This week, Matthew Peterson of The Blaze jumps in to discuss Pete Hegseth’s forceful declaration of war on DEI initiatives, including separate PT standards for women. Then the guys crack open Kamala Harris’s apologia for her campaign in 107 Days, comprising a list of all the people responsible for the election loss who are not named Kamala Harris. Late candidacy? Biden’s fault. Bad interviews? The host’s fault. Not elected? The people’s fault. Meanwhile, the AI firm Friend publicizes its attempt to supplant real human interaction, raising concerns about Big Tech fueling—and preying on—the mentally unwell. Plus: more cultural recommendations!

Reading recommendations:

Identity in the Trenches, by Will Thibeau

The Constant Battle, by Kamala Harris

Fighting Enemies Foreign and Domestic, edited by Ryan P. Williams

Informing Statecraft, by Angelo Codevilla

I Hate My Friend

Special guest Ryder Selmi, longtime friend of Charlie Kirk and Strategy Director at Beck & Stone, joins the hosts this week to recount his experience attending Charlie Kirk’s memorial service on Monday. There, Erika Kirk forgave her husband’s assassin in a moment of prayer, joined by Trump and more than 200,000 attendees at an Arizona stadium—a moment emblematic of Charlie’s faith and his movement. Reactions from the Left elite have ranged from bewilderment to spite, epitomized by Jimmy Kimmel’s distasteful attempt to pin the assassination on MAGA. The late-night host was then briefly pulled from air, now made a “martyr” by Hollywood to distract from their offenses. Plus: media recommendations!

Recommended reading:

Religious News Veteran: Why the Mainstream Media Doesn’t Understand Erika Kirk

Land’s End

Arming the People Against Revolution

The assassination of Charlie Kirk, slain by a politically motivated shooter, will shift our politics markedly in the coming months and years. Director and Senior Analyst for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy Kyle Shideler joins the hosts this week to share memories of the man and unmask the far-left networks that are responsible for recent political violence. Particularly under the Obama and Biden administrations, vague threat-level categories were created to asymmetrically bring the hammer down on extremist groups, allowing far-left extremism to slip by and foment. Yet the knee-jerk reaction to use "hate speech" laws and censorship is a notion best warded off; instead, correct designation of terror groups and fund tracing is urgently needed to diffuse modern terror threats at home and abroad. Plus: related reading and other media recommendations!

Recommended reading:

How to Dismantle Far-Left Extremist Networks

Honor the Memory of Charlie Kirk

Charlie Kirk, Martyr

Citizen Kirk

The editors open with an analysis of the killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska by a repeat violent offender, and discuss what it reveals about crime, media spin, and a legacy media more fixated on “Republicans pouncing” than the literally pouncing criminal himself. Follow-up discussion ranges from Europe’s disappearing crime stats to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s downward revision of nearly a million jobs during the Biden presidency, probing whether institutions still merit public trust and what a reality-based politics on immigration, safety, and the economy might look like. The editors also touch on an immigration sweep at a Georgia battery plant and the gap between GDP and lived experience before closing with fresh culture picks.

Culture recommendations:

* The Name of the Rose

* Last Summer Boys

* Alien: Earth

* How to Be a Better Drinker: Cocktail Recipes and Boozy Etiquette

At a Catholic school in Minneapolis, two children were killed, and many others injured, in a recent shooting at the hands of a transgender individual. The city's mayor Jacob Frey and California governor Newsom took the somber moment to sneer at prayer. This week, the hosts discuss the impact of leftist indoctrination on mental health crises; the misuse of AI hollowing young minds in the academy and worsening grade inflation; and Trump’s move of US Space Command to Alabama. Plus: media recommendations and experience reports from the NatCon Conference!

Trump has reached a deal with semiconductor chip maker Intel to land the government a 10% stake in the firm. It’s a potential safeguard against China in an uncertain age but also a potentially troubling intervention into the market. There are also rumblings about sending the National Guard into Chicago, which would really be an error—but maybe it’s all just lib-baiting. Meanwhile in the UK, a teen girl was arrested after allegedly brandishing a knife and hatchet at an immigrant man by whom she felt threatened, aggravating tensions over the country’s influx of culturally disconnected and often violent immigrants. The guys sit down this week to discuss the happenings in Trump-world and beyond—plus more media recommendations!

This week, the legacy media allowed their hatred for Trump to overrule any desire they may once have had for peace in Ukraine. The president held meetings with Putin, Zelensky, and European leaders, apparently making serious headway toward a conclusion to the war. Meanwhile in Florida this week, illegal immigrant Harjinder Singh allegedly killed three people after losing control of his semi-truck in the course of an illegal U-turn. Despite failing English and road sign tests, Singh—who crossed from Mexico into California—was able to obtain a commercial driver's license thanks to Gavin Newsom’s governance in CA. Matthew Peterson joins the guys to discuss the tragic outcomes of Leftist policy and the Democrats' ongoing efforts to rehabilitate their image. Plus, are movies dead? And other media recs.

Trump invokes the Home Rule Act of 1973 to clean up the nation’s crime-ridden capital, temporarily wresting control of the DC Metropolitan Police from local authorities. He's fed up with the crooks in DC, though what to do with the ones in Congress is anybody's guess. Meanwhile in Canada, medically assisted suicide has spiraled out of control just as its critics said it would, becoming a major driver of demographic change and underscoring a culture of despair. This week, the guys are joined by Andrew Beck to discuss troubles in DC and the Great White North, as well as the uncovering of now-Senator Adam Schiff’s authorization for a baseless 2017 Russiagate intel leak aimed at dragging Trump’s reputation. Plus: media recommendations!