The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast

Charles talks to Michael Auslin about his new book, 'National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America.' What is the Declaration of Independence? Who wrote it? How close we were to losing the original copy? Why did it appeal to early nineteenth-century socialists? Why did the committee remove the lines condemning the slave trade? When did women start using it to demand the vote? How did it help assimilate immigrants? What happened to it in WWII? Will it survive the next century?

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2026

After the success of the Virginia gerrymander, Charles asks Sean Trende about the history of gerrymandering. What is it? Why is it called that? When did it start? What is a dummymander? When did our modern gerrymandering fights begin? Is mid-decade redistricting a historical anomaly? Who is playing defense here: the Democrats or the Republicans? Why have Republicans opposed federal laws banning gerrymandering? Are independent commissions actually independent? Can we outsource redistricting to a computer? What happens if the Supreme Court reworks its Voting Rights Act jurisprudence? Should we just go back to having representatives-at-large, who run statewide? Did the 2020 Census unfairly undercount gains in Republican states? How will the 2030 Census change our politics? Also: Is Donald Trump unpopular because he's Donald Trump, or because we just hate everyone now? And where are all the moderates?

Transcribed - Published: 22 April 2026

On episode 101, Charles talks to Sarah Isgur about her new book, 'Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court.' What is the role of the Court? Do Americans understand it? Why has it survived? Do the justices get along? Why does everyone hate Citizens United? Is it a paradox that to get the Court to change the law one often has to break the law?

Transcribed - Published: 14 April 2026

On episode 100, Charles celebrates having made it into triple figures, and then talks to Sean Beienburg, first about the interesting history of progressive federalism, and then about whether Prohibition worked.

Transcribed - Published: 11 March 2026

On episode 99, Charles talks to Tim Chapman of Advancing American Freedom about the role of a think tank in contemporary politics. Are we still in an era where ideas matter? How much will be up for grabs when Trump leaves the scene? How do advocacy organizations avoid being captured by political parties? Are young people really lost to the bad actors of the world? What's the biggest challenge facing America? Is Tim optimistic or pessimistic about the future?

Transcribed - Published: 29 January 2026

On episode 98, Charles offers a brief apology to Ohio, and then talks to Scott Winship about whether everything is awful. Has the middle class disappeared? Is it impossible for young people to buy a home? Why do people say that one can have a '1950s living standard if one wants one' when regulations make that tough? Is society worse than it was in the 1950s or 1970s? Is the new poverty line really $140,000? If not, where is it? Is the poverty line a useful measure? Is it likely that there will be a political war between the generations? Is there a 'two income trap'?

Transcribed - Published: 17 December 2025

On episode 97, Charles talks to Luther Ray Abel about the Best and Worst of many things: American cars, American holidays, American fast food chains, American restaurant chains, Beatles albums, American states, Christmas songs, rollercoasters, alcoholic drinks, non-alcoholic drinks, movies, American roads, and desserts.

Transcribed - Published: 8 December 2025

On episode 96, Charles briefly praises a tiki bar in Grand Rapids, MI, and then talks to Shawnna Morris about her fascinating new book, 'The Cambridge Spy Ring: The Treachery of the Five Who Got Away.' Among the topics they discussed were: Who were the Cambridge Spies? Why were they susceptible to recruitment? How did they get away with it? Why were none of them prosecuted or executed? Why does Shawnna find the Cold War so interesting?

Transcribed - Published: 28 October 2025

On episode 95, Charles takes his last chance to talk to Dominic Pino as a colleague before Dominic heads to the Washington Post. Among the topics they discuss are whether free markets are superior to the alternatives; whether tariffs are a good or a bad idea—and what the exceptions should be; whether industrial policy can work; what to do about America's massive national debt; whether it's a bad move to keep cutting taxes; and whether Dominic is optimistic about our economic future.

