episodes:

• 12.10.2020

  E207. The Scars of 2020

  In the final Classicist of the year, Victor Davis Hanson takes a look back at the intellectual and political trends that defined 2020 — and predicts what they mean for the year to come.

  
• 12.04.2020

  E206. The Case for a Cynical Biden Foreign Policy

  Victor Davis Hanson describes the foreign policy challenges facing the incoming Biden Administration, analyzes the makeup of the incoming national security team, and prescribes a formula for the new president’s success in international affairs: change the rhetoric, not the policies.

  
• 11.19.2020

  E205. History and the Tragic Hero

  Victor Davis Hanson explains the concept of the “tragic hero” — a figure both uniquely suited to address the issues of his time but destined to be reviled — and explains why the label may apply to Donald Trump.

  
• 11.12.2020

  E204. The Election and its Aftermath

  Victor Davis Hanson looks at Donald Trump’s transformation of the Republican Party, the shifting of the conservative coalition, the implications of sharply divided federal government, and the foreign policy challenges ahead.

  
• 11.10.2020

  The Election and its Aftermath

  What happened on Election Day — and what it means for the future.

  
• 11.03.2020

  E203. Trump and the Future of the GOP

  Victor Davis Hanson describes the transformative effect Donald Trump has had on the Republican Party — and explains how it will shape the party in the years to come, regardless of the outcome of the 2020 election.

  
• 10.23.2020

  E202. One Last Debate

  Victor Davis Hanson examines the strategic mistakes made by President Trump in the first debate, gives pre-debate pointers on how the candidates should handle their final confrontation, and considers whether presidential debates have outlived their usefulness.

  
• 10.02.2020

  E201. A Debate Like No Other

  Victor Davis Hanson analyzes the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, explains why Biden’s positions have become hard to pin down for the first time in nearly 50 years, and looks at what the differences between the...

  
• 09.23.2020

  E200. The Embers of California

  Victor Davis Hanson describes the myriad dysfunctions besetting state government in California, a state once known as a national pacesetter.

  
• 09.15.2020

  E199. Descent into Tribalism

  Victor Davis Hanson explains how the social unrest unleashed in 2020 threatens urban decline, increasing political animosity, and the erosion of Americans’ common identity.

  
• 08.22.2020

  E198. World War II at 75

  On the 75th anniversary of World War II’s conclusion, Victor Davis Hanson looks at how the war continues to shape international affairs, and points listeners towards some of the war’s underappreciated figures.

  
• 08.02.2020

  Trump’s Jacksonian Realism

  Victor Davis Hanson explains the philosophical underpinnings of the Trump Administration’s foreign policy — and explains how it’s affected America’s relationships with China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea.

  
• 08.01.2020

  Trump’s Jacksonian Realism

  The president defied conventional wisdom on foreign policy — and has largely been proven right.

  
• 07.23.2020

  Woke Privilege

  Victor Davis Hanson describes how professional athletes and franchise owners have embraced the language of revolution while getting rich off of the status quo.

  
• 07.18.2020

  A Winning Agenda for 2020

  Victor Davis Hanson proposes a policy agenda — and a strategic posture — for the Trump campaign to take up in the presidential election.

  
• 07.11.2020

  Radical Chic and Its Terrified Enablers

  What will bring the wave of radical protests and cancel culture to an end? It would help if the leadership of America’s elite institutions grew a backbone.

  
• 06.27.2020

  Triumph of the Country Mouse

  Victor Davis Hanson explores the historical, political, and economic aspects of the rural-urban divide — and its implications for American culture.

  
• 06.20.2020

  Revolution, Overreach, and American History

  Victor Davis Hanson puts the efforts to uproot confederate iconography into historical perspective, examines the revolutionary zeal currently in fashion amongst progressive activists, and compares & contrasts this moment of American instability with otGeorge Floydhers in the nation’s past.

  
• 06.09.2020

  The Revolution Eats Its Own

  Victor Davis Hanson looks at how the protest movement inspired by the death of George Floyd has morphed from a legitimate lament of tragedy into a dangerous, revolutionary crusade.

  
• 05.30.2020

  Dark Days Ahead

  Victor Davis Hanson takes listeners on a tour of the chaos emerging in the wake of COVID-19: increased political polarization, a tidal wave of debt, and an emboldened China.

  
• 05.08.2020

  The Cult of the Elites

  What happened to America’s elites? During the COVID-19 pandemic they have unleashed a torrent of authoritative pronouncements about the crisis that have too often proven to be incomplete or totally inaccurate. Victor Davis Hanson argues that the increasing specialization of...

  
• 05.01.2020

  When the Tide Recedes

  Victor Davis Hanson looks at the social, political, economic, and international hurdles the US will face as we attempt to bounce back from the coronavirus.

  
• 04.17.2020

  The Coming COVID-19 Inflection Point

  Victor Davis Hanson responds to a media outcry over one of his recent columns, looks at Chinese culpability for the spread of COVID-19, and describes the factors that will be necessary for America to get back on its feet.

  
• 04.10.2020

  Pandemic and the Fog of War

  Victor Davis Hanson analyzes the difficulties public officials face in addressing the coronavirus, considers the controversy around the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and addresses the media’s attempt to draw an equivalence between the United States and China.

