The Mona Charen Show

Mona and the gang bid farewell to this format, discuss what will replace it, and offer a glimpse of future plans. Leave a comment Highlights / Lowlights:  Mona outlined the future of her new show. Bill previews his forthcoming book on political psychology. Linda: The Silver Candlesticks: A Novel of the Spanish Inquisition, Linda’s forthcoming book, which you can pre-order now! Make sure you sign up for Linda’s Substack. Damon: While Damon finishes his forthcoming book on Leo Strauss, go down the Straussian rabbithole at Notes from the Middleground. Referenced work: Bret Stephens’s “Done With Trump” in the NYT

Noah Smith joins to discuss what Tulsi Gabbard could do to America, the other anti-qualified nominees, the Penny/Mangione cases, and what Syria should remind us of. Highlights / Lowlights  Mona: Rupert Murdoch's Succession Fiasco, Clive Irving at Vanity Fair Linda: Why Does Pete Hegseth Keep Talking About ‘Warfighters’? Elliot Ackerman at The Free Press. Bill: His WSJ column: Save a Reagan Initiative From Musk and Ramaswamy Damon: When Democracy’s Defenders Turn Into Its Gravediggers, Yascha Mounck Noah makes his reasoned pitch as to why rabbits make excellent pets.

Matt Bennett joins to discuss the most dangerous Trump appointments and the worrying signals of fear by MSNBC and others. Highlights / Lowlights Mona: The Iron Man of America’s op-ed pages (David Von Drehle, WaPo) and Mona’s contribution to the George Will tribute symposium, ‘Conservatism’s Vital Champion.’ The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America by Jeffrey Rosen Matt: The attempted Martial Law coup in South Korea (lowlight) and the response of South Korean politicians and citizens (highlight). Bill: The DOGE versus the NED by James Piereson (The New Criterion) Linda: Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth See the Same Enemies (Carlos Lozada, NYT) Damon: The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the perverse glee of some on the very online left. (Lowlights)