Steve Hayes invites Megan McArdle, Mike Warren, and Jonah Goldberg to review the biggest stories of the year, people we don’t want to hear from in 2026, and the best writing not from The Dispatch.

The Agenda:
—Most important news story
—Most undercovered story
—Who is the most exposed?
—Best piece of non-Dispatch journalism
—Best good news of the year

Show Notes:
—Is the AfD Too Extreme for Democracy?
—The Anti-Social Century
—The Sierra Club Embraced Social Justice. Then It Tore Itself Apart
—Donald Trump's Tariff Dealmaker-in-Chief
—Revolutionary gene therapy brings hope of leukaemia cure

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Steve Hayes is joined by Kevin Williamson, Jonah Goldberg, and Grayson Logue to discuss recent reporting on the Biden administration’s handling of the asylum crisis and the Vanity Fair interview with top Trump administration staff.

The Agenda:
—Reporting on Biden’s immigration failure
—Indecision in the Biden admin
—Fixing the asylum crisis
—When Democrats gave up
—Susie Wiles’ interview with Vanity Fair
—Distracting from Trump’s obscenities
—Loyalty in Trump’s second term
—The strange affordability address
—NWYT: Holiday roadtrip tips

The Dispatch Podcast is a production of ⁠⁠The Dispatch⁠⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—⁠⁠click here⁠⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠⁠by clicking here⁠⁠.

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Megan McArdle joins Steve Hayes, Jonah Goldberg, and Mike Warren to tell the story of her mother’s deathbed confession and how it informed her opinions on abortion. Then, a brief discussion on the failed redistricting attempt in Indiana and a reflection on Rob Reiner's filmography.

The Agenda:
—Megan’s Monday Essay: The Brother I Lost
—Megan’s thought experiment on abortion
—Childhood and regrets
—Do the dead have rights?
—Emotional toll of adoption
—Redistricting in Indiana
—Favorite Rob Reiner movies

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Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Mike Warren, and Sarah Isgur to discuss the Minnesota welfare fraud scandal, the $160 million AI chip smuggling operation, and pull-up bars in the airport.

The Agenda:
—Immigrant welfare fraud
—1990s throwback
—Woke intimidation
—China and AI chip smuggling
—Clientelism in Trump's administration
—Airport gyms

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Steve Hayes invites David Drucker, Michael Warren, and The Hill Sunday host Chris Stirewalt to perform an autopsy on the remains of the two major parties.

The Agenda:
–Big picture of American politics
–Not a good time to be a Congressman
–Midterm elections and future projections
–The Texas Senate race
–The parliament of pundits
–J.D. Vance’s 2028 election chances
–Renaming the NFL

The Dispatch Podcast is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠.

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Steve Hayes invites Jonah Goldberg, David French, and Kevin Williamson to discuss the ‘double tap’ order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that may violate the laws of war. Is this another issue where Trump can ‘win’ because we’re an outcomes-over-process society?

The Agenda:
–We’re not at war
–Legality of airstrikes
–What is narco-terrorism exactly?
–Megyn Kelly likes violence for some reason
–A damning indictment
–Pardon (our) abuse
–NWYT: Our top podcasts and artists of the year (who listens to Caamp?)

Show Notes:
—AFPI’s Josh Trevino on School of War podcast
—Kevin, David, and Jonah’s pieces on the pardon powers

The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here.

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John McCormack and Michael Warren join Steve Hayes to discuss their reporting on how the Intercollegiate Studies Institute is downgrading traditional conservatism, and Charles Hilu reports on how lawmakers on Capitol Hill are really feeling about the changes on the right.

The Agenda:
—The state of the conservative intellectual movement
—John and Mikes new reporting on ISI
—Postliberalism and key figures on the intellectual right
—Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, and the future of conservative thought
—Are Republicans getting bolder in criticizing Trump?
—NWYT: Airplane travel attire

The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here.

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Steve Hayes is joined by Megan McArdle, Kevin Williamson, and Jonah Goldberg to discuss the confusing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the current state of the U.S. economy ahead of the holidays, and their least favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

The Agenda:
—Diplomatic developments in Ukraine
—JD Vance, the Vice Poster
—Corruption and personal influence in diplomacy (How’s the Clinton Foundation doing?)
—Household debt reaches record highs
—Affordability and the illusion of affordability
—NWYT: Sweet potato marshmallow pie

Show Notes:
—Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to talk to Trump on Ukraine peace deal

The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here.

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Mike Warren is joined by Dr. Jean Twenge, author of 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World, for a discussion about what modern research says about parenting in the digital and A.I. age.

The Agenda:
—Screen time before sleep
—Conversations with children about tech
—What phones and at what age
—Social media regulation
—Wait Until Eighth Pledge
—Laptops vs. smartphones
—Celebrating parental wins

The Dispatch Podcast is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠.

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Michael Warren is joined by Megan McArdle, David French, and Kevin Williamson to discuss the popularity of President Donald Trump and whether he's influential in the MAGA party.

Show Notes:
—Media fatigue and Miss Piggy allegations 
—Cracks in the MAGA coalition
—Trump's foreign policy agenda
—Understanding Trump's relationship with Saudi Arabia
—'The most populist black tie dinner ever'
—Silicon Valley politics
—Crisis in learning outcomes and dismantling the Department of Education

Show Notes:
—New York Times: The Sierra Club Embraced Social Justice. Then It Tore Itself Apart

We’re running a listener survey, which you can find at thedispatch.typeform.com/podcast.

The Dispatch Podcast is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here.

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Andy Mills, host of The Last Invention podcast, joins Dispatch CTO Steve Hayes to discuss the artificial intelligence revolution, the competing visions of utopia among the tech bros, and where AI will take us next.

The Agenda:
—The great conspiracy theory of our time
—Understanding AI, AGI, and ASI
—Alan Turing and the birth of AI
—The Cold War’s influence on AI
—Race against China
—Where is the bipartisan policy?

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