Episode 93: Pigeon Forge — with Luther Ray Abel

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

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

Ahead of July 4, Charles and Luther share some of their favorite things about America. The dial-up tone in the introduction was recorded by lintphishx and is used under a CC 3.0 License.

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

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

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

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.