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.

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.

The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.

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.

The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.

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? 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?

The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.

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?

The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.

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

The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.

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?

The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.

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?

The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.