Mona Charen and FT columnist Ed Luce dig into Giorgia Meloni's public  dressing down of Trump, the UK's political chaos, and the fallout from Trump's Iran war—including the case that the U.S. is now paying Iran reparations and Israel is boxed into an impossible corner. Plus: Luce's surreal Sunday phone calls with Trump himself.

Upcoming: Mona will interview presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky about her book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic.

Mona Charen welcomes military analyst Andrew Fox for a conversation on Trump’s Iran ceasefire, whether America squandered its leverage against Tehran, the growing influence of Qatar and Turkey, Israel’s military and political mistakes, Hamas’s strategy in Gaza, and the battle over public opinion that could shape the future of the Middle East.

show notes:

Bulwark Book Club: Mona will interview presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky about her book, “Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic.”

On the inaugural Bulwark Book Club, Mark Hertling joins Mona Charen to discuss his new book—If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal—a journal he began during the Gulf War for his young sons in case he never returned home. Their conversation explores combat, leadership, moral injury, fatherhood, friendship, military culture, and what it means to live a life worthy of the sacrifices made by those who serve.

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Buy Mark's book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1966786727/?tag=bulwark08-20

Get a signed copy: https://www.ballastbooks.com/ballast-bookstore/if-i-dont-return

Mona Charon and Will Saletan on Texas's political earthquake: Paxton's shocking primary win, whether Democrat James Talarico can actually flip the state, the YOLO Republicans finally speaking up too late, and what Bill Cassidy's post-loss laugh tells you about everything.

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Jonathan Chait of The Atlantic joins Mona to discuss the incredible scope and scale of Trump’s corruption—from the $4 billion the Trump family has added to its net worth since January 2025, to the $1.776 billion “weaponization” slush fund, to the dozens of DOJ officials who quit rather than follow corrupt orders. They trace how a century of progressive-era reforms that kept American government relatively clean is being systematically dismantled, and why the mafia-style loyalty-and-punishment logic now governing federal law enforcement is more authoritarian than merely corrupt. Plus: are Senate Republicans finally showing a spine? And is the Democratic Party’s new obsession with monopolies as the root of all evil a winning strategy—or a trap?

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Read Jonathan’s article on the $1.8 billion slush fund: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/trump-anti-weaponization-fund-january-6/687215/

Read Mona’s article on Trump’s corruption: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/how-corrupt-is-trump-here-are-the-numbers-trades-chips-nvidia-pardons-settlement-fund

Mona Charen is joined by her dear friend Danielle Crittenden for a powerful and honest discussion about the journey that led Danielle to write a book titled Dispatches from Grief. Danielle’s daughter died suddenly in early 2024 at the age of 32. Mona and Danielle talk about the shock of the loss, the ongoing emotional and physical pain of grief, the power of religious rituals and how eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has helped with Danielle’s healing.

Show notes:

Danielle’s book Dispatches From Grief: A Mother’s Journey Through The Unimaginable

We know so many of you love reading, so we are excited to share with you that we are starting a monthly book club with Mona Charen.

Mona’s first pick: retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling’s book, If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal.

Join the conversation! Drop your questions or comments about the book for Mona to explore with Gen. Hertling here. We’ll pin this post to the top of The Mona Charen Show page on the site.

Programming note: June 8 at 7pm EDT, Mona will interview retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling about his new book If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal live on Substack. Watch your inbox for details.

A Man for All Seasons is one of cinema's great moral arguments—six Oscars, a cast of legends, and a story about conscience under autocracy that feels more relevant than ever. Mona Charen and Sonny Bunch dig into why this 1966 film became a touchstone for conservative intellectuals, what it says about people who preach virtue and then fold when it counts, and why Robert Bolt—a leftist—wrote the right's favorite movie. Plus: the rule of law, the seduction of power, and what it means to stand fast even when it costs you everything.

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Watch 'A Man for All Seasons' free on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9BbfoBeXB4

Watch 'A Man for All Seasons' free on The Roku Channel: https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/414b53b36b4c5b01b5fae4c1d7eb8e9d?source=google

Mona Charen spoke with Matt Bennett of Third Way for a diagnosis of where the Democratic Party actually stands: a brand stuck at 28% approval, an immigration message that still hasn't landed, the Hasan Piker debate, a Supreme Court that just made gerrymandering easier, and a tariff-driven economic crisis that Democrats inexplicably won't run on.

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ON SALE NOW: Bulwark Live is coming to San Diego on May 20 and Los Angeles on May 21. Just announced! We’re adding some chatty friends to the lineups for both shows. Grab your seats now to join Sarah, Tim and Sam for an evening of politics among friends and keep an eye on https://TheBulwark.com/Events for more announcements.

Steven Pinker joins Mona Charen to discuss why the world is improving in ways most people don’t recognize—and why so many still believe everything is falling apart. They explore the case for Enlightenment values like reason, science, and liberal democracy, the growing backlash from both the left and MAGA world, and how media and human psychology fuel constant pessimism.

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