The Mona Charen Show

In this episode of The Mona Charen Podcast, Mona Charen speaks with author Jonathan Rauch about his new book, Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy. They explore the decline of Christianity in America, its impact on democracy, and whether faith can be depoliticized. Rauch, a self-described “atheistic homosexual Jew,” makes the case that Christianity has been a vital “load-bearing wall” for American democracy and argues for a return to its core principles. The conversation touches on political polarization, the role of faith in public life, and what small-l liberals and conservatives alike can learn from the evolving role of religion in society.

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REFERENCES:
Books by Jonathan Rauch:

Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy (his new book)

The Constitution of Knowledge (his previous book)

Articles:

• An article by Jonathan Rauch in The Atlantic (2003) celebrating secularization, which he later called "the dumbest thing I ever wrote."

Books and Works Referenced:

Legislation and Policies Referenced:

Mona interviews Georgetown law professor Stephen Vladeck on executive orders, birthright citizenship, Congress not doing its job, and whether Trump will defy the Supreme Court.

Referenced Cases:

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) – Commonly referred to as the "Steel Seizure Case," it involved President Truman's attempt to take control of steel mills during the Korean War.

Korematsu v. United States (1944) – Upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II; later criticized but not formally overturned until its repudiation in Trump v. Hawaii.

Ex Parte Endo (1944) – A companion case to Korematsu, ruling the detention of a loyal Japanese American citizen was unauthorized by statute.

Trump v. Hawaii (2018) – Upheld the Trump administration's travel ban but included the repudiation of Korematsu as part of the decision.

United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) – Affirmed the principle of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

INS v. Chadha (1983) – Declared legislative vetoes unconstitutional, affecting the National Emergencies Act.

TikTok-related Executive Orders and Litigation – Mentioned in the context of national security and executive overreach.

Referenced Works:

The U.S. Constitution:

Mona welcomes Richard Reeves to discuss the struggles of boys and men, including a debate about whether marriage promotion is good or obsolete in this day and age.

Richard Reeves’s bio at the American Institute for Boys and Men

Sex Matters by Mona Charen

Boy Mom by Ruth Whippman 

How to Save Marriage in America by Richard Reeves (Originally published in The Atlantic)

Pro-Family Policy Priorities for States Shaping Policy, Renewing Culture. Polling and Perspectives from the Sun Belt by Patrick T. Brown of The Ethics and Public Policy Center and Brad Wilcox of The Institute for Family Studies

How family law undermines fatherhood, and how to fix it by June Carbone at AIBM.

In the inaugural episode of The Mona Charen Show, Mona welcomes New York Times columnist Pamela Paul to discuss why girls are getting negative messages about womanhood. Also: sex differences, social media, motherhood, and men's struggles.

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code MONA at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Mona and the gang bid farewell to this format, discuss what will replace it, and offer a glimpse of future plans.

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Highlights / Lowlights: 

Mona outlined the future of her new show.

Bill previews his forthcoming book on political psychology.

Linda: The Silver Candlesticks: A Novel of the Spanish Inquisition, Linda’s forthcoming book, which you can pre-order now! Make sure you sign up for Linda’s Substack.

Damon: While Damon finishes his forthcoming book on Leo Strauss, go down the Straussian rabbithole at Notes from the Middleground.

Referenced work: Bret Stephens’s “Done With Trump” in the NYT

Noah Smith joins to discuss what Tulsi Gabbard could do to America, the other anti-qualified nominees, the Penny/Mangione cases, and what Syria should remind us of.

Highlights / Lowlights 

Mona: Rupert Murdoch's Succession Fiasco, Clive Irving at Vanity Fair

Linda: Why Does Pete Hegseth Keep Talking About ‘Warfighters’? Elliot Ackerman at The Free Press.

Bill: His WSJ column: Save a Reagan Initiative From Musk and Ramaswamy

Damon: When Democracy’s Defenders Turn Into Its Gravediggers, Yascha Mounck

Noah makes his reasoned pitch as to why rabbits make excellent pets.

Matt Bennett joins to discuss the most dangerous Trump appointments and the worrying signals of fear by MSNBC and others.

Highlights / Lowlights

Mona: The Iron Man of America’s op-ed pages (David Von Drehle, WaPo) and Mona’s contribution to the George Will tribute symposium, ‘Conservatism’s Vital Champion.’

The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America by Jeffrey Rosen

Matt: The attempted Martial Law coup in South Korea (lowlight) and the response of South Korean politicians and citizens (highlight).

Bill: The DOGE versus the NED by James Piereson (The New Criterion)

Linda: Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth See the Same Enemies (Carlos Lozada, NYT)

Damon: The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the perverse glee of some on the very online left. (Lowlights)

Robert Tracinski joins to discuss Trump's attack on government, his execrable appointees, and what Dems should do going forward.

Highlights / Lowlights

Damon: Russ Vought's appointment to OMB and the Nancy Mace / Sarah McBride performative cruelty.

Linda: JD Vance appearing in all of those Senate meetings with Matt Gaetz, and A Free Press Conversation with Natan Sharansky

Mona: Hong Kong's jailing of 45 democracy activists sparks criticism from foreign governments, rights groups (CBS)


Bill: House passes bill that would allow Treasury to target nonprofits it deems to support terrorism

Robert: The RFK Jr. McDonalds Photo

David French and Larry Diamond join the group to mull the nature of Trump's victory and the stupefying appointments to DOJ and DNI.

Highlights / Lowlights

David French: Politics are terrible and sports are terrible, at least for David. Kentucky Wildcats, Tennessee Titans, and Ja Morant’s injury.

Damon Linker: A viral tweet and the disappointing Republican whataboutism.

Larry Diamond: A vignette about Matt Gaetz’s selection and surprising a prominent Republican with the news. 

Bill Galston: The Onion has won the bid for Infowars’ assets

Mona Charen: Season 2 of Bad Sisters.