All Episodes
To The Contrary with Charlie Sykes — 190 episodes
How to Be a Dissident
Of Ballrooms, Blasphemy, and the Return of Abortion Politics
From Comey to Kimmel: Trump’s War on Free Speech
“The More Unpopular Trump Becomes, the More Extreme He’ll Get”
The Real King Dings Our Fake King
Anne Applebaum: Trump’s Authoritarian Aesthetics
“Kevin Warsh, You’re a Disgrace”
Kinzinger: How the Next President Can Erase Donald Trump
“What Did These People Think Would Happen?”
How Trump Took a Hatchet to America’s “Shining City”
Trump‘s DOJ: From Bad to Worse
The Coalition We Need to Beat Trump: Lessons From Hungary
The Strangest Week (Plus the Attack on Free Speech)
“January 6th Reshaped My View of Legacy Media”
Yes, the Epstein Files Are Going to Rock the Midterms
Trump's Easter Purge
Trump's War Blunder
“The Military Has Been a Little Bit Confused”
It’s Time to Admit It: We Have a Psychotic Government
“There’s No National Interest With Trump, Just Personal”
Is Trump TACOing on Iran?
The "Wing Nut" Rise to Power
“I Phoned Donald Trump. He Answered...”
Trumpology and the Iran Quagmire
Iran War: It’s Not Just the Economy, Stupid
Trump’s Iran FUBAR
The "Crude" Economic Reality of War in Iran
All the Things That Didn’t Get Noem Fired (But Should Have)
The Government Can’t Keep Its War Story Straight
Trump’s War of Choice
Trump and the Death of Shame
Democrats Need a Winning Formula
"Trump Uses Racism to Weaken American Democracy"
What’s the Matter with Lindsey Graham?
Epstein Has Hijacked Trump’s Presidency
Trump Just Did Something No President Has Tried Since 1798
David Frum: Why Trump is Failing
Jeff Bezos’ Murder of the Washington Post
When Viciousness Becomes a Virtue
What’s With Rich People These Days?
Why ICE Can’t Be "Fixed"
Lincoln Warned Us About Trump
Will Renee Good and Alex Pretti Ever Get Justice?
Why Trump's ICE Strategy Backfired
Money, Lies, God, and State Sponsored Murder
The Violent Occupation of an American City
MAGA Jesus Versus the Real Jesus
Revisiting the Nuremberg Trials
DHS to White Supremacists: We’ve Got Your Backs
Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook
Blue Screen of Hypocrisy
Nobody Is Coming to Save Us
The Intellectuals of the MAGA movement
Trump's America Becomes the Neighborhood Bully
2025 in Review: Tom Nichols
2025 in Review: Matt Lewis
2025 in Review: Susan Glasser
Trump's Coverup, Bari's Blunder
Every Red State Is Going to Have a Trump Airport Soon
A Blockade Is Just a Fancy Word for an Act of War
Trump’s Despicable New Low
We Are Not as Bloodthirsty as Stephen Miller Wants Us to Be
No, Trump Is Not Going to Fire Them
Special Episode: Pam Bondi Might Be Coming After You
Is Donald Trump the Real Speaker of the House?
The Fog of Spin
Ed Luce: Xenophobia, Murder on the High Seas, and Europe's Moment of Truth
Paul Rieckhoff: Trump, War Crimes, and the Afghan Betrayal
Tom Nichols: Black Friday Blues
Michael Scherer: Inside RFK Jr.’s Rise
Terry Moran: Patriotism, Power, and a Perilous Moment
Susan Glasser: Lame-Duck is Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose
Matt Bennett: Lessons Democrats Can’t Ignore
The Streisand Effect Cover-Up
Harry Litman: The Epstein Files Fallout
Nicholas Grossman: No, The Dems Did Not Win The Shutdown
Adam Kinzinger: The Last Republican
Jonathan Rauch: SCOTUS, the Blue Wave and the Future of Democracy
Daniel Drezner: Baseball, Billionaires and the Breakdown of the GOP
Simon Bazelon: Deciding to Win
Ben Wittes: Who Is The Administrator of DOGE?
Anne Applebaum: Americans Are Not Angry Enough Yet
Justin Wolfers: The Erosion of Democratic Institutions
Adam Kinzinger: Trump Tales a Wrecking Ball to the White House
Jim Acosta: No Kings and Trump's AI Jet
Tim O'Brien: Trump is a Chaos Agent in a Chaotic World
Tom Nichols: Free Press, JD Vance, and the MAGA Right
Rob Hart: Chicago Under Siege
David French: Trump’s Expanding Power
Susan Glasser: TrumpSchmerz
Edward Luce: Western Democracy Under Siege
Harry Litman: The Comey Indictment and the Insurrection Act
Olivia Troye: The Enemy Within, Shutdowns, and Jane Goodall
Paul Rieckhoff: Grievance, Guns, and Power
Nicholas Grossman: UN Escalators, NATO, and Free Speech
David French: Free Speech, Cancel Culture, and the Kimmel Moment
Julian Zelizer: Power and Punishment
Daniel Drezner: Trump 2.0, Free Speech, and Foreign Policy Failures
Adam Kinzinger: Free Speech Under Siege
Tom Nichols: Into Darkness
Garry Kasparov: Putin, Poland, and the Peril of American Democracy
Jonathan Rauch: The Rise of the Woke Right
Garrett Graff: America Tips Into Fascism
Paula Kerger: PBS is Not Going Anywhere
Tara Palmeri: A Pivotal Week in the Epstein Cover-up
David Frum: Trump’s Costly Failures
Ali Breland: Nick Fuentes and the Far Right’s Rising Influence
Sarah McLaughlin: Authoritarians in the Academy
Zee Cohen-Sanchez: Beating Charlie Kirk at his Own Game
What Makes You Think They Won’t Come for You?
