The Ricochet Podcast

Ross Douthat returns to the Ricochet Podcast to discuss his latest book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious. Rob, Steve and James chat with him to get at The Big Everything. Why does a Catholic make the case for broadly-defined belief? Has disillusionment with liberalism provided God an opening to win back lost sheep? Should faith guide us toward practical answers to ordinary problems? Tune in for answers!

Plus, the fellas discuss Voodoo Doll research getting the DOGE treatment; they consider the levels of commitment to America First; and they express their doubts that AfD's expected gains in the German parliament portend a Nazi revival.



Clip from this week's open: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller gives the press a civics lesson.

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In ways both subtle and decidedly not, American foreign policy is a-changin'. Eli Lake joins James and Steve to caution against cuts to the National Endowment for Democracy and to nod approvingly of the Trump administration's boldness in the Middle East. We also get into "Breaking History," Eli's new podcast that pushes back against disheartening presentism by coloring today's headlines with historical antecedents. 

Plus, Lileks and Hayward applaud J.D. Vance's New Sheriff tour in Europe, and say their goodbye to copper change. 



- Sound from this week's open: Vice President Vance addresses the Munich Security Conference.

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The Trump administration’s days of thunder roll on while just about everyone outside the DOGE team struggles to keep up. While many see little more than nonsense and mayhem, today’s guest, Daniel McCarthy, recognizes a sound strategy in tariff threats, iconoclasts heading executive agencies, and even the baffling Gaza Strip pitch, to address America’s mounting challenges at home and abroad. 
Plus, Steve, James and Charlie discuss the meltdown over USAID cuts; the dismal national report card; and the “Orwellian nightmare” facing… federal bureaucrats. 


Audio in this week’s open: NBC’s Hallie Jackson describes the panic of federal workers and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R - MO) talks about USAID on the floor of the Senate


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President Trump's disruptive tendencies continue to shake up the Executive Branch at dizzying speed.  Thankfully, James and Charlie can keep their wits as they discuss the spending freeze/unfreeze and the reasonable expectations of the good that can be done with the president's pen. They're then joined by Dennis Kneale, host of the Ricochet Audio Network's "What's Bugging Me" podcast and author of The Leadership Genius of Elon Musk. Dennis teases some of the life lessons he thinks readers can draw from Musk to lead better lives; he also provides background for Elon's critical political conversion. 

Plus, James and Charlie wrap with some thoughts about the awful air collision in Washington, DC and the many reasons to be suspicious of DeekSeek...





Sound from this week's open: Newly sworn-in Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy responds to the US suffering its worst commercial airline crash since 2009.

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Trump's back in the White House and off to the races! To celebrate the return to popular sovereignty, Victor Davis Hanson returns to explain the most extraordinary political comeback in the nation's history. He identifies the agenda items Trump would do well to prioritize; he makes sense of the quick dissipation of the last decade's progressive lunacies; and, perhaps most importantly, he offers suggestions of what to look out for when the radicals attempt their comeback. 

Plus, Charlie, James and Steve pick through a couple of the noteworthy executive orders and cringe collectively at the reaction to Elon spreading some love at the Capital One Arena.




Special thanks to this week's sponsor, BambooHR! 





Sound clip from this week's open: This week’s opening sound: Donald Trump is sworn in for the second time and AOC goes nuclear over Elon Musk

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Happy Inauguration Day! To celebrate, Peter and Steve sit down with speechwriter and presidential advisor Ken Khachigian to discuss his time working with Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, as laid out in his newly published memoir, Behind Closed Doors. Going through his start in politics by landing a job under Pat Buchanan in the '68 campaign to drafting Reagan's first inaugural and serving as an advisor during key moments in the '80s, Ken shares a wealth of knowledge on the finer points of good statecraft. The guys also spend some time on the disaster in their beloved state of California and the prospects for national renewal under the new Trump administration. 

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The National Endowment for the Arts has been with us for sixty years, coinciding conspicuously with the ascendancy of nihilistic works that pollute our public spaces. Justin Shubow aims to change all of that. He's a top candidate to chair the NEA under the second Trump administration and has a particular interest in the proper design of federal architecture. What have columns and Roman arches to do with the re-moralization of the free citizen? Listen in to find out. 

Plus, James, Steve and Charlie adjust to Biden's just-declared 28th amendment; they work their way through the confirmation hearing highlights; and lose themselves in a David Lynch-like daydream.






- Sound clips from this week's open: David Lynch on movies (KGSM MediaCache) and “Mr. Baseball” on family (MLB Media)

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It's finally here: 2025! And your favorite podcast is finally back in order to maintain some continuity in these tempestuous times. James, Charles and Steve cover raging fires in Los Angeles and the jaw-dropping incompetence of the Golden State's leadership. On a cheerier note, they enjoy the changes taking place in Canada and at Meta, Inc.

Plus, Dan MacLaughlin joins today to discuss Jimmy Carter's legacy, and, given Dan's title as the baseball crank, the gang has at a few questions on the great American game. 

New times, end times, and national pastimes. What more can you ask for?





- Soundbite from the open: Embarrassing exchange between anchors and reporter at KTTV Fox 11 in Los Angeles

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For the last podcast of the year, Steve, Charles and Rob pull out all the stops to grab the attention of podcast listeners worldwide: some theology here, a little healthcare debate there, a few notes on Congress' gargantuan Christmas list. Plus, there's the WSJ write-up on the efforts to conceal Joe Biden's decline, Kirsten Gillibrand's ERA absurdity, and some insights from Rob on how show-biz will be forced to come to its senses.





Sound clip from today's open: Nancy Mace sifts through the CR bill.

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In times such as these, the challenge is packing all the news into a single episode. James, Steve and Charles do their best to move with lightning speed through Biden's shower of clemency, UFOs in New Jersey, then across the Hudson River for the hard left's justifications for last week's coldblooded murder in Manhattan side-by-side with their fury over Daniel Penny's acquittal. All of this before sitting down with Noah Rothman to get an early glimpse at the change of management in Damascus.

... And did we mention Charlie Cooke's restaurant explosion experience?





- Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R - NJ02) tells Fox News that the drones over his state belong to Iran

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