Beg to Differ with Mona Charen

Mona Charen hosts a roundtable with Linda Chavez, Bill Galston, and Damon Linker discussing the news of the week.

About the show

Beg to Differ is a weekly roundtable podcast brought to you by TheBulwark.com. Host Mona Charen is joined by Linda Chavez of the Niskanen Center, Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution, and Damon Linker of The Week to discuss the news of the week in a respectful, rational forum.

Episodes

  • How Scary Is Inflation?

    November 19th, 2021  |  1 hr 8 mins
    afghanistan withdrawal, biden, democrats, gas lines, independent voters, interest rates, jay powell, jimmy carter, lael brainard, leadership, moderates, nixon, oil companies, paul volcker, polls, price controls, progressives, rate of inflation, reagan, recession, rising prices, the 1970s, the rust belt, volckerize

    Noah Smith helps the panel diagnose the inflation threat as well as the political peril for Democrats.

  • The DeSantis Temptation

    November 12th, 2021  |  59 mins 10 secs
    2024, 5-11 year-olds, beef prices, biden, build back better, conor friedersdorf, damon linker, david frum, fda, federal reserve, gas prices, immigration, inflation, infrastructure, interest rates, iran, jay powell, jobs, linda chavez, masks, milk prices, mona charen, nuclear deal, oil, paul volcker, republicans, ross douthat, saudi arabia, trump, vaccinations, veterans, veterans day, william galston, workforce

    The Atlantic’s David Frum joins to discuss inflation, the economy, immigration, and the call to back Ron DeSantis in 2024.

  • Do Democrats Need “Woke Detox”?

    November 5th, 2021  |  1 hr 1 min
    arizona elections, buffalo mayor, chomsky, damon linker, edward durr, eric adams, jonathan rauch, linda chavez, long island, mcauliffe, minneapolis, moderate democrats, mona charen, new jersey, phil murphy, police reform, progressives, republicans, science, seattle, the atlantic magazine, virginia, william galston, woke, youngkin

    The Atlantic’s and Brookings Institution's Jonathan Rauch helps dissect last week's election results. Are both parties unfit to govern?

  • A Whiff of Maoism

    October 29th, 2021  |  1 hr 1 min
    amanda carpenter, biden, bipartisan, build back better, cancel culture, colleges, cornell, damon linker, democrats, dorian abbot, infrastructure, jonathan chait, manchin, moderates, new york magazine, pelosi, polling, presidency, progressives, sinema, speech, spending bill, universities, william galston

    NY Magazine’s Jonathan Chait joins, along with the Bulwark’s Amanda Carpenter, to discuss the BBB deal (if there is one) and cancel culture.

  • The Democrats’ Sinking Poll Numbers

    October 22nd, 2021  |  56 mins 24 secs
    afghanistan, biden, china, congress, crt, damon linker, democracy, democratic party, democrats, eric edelman, hypersonic, linda chavez, mccauliffe, midterms, mona charen, nuclear arsenal, polls, progressives, race, republicans, schools, trump, virginia, william galston, woke, youngkin

    Eric Edelman helps unpack China’s new missile, Democrats’ decline, and McAuliffe’s tone deafness.

  • Why You Can't Bracket Trump

    October 15th, 2021  |  1 hr 1 min
    damon linker, gop, ian bassin, january 6, linda chavez, mona charen, protect democracy, trump, virginia governors race, william galston

    Protect Democracy's Ian Bassin joins to discuss how he's working to counter threats. Also the VA governor's race.

  • “I Resent Being Called Cheerful."

    October 8th, 2021  |  1 hr 14 mins
    damon linker, facebook, george f. will, linda chavez, mona charen, social welfare, william galston

    George F. Will joins B2D panel to discuss his new book, and also whether Facebook should be regulated, and the Democrats' hopes for social welfare.

  • Democrats are Divided. Republicans are United -- as a cult. How worried should we be?

    October 1st, 2021  |  1 hr 10 mins
    ab stoddard, damon linker, democrats, linda chavez, mona charen, republicans, william galston

    A.B. Stoddard joins to discuss why we can't have nice things in America.

  • Republicans are Dangerous. Can the Democrats Succeed?

    September 24th, 2021  |  1 hr 12 mins
    damon linker, mona charen, sarah longwell, tom nichols, william galston

    Sarah Longwell sits in for Linda and Tom Nichols joins to discuss the Democrats' divisions, Haitians at the border, and Biden's foreign policy.

  • Recalls, Mandates, and Coups

    September 16th, 2021  |  1 hr 11 mins
    california recall, gop, josh kraushaar, mark milley, national journal, trump, vaccine mandate

    National Journal's Josh Kraushaar helps analyze the political implications of the California recall, the vaccine mandate, and Mark Milley's revelations.

  • Insurrectionist Republicans, reflections on a sad anniversary, and what if Roe is reversed

    September 10th, 2021  |  1 hr 10 mins
    9/11, abortion, heath mayo, insurrection, republicans, roe vs. wade, september 11th, war on terror

    Heath Mayo, founder of Principles First, joins the regular panel to discuss abortion, insurrection, and whether the global war on terror was a mistake.

  • Can We Avoid Another January 6?

    September 3rd, 2021  |  1 hr 6 mins
    afghanistan refugees, biden approval rating, bill galston, damon linker, greg sargent, mona charen, tim miller, washington post

    Greg Sargent joins to talk about vote counting reform, not vote casting reform. The group (including Tim Miller) then discuss refugees and Biden's sinking popularity.