The Ricochet Podcast is back, and jam-packed with chatter on sex, comedy, food and fun... and the lack thereof we find among our postmodern youth. Noah Rothman, author of The Rise of the New Puritans, returns to discuss the war on fun in America along with the war on Hamas in Gaza. Plus, James, Rob and Steve Hayward show their age as they canvass the finer points of flag etiquette. 



- Sound from this week's open: ABC’s Terry Moran with Sen. Dick Durbin’s comments on the Justice Alito flag “controversy.”

In 2020 ordinary parents learned an important lesson: the so-called public school system felt perfectly free to ignore the public's wishes. This set in motion a backlash that's breathed new life into the school choice cause. Corey DeAngelis has paid close attention, and he joins Rob, Peter and James to explain the political whirlwind as laid out in his new book, The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools.

The fellas also cover the peculiar controversy of a Catholic commencement speech delivered at a Catholic university; along with the latest instances of an inept Democratic Party which seems determined to help its top opponent.

• Opening sound this week: Kansas City Chiefs PK Harrison Butker delivers the commencement address at Benedictine College

John Yoo returns to the Ricochet Podcast, joining James and Rob for a discussion on prosecutorial overreach. The gang cover the unprecedented lawfare being waged against a former president, and consider the executive statesmanship that's kept the lawyers in check over our history. Plus there's some discussion of Biden's move to withhold congressionally approved arms to an ally at war; and, naturally, John has a few things to say about porkchops, bacon and Texan barbeque.





- This week’s sound: Donald Trump comments from outside the NYC courtroom and Joe Biden reads the stage directions from the teleprompter.

H.R. McMaster joins James, Peter and Steve Hayward to discuss the Biden administration's feckless policy on the war in Gaza; he explains Hamas' battalion strength and the IDF's delayed invasion of Rafah, along with the political balancing act that's keeping the president from doing what he must.

Plus, the hosts enjoy the overdue campus crackdowns and consider the Trump campaign's pitch for a return to normalcy.

Just James, Peter and Rob this week to wade through the disaster that has become of American higher education. Naturally, the essential question arises: what do we do about these once-prestigious institutions? The Ricochet trio think it through.

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 case seats its jury. To that end we bring on National Review's Andy McCarthy, who just this week the former president called "a great legal scholar" to opine on whether Trump can get a fair hearing in front of this judge - and this jury - in this town.

We also touch on Israel's military action into Iran on Thursday night.

We hate to Bragg but it's a pretty good show.

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 the American Home: A Case Against Home Ownership.) Yes, you read that title correctly. Along with his fight against the "real estate cartel," Jack has his doubts that home ownership is the right move for all Americans. 

Plus, the reunited Ricochet boys recall how the O.J. Simpson trial changed America, and they fight fire alarms and wrangle with manly chores. 



- Audio from this week's open: A flashback to the 1995 OJ Simpson trial with comedian Norm Macdonald and defense attorney Johnnie Cochran




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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 leak theories and cheer themselves up with a reminder of the country's abiding unsung heroes.





- This week’s audio: NYC Mayor Eric Adams on this morning’s earthquake.

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, popular fiction, political persuasiveness and the right's shortcomings as conveyors of truth. 

Plus, Peter and Rob give a tribute to the last centrist Democrat Joe Lieberman; and consider the power of container ships, both as objects and as economic game changers, after one knocked out a bridge in Rob's city of origin.





- Audio this week: Emergency Dispatch recording in Baltimore Harbor

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' move against Uber and Lyft.