The Mona Charen Show

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 polling, and whether any of this can be stopped before the damage spreads further.

Brookings scholar Jessica Riedl analyzes the DOGE debacle and the failure of Americans to make grown up choices about spending and taxes.

Will Sommer takes us on a tour of the groypers and other right wing influencers.For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code MONA at https://oneskin.co/MONA.

Mona Charen talks with Unite America’s Nick Troiano about the structural problem driving America’s political polarization: the primary system.

In this emergency episode of The Mona Charen Show, Tom Nichols lays out the tremendous risks Trump has taken with Iran war.Go to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it. And you will.

NOTE: This episode was recorded before the US/Israel attack on Iran.Two professors describe the staggering corruption Trump is normalizing and how it is affecting foreign policy. Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon join The Mona Charen Show to discuss their Foreign Affairs piece “The Age of Kleptocracy.” Go to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year to wear it and love it. And you will.

Dr. Atul Gawande reports on what cuts to USAID are doing to the world’s most vulnerable, as well as how that is coming home. Also a look back at Covid and reflections on end of life care.

David French discusses culture wars morphing into hot wars, partisanship, and the idiocy of threatening Greenland.Get 15% off OneSkin with the code MONACHAREN at https://www.oneskin.co/MONACHAREN #oneskinpod

Mona is joined by the Atlantic’s Peter Wehner to discuss the psychology of MAGA and why defeating them must be the precursor to depolarization.Wildgrain is offering $30 off your first box - PLUS free Croissantsfor life - when you go to https://Wildgrain.com/MONA to start your subscription today.

Protect Democracy founder Ian Bassin talks about victories and setbacks in the effort to thwart authoritarianism America-style, and what each person can do to preserve free and fair elections going forward.Go to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.

Dave Wasserman joins Mona to discuss what’s changed and what hasn’t since 2018, including electoral map, redistricting, public discontent, and likely turnout.

Mona speaks with David Brooks (author, contributor to PBS NewsHour and opinion columnist for The New York Times) about why so many Americans feel unseen, how loneliness and moral drift are reshaping society, and what we lose when human connection is replaced by screens, algorithms, and artificial companionship.How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/

Sonny Bunch joins to discuss “It Was Just an Accident” a film from dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi. It raises profound questions about guilt, judgment, and revenge. Also, amazing that it was made at all.Get 15% off OneSkin with the code MONACHAREN at https://www.oneskin.co/MONACHAREN#oneskinpod #adFilms & References Mentioned:It Was Just an Accident (dir. Jafar Panahi)The film discussed throughout the episode — a clandestinely made Iranian dissident film that won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30841958/The Seed of the Sacred Fig (dir. Mohammad Rasoulof)Recommended by Sonny as further viewing; set during post–Mahsa Amini unrest in Iran.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29362290/The Lives of Others (dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)Cited as a thematic comparison for life under a surveillance state.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/A Hero (dir. Asghar Farhadi)Mentioned as another standout contemporary Iranian film about truth, lies, and social pressure.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11777738/

Quico Toro offers an insider’s perspective on his lost homeland and the American raid.Wildgrain is offering our listeners $30 off your first box - PLUS free croissants for life - when you go to https://Wildgrain.com/MONA to start your subscription today.

Trump promised a manufacturing comeback and cheaper prices. Instead, jobs are shrinking, costs are rising, and America’s economic credibility is taking a hit. Catherine Rampell joins Mona to discuss why the factory revival was always a myth, how tariffs backfired, and why chaos, favoritism, and attacks on rule of law are making the U.S. a riskier place to do business.Go to https://Quince.com/MONA for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too.

Laura K. Field discusses her book, Furious Minds, which dissects the thought of MAGA intellectuals (yes, there are some). Anti-enlightenment, theocratic, racist, misogynistic and yet, claiming to be for the general good.Get up to 30% off OneSkin with the code MONACHAREN athttps://www.oneskin.co/MONACHAREN #oneskinpod

While there won’t be an episode of the Mona Charen Show this week, Mona sends along this holiday greeting. She will return next Monday, December 29.

Georgetown professor Rosa Brooks discusses the legality (or the lack) of Trump’s drug boat attacks as well as the bonkers National Security Strategy document.Head to https://GhostBed.com/mona and use promo code MONA at checkout to get an EXTRA 10% off—on top of their already-reduced prices.

The Economist’s John Prideaux discusses the lavish gifts and other forms of corruption in Trump’s Washington.