  
• 04.03.2020

  From Selma to Shanghai: Coronavirus Around the Globe

  Victor Davis Hanson considers the coronavirus’s effects on California, the United States, and America’s enemies abroad.

  
• 03.26.2020

  Modesty and Tragedy: How to Think about Coronavirus

  Victor Davis Hanson describes how uncertainty and intellectual modesty should shape our response to COVID-19.

  
• 03.20.2020

  Plagues, Ancient and Modern

  Victor Davis Hanson looks at the impact of the COVID-19 virus on American life; explains why panic will eventually have to give way to cost-benefit analysis; describes what the illness might mean for many of America’s adversaries; and takes a...

  
• 03.19.2020

  Plagues, Ancient and Modern

  COVID-19 and other contagions that have upended society.

  
• 03.10.2020

  The Siren Song of Globalization

  On the corrosive effects of excessive transnationalism.

  
• 03.10.2020

  The Siren Song of Globalization

  On the corrosive effects of excessive transnationalism.

  
• 03.06.2020

  Peak Progressivism”

  The Left has reached its apex — which means it’s headed for decline.

  
• 02.25.2020

  Trump’s Unorthodox Orthodoxy

  Victor Davis Hanson looks at how Donald Trump has successfully upended conventional wisdom on China, the Middle East, and Europe.

  
• 02.19.2020

  In Defense of Farmers

  Victor Davis Hanson uses Mike Bloomberg’s dismissive remarks about farmers to defend the virtues of agrarian life, explain the urban-rural divide, and examine how politics influences life on the farm.

  
• 02.11.2020

  Israel and America: Parallel Success Stories

  Victor Davis Hanson looks at how Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu and the U.S. under Donald Trump have employed similar approaches to cultivating prosperity at home and security abroad.

  
• 02.04.2020

  Time to Leave the Middle East?

  Victor Davis Hanson examines whether widespread American involvement in the Middle East still passes a meaningful cost-benefit analysis.

  
• 01.21.2020

  The Trump Advantage

  Victor Davis Hanson makes his case for why Donald Trump is more likely to be reelected in 2020 than many critics imagine.

  
• 01.15.2020

  Iran: Contours of Conflict

  Victor Davis Hanson analyses the recent escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran, grades the Trump Administration’s performance, and predicts what’s to come.

  
• 12.19.2019

  A Trio of Tyrannies

  Victor Davis Hanson argues that American pressure on China, Iran, and North Korea is pushing all three countries to a breaking point — which may make each of them more dangerous.

  
• 12.14.2019

  The Impeachment Farce

  Victor Davis Hanson describes how the impeachment proceedings by House Democrats — and the DOJ inspector general’s report — have exposed the weakness of the case against Donald Trump.

  
• 11.13.2019

  Defending the Trump Doctrine

  Victor Davis Hanson explains the parameters of what he calls the Trump Doctrine — deterrence without intervention — explains how it deviates from the post-Cold War consensus, and argues for why it’s a reasonable approach to a changing international landscape.

  
• 11.07.2019

  Turkey: Our Untenable Ally

  In the wake of the US drawdown in northern Syria, Victor Davis Hanson considers whether the U.S. alliance with Turkey — and the country’s membership in NATO — is worth the cost.

  
• 09.03.2019

  Versailles at 100

  One Hundred years after the Treaty of Versailles ended World War I, Victor Davis Hanson argues that the effects of the agreement are widely misunderstood. In this episode, we look at Versailles in the context of the wider war (and...

  
• 08.27.2019

  Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Pact That Shaped World War II

  On the 80th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Victor Davis Hanson reflects on how the short-lived German-Soviet treaty shaped the course of World War II — and what it revealed about the leadership styles of both Hitler and Stalin.

  
• 07.30.2019

  Third-World California

  Victor Davis Hanson explores the factors driving the social, economic, and political decline of California.

  
• 07.25.2019

  Thinking Strategically About Iran

  Victor Davis Hanson explains why a change in circumstances since the Bush years necessitate a changed approach to the U.S. relationship with Iran.

  
• 05.21.2019

  Defending the West ... from the West

  With a new wave of congressional  progressives claiming America is insufficiently committed to social justice, Victor Davis Hanson defends the country’s history of progress — and explains why it was dependent on traditions of western civilization that the critics now...

  
• 05.16.2019

  Understanding Chinese Strategy

  Victor Davis Hanson examines the strategic calculations behind China’s economic, political, military, and cultural initiatives.

  
• 02.07.2019

  Can Higher Education be Saved?

  Victor Davis Hanson chronicles the factors that have led to the decline of American higher education and considers the prospects for recovery.

  
• 01.15.2019

  Immigration, Assimilation, and the Wall

  Victor Davis Hanson looks at the current debate over immigration and the border wall, arguing that illegal immigration from Latin America actually subverts the goal of a more diverse country.

  
• 12.14.2018

  Making Your Country (or Empire) Great Again

  Victor Davis Hanson takes a historical lens to Donald Trump’s pledge to “Make America Great Again.” Have such things been done in the past? Have certain gifted leaders been able to arrest and even reverse nations in seemingly inexorable decline?...