To The Contrary with Charlie Sykes

For the 4th July we're re-running Charlie's conversation with Gal Beckerman, a staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the book, “How to Be a Dissident.” The two walk through Gal’s book which outlines the simple but difficult steps anyone can take to avoid falling mistakenly in line with a political system that’s going off the rails.

On today’s episode of “To the Contrary,” Charlie welcomes back journalist and author of “The Red Letter,” Tara Palmeri. They discuss Trump’s obsession with image leading up to the 4th of July holiday, immigration and Palmeri’s recent interview with Congresswoman, Kat Cammack. 

Peter Wehner, a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum, joins Charlie to talk about Trump's recent Supreme Court wins and losses, Trump's state fair fiasco, and the consequences of cultural degradation.

Jamil Smith is a columnist at The Guardian and a lecturer at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. In this episode, he joins Charlie to discuss what America's upcoming 250th birthday means to them, the latest Supreme Court decisions and their implications, and Trump's obsession with voter suppression.

Peter Suderman is the features editor for Reason, a free market libertarian magazine. In this episode he joins Charlie to discuss the decline of libertarian influence in the Republican Party, the relationship between government power and corporate influence, and the rise of progressive candidates following the recent elections in New York.

Sofia Kinzinger was a WH staffer under Trump during his first term. In this episode, she talks to Charlie about what it was like, and about her journey and political awakening. They also discuss JD Vance's book launch and the future of the Republican Party.

Ed Luce from the Financial Times joins Charlie to discuss the deal with Iran, the Netanyahu-Trump fallout, and Elon Musk's obsession with Britain.  

Yoni Appelbaum, historian and deputy executive editor at The Atlantic, joins Charlie to go over what we know — and don't know — about the deal with Iran and what it all means for US interests in the region. They also discuss Appelbaum's latest article, in which he argues that the US has lost the ability to agree on a shared national story and, as a result, has largely stopped trying to tell one — in schools, universities, and public life.

Atlantic writer Tom Nichols joins Charlie to catch up on Trump's zigzagging on Iran, discuss Elon Musk's new status as a trillionaire, and unpack the absurdity of Pete Hegseth.