Chris Cillizza: The Rubber Band Theory
Ben Wittes: Five Alarm Fires
Conor Lamb: Democratic Messaging, Crime, and the Trump Threat
Tony Gilroy: Yes, Andor Does Rhyme with Our Political Moment
Harry Litman: The DOJ Turned Upside Down
Jessica Riedl: The Last Fiscal Conservative
Tara Palmeri: Epstein, Maxwell, and the Survivors' Fight for Justice
Tom Nichols: The Gilded Presidency
Adam Kinzinger: Epstein, Enemies Lists, and the Collapse of Courage
Julian Zelizer: Where Is The Rest of the Resistance?
Jim Acosta: Trump, Epstein, and the Politics of Distraction
Marc Racicot: Restoring the Republican Legacy
Garry Kasparov: Autocracy in America
David French: Superman, Sanctions, and the Fragile State of Trumpism
Terry Moran: Trump, Epstein, and the Giddy Cruelty of the Moment
Anne Applebaum: The Authoritarian Slide
Justin Wolfers: Tariffs, Trade, and the Price of Incoherence
Judge Michael Luttig: The Self-Evident Truths of Freedom
Nicholas Grossman: This Is Not Normal
Tim O'Brien: Trump's Day of Rage
Susan Glasser: Basic Trumpology
Paul Rieckhoff: The Dangerous New Normal
Olivia Troye: Fear as a Feature
Ryan Lizza: Ten Years of Donald Trump
Tom Nichols: Radicalization of the Armed Forces
Harry Litman: Trump, the Troops, and the Threat to Democracy
Brian Klaas: Why Are There So Many Psychopaths in Politics?
Sen. Angus King: The Fragility of American Democracy
Adam Kinzinger: The Billionaire Breakup
Justin Wolfers: Tacos, Tariffs, and the Taquito Economy
Julian Zelizer: The End of the Bromance
Ron Fournier: The End of Big, Beautiful Friendships
Garry Kasparov: The Putinization of America
Chris Cillizza: Can we walk and chew gum at the same time?
Jessica Reidl: The GOP's Coming Debt Bomb
David Frum: The Grift, the Gaudiness, and the Guardrails
Jim Acosta: Focus Like a Laser Beam on Trump's Corruption
Chris Cillizza: Planes, Ploys, and Popes
Tom Nichols: The Anti-Expert Era
Katie Couric: Dolls, Alcatraz, and Narcissism
Susan Glasser: The Grift Presidency
Olivia Troye: Military Parades and Doll Rationing
Nicholas Grossman: Tariffs, Tyranny, and Tipping Points
Ryan Lizza: 100 Days of Trump 2.0
Adam Kinzinger: Trump's Weakness Abroad, Corruption at Home
Kinzinger-Sykes: Trump Arrests a Judge
Paul Rieckhoff: Rise of the Fake Tough Guys
Ben Wittes: This is the Fight That Matters
Tom Nichols: The Sum of All Fears — Easter Edition
Julian Zelizer: The Rule of Law Meets the Trump Doctrine
Tim O’Brien: When the Law No Longer Matters
Amy McGarth & Denver Riggleman: Tariffs, Tyranny and Truth in the Barrel
Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes: "Fight" and the Price of Gaslighting
Peter Wehner: Trump, Denial, and the Collapse of Civic Courage
David French: Tariffs, Sycophants and Signal
Josh Kraushaar: Elon’s Flameout & the GOP Fallout
David Jolly: Taking Trump's Third Term Seriously
Jim Acosta: Greenshoots in the Fight for America
Anne Applebaum: Signal and the Authoritarian Playbook
Olivia Troye Has Entered the Chat
Tom Nichols: Why Are We Still Surprised?
Kinzinger and Sykes: How Putin Humiliates Trump
Michael Roth: It's Time for Universities to Stand Up to Trump
David Frum: Trade Wars and Turmoil
Nicholas Grossman: Why does Trump have a Putin fetish?
Reed Galen: The Disconnect Between Voters and the Establishment
Jonathan Martin: Are Trump and Musk Breaking Up?
Karen Tumulty: Trump's Delusions Run Into Reality
Susan Glasser: Why Aren’t We in The Streets?
Kinzinger-Sykes, Part II: Vindication
Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy: A national Disgrace (with Adam Kinzinger)
Kara Swisher: Bezos throws a tantrum; Musk thinks he’s Jesus
Paul Rieckhoff: Trump’s Assault on the Military
Ben Wittes: The US Switches Sides in Ukraine
Brian Rosenwald: One Month of Trump 2.0
Tim O'Brien: Trump only cares about two things
Olivia Troye: Standing up to Kash Patel
Tom Nichols: Decadent America
David French: A Constitutional Revolution
To The Contrary with Charlie Sykes