The Dispatch Podcast

Megan McArdle joins Steve, Jonah, and Sarah to adjudicate the minutiae of the least consequential civil war you'll ever regret hearing about: between the Bulwark Front of Judea and the Judean Dispatch Front. The Agenda: —Harris’ first interview —Moving to the right —Does media matter? —Killing the primary system —The Twitter Spat —Against endorsements —Why it’s important to be honest Show Notes: —John Berman’s interview with Michael Tyler on fracking —Nick Catoggio on The Twitter Spat The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Dreyfuss, the former Mother Jones editorial director who now publishes the Calm Down Substack, shares his insights from the Democratic National Convention and takes Jamie's questions about whether Kamala Harris showed her party that she's a competent candidate. The Agenda: —From the convention floor of the DNC —The left-wing influence —Decline of woke politics —Speculating Harris' priorities as president —Implications of a Trump victory —The future of journalism Show Notes: —Dispatch Live post-DNC recap The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

E: This recording is from the first half of Dispatch Live. For the full episode, become a member to listen on The Skiff. Sarah, Jonah, Mike, Charles, and David discuss the aftermath of the DNC and the surprising impact from the Harris' speech. What is The Skiff? This is the combined podcast feed of all of the members-only bonus content that The Dispatch produces. Here you’ll find every Dispatch Live episode, the Dispatch Book Club, AMAs with Jonah (and others), the account of Sarah and Steve’s nail-biting wager in High Steaks, and many, many more exclusive, uncut and ad-free surprises: all available in one superfeed to make sure you don’t miss a single episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friend of Vice President Kamala Harris and former South Carolina Representative Bakari Sellers joins Jamie to defend Harris’ unwillingness to sit down for interviews and her ideological fluctuations. The Agenda: —Harris as a “practical progressive” —Evolving policy positions —Harris’ economic agenda —Defending Israel —Jonah owes Bakari a drink? —Racial disparities in modern America —The state of boxing Show Notes: —Nick Catoggio’s Boiling Frogs newsletter on Harris agenda —Jonah’s G-File on price gouging —The life of Cleveland Sellers The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's talk about voting. Sarah, Jonah, and Megan McArdle get epistemological breaking down David French's column endorsing Kamala Harris and realize they can't even agree on the the purpose of voting. What kind of Democrat will Kamala Harris run as, anyway? The Agenda: —David French: To Save Conservatism From Itself, I Am Voting for Harris —Jonah: Voting Isn’t A Window Into the Soul —Why Megan is voting for Harris —Jonah has lost Sarah —Can “Obamaism” save Democrats? —Harris’ policy platform will be “light on detail” —Blaming greedy capitalists —“Has the U.S. beat inflation, Mr. President?” —Will the DNC boost Harris? —Should journalists publish hacked information? Show Notes: —Matt Yglesias on greedflation —Eric Levitz on greedflation —Scott Lincicome on greedflation The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daily Beast columnist Matt Lewis joins Jamie to discuss the shifting dynamics of the 2024 election cycle and why he believes Donald Trump’s “threat to democracy” doesn’t mean he has to vote for Kamala Harris. The Agenda: —Current presidential landscape —What happened to J.D. Vance? —Is Trump actually a threat to democracy? —Will the Never Trump movement ever be irrelevant? —Best- and worst-case scenarios of a Trump presidency Show Notes: —Filthy Rich Politicians: The Swamp Creatures, Latte Liberals, and Ruling-Class Elites Cashing in on America —Kevin Williamson on Vance's misplaced blame of the working class —Jamie Weinstein on "The Next Level" podcast The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah, Jonah, and Megan McArdle break down the Tim Walz vice presidential pick and discuss the state of conservatism at the local level. Plus: an off-the-rails Not Worth Your Time. Steve, close your ears. The Agenda: —The Tim Walz pick —Are the Harris-Walz vibes better? —“Kamabla” —Is conservatism alive at the state level? —Markets aren’t fun anymore —Jonah’s mommy/daddy theory —“America is in a bad marriage” —Tim Walz’s "slanderous" couch joke —Ballerina farm: How’s feminism doing? —NWYT: Doggy perfume Show Notes: —Boiling Frogs on the Walz pick —“Notice how the barrel of Walz’s gun is pointed away from his dog.” —Jonathan Rauch on The Remnant The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are Israel and Iran rolling towards a regional war? Can Israel still rely on the United States as an ally? Is the war in Gaza over and did Hamas already