The Mona Charen Show

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 #ad
Films & 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 at

https://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.