Whoever decided to place a presidential debate smack dab in the middle of the Supreme Court's decision calendar was either crazy or a genius. It not only gives us plenty to talk about but it gives a certain podcaster the rare opportunity to praise Donald Trump (Yes, really.)

The Powerline men, John Yoo and Steve Hayward join Rob and Peter to review the debate and parse the thinking of the high court.

Victor Davis Hanson is back! He joins Rob and Steve Hayward to discuss his latest must-read book, The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation. Aside from the cheery discussion on civilization obliteration, the trio finds their way into digressions spanning the cameos of great men in the Old Testament to the spectacular blunders of the modern era. Is there any hope to be found in this eleventh hour? Listen in to find out. 



- Audio from this week's podcast: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says clips of a deteriorating Joe Biden are “cheap fake videos.”

Steve Hayward, Rob, and James enjoy gazing at political upheaval from a safe distance this week, as Europe wrangles with its own game of Elites vs Peeps. The boys swap anecdotes, a couple of historical tidbits, and toss in a few predictions for the EU's future. Then they bring it back home to parse why the corporate world seems to be toning down on Pride merch and marketing this year.



- This week’s sound: Reform Party’s Nigel Farage questions Tory MP Penny Mordaunt on the government’s immigration policy (ITV News)

Business may be booming these days for the great Andy McCarthy, but the judicial corruption and cockamamie prosecutions are all a bit wearying. Nonetheless, he has time to join his Ricochet Podcast buddies to discuss the lawfare against the former president, the ever-waning confidence in an impartial justice system, and the political consequences that will result.

James, Rob, and Charlie Cooke also argue about the slump of the entertainment industry.

In writing his memoir, Glenn Loury recognized the game that would go on between author and reader. To get his audience to trust him as a person, he'd confess his past misdeed and defects in character; to gain your confidence in his integrity as a thinker, he'd have to acknowledge the many times he's changed his mind on the stances he's taken. Today he joins to James, Rob and Steve Hayward to explain himself.

The hosts also consider the broken pier in Gaza, compare this administration's incompetence with past calamities, plus last weekend's IDF strike in Rafah and the tent camp fire.



- This week’s audio: Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh on whether or not the Gaza pier was a failure.

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.