win? Adaam is joined by senior Yedioth Ahronoth reporter Nadav Eyal, political commentator and author of The War of Return Einat Wilf, and Advisory Opinions special guest (and New York Times columnist) David French to discuss the balance of power in the Middle East. Show Notes: —Kevin D. Williamson's piece on Israel not 'risking' a regional war —Charlotte Lawson's reporting from Israel —Einat's appearance on The Remnant The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a difference two weeks make. Jonah, Sarah, Chris Stirewalt, and a beach-bound Megan McArdle discuss whether Kamala Harris’ newly energized and surprisingly disciplined campaign is getting on Trump’s nerves. The agenda: —Kamala basking in the coconut glow —Trump’s onstage interview at the NABJ conference —Gov. Roy Cuppa —Trump’s messy messaging on Kamala Harris’ identity —J.D. Vance’s controversial comments —Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan come home —More Sarah lore Show Notes: —Nick Catoggio on Democrats' "weird" messaging The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, author of March to the Majority and host of Newt’s World, joins Jamie to debate foreign policy, Donald Trump, the media, and coup d’états. The Agenda: —The preservation of Israel —Going all in on Ukraine —What Never Trumpers miss about Donald Trump —Who is the “establishment” and who is not? —The assassination attempt —How will history remember January 6 —The left-wing drift of the media —Was Joe Biden forced out by a coup? —Technological and biological advances Show Notes: —Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu —A trio of books on real age: Michael F. Roizen’s The Great Age Reboot, Nir Barzilai’s Age Later, and David Sinclair’s Lifespan —Peter Drucker’s The Effective Executive —Arnold Toynbee’s A Study of History The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve, Jonah, and Michael are joined by TMD editor Mary Trimble to discuss Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress and the subsequent protests. They also analyze Kamala Harris’ response, elite wagon-circling, Donald Trump’s scary unification of the Republican Party, and Joe Biden’s withdrawal. The Agenda: —Bipartisan moments: Iran and October 7 —Israel’s place in U.S. politics and its own domestic politics —Pro-Hamas protests —Why isn’t Kamala Harris having her “Sister Souljah moment?” —The mainstream media’s spin on “border czar” —How the assassination attempt changed nothing about Donald Trump —Was Biden’s speech worth our time? Show Notes: —Harris' statement on the D.C. protests, published after recording this episode —Video of the D.C. Palestinian Youth Movement releasing maggots —The Morning Dispatch —Axios article on “border czar” mistake —Montage of news anchors saying “border czar” —GovTrack scrubbing its rating of Kamala Harris as the “most liberal senator” —Politico’s “law and order” quotes from Kamala Harris —G-File on Jonah’s “Sigh of Relief” —Laura Loomer’s loony tweet —Nick Catoggio’s “Wishful Thinking” The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the first half of our Dispatch Live livestream from last night. If you’d like to watch or listen to the full episode (which we highly recommend!), please become a Dispatch member on https://thedispatch.com/join/ On yet another emergency edition of Dispatch Live, Sarah is joined by Steve, Jonah, and Mike to break down President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. The Agenda: —Should Biden resign? —What a Kamala Harris campaign might look like —The campaign finance question Show Notes: —Dispatch Politics: Biden Withdraws From the 2024 Election —Boiling Frogs: The Return of the Smoke-Filled Room —Cole Murphy: How Democrats Could Replace Joe Biden as Their Nominee, Explained —Dispatch Editorial: It’s Democrats’ Turn to Make the Hard Decision Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eliot Cohen, professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, thinks a second Trump term won’t have a dramatic effect on American foreign policy. He joins Jamie to debate this point, the risk of pulling out of NATO and abandoning allies, and whether America is bound to retreat from global affairs. NOTE: This episode was recorded on Friday, July 19, 2024—two days before President Joe Biden announced he wouldn’t be running for reelection. The Agenda: —Cohen’s piece in The Atlantic —Pulling out of NATO —The proliferation of nuclear weapons —Relationships with China and Taiwan —Concerns about J.D. Vance advising Trump Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

