The Ricochet Podcast

Ricochet

4.7 (1.4K)
News Commentary
Updated Biweekly

Weekly episodes of Ricochet’s flagship podcast feature our hosts James Lileks, Steve Hayward, Charles C. W. Cooke, and guests discussing the issues of the week. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.

4d ago

Thumos with a Touch of Swaggart

With each passing wild week in the West, it can feel like a tall order to request an unequivocal defense of it. But when there's a meme, there's a way, and if Marco Rubio has taught us anything, it's that he's always up for the job. James, Steve, and Charles celebrate his statesmanship displayed on Wednesday's Acropolis speech; wonder about the wisdom of the proposed live streaming of the firing-squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter; and bristle at Abdul El Sayed's response to being confronted with "dumb questions" about who our friends and enemies are. Despite it all, they find much to look forward to in our living, breathing, loud-talking and fast-walking civilization on a hill. Sounds from this week's open: The late Jim Bakker advises against self-pity; Marco Rubio "testifies to a debt that no lapse of time, no distance of space, can ever extinguish." Closing Music: "Reverie," composed by Robert Schumann, performed by Bruno Freitas Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.
Oct 2

Feeling Judgey

Sometimes life feels like a freak show, and the sane can either take it in or turn away. This week gave us more glimpses of horror than usual, which tends to make folks more amenable to harsh punishments. James, Steve, and Charles consider the death penalty in light of the heinous crime of an unsuccessfully executed Tennessee woman; they wade through the cloudy "Cornell Seven" case and draw important distinctions between moral depravity and criminality; and they look to riots in France and wonder whether la République and la révolution will ever square themselves in l’Hexagone. Plus, Charles has an announcement about Ricochet 5.0! Sound from this week's open: Marine Le Pen responds to the riots in France. And our own John Yoo talks about execution methods on Fox News. Closing music: "Waltz for the Elephants" by Ziv Grinberg Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.
Sep 25

Everything is Everything is Revolutionary Praxis

What exactly do the fight to save Piddington in Oxfordshire, the public betrayal of Najya Hannah-Jones by her activist mom, Trump's deal with Greenland, Russia's cultural inferiority complex, and a lesbian bar in Massachusetts have in common? For those of us who haven't worn an N-95 mask in at least five years, the distinctions are clear. Even so, they each command the attention of James, Charles, and Steve, who remind us that praxis rarely makes perfect. Opening sound this week: Nikole Hannah-Jones talks about her child’s school at the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2018 and lesbians on TikTok say, “Keep it on the QT.” Closing music: "Revolution" by Willow McKenna via MotionArray. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.
Sep 18

Familiar Parts of the Body Politic

Sometimes our topsy-turvy world is more dizzying than usual—and in those times, it's best to stand on a firm foundation and in the company of dependable people. Rob Long returns to chat with Charles and Steve about controversies of all shapes, sizes and comprehensibility, from Bo French and the "NETTR" movement, a right planning to buy votes with $5,000 checks and a prudish left shocked by the... apolitical appeal of Sidney Sweeney. Sound clips from this week's open: Gavin Newsom hubris on Hollywood and Sydney Sweeney seduces the betting man Closing Music: "Can't Stop," by Wake the Wild via MotionArray Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.
Sep 11

A Searing Memory

It's been a quarter century, but the fury and grief have not dimmed in the slightest. James, Steve, and Charles recall that fateful day and reflect on life in America since. Sound from this week's open and close: The Brooklyn Youth Chorus sings the Star Bangled Banner at today's September 11th memorial in New York City. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.
Sep 4

Embodied Optimism

AI has many amygdalae flooding nervous systems with warnings; a rising share of Americans look toward digital technology with deep suspicion; and a data center revolt is underway. The worries are increasingly apocalyptic. But it's not that America has never experienced a transformation of comparable scale, only that no living American is old enough to remember it—or so argues today's guest: Mark Mills, author of The Cloud Revolution: How the Convergence of New Technologies Will Unleash the Next Economic Boom and A Roaring 2020s. Mark, the erudite optimist, addresses everything from the cold realities behind development, construction, and energy considerations to productivity gains, labor participation, sociocultural cohesion, and cybersecurity risks. Plus, while on the subject of the tumultuous present, James, Steve and Charles reflect on Ryan Reynolds' thoughts on the traumatic 1980s; Steve thinks through a proposal to curb bad actors in the "non-profit sector"; and while they look forward to cutting the rug at the White House's new ballroom, the trio find themselves baffled by Chief Justice Robert's sudden fretting over standing. Opening sound this week: Jason Kelce and his friends at Garage Beer want you to send your pee to data centers, and Ryan Reynolds tells Variety he was traumatized by the tumultuous 1980s. Closing music: Radetzky March Op. 228 performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra (via MotionArray) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.
Aug 28

More Hot Water

Canada is back in the news, but not in the good way like you want. So Steve and James find themselves weighing in on another renamed body of water while wading through the latest wave of weekly events. There's also curiously leaked reporting on CIA chief John Radcliffe's mission to Moscow, investigations into the Soros-backed DAs responsible for catch-and-release criminal justice, and another rich-kid commie duty-bound to lecture from the family's waterfront property. This week’s opening sound: Al Michaels starts Prime’s Thursday Night NFL schedule from a city on the Great Lakes and Alice Weidel (AfD) declares Germany is finished with immigrants. Closing music: "County Waltz," by promusic24 (via MotionArray) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.
Aug 21

Upending Your Moral Universe

It's just James and Charles this week at the post: Post-elections in Florida, Minnesota, and South Carolina - post-mortem on l'affaire de Arday - and the post-partum madness of Lindsay Clancy, who is on trial in Massachusetts for murdering her three children and receiving an inexplicably large amount of support. Opening sound this week: Sen. Darline Graham on American foreign policy and hospital chaplain Sheila Cavanaugh testifying in the Clancy trial. Music this week: Enigma Variations: Nimrod (via Motion Array) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.

See All (688)

James Lileks

Host
Rob Long

Host
Peter Robinson

Host
Dominic Green

Guest
Jay Bhattacharya

Guest
Harry Enten

Guest
Matthew Mehan

Guest
John Yoo

Guest
Richard Goldberg

Guest

4.7

out of 5

1,389 Ratings

Mandatory listening for conservatives

Sep 27

EricVMI89

My favorite weekly show. I never miss it. At some point every weekend. I make sure to listen to the show whether it’s on my walk or exercising or playing with the dogs. Insights, great commentary, lots of knowledge. The best moderately right thinking I know of.
Insightful and Relevant

Sep 19

Seh Hey Kid

I look forward to this podcast every week. I know that I will be treated to intellectually honest insights on the most relevant topics of the week. Thank you.
Home Run

Jul 27

Chav Jonah

Homer Bound was the best podcast I've heard in a long, long, time. Thought-provoking, informative, and entertaining. I extended my drive to finish it in one sitting. More please!
FINALLY!

Jul 25

Mike5591637

Mention of my favorite Odyssey movie, Oh Brother Where Art Thou? First time I’ve heard it mentioned in all the hoopla the last few weeks.

Weekly episodes of Ricochet’s flagship podcast feature our hosts James Lileks, Steve Hayward, Charles C. W. Cooke, and guests discussing the issues of the week. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.