Episodes
On episode 72 of the Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles notes that the reaction to Trump's victory has been more muted than it was in 2016, and then talks to Lathan Watts of the Alliance Defending Freedom about the state of conscience rights in 2024.
Published 11/14/24
On episode 71, Charles talks to Luther Abel, Jack Butler, and Phil Klein about what they would do if everyone other human on earth was wiped out. Where would they go first? How would they get around? What would they eat? How long would they survive? If they could only take one tool, what would it be? What would they do for fun?
Published 10/21/24
On episode 70, Charles confirms that Luther Abel is real, discusses his attempt to get into Canada, and then talks to Caleb Kruckenberg about federalism.
Published 10/04/24
In episode 69, Charles talks to Luther Ray Abel about their Most Excellent Whizzbang American Roller-Coaster Adventure.
Published 09/20/24
On episode 68, Charles talks to Keith Whittington, a professor at Yale Law School, about his new book, 'You Can't Teach That: The Battle over University Classrooms.' Among the topics discussed are why universities are different than K-12 schools; why governments (and taxpayers) can't decide what is taught, given that they're paying the bill; how Civil Rights law intersects with academic free speech; and how to prevent universities from becoming ideological bubbles.
Published 09/04/24
On episode 67, Charles talks to David French about David's column in the New York Times, 'To Save Conservatism From Itself, I Am Voting for Harris.'
Published 08/20/24
On episode 66, Charles talks to Charles Fain Lehman about drugs and crime. Charles asks Charles to tell him why he's wrong about the drug war, why marijuana is different from alcohol, whether we should ban substances to protect people from themselves, what the problem is with 'harm reduction,' how bad the drug crisis is, whether we talk about it seriously, and why drugs are more potent now than they used to be. Afterwards, they talk about whether crime is going up or down, or whether the...
Published 07/25/24
On episode 65, Charles talks to Randy Barnett about his memoir, 'A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist.' Among the topics they discuss are: How did Randy get interested in the law? How did he become a law professor? What is an originalist? Why is he one? What sort of originalist is he? What was it like arguing before the Supreme Court? Why does he still defend the Lochner decision? Is he hopeful about the future of the Constitution?
Published 07/03/24
On episode 64, Charles writes an opera for his most persistent critic, 'Boiling Rug,' and then talks to Clark Neily about the problem of coercive plea bargaining.
Published 06/20/24
On episode 63, Charles talks to Wilfred Reilly about his new book, 'Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me: Debunking the False Narratives Defining America's School Curricula.' Among the topics they discuss are: Who is this 'liberal teacher'? Why does Wilfred feel a need to argue about this? Are the people who tell these lies aware that they are doing it? What lies do conservative teachers tell? Is the problem fixable?
Published 06/13/24
On episode 62, Charles tells tale of his difficult two weeks, and then talks to Andy McCarthy about the Trump conviction.
Published 06/06/24
On episode 61, Charles talks to Rick Brookhiser about his new book, 'Glorious Lessons: John Trumbull, Painter of the American Revolution.'
Published 05/15/24
On episode 60, Charles talks to Peter Robinson about the famous 'Tear Down This Wall' speech that he wrote for President Ronald Reagan. Among the topics they discuss are how Peter became a speechwriter in the first place, what Ronald Reagan was like, and how The Speech came to be.
Published 05/02/24
On episode 59, Charles invites Michael Brendan Dougherty and Noah Rothman to continue the debate over Ukraine that they started on Tuesday's episode of The Editors.
Published 04/25/24
On episode 58—recorded from Lord Ravenscroft's desolate manor—Charles reviews objections to his approach to counting states, relates the most recent problems he's had with his golf cart, and talks to Tim Carney about his new book, 'Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be.'
Published 03/21/24
On episode 57, Charles announces a special jigsaw puzzle and relates which 44 states he's visited before talking to Robert Frommer about an extraordinary case of civil asset forfeiture.
Published 03/13/24
On episode 56, Charles talks to Father Nathaniel Meyers, the Pastor of the Church of St. Francis Xavier in Buffalo, MN, about whether God exists, how we can know, and whether it ultimately matters.
Published 02/22/24
Charles invites Gareth Russell to tell him all about his latest book, 'The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court.' Among the topics they discuss are the wives of Henry VIII, the use of séances to get one's own way, the first performances of Macbeth and Hamlet, the writing of the King James Bible, snobbery within eighteenth century chocolate production, whether Mary I was as bad as her reputation suggests, and why George III moved the monarchy...
Published 02/16/24
Charles introduces a new section on the show: Manatee Fact Hour. Then he invites that reprobate Kevin Williamson on for another throwback show. Presented by Prang and Company.
Published 02/06/24
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Published 02/02/24
On episode 52, Charles talks to Peter Suderman about cocktails. Among the topics discussed are: What is a cocktail? When were they invented? How have they changed over time? What is the 'cocktail renaissance'? How have laws affected their production or development? And how did Peter get into this in the first place?
Published 01/25/24
In episode 51, Charles confesses that he is genuinely morose about the end of the Jaguars season, and then talks to his colleagues about their own sporting highs and lows. For just $5/month, you can help a sad male fan.
Published 01/11/24
On episode 50, Charles is rudely prevented from staging his radio play by the Ghost of Luther Abel. After that, he talks to Rafael A. Mangual about crime. Among the questions they discuss are why Rafael believes that the U.S. has a "decarceration problem"; whether too many Americans are in jail; whether the justice system is "racialized"; what we should do about police brutality; whether voters will punish politicians who make them less safe; and what law-and-order policymakers got wrong in...
Published 12/19/23
On episode 49—so called because there have been 48 others—Charles talks to Russ Roberts, the host of the EconTalk podcast and the president of Shalem College in Jerusalem. Among the topics they discuss are: What life has been like in Jerusalem since October 7; why Russ started a podcast so early; why he's less interested in economics than he used to be; how strongly he holds his views; whether individuals who do well in the free market 'deserve' it; which economic concepts are hardest to...
Published 12/06/23