Mona Charen and Will Saletan discuss the growing resistance to Trump’s agenda—grand juries rejecting his charges, the DOJ stumbling, senators warning troops against illegal orders, and his tariffs and deportations driving prices even higher. Go to https://quince.com/MONA for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Get 15% off OneSkin with the code MONACHAREN at https://www.oneskin.co/MONACHAREN #oneskinpod During GhostBed’s Cyber Monday Sale, you can get 25% off sitewide for a limited time. Just go to https://GhostBed.com/mona and use promo code MONA at checkout.

Lawfare’s Ben Wittes discusses Lindsay Halligan’s incompetence and malevolence and the importance of grand juries to our liberties.

Francis Fukuyama discusses his theory that the internet, and not economic distress, the Democratic party’s problems, or other things have given rise to populism.Go to https://Oneskin.co and use code: MONACHAREN for 15% off!Take our quick listener survey and help us make The Bulwark even better. https://bit.ly/bulwarkaudio

This week on the Mona Charen Show, Mona is joined by Nico Perrino, Executive Vice President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), for a crucial conversation about the unprecedented assault on the First Amendment under the Trump 2.0 administration.During GhostBed’s Black Friday Sale, you can get 25% off already-reduced prices, for a limited time. Just go to GhostBed.com/mona and use promo code MONA at checkout.

The Atlantic’s Idrees Kahloon discusses the worrying learning losses of the past decade and some signs of hope.Go to https://Quince.com/Mona for free shipping and 365-day returns.

Mona Charen and Financial Times columnist Ed Luce discuss how Trump’s second term has gone from chaos to control — from a fake war in Venezuela to a culture of fear in Washington. They talk about the money, the mobs, the East Wing demolition, and how power in America is now moving at “the speed of light.”Go to https://Quince.com/Mona for free shipping and 365-day returns.

Mona Charen sits down with defense expert Kori Schake to unpack Donald Trump’s latest stunt with the military, the danger of turning U.S. troops into political props, and how Congress has let civilian control slip away. They also discuss Trump’s foreign-policy “own goals,” America’s fraying alliances, and why China and Putin are cheering him on.Get 15% off OneSkin with the code: MONACHAREN at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpodGet 25% off for a limited time. Go to https://GhostBed.com/mona and use promo code MONA at checkout.Head to https://moshlife.com/MONA to save 20% off plus FREE shipping on the Best Sellers Trial Pack or the NEW Plant-Based Trial Pack.

Bill Galston joins Mona to discuss his new book about the vulnerabilities of liberal democracies and how to relearn the importance of rhetoric.Anger, Fear, Domination: Dark Passions and the Power of Political Speech: https://a.co/d/9OPWkKP

Damon Linker on just how crazy awful things are, but with some optimism for climbing out of the abyss.

The Atlantic's Jonathan Chait discusses how MAGA is using Kirk's tragic death as a pretext for full-on authoritarian repression of dissent.Sponsors: For a limited time, you can try OneSkin with 15% off using code MONACHAREN at oneskin.co. Get 25% off sitewide at GhostBed for a limited time. Just go to GhostBed.com/mona and use promo code MONA at checkout.

The Bulwark's Jonathan Cohn discusses the harm RFK has already done, and what he's planning, which may be worse.Eat smart at FactorMeals.com/monacharen50off and use code monacharen50off to get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year.

Holly Berkley Fletcher explains the mindset of white evangelicals from a unique perspective—that of missionary kids. She was one. Her new book sheds light on a key MAGA constituency.

Mona welcomes UVA's Brad Wilcox to discuss the latest stats on marriage, what singlehood means for kids, men, and women, and marriage's new alt-Right foes.Head to moshlife.com/MONA to save 20% off plus FREE shipping on the Best sellers Trial Pack or the NEW plant-based trial pack.REFERENCES: Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization — W. Bradford Wilcox (HarperCollins, 2024)

Third Way's Matt Bennett and Sarah Longwell join Mona to talk about tanking Democratic voter registration numbers, words you should never say, the working class, the donors, and more.REFERENCES: Was It Something I Said? A memo to All Who Wish to Stop Donald Trump and MAGA from Third Way.

FREOPP's Michael Tanner joins Mona to discuss homelessness causes and potential cures.For a limited time, you can try OneSkin with 15% off using code MONACHAREN at oneskin.co.Go to Quince.com/MONA for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.

Georgetown law professor Stephen Vladeck joins Mona to unpack the Justice Department’s attack on Judge James Boasberg, Trump’s efforts to bend universities to his will, the Supreme Court’s retreat into procedural evasions, and the broader erosion of guardrails in American governance. What happens when process itself—the foundation of the rule of law—comes under assault?Head to moshlife.com/MONA to save 20% off plus FREE shipping on the Best sellers Trial Pack or the NEW plant-based trial pack.Eat smart at FactorMeals.com/monacharen50off and use code monacharen50off to get 50% off your first box, plus Free Breakfast for 1 Year.