Transcribed - Published: 10 October 2025

On episode 94, Charles talks to Peter Just about his book on the post-premiership career of Margaret Thatcher: 'Margaret Thatcher: Life After Downing Street.' Was she happy? Did she think she could do a better job than her successors? Was she aware how ill she was? Was she "playing a role"? Why did she mostly stay away from Parliament? Would today's British public vote for someone like Thatcher now?

Transcribed - Published: 2 October 2025

On episode 93, Charles talks to Luther Ray Abel about his trip to Pigeon Forge, TN, which is supposedly the "tackiest place on Earth," but which is actually a lot of fun.

Transcribed - Published: 3 September 2025

On episode 92, Charles talks to Marcus Gadson about his book, 'Sedition: How America's Constitutional Order Emerged from Violent Crisis.' Among the topics they discuss are: What is a constitution? What is a constitutional crisis? What are some good examples of constitutional crises throughout American history? Who gets to decide when it's time for a new constitution, and by what process ought it to be adopted? Are Americans stable enough now that they don't need to worry about this—or are we always close to going off the rails?

Transcribed - Published: 29 July 2025

Ahead of July 4, Charles and Luther share some of their favorite things about America.

Transcribed - Published: 3 July 2025

Episode 90 contains the audio of the debate between Charles and Andy McCarthy on the topic, "Does President Trump need Congress's permission to attack Iran?" If you'd rather watch the debate, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDaRKsiHPko&feature=youtu.be

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2025

On episode 89 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles talks to Christopher J. Scalia about his new book, '13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven't Read).' Among the topics they discussed were: Why haven't conservatives read these books? Why should people read novels? Are these books 'conservative' or just books that conservatives will like? What are the best books progressives will love? Why aren't people reading novels any more? And does the lack of a shared literary canon help explain why we're so divided as a country?

Transcribed - Published: 4 June 2025

On episode 88, Charles talks to Ross Benes about his new book, '1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times.' Among the topics they discuss are how Jerry Springer helps explain Donald Trump, how 'kayfabe' took over the world, how porn explains much of Internet, how video games became respectable, and whether it matters that the elite class watches completely different television than most voters.

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2025

On episode 87, Charles asks Ross Douthat about his new book, 'Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious,' and, in particular, to explain to him why he, Charles Cooke, should be religious.

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2025

On episode 86, Charles talks to Michael Jahr about his upcoming documentary movie, Liberty at Stake, which is about the escape from slavery of Joshua Glover in 1854, the abolitionist activism of the people of Wisconsin, and the subsequent founding of the Republican Party. Then Charles talks to Dan McLaughlin about the background to, and structure of, the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2025

On this special pop-up episode, Charles talks to Scott Lincicome about Donald Trump's massive unilateral tariff hike. What is a tariff? What are tariffs for? Why aren't they good? Why did they once work but don't now? Don't we need them to fight against our rivals, who are taking advantage of us? Other countries do it—why, if they are bad? What about our "hollowed out manufacturing base"? What about China?

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

On episode 84, Charles talks to Michael Vorenberg about his new book, 'Lincoln's Peace: The Struggle to End the American Civil War.' When did the Civil War end? Why is it hard to tell? What about other wars? Does it matter that war aims can evolve over time? Can one be anti-war when slavery or the Holocaust are at stake? Are modern wars more difficult to end?

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2025

On episode 83, Mary Katherine Ham tells Charles how Ultimate Fighting Championship explains the vibe shift toward Trump.

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2025

On episode 82, Charles talks to Senator Tom Cotton about China—in particular, about his new book, 'Seven Things You Can't Say About China.' Why does Senator Cotton say that the Chinese Communist Party is 'evil'? Why does he think it's preparing for war? What does he mean when he says that it's engaged in 'economic warfare'? Has it really 'infiltrated' the United States? Why should TikTok be forced to become an American company? What can we do to avoid disaster?

