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?

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?

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?

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.

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?