Home Podcasts The Mona Charen Show
The Mona Charen Show

The Mona Charen Show

The Bulwark 282 episodes Latest Jun 7, 2026

After a successful five-year run on Beg to Differ, Mona Charen launches a new show focused on deepening understanding of complex societal issues and trends. Each week, she engages an expert for a probing discussion that goes beyond the day's headlines.

Episodes

Trump's Tough-Guy Act Is Finally Falling Apart (w/ Will Saletan) Jun 7, 2026 2759 Mona Charon and Will Saletan on Texas's political earthquake: Paxton's shocking primary win, whether Democrat James Talarico can actually flip the state, the YOLO Republicans finally speaking up too late, and what Bill Cassidy's post-loss laugh tells you about everything.Elevate your summer wardrobe: go to https://Quince.com/mona for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available
Trump's Staggering Corruption Is Finally Catching Up to Him (w/ Jonathan Chait) May 31, 2026 3345 Jonathan Chait of The Atlantic joins Mona to discuss the incredible scope and scale of Trump’s corruption—from the $4 billion the Trump family has added to its net worth since January 2025, to the $1.776 billion “weaponization” slush fund, to the dozens of DOJ officials who quit rather than follow corrupt orders. They trace how a century of progressive-era reforms that kept American government re
Danielle Crittenden on Losing Her Daughter May 24, 2026 3506 Mona Charen is joined by her dear friend Danielle Crittenden for a powerful and honest discussion about the journey that led Danielle to write a book titled Dispatches from Grief. Danielle’s daughter died suddenly in early 2024 at the age of 32. Mona and Danielle talk about the shock of the loss, the ongoing emotional and physical pain of grief, the power of religious rituals and how eye movement
What Can 'A Man for All Seasons' Tell Us About Today? May 16, 2026 3480 A Man for All Seasons is one of cinema's great moral arguments—six Oscars, a cast of legends, and a story about conscience under autocracy that feels more relevant than ever. Mona Charen and Sonny Bunch dig into why this 1966 film became a touchstone for conservative intellectuals, what it says about people who preach virtue and then fold when it counts, and why Robert Bolt—a leftist—wrote the ri
Trump's Tariffs Trashed the Economy. Why Won't We Say That? (w/ Matt Bennett) May 9, 2026 2862 Mona Charen spoke with Matt Bennett of Third Way for a diagnosis of where the Democratic Party actually stands: a brand stuck at 28% approval, an immigration message that still hasn't landed, the Hasan Piker debate, a Supreme Court that just made gerrymandering easier, and a tariff-driven economic crisis that Democrats inexplicably won't run on.Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually us
Trump's War on the Enlightenment (w/ Steven Pinker) | Mona Charen Show May 4, 2026 3583 Steven Pinker joins Mona Charen to discuss why the world is improving in ways most people don’t recognize—and why so many still believe everything is falling apart. They explore the case for Enlightenment values like reason, science, and liberal democracy, the growing backlash from both the left and MAGA world, and how media and human psychology fuel constant pessimism.Head to https://Quince.com/
Orbán Rigged the Game—and Still Lost! (w/ Dalibor Rohac) Apr 27, 2026 2963 AEI’s Dalibor Rohac analyzes Hungary’s stunning rebuke of Orbán and implications for other democratic nations.
A Beautiful Victory in Hungary Apr 20, 2026 5144 Mona brings the Beg to Differ panel back for a reunion. They address Orban, Iran, Democrats, and Trump as Jesus—among much else.
A 250-Foot Monument to Trump's Ego (w/ Philip Kennicott) Apr 13, 2026 3168 Washington Post architecture critic Philip Kennicott discusses Trump’s physical desecration of Washington DC.Read more from Philip Kennicott: https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/04/07/artemis-moon-trump-iran-war/
Confronting Anti-Semitism, Left and Right (w/ David Frum) Apr 6, 2026 3619 David Frum analyzes the roots of both left and right-wing anti-Semitism and what it means for a liberal democracy.Go to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!
RFK's War on Vaccines Is a Political Loser Mar 30, 2026 3513 Jonathan Cohn joins Mona to discuss the growing public health crisis under RFK Jr.’s leadership at HHS. From vaccine rollbacks to misinformation about autism and common medications, they walk through how policy decisions are already affecting real people—and why diseases like measles are making a comeback.They also look at the politics: internal pushback inside the Trump orbit, warning signs from
DOGE Dumbed Down the Nation (w/ Jessica Riedl) Mar 23, 2026 2634 Brookings scholar Jessica Riedl analyzes the DOGE debacle and the failure of Americans to make grown up choices about spending and taxes.

Recommended

Playing