Young Americans

Jack throws all this “Young Americans” stuff out the window for an episode of pure Lord of the Rings exegesis. He and Craig Hanks of the Legendarium podcast discuss the first season of the recently concluded Amazon series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. They air their complaints, look for the good in the show, try to determine whether it will get better, and more. Source

Daniel Di Martino, who left the failures of socialism in Venezuela for the freedom of the United States, joins the 100th (!) episode of Young Americans to tell his story, to warn about government excesses in the U.S. (from left and right), and to share what he is doing to make sure America never becomes a socialist country. Source

With Reason editor Stephanie Slade and Eric Kohn and Dan Hugger of the Acton Institute, Jack explores the mysteries, intricacies, tensions, and contradictions of national conservatism as filtered through the third National Conservatism Conference, held earlier this month in Miami. (This is a cross-posting of the Acton Unwind podcast.)... Source

Post-vacation, Jack brings Dominic Pino on to explain Joe Biden’s recent actions on student-loan debt, which so defy our political system that there is no obvious remedy in our system to challenge them. Source

USA Today Opinion Fellow (and native Texan) Chris Schlak joins the show to discuss his experience at CPAC Dallas, which featured, among other things, a speech from Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, 2020 election trutherism, and January 6 performance art. Source

Jack does something a little different for a rare solo episode, reminiscing about summer and trying to capture that ineffable “summer feeling.”... Source

Luther Abel joins the podcast to tell us why he joined the Navy, and to speculate about why fewer young people are interested in joining the U.S. military these days. Source

Nic Rowan, managing editor of The Lamp, joins Jack to relate what he saw at the Court the day Dobbs came down, and to dicuss what comes next for the pro-life movement. Source

Jack and Alec Dent take the occasion of Fathers’ Day to discuss Top Gun: Maverick, the movie described by Deadline Hollywood as “the ultimate movie to take your dad to.” Topics hashed out include whether Top Gun is a good movie (no), why the sequel is so much better, whether Hollywood will learn important lessons from Top Gun: Maverick‘s success, and whether Maverick is dead for basically the... Source

Yes, obviously. So why is its institutional apparatus promoting the views of pro-abortion faculty? Once and future Notre Dame graduate Sean Tehan (’22 undergrad, ’25 law), a former staff member of The Irish Rover, attempts to explain these and other penumbras and emanations of Notre Dame’s Catholic identity on this episode of Young Americans. Source

Last week in Nebraska, Charles Herbster became the first Trump endorsee to lose a Republican primary in 2022. Jim Pillen, a figure little-known to a national audience, prevailed. To explain why this happened, to examine other mysteries of Nebraska, and to push back against Beltway misconceptions about the state, Jack invites Nebraska talk-radio show host Ian Swanson on to the show for some good... Source

The National Council of Teachers of English apparently believes that reading books and writing essays is overrated, and that students should learn about memes and selfies instead. English teacher (though not an NCTE member) Daniel Buck returns to the show to rebut this foolish notion . . . and to challenge Jack to a duel? Source

Jack brings on University of Virginia jun–er, third-year Ian Schwartz to discuss various controversies–a speech by Mike Pence, the Thomas Jefferson legacy at UVA, free speech in general–that have dominated discusson on the camp–er, grounds of Charlottesville’s famous institution of higher education.

Jack brings on former collegiate swimmer Jenna Stocker to try to make sense of Lia (Will) Thomas competing as a female collegiate athlete despite being male, and to swat down the arguments in favor. Jack and Jenna also bond over a shared loathing of the NCAA.

Holy reboot, Batman! To debate the merits of the latest incarnation of Batman, this time with Matt Reeves directing Robert Pattinson in The Batman, Jack brings Young Americans stalwart Alec Dent, who writes about culture and checks facts for The Dispatch, back to the show. Jack was not a fan; Alec was (after a second viewing). Tune in for the exciting clash of opinions, along with broader thoughts on the enduring appeal of Batman as a character.

Federalist culture editor Emily Jashinsky joins Jack for an extended disqusition on how bad TikTok is, and what to do about it. They also make fun of Zoomers (who deserve it).

Kenny Xu, author of An Inconvenient Minority: The Attack on Asian American Excellence and the Fight for Meritocracy and the president of Color Us United, joins the podcast to discuss whether Harvard discriminates against Asian applicants in its admissions process (a case about which will soon be considered before the Supreme Court). They also cover related issues about race in America.

Ten-day isolation for students who test positive for Covid? No eating or drinking anywhere indoors? No in-person class or Mass? These are but a few of the ridiculous Covid restrictions that have been in place at Georgetown University, where Jacob Adams is currently a junior. On this episode, Jacob relates the full extent of the ridiculousness, and attempts with Jack to figure out why college students have on the whole been so compliant with Covid restrictions.

Jack starts out the new year in appropriate Janus fashion, employing the aid of budding foreign-policy guru Jimmy Quinn to look back on the year that was in China news concering three areas (Uyghur genocide, Winter Olympics, Taiwan) and to take a guess at what this year might bring in each one.