* This is the first half of our Dispatch Live livestream from last night. If you'd like to watch or listen to the full episode (which we highly recommend!), please become a Dispatch member on https://thedispatch.com/join/ * It's Dispatch After Hours. Our intrepid reporters stayed up till the wee hours to catch former President Trump's full speech on the last night at the Republican National Convention. In a manic edition of Dispatch Live, a sleep-deprived Sarah is joined by Jonah and Steve... as well as the entire Dispatch Politics team—David M. Drucker, Michael Warren, John McCormack, and Charles Hilu—reporting from the convention in Milwaukee. Was Trump able to stick the landing on his unity speech (or for that matter, to stick to the script)? Are Republicans going through an existentialist phase? Will Biden still be the nominee next week? Was the convention worth our time? What are we even doing here? You can watch or listen to the full episode here: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David French discuss the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump during a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NOTE: This episode was recorded last week July 10, before the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. French public intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy joins Jamie on today’s episode to discuss the surprise rise of the far-left in the French elections and its implications for Western foreign policy. Plus: why BHL’s glad he’s not American. Agenda: —French antisemitism —How extremism is devouring the center —Why Jews must stay in France —The “made-up” question of migrants —Broken economic schemes —Why America actually won in Afghanistan —“Ukraine and Israel are two front lines of the same war” Show Notes: —Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld’s remarks on voting —Jeffrey Goldberg’s “Is it time for Jews to leave Europe?” —BHL’s “In The Footsteps of Tocqueville” —BHL’s “The Afghan Who Won’t Surrender to the Taliban” —Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls —Douglas Murray —Adam Gopnik The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah, Steve, and Jonah are joined by Axios’ national political correspondent Alex Thompson to analyze Joe Biden’s performance during Thursday’s press conference and where the president stands within his own party. The Agenda: —Vindication for Robert Hur —Criticizing media coverage of Biden —Vice President Kamala Harris’ electability —Tensions between former Barack Obama aides and the Biden campaign —Donald Trump’s campaign strategy Show Notes: —The Dispatch Podcast with Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns —George Clooney's New York Times op-ed The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve is joined by The Bulwark's Tim Miller to briefly rehash their disagreement from March and discuss the backlash Miller has received since calling for Biden to step down. The Agenda: —Not interested in circling the wagon —The spin isn’t working —The American People Should Demand Better —Trump and Biden are “categorically” different —Biden’s “MAGA” response —Who would Tim pick instead of Biden? —Credibility in opinion journalism Show Notes: —Tim Miller’s interview on his book, Why We Did It —“The Dispatch and the Bulwark walk into a bar…” —The Bulwark: “Stephen Hayes: Grading Biden” —Tim Miller: “The Bidens Need to Have a Talk” —Tim Miller: “Dear Dems: The Gaslighting Isn’t Helping Matters” —Reagan and Mondale’s 1984 debate —“It’s Democrats’ Turn to Make the Hard Decision” —The Bulwark: “Jon Lovett: Unprecedented Times” —Miss South Carolina answers a question The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County recorder—a public official responsible for recording public documents—joins Jamie to discuss the harassment campaign against him and his thoughts about the 2024 election. The Agenda: —What is a county recorder? —The “lynch” threat —Looking into 2020 fraud claims —Richer’s defamation lawsuit —Did Trump know the 2020 fraud claims were false? —What happens in 2024? —Being a part of Trump’s GOP The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special Independence Day episode, Sarah, Jonah, and Steve share their Fourth of July traditions and try to figure out how Democrats can get out of this mess. The Agenda: —Calvin Coolidge’s Declaration of Independence speech —Centuries-old cherries found at Mt. Vernon —Why won’t Joe Biden leave the race? —Biden’s statement on the SCOTUS immunity ruling —What would Sarah do? —Harris has a problem —Did the media cover Biden’s age well? —What does all this mean for Trump’s VP pick? Show Notes: —A celebration of a free press —Jonah’s G-File on parties —Jake Tapper and Sen. Chris Coons —Steve on Tim Miller’s podcast —Matthew Dowd’s tweet  —Hadas Gold’s piece on White House reporters —New York Times editorial on Biden The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including members-only newsletters, bonus podcast episodes, and weekly livestreams—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices