The Far-Right Algorithm: Anti-Churchill, Anti-West

The David Frum Show

The Atlantic

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this week’s episode of “The David Frum Show,” The Atlantic’s David Frum opens with his thoughts on President Trump’s recent comments that appear to show a desire to back away from his war in Iran. David argues that Trump is comfortable as a “wartime” president as long as the enemy is American Democrats, and then he compares the president’s rhetoric about Iran with his rhetoric about his fellow Americans. Then, David is joined by the historian and journalist Lord Andrew Roberts to discuss why right-wing podcasters seem so fixated on insisting that Winston Churchill was the villain of the Second World War. Frum and Lord Roberts discuss the origins of pseudo-historians and why they appeal so much to the American right. Finally, David ends the episode with a discussion of the novel “Burr,” by Gore Vidal, and the relationship between art and morality. Sign up for David Frum’s newsletter alert. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Vanta.
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0:27.0	Get started today at Vantor.com. Hello, and welcome back to the David From show.
0:45.1	I'm David From, a staff writer at The Atlantic.
0:48.7	My guest this week will be Lord Andrew Roberts, the great British historian and man of letters,
0:53.7	and we'll be talking about
0:54.8	many subjects, but above all about the great duel between Churchill and Hitler, and why in our
1:00.1	day, so many people in positions of public prominence seem to have difficulty figuring out who
1:06.1	is on the right side of the Hitler-Churchel duel and of the Second World War. My book this week will be a novel,
1:12.6	Burr by Gore-Badol, which raises some questions about the relationship between art and morality.
1:17.3	But before my discussion of the novel Burr and before my dialogue with Lord Andrew Roberts,
1:22.6	some thoughts on recent dramatic developments. On the morning of Monday, March 23rd, the world woke up to this
1:29.5	startling announcement by President Trump on his social media platform, Truth Social.
	...

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