Jack ends the year with young econ expert Dominic Pino to make sense of the supply-chain and inflation crises that have beset America in 2021 and to try to ascertain whether they’ll stick with us in 2022.

Jack goes solo again to ruminate upon the best movies, songs, and things about Christmas.

RealClearPolitics White House correspondent Phil Wegmann returns to Young Americans to suss out the rumors about the 2024 presidential shadowboxing between Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. (There’s also a little talk about Dune.)

It’s a conversation about all things critical theory, with returning guest and teacher Daniel Buck. It’s full of wisdom about why critical race theory is bad and what to teach instead, and full of digressions about ISIS and random Twitter accounts. Perhaps you’ll enjoy some of it.

To mark the release of the new Dune movie (which he has not yet seen), Jack flies solo to answer some of your questions about how he turned into the world’s most annoying Dune fan, what he likes about the series, what his favorite moments and characters from the books are, and more. There’s also a photoshop request, if anyone’s willing . . .

O.G. Young American Alec Dent returns to the show for a discussion of No Time To Die: Its Millennial character, whether it succumbed to wokeness, whether modern pop culture will allow the continued existence of James Bond, and more.

RealClearPolitics White House correspondent Phil Wegmann (note the second ‘n’) joins Jack to dish on his, er…fourth-row seat witnessing the struggles of the Biden administration. They also chat about Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Aristotle, and . . . drinking water? Give it a listen.

On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Jack brings Nic Rowan back to the show for a conversation about the day: Their memories of it as it happened, the cultural effects, its ultimate historical legacy, and more.

Wisconsin teacher and fellow Millennial/runner Daniel Buck joins Jack to discuss some of the challenges of being an educator in a time of coronavirus and wokeness.

Young Northern Irishman Cameron Hilditch returns to the show to swat away resurgent fantasies about 20th-century Portugese dictator Antonio Salazar.

Jack brings back his NR colleague Isaac Schorr to examine what the heck is going on with the schism at the College Republican National Committee.

With Jack temporarily out of the news cycle, he asks Brady Holmer, his fitness-expert friend and fellow runner and podcast host, to talk about something a bit removed from the headlines (though not entirely): America’s obesity epidemic. They discuss how bad it is, how it got so bad, and what, if anything, can be done about it.

With everyone talking about Big  Tech these days, Jack brings on his National Review colleague Daniel Tenreiro to discuss whether the companies are monopolies, what (if anything) should be done about their business practices, which anti-Big-Tech arguments hold water and which don’t, and more.

Jack Butler brings his National Review colleague Jimmy Quinn back to the show to attempt to solve the dual problem of corporations that advance left-wing pieties at home but roll over for the Chinese Communist Party abroad (and also at home).

Jack brings his National Review colleague Cameron Hilditch back to the show and attempts to force him to take a side on the plausibility of recent UFO revelations. The two then ponder the theological implications of possible extraterrestrial life, and wonder whether one should baptize an extraterrestrial.

Isaac Schorr returns to go over the somewhat dispiriting results of a YAF poll that revealed the extent of young people’s liberalism, and to try to figure out what, if anything, can be done about it.

Madeleine Kearns rejoins Jack to discuss her problems with the growing marijuana industry, one that would rather ignore a growing body of evidence that the increasingly popular and legal drug has some serious negative consequences for users.

Jack is joined by his National Review colleague Mark Antonio Wright, who, in the course of his (relatively) young life, has spent time living in Mexico, roughnecking in oil fields, serving in the Marines, and, now, attempting to give advice to young people with his new “Vitruvian Life” column for NRO. If you’re a young […]

After a long delay for which he offers profuse apologies, Jack returns to the podcast with his National Review colleague Isaac Schorr to mock Joe Biden’s goals for a return to normal life (maybe the Fourth of July? Are you kidding?), goals that seem disconnected from reality but definitely connected to the now year-long pattern […]

Jack brings on Reason editor Robby Soave to discuss the struggle (against . . . teachers?) to reopen schools, and the terrible consequences for kids — you know, the people the schools are supposed to be for — of their being closed.

Jack interviews Andrew Egger and Audrey Fahlberg, two writers for The Dispatch who witnessed the chaos at Capitol Hill last Wednesday firsthand, to get a full account of what happened.

For the last episode of 2020, Jack goes shockingly topical, inviting his friend Noah Weinrich, a Georgia native, to discuss and — with some cajoling — predict what will happen in his home state’s upcoming Senate runoff elections.Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/young-americans/the-podcast-went-down-to-georgia/.Now become a Ricochet member for only $5.00 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/membership/.Subscribe to Young Americans in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.

Jack brings on his National Review colleague Alexandra DeSanctis to discuss why Pornhub is evil, and what we can do about it and the broader pornography epidemic, even as porn itself grows in social acceptability.Join the conversation and comment on this podcast episode: https://ricochet.com/podcast/young-americans/the-pornhub-hubbub/.Now become a Ricochet member for only $5.00 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing: https://ricochet.com/membership/.Subscribe to Young Americans in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.