TheAmericanSpectator

The Biden administration quietly ordered the withdrawal of more than 1,000 American troops from an important drone base in Niger. On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, host Scott McKay explains the potential ramifications of effectively handing over a key American asset in Africa to the Russians while his co-host, Melissa Mackenzie, points out that this kind of foreign policy will only come back to bite us. Listen in to hear the story no one else is talking about!

Did you know that President Joe Biden’s uncle was eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea? At least, that’s what Biden told an audience during a visit to a war memorial in Scranton, Pennsylvania last week. On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick fact-check the latest Biden family story and discuss the epidemic of unserious political figures in the West. Join them to hear the whole story!

Earlier this month, Mattel, the company that manufactures Scrabble outside of the U.S., announced that it would be releasing a new “inclusive” and more “accessible” version of the popular word game in European markets called Scrabble Together. On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick discuss the new game’s focus on collaboration rather than competition and its goal to cater to players who find “word games intimidating.” Tune in to hear the story!

It’s not often that major figures on the left say the quiet part out loud — but Bill Maher recently did so on an episode of his show Real Time. Maher admitted that although he recognizes that abortion is murder, he’s “okay with that.” On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay talk about Maher’s comments and the Left’s ongoing assault on children. They go on to discuss the odd phenomenon among Hollywood celebrities whose kids are “transed” at alarming rates. Read Melissa’s piece here [https://spectator.org/save-the-hollywood-children/] and tune in to hear their discussion.

Former President Donald Trump will be spending the next few weeks in a courtroom in New York, unable to campaign or even to attend his youngest son’s high school graduation. On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay discuss Trump’s legal woes and the carefully orchestrated attack being leveled against him by the leftist department of justice. Tune in to hear their conversation.

Iran’s weekend attack on Israel has generated a host of careful statements and warnings from world leaders facing considerable pressure both internally and externally. The result is a dangerous game with the ever-present specter of World War III looming in the background. On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay discuss the impact the attack could have on the war in Israel and talk about the blindness of the Western world under assault. Tune in to hear their analysis!

While speaking at a mosque in Massachusetts, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told listeners that she believes the International Court of Justice will find that Israel's actions in Gaza legally constitute genocide. [https://www.npr.org/2024/01/26/1227078791/icj-israel-genocide-gaza-palestinians-south-africa#:~:text=ICJ%20says%20it's%20'plausible'%20Israel%20committed%20genocide%20in%20Gaza%20The,call%20for%20a%20cease%2Dfire.] On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick discuss the Left’s full-throated endorsement of Hamas and the strange phenomenon that occurs when progressives are desperate to prove that they’re the most progressive. Tune in to hear their analysis.

President Joe Biden’s promise to sign a bill to force TikTok’s parent company to either sell the company or be banned from U.S. app stores has made quite a few of his young supporters — many of whom get their news and entertainment on TikTok — rather angry. So angry, in fact, that the progressive activist account Gen Z for Change, which has endorsed numerous Democrats in the 2024 election, has refused to endorsement Biden. On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick talk the Biden election campaign’s growing concern that young Americans won’t back the incumbent president. Tune in to hear the story!

Americans are racking up the “body count” and getting married later in life (or not at all). There’s a consensus that the dating scene is bad — but how bad is it? And what are Gen Z conservatives doing to fix it? On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay are joined by four young writers and editors at The American Spectator. They talk about the conservative dating scene, the impact the #MeToo movement has had on young men, and the young Americans trying to date intentionally and build families. Tune in to hear their conversation!

In an era when anyone with an iPhone and the bare minimum of creativity can go viral on the internet, celebrities are the least relevant they’ve ever been. On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott Mckay speak with four young writers and editors at The American Spectator about Gen Z pop culture, music tastes, and Taylor Swift. Tune in to hear their conversation!

Over the last four years, Americans have watched their dreams of homeownership get pushed down the road while their grocery bills become increasingly more expensive. But if you’re in your 20s and started buying your own groceries two years ago, this is the way it's always been. On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay host a roundtable with four of the young writers and editors at The American Spectator. Ellie Gardey, Lucy VanBerkum, Nate Hochman, and Aubrey Gulick share their experiences as (more or less) recent college graduates coming of age in the Biden economy and what this generation’s experience could mean for politics. Tune in to hear their conversation!

Recycling plastic is not easy, even if you’re funded by some of the big manufacturing companies and subsidized by the government. On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick discuss a recent New York Times report that found that, contrary to what climate activists want you to believe, we’re further away from advanced recycling methods than we believed. It turns out that most of the trash you put in the recycling bin at the end of your driveway just ends up in a landfill anyway. Tune in to hear the story!

Boeing’s aircraft have made headlines multiple times over the last few months — and not for the right reasons. On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick discuss Chris Rufo’s recent interview with a Boeing insider who revealed that diversity, equity, and inclusion is creating problems at the company. Tune in to hear their analysis!

