The Ricochet Podcast

Toss out the cyanide white pill and don't touch that dial! Bad night on Tuesday, but we ain't done for yet. In fact, we got work to do—and the job starts with an assessment of what the bleep just happened. To that end, Steve and James chat with Sean Trende, head of the Poll Vault and senior elections analyst for RealClearPolitics. We leave the blame game to others, and instead think through how it got that way (and how it wasn't our fault) (and we'll never do it again!).Sound from this week's open: Snippets from a disastrous midterm: Trump discusses the untransferable love voters have for him; Jake Tapper and Savannah Guthrie announce Democratic wins; Chuck Schumer sets the bar for the 120th Congress. Closing music: "Outlaw Country" by ikoliks via MotionArrayBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.

Steve and James embrace the Halloween mindset with a chat about a cast of characters who transcend space, time, and barriers of language and even reality. They brace themselves for the midterms, swap a couple scary movie suggestions, and offer a proper send-off to Sir Patrick Stewart. Andrew Roberts joins to discuss his latest biography, Napoleon and His Marshals: Victory, Rivalry, Betrayal. Along with detailing the extraordinary talent behind the Grande Armée, the trio draws attention to parallels that contemporary expansionists, visionaries, and magalomaniacs would do well to remember. (And speaking of treats, be sure to get your code for a whopping discount on a Ricochet subscription for your first year! Use code HALLOWEEN2026 for $15 off a Listener or Member plan.) Opening sound this week: The late Sir Patrick Stewart at Just for Laughs in Montréal in 2015.Closing music: "Space Journey," by Daniel Inrem via MotionArray.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.

The great Douglas Murray, bestselling author of The Strange Death of Europe and On Democracies and Death Cults, joins James and Steve to discuss the mass immigration problem he's been sounding the alarm on for over a decade. As ever, Murray is unflinching in defense of civilization against the barbarous rioters and the myopic elites enabling them. Plus, James and Steve raise an eyebrow each at Ilhan Omar's uncertainty over an important detail about one of her marriages. The duo also talk about all kinds of food: fast, foreign, and regrettable.Opening sound: A French storekeeper pleads with rioters while Emmanuel Macron claims there’s nothing to see here and Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers have their final debate (WXYZ - Detroit)Closing music:  "Say Less," by sviridpavlov via MotionArrayBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.

The midterm polls sure don't paint a rosy picture for Republicans. While Henry Olsen, Ricochet's in-house election analyst, isn't here to pretend the data suggest otherwise, he joins James, Charles, and Steve to add dimension to the GOP's bleak prospects. Listeners brave enough for the cold facts will hear important lessons about the Republican Party's growing pains, the value of persuasive speech during tough times, and the necessity of message discipline in getting through them. The gang at least finds some consolation in the fact that the ascendant progressive wing of the Democratic Party will likely weigh down the whole if (or when) they overreach. Ricochet 5 is here! Stay tuned till the end to hear Charles give a rundown of the new features. And check out the new site here: https://ricochet.comOpening sound this week: Susan Collins and Troy Jackson have their final debate interrupted (WCSH Portland), and the President weighs in on the El Sayed candidacy in Michigan. Closing music: "Rendezvous" by Dux, via MotionArrayBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.

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 FreitasBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ricochet-podcast--5817275/support.