The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast

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?

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'?