Between unnecessary plastic surgeries to remove buccal fat and hideous architecture, our society has become one in which we’ve commoditized artificial beauty. In fact, it’s now so pervasive that we may finally be reaching the point where society starts to develop a hunger for real, authentic beauty. On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay take a step back from politics to talk about the aesthetics of beauty as a conservative value. They point out that truth and beauty frequently go hand in hand. Tune in to hear their conversation!

It’s been apparent for years that President Joe Biden’s administration is not just nominally Christian; it’s anti-Christian. But during the Easter celebration, the White House crossed a line when it released a statement in celebration of a recently made-up holiday, Transgender Day of Visibility. (READ Scott’s column here [https://spectator.org/team-biden-declares-war-on-christians/]) On today’s episode of The Spectacle, hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay discuss the Biden administration’s war on Christianity and the response [https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/04/02/the-coming-revolt-against-woke-capitalism/] it should get among Americans — many of whom are, in fact, Christians. Tune in to hear their analysis!

State-sanctioned euthanasia has been on the rise for years, and not just among terminally ill patients. Young people in their 20s and 30s who are struggling with disabilities and depression are increasingly turning to the practice. On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick discuss the tragic story of Caroline March, a British equestrian who suffered a career-ending spinal cord injury during competition and chose euthanasia last month. They talk about the rise of euthanasia and the problems with a society that fails to find any meaning in suffering. Tune in to hear their thoughts.

Do you have a gaggle of nieces and nephews? Or perhaps you have a niece or a nephew who self-identifies as “non-binary.” Either way, Merriam-Webster has a new term just for you: Nibling. On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick sit down to discuss everything wrong with the word and talk about the Left’s hijacking and butchering of the English language to meet its ideological ends. Tune in to hear their analysis!

Today’s women tend to struggle to wrap their minds around what it even means to be a woman — something Carrie Gress, author of The Anti-Mary Exposed [https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Mary-Exposed-Rescuing-Culture-Femininity/dp/1505110262] and The End of Woman [https://www.amazon.com/End-Woman-Smashing-Patriarchy-Destroyed/dp/1684514185], believes can be fixed by turning to the most perfect woman who ever lived: the Mother of God. On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, Carrie joins hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay to talk about motherhood and the detriment effect feminism has had on Western society. Be sure to read her latest piece for The American Spectator here: https://spectator.org/the-gospel-of-discontent-how-feminism-shattered-our-understanding-of-motherhood/. Tune in to hear their discussion!

We’ve known for a while that the CIA and FBI have gone rogue: They spy on American citizens and both institutions are infected by woke groupthink. On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, Mike Waller, a senior analyst for strategy at the Center for Security Policy and the author of Big Intel: How the CIA & FBI Went from Cold War Heroes to Deep State Villains [https://www.amazon.com/Big-Intel-Heroes-State-Villains/dp/1684513537], joins hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay. They talk about the bloated and ineffective state of modern intelligence agencies and the solutions we need to implement.

A rising number of older women in their late 40s and early 50s are having children — but not the natural way. They are resorting to IVF. On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick discuss the immorality of the procedure. They point out that IVF not only deprives children of the opportunity to meet and know their biological parents, but it is also culturally sanctioned eugenics. Tune in to hear their conversation!

Woke scientists and anthropologists have come to the conclusion that because our ancestors ate each other thousands of years ago, cannibalism is not as bad as we think it is. On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick discuss Michael Marshall’s recent article in the pages of the New Scientist. Marshall argues that our aversion to cannibalism is a product of modern colonialism and racial stereotypes. Ellie and Aubrey point out that there are some things that are simply morally wrong. Cannibalism is one of them.

Spectacle host Melissa Mackenzie is a die-hard Dune fan. She’s read the books, watched all the movies, and sat through the newly released Dune: Part Two multiple times. On today’s episode, Melissa and co-host Scott McKay discuss Denis Villeneuve’s latest masterpiece and box-office hit. The talk about its subversive and conservative messaging and what it will mean for Hollywood going forward. Tune in to hear their conversation!

Former board member and long-time conservative writer and thinker James Piereson joins hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay on today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast. They discuss the question of the fourth great political revolution in the United States and the complete disaster that is American politics. Join them as they talk about the future of the conservative movement and how to save our nation’s political system. You can read James’ latest for The American Spectator here.

On a recent interview with Jason Whitlock, social commentator Pearl Davis admitted that she’s recently begun reconsidering her childhood Catholic faith because she’s come to the conclusion that the Church may elevate Mary, the Mother of God, too much. On today’s episode of The Spectacle podcast, host Scott McKay sits back as his cohost Melissa Mackenzie discusses the problems with Davis’ anti-woman world view. Melissa points out that the Blessed Virgin is ultimately the answer to the problem of feminism because she is the perfect illustration of women’s role in society. Tune in to hear her thoughts!

On today’s episode of The Spectator P.M. Podcast, hosts Ellie Gardey and Aubrey Gulick discuss all the ways TikTok has contributed to the destruction of American culture and Gen Z’s attention spans. They comment on the U.S. House of Representative’s recent vote to pass legislation that would ban or force its Chinese parent company to sell the popular social media platform. Join to hear their analysis!