Walter Olson of CATO discusses the Manhattan Statement on Higher Education, which would license Trump to ignore law, procedure, and precious liberties. REFERENCES: The Manhattan Statement on Higher Education A Troubling Right-Wing Manifesto on Universities, by Walter Olson at Persuasion Go to: OneSkin.co | Code: MONACHAREN

AEI's Sadanand Dhume joins the podcast to discuss Zohran Mamdani's ideological origins, why government stores are not a fresh, new idea, Indian democracy, poverty, capitalism, and how Bangladesh went its own way.

Author Sam Tanenhaus discusses his new biography of the multi-talented Buckley and the movement he did so much to create.

Mona Charen speaks with More in Common co-founders Tim Dixon and Mathieu Lefevre about rising polarization, the “exhausted majority,” and how loneliness, media incentives, and misinformation are fueling division. (Full disclosure: Mona is on More in Common’s board of directors.) They discuss global trends, practical solutions like refugee sponsorship, and the urgent need to rebuild community and trust in democratic societies. Genuine reasons for hope. REFERENCES: “Hidden Tribes: A Study of America's Polarized Landscape” Jo Cox's Maiden Speech Before Parliament

The Atlantic’s Helen Lewis joins Mona Charen to discuss The Genius Myth, her new book exploring whether genius is a real phenomenon or a socially constructed label. They examine how society elevates certain individuals—often more for charisma or timing than raw talent—and how the genius myth can excuse bad behavior while undervaluing empathy, humility, and collaboration. The conversation also touches on the “genius wives,” prodigies, the costs of fame, and Lewis's recent piece on the Skrmetti decision. For a limited time, you can try OneSkin with 15% off using code MONACHAREN at oneskin.co.

CATO's David Bier explains who ICE has scooped up—93 percent are not criminals—and what's coming next. Bier describes aggressive, anonymous arrest tactics and overcrowded detention centers with inhumane conditions, and warns of efforts to undermine birthright citizenship and due process. Head to moshlife.com/MONA to save 20% off plus FREE shipping on the Best sellers Trial Pack or the NEW plant-based trial pack. References:65% of People Taken by ICE Had No Convictions, 93% No Violent Convictions, by David Bier at CATO.

Author Marc Dunkelman discusses his new book Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress―and How to Bring It Back.Dunkelman contrasts past centralized efficiency with today’s slow, decentralized system full of procedural roadblocks. They close with a hopeful look at reform efforts, like Josh Shapiro’s in Pennsylvania, as one potential model.The Mona Charen Show is a weekly, one-on-one discussion that goes in depth on political and cultural topics. New shows drop Mondays. Find this show wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Add the show to your player of choice, here.This episode of The Mona Charen Show is sponsored by Putting Families First. They won’t forget that certain legislators betrayed families by cutting Medicaid and public school funding. Putting Families First is trying to put a stop cuts to Medicaid and public education, and are working to elect leaders who agree. Learn what’s at stake at PutFamilies1st.org.References: Why Nothing Works– by Marc Dunkelman Stuck– by Yoni Appelbaum Abundance– by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson The Power Broker– by Robert Caro The Power Elite– by C. Wright Mills The House of Truth – by Brad Snyder

Linda Chavez joined Mona Charen to discuss her debut novel The Silver Candlesticks, inspired by a personal revelation during an appearance on Finding Your Roots that her ancestors were secret Jews persecuted during the Spanish Inquisition. The novel explores themes of religious identity, repression, and survival, drawing on her family's history in Spain and the New World, as well as her own experience converting to Judaism. Their conversation also delved into parallels between historical persecution and contemporary immigration policies, warning against rising authoritarianism in the U.S.Get 15% off OneSkin with the code MONACHAREN at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpodGo to Quince.com/MONA for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Head to moshlife.com/MONA to save 20% off plus FREE shipping on the Best sellers Trial Pack.

Kevin D. Williamson of The Dispatch muses about the voters' culpability for Trump, socialism, and the "Abundance" agenda. They explore the cultural and economic decline of American civic virtue, the bipartisan slide into demagoguery, and Williamson’s disdain for both Trumpism and technocratic central planning. Support American family farms and join the Moink Movement today at Moinkbox.com/MONA and get FREE wings FOR LIFE.This show is brought to you by BetterHelp, get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/MONA