McMuffin epicure John Yoo. The hosts also discuss actual reefer madess, plus the...
05.12.2023
Sex, Lies and Notebook Computers
Andy McCarthy returns to help us get through the shocking discovery that maybe it's possible that the Bidens are a little bit not entirely 100 percent ethical. This week we've got money laundering, not one but two prostitutes; another big...
05.05.2023
Our [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Cities
New York! San Francisco! Our once grand cities are fast turning into... Yikesvilles. To help our hosts work up a diagnosis, The Ricochet Podcast needs the great Victor Davis Hanson. The quartet talk universities; they consider the unique top-down nature...
04.28.2023
We're Not Finished Yet
Mr. President says he needs four more years to break the country, so we at Ricochet thought we'd bring in a few guests that believe we aren't quite done for. First up is the spritely, always sunny, Kevin Williamson to...

What's The Ricochet Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Ricochet Podcast episodes:

We'll Have Manhattan

Realty Check

Earthquakes and Political Shaking

About the Lamb, Not the Ham

When Bureaucrats Gather

The Visual Fallacy

Ancient Ideas and the Spectacle of the Union

Drunken Monkey Business

Accept NO Imitation

Rock Me Amadeus

Working Properly

Where and When to RUNRWAway

Country on the Wire

Twirling Twirling Into The Future

Frozen in the Safe Lane

Finding the Way Back

God of the Two-Faced Podcast

Have Yourself a Merry Little Podcast

The Authentic Ethos with Glenn Loury

The Controligarchs are Coming!

Kissinger's Legacy

Trending and Blowin' Up!

Panda-monium and Other Evils

The Long Arc Forward with Christopher Rufo

Under The Influence

This Year in Israel

They're Called "World Wars" for a Reason

What You See is What You Gaetz

Phool Around Phind Out

The Spartan Lifestyle

Potty Talk

Pumping Iron

Beyond the Polls (There Be Dragons!)

A Sparking Powerline

Heightened Risibility

Weighing the Charges

Abundant Malthusiasm

All Smiles

To Serve Man

A Great Education and... Extracurricular Activities

The Democrats-Only Love Motel

Busted and Babeling

Marching On With Newt Gingrich

E.T. and His Boundless Orks

Deal With It

Over Target

In Need of an Unbiased Machine

Sex, Lies and Notebook Computers

Our [EXPLETIVE DELETED] Cities

We're Not Finished Yet

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