The Mona Charen Show

The Atlantic's Helen Lewis joins Mona to talk about Andrew Tate, backlash to MAGA in Europe, and how polarization suppresses reasonable doubts about treatment of trans kids.

References:
 
When You’re MAGA, They Let You Do It... Why Trumpworld is just fine with Andrew Tate’s violent misogyny, by Helen Lewis

The Global Populist Right Has a MAGA Problem... In Europe, Trump looks too extreme even for many right-wing insurgents, by Helen Lewis

What the Left Refused to Understand About Women’s Sports... Female athletes said competing against trans women was an injustice, by Helen Lewis.

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In this show before a live audience, Mona talks with Stephen Richer about standing up for reality, tangling with Kari Lake, and his political future.

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David Frum joins Mona to discuss Trump's Canada gripes, how tariffs will/are sabotaging America, NATO, defying court orders, and how best to counter all of it.

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REFERENCES:
Why Cede the Flag to Trump? by David Frum in The Atlantic (2017)

Famed virologist Dr. Paul Offit describes his encounters with RFK, Jr., vaccine misinformation, trust in medicine, and what he fears most.

REFERENCES:

Dr. Paul Offit’s Books:

The Cutter Incident(about a polio vaccine gone wrong)

Historical Vaccine References:

The Cutter Incident (1950s polio vaccine failure)

Andrew Wakefield and Vaccine-Autism Misinformation:

Anti-Vaccine Movement History:

The impact of anti-vaccine movements in places like Samoa, leading to deadly measles outbreaks.

Current Vaccine Issues and Policy Changes:

The cancellation of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting.

The Manhattan Institute's Jessica Reidl explains the fake fiscal posturing of DOGE as well as the ground truths about deficits and national debt. Predictions: More inflation, lower growth, less prosperity.
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Josh Barro joins Mona to discuss where the party needs to change, refocus on practical governance, and how to broaden its appeal to win elections against a rising Republican authoritarian threat.

References

Josh Barro's Substack – Very Serious

Democrats Need Their Own DEI Purge by Josh Barro

Josh Barro's Podcast – Serious Trouble (with Ken White)

The Bulwark's Cathy Young joins Mona to discuss where DEI went wrong and also the unfathomable racism of the Trump Administration.

Referenced Works and Sources

David French joins to discuss upending the NATO alliance, attacks on the rule of law, and how the pardon power was one of the Founders' worst mistakes. 

The Mona Charen Show is a weekly, one-on-one discussion that goes in depth on political and cultural topics. Ad-free editions are exclusively available for Bulwark+ members. Add the show to your player of choice, here, or find it wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.

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Referred Works

The Federalist Papers – A collection of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, referenced in discussions about constitutional powers, particularly the presidency.

Anti-Federalist Papers ("An Old Whig" – Letter No. 5, 1787) – Cited as an early critique of the presidential pardon power and excessive executive authority.

Marbury v. Madison (1803) – A landmark U.S. Supreme Court case establishing judicial review, mentioned in the context of legal authority over the president.

U.S. Constitution – Indirectly referenced multiple times, particularly concerning executive powers, rule of law, and the balance of power.

Learned Hand’s Quote on Liberty –
"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it."

• Quoted in reference to the fragility of democratic institutions.
  
  

DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender) – A concept from psychology and sociology used to describe manipulative tactics, discussed in relation to political rhetoric.

"Everything Everywhere All at Once" (Film, 2022) – Referenced metaphorically to describe the chaotic state of global and domestic affairs.

AEI's Michael Strain analyzes the mistakes left and right make about middle class stagnation, quality of life, and other matters. Plus, what is risked when Trump/Musk attack foundational institutions.

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Referenced Works & Figures:

Michael Strain’s Book — The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It)

Elizabeth Warren & Bill de Blasio – Critique of middle-class decline.

Josh Hawley – Comment on wage stagnation.

David Autor's "China Shock" Paper – Study on trade-induced job losses.

Robert Bork’s Antitrust Theories – Influence on U.S. competition policy.

Smoot-Hawley Tariffs – Historical reference to the consequences of trade protectionism.

Occupy Wall Street & Tea Party Movements – Examples of populist political reactions.

Federal Job Training Programs – Discussion on their past inefficacy and recent improvements.

Mona welcomes Renée DiResta to discuss how social media has distorted our perceptions and how to navigates the world of influencers, online mobs, and lairs.

The Mona Charen Show is a weekly, one-on-one discussion that goes in depth on political and cultural topics. Ad-free editions are exclusively available for Bulwark+ members. Add the show to your player of choice, here, or find it wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Not yet a member? Join The Bulwark today!

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References:

Books & Authors:

"Invisible Rulers" – by Renée DiResta (Main topic of discussion)

Father Coughlin & Propaganda (1930s) – Discussion of his use of radio for anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi propaganda, and how he was eventually stopped.

Institute for Propaganda Analysis (1930s) – Early efforts to combat misinformation by teaching people how propaganda works.

Helen Lewis (The Atlantic) – Quoted for stating that “the internet is built to empower extremophiles.”

Google's Assertive Provenance Report – Discussion of how Google suggests approaches for watermarking and authenticating AI-generated content.

Iowa Caucuses (2012 vs. 2020) – How political narratives and distrust in election results evolved.

Measles Outbreak & Anti-Vaccine Misinformation – How misinformation spreads and how online movements gain traction.

Algorithmic Influence & Content Curation – The role of algorithms in shaping political extremism and public perceptions.

QAnon & Wayfair Conspiracy Theory – How misinformation led to real-world harassment and threats.

COVID-19 & Public Trust in Institutions – How institutional silence and slow responses allowed misinformation to fill the gap.

Decline of Trust in Experts – How institutions and scientists need to engage more effectively online.

Influencers & Audience Capture – How social media personalities can be driven toward extremism by audience demands.

Pre-bunking – Educating people in advance about misinformation tactics.

Adding Friction – Using design interventions (like Twitter’s “Are you sure you want to share this?”) to slow down misinformation.

Virality Circuit Breakers – Temporary restrictions on the spread of viral misinformation while it is fact-checked.

Watermarking AI-generated Content – Challenges and limitations in identifying AI-created media.

Institutional Preparedness – Advice for organizations on handling misinformation crises.