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2025

On episode 81, Charles talks to Andrew Heaton about his new book, 'Tribalism is Dumb: Where It Came from, How It Got So Bad, and What to Do about It.' Is tribalism bad per se, or is it just bad in politics. Why has it got so much worse recently? To what extent is technology to blame? What can we do about it?

Transcribed - Published: 13 February 2025

On episode 80 of the Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles talks to Molly Nixon, a separation of powers attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, about whether the delegation of the tariff power is constitutional. Why do we accept Congress giving this away when we wouldn't accept Congress giving away the authority to set tax rates? When did this start? What are the main laws that Congress has written that achieve it? Can this be reversed? What would it take for Congress to take back control? Can the Supreme Court help?

Transcribed - Published: 30 January 2025

On episode 79, Charles talks to Justin Shubow, the president of the National Civic Art Society, about the importance of classical architecture. What is classical architecture? Why is it "humanist"? What's wrong with modern art? Why do people defend it? Would it be too expensive to return to classical architecture? Why was Penn Station knocked down? Should it be rebuilt? What are the prospects of a renaissance in architecture under Donald Trump?

Transcribed - Published: 22 January 2025

On episode 78, Charles talks to Ilya Shapiro about his new book, 'Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites.' Why did he write it? Why does it matter if law schools are illiberal? Why is the law writ large threatened by the rejection of classical liberalism? What can do we do about it? Who is doing the right things? Is he optimistic about the future?

Transcribed - Published: 15 January 2025

On episode 77, Charles reads from a book about Kamala Harris he got for Christmas, and then talks to Jonah Goldberg about whether the United States should absorb Canada and to Michael Brendan Dougherty about why he's not appalled by the idea of invading Greenland.

Transcribed - Published: 10 January 2025

On episode 76, Charles talks to Jim Meigs about the drone panic in New Jersey. What's it all about? What exactly are drones? What's the likeliest explanation for what's going on? In the future, will my pizza be delivered by a drone? What military threat do drones pose?

Transcribed - Published: 20 December 2024

On episode 75, Charles talks to Rich Lowry, Dominic Pino, and Michael Brendan Dougherty about the rules of baseball. Why is Dominic against all change? Why is Rich in favor of most change? What is the case against robot umpires? Why does the NFL innovate so freely, where baseball seems stuck in the mud? Can baseball ever be the most popular sport in America again, or is there something about it that doesn't suit the modern era?

Transcribed - Published: 12 December 2024

On episode 74 of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, Charles invites Luther Abel, Dan McLaughlin, and Mark Wright to discuss time travel. Among the topics discussed are how far one would have to go back in time before one's knowledge was useless; how many modern soldiers it would take to beat various historical armies; whether one would prefer to have been in the first wave on D-Day or in the infantry at Waterloo; what four items one would take into the past; and which era one would return to if forced.

Transcribed - Published: 26 November 2024

On episode 73, Charles confesses that he has replaced every switch in his house, and then talks to Ethan Blevins about the problems that have been caused by the federal government's refusal to finish homesteading. How much land in America is owned by Washington D.C., anyway? Is it constitutional for the federal government to own land? Why are there so many stupid rules on the land that is owned by the federal government? Can it be fixed? Why hasn't it been?

Transcribed - Published: 22 November 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 14 November 2024

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?

Transcribed - Published: 21 October 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 4 October 2024

In episode 69, Charles talks to Luther Ray Abel about their Most Excellent Whizzbang American Roller-Coaster Adventure.

Transcribed - Published: 20 September 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 4 September 2024

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.'

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2024

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 whole debate is partisan nonsense.

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2024

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?

Transcribed - Published: 3 July 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2024

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?

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2024

On episode 62, Charles tells tale of his difficult two weeks, and then talks to Andy McCarthy about the Trump conviction.

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2024

On episode 61, Charles talks to Rick Brookhiser about his new book, 'Glorious Lessons: John Trumbull, Painter of the American Revolution.'

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2024

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.'

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 22 February 2024

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 to Buckingham Palace.

Transcribed - Published: 16 February 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 6 February 2024