Need to Know

Yes, Mona and Jay talk about Kate Smith, recently the victim of a terrible injustice. But they don’t play “God Bless America” at the end. They have Kate Smith in “I’ll Be Seeing You,” that classic (1938) by Fain and Kahal. In the course of the ’cast, they talk about Venezuela, Trump, Mueller, Bernie, and other topics that seize attention. Source

Law professor Adam White joins the podcast to discuss the Mueller report, the contours of obstruction, and our trend toward criminalizing matters that deserve political treatment. Jay and Mona then discuss Game of Thrones (briefly!), a midwestern heroine, and more. Source

Jay and Mona consider the days when Democrats were deregulators (truly), how great our air transport system is (truly), and cheating at golf, among many other things. Music: Laura Dickinson, Come Fly With Me... Source

Jay and Mona pay tribute to a great French pilot and a tough Mossad agent. They also talk of Biden’s flaws, the Democrats’ drift, the Mueller report, and a great show — “1776.” Music From This Week’s Show: But Mr. Adams – 1776 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)... Source

The Atlantic’s David Frum joins to discuss his thoughtful article on limiting immigration. Jay and Mona then get sidetracked on several issues and have fun doing so. Source

Jay and Mona dissect the Cohen hearing, the Hanoi summit, Amy Klobuchar’s character, Netanyahu’s decline, and the last Nixon brother to pass away, before paying tribute to the great Andre Previn. Source

Lindsey Burke of Heritage joins to examine the Democrats’ proposals for universal pre-K. Jay and Mona then reflect on Ilhan Omar v. Elliott Abrams, Kamala Harris v. Neomi Rao, and Robert Kraft’s trouble. Source

Is that the standard now? Jay and Mona consider the travails of Virginia’s governor, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Elizabeth Warren and many others in this age of shame and shamelessness. They also talk Green New Deal, Kim Jong Un, and much more. Source

That was the past week. Jay and Mona cover it, with poll data, a little Starbucks, a little Medicare for All, and some reminiscences about the religion of anti-racism. Source

Beholding the government-shutdown fiasco, Jay recalls an old term: “goo-goo.” He and Mona discuss “the wall and the cave,” the Democratic field so far, and “The Three Amigos.” They also ask if the U.S. remains serious about NATO. Mona recounts a personal experience of Roger Stone. Music from this week’s show: Fazil Say plays his famous jazz version of Mozart’s “Rondo alla turca... Source

Over the Wall, the R’s and the Dems are playing a game of chicken. That’s one thing Mona and Jay say about this shutdown drama. Who’s going to swerve away first? Is the border a genuine national emergency? Then our hosts talk about Tucker Carlson’s monologue heard ’round the world, or certainly ’round the Right, as Mona says: What are the limits of government? What can government do for people? Source

Elizabeth Warren is running. The Boston Globe’s Jeff Jacoby analyzes her “likeability” among other things with Mona. Jay joins later to talk about another Massachusettsite – or is it Utahite? Source

David French joins Jay and Mona to explode myths (“Flynn was framed!”) and analyze where things stand with a president unmoored. Secretary Mattis is gone, but Steven Miller goes on and on. Source

In this bonus episode, Mona and colleagues discuss the work of the late Bruce Cole – a believer in America who left a great legacy. Source

It sounds like a PR firm or a face cream, but it’s our two guests this week. Bloomberg’s Eli Lake sits in for Jay as co-host, and Eliana Johnson of Politico offers her insights on staff shake-ups at the White House. Eli and Mona then talk Russia, N. Korea, and climate. We got out to some music in honor of The Weekly Standard... Source

Mona went splat and broke her wrist, but still shows up. She and Jay talk trade, Amazon and its critics, election fraud, Deep Fake fraud, Jim Acosta, entitlements, and the passing of three notable men. Music from this week’s episode: “Sea Murmurs,” by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, played by Brinton Averil Smith (cello) and (his wife) Evelyn Chen (piano)... Source

Mona and Jay begin with a guest, Charles Lane. (Jay is late but butts in when he arrives.) They talk about the midterm elections and about Central America. Chuck has done extensive reporting from Latin America, as well as several other regions around the globe. Today, he is an editorial writer and columnist for the Washington Post. After Chuck leaves, Mona and Jay continue to talk about the... Source

Jay and Mona talk about the eternal curse of anti-Semitism, executive orders – who’s for them, who’s against them and does it depend entirely upon whose ox is gored? Left wing and right wing violence. And the most underrated flavor. Music from this week’s show: Camille Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre... Source

In this (typically) wide-ranging hour, Mona and Jay talk about the caravan, up from Central America: Is it salted with Middle Eastern terrorists? They also discuss our northern neighbor, Canada, which has just legalized pot: What effect will that have? Other subjects include Steve King, George Soros, Nikki Haley, John Bolton, and Emmanuel Macron. Mona mentions Tchaikovsky, so the show goes out... Source

Charlie Sykes joins Mona to chew over the past week and exult in a new project they’ve helped to create. Then Mona and Jay review the lessons of the Khashoggi story, the “woman thing,” Betsy DeVos, and much more. It’s a wide-ranging discussion! Source