The Federalist Radio Hour

Lisa De Pasquale, columnist and founder of GetBrightEmail.com, joined the Federalist Radio Hour to talk about women in media, fat-shaming, and what 2016 would look like if Andrew Breitbart were still alive. The biggest challenge of being a right-of-center woman in journalism and media is addressing both politics and pop culture. All of us on the right are interested in movies and music and culture and not just politics, De Pasquale said. I think that pop culture and entertainment is a good way to bridge the gap and take our ideas, or education people who arent political, and do it through a means thats not just hitting them over the head. De Pasquale writes about the lefts fat-shaming movement and how feminists have made body-positivity strictly about their appearance. So much of their attention is on this one aspect of themselves-- theyre still bringing it back to their looks, she said. Why not just be a great writer? If I were a feminist, probably and old school feminist, I would be like, Why are you still talking about your bodies? andnbsp; andnbsp; andnbsp;

David Beckworth, economist and research fellow at the Mercatus Center, joined Federalist Radio to discuss Britains exit from the EU and how it will impact the global economy. Dr. Desmond Lachman, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, also explained some of the reasons why the UK voted the way they did. The decision to leave the EU, almost a form of a populist uproar, comes as a shock to elites all over the world. Globalization has been integrating our world more and more, really since the 1980s its been accelerating, and I think its bringing some of this tension, Beckworth said. One of the biggest mistakes that the EU elites made was handling of the Eurozone crisis. We have already seen financial markets and currencies damaged since the vote last week. Im afraid that is very likely to continue because whats also occurred is the UKs politics has been turned into to turmoil, Lachman said. If we do have economic setbacks there and trouble in their financial markets, its difficult to see how thats not going to impact the United States.

This episode of The Federalist Radio Hour originally aired on March 25, 2016. “Deep work” is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task and it’s one of the most valuable skills in our economy. Cal Newport is the author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, and he joined the Federalist Radio Hour to explain how email and social media have changed the way our brains work. Newport suggested that focusing on too much on what’s negative about distraction lead to an ambiguous muddle. “I think we have forgotten how much value we can get out of being able to concentrate intensely,” he said. “If you’re one of the few to cultivate this skill, then you’re really going to thrive.” Newport explained “context switching” or that feeling you get when your brain reflexively moves to constantly check Twitter or your inbox. “A workflow that’s built around constant quick checks is actually reducing the cognitive capacity of your brain,” he said. When it comes finding work you love or are “passionate” about, Newport said our desires to do so don’t match the reality of the market place. “Typically passion emerges over time,” he said. “As you do something well, as you develop a craft, as the skill gives you more control and leverage over your career...passion is a side effect.”

Alexandra Petri, writer and blogger at the Washington Post, talks “Hamilton” the Musical, Star Wars, and the comedic challenge of parodying Donald Trump on this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour. Donald Trump is a performance and you can’t re-perform a performance. “There is no parody of Trump that’s better than the self-parody that Trump is everyday,” Petri said. “Why would you ever watch a Trump impression when there is the one Trump impression that’s being performed live on television all of the time, by Donald Trump?” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” picked up 11 Tony awards this year. “It’s amazing once you see because you start to understand that history doesn’t have to be boring,” Domenech said. “These are real people with crazy lives of love and hate and bitterness…and once you understand them in that context, it makes it a lot more interesting.” Later in the hour, Petri gave her Disney elevator pitch for a Star Wars rom-com spin off and other opinions on upcoming Star Wars movies.

Dr. Charles Kesler, editor of the Claremont Review of Books and senior fellow of the Claremont Institute, talked about the collision of the rise of Trump and the rise of political correctness on the Federalist Radio Hour with Ben Domenech. In his latest essay, Kesler described the 2016 experience and the inability of republicans to coalesce around one candidate. “When you have 17 candidates competing for the presidency, something badly has gone wrong in your presidential selection system,” he said. Kesler and Domenech discussed the country’s ability to govern themselves and the rationale behind the rise of populism. “In terms of popular understanding of and loyalty to the democratic republic, we are slipping,” Kesler said. “But the people are still more virtuous than the elite, broadly speaking.” andnbsp; andnbsp;

Heather Mac Donald, fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joined the Federalist Radio Hour to discuss her new book, “The War on Cops.” MacDonald addressed the motives of movements like BlackLivesMatter and how it has impacted police forces across the nation. Mac Donald said crime decreased during the years of economic downturn since 2008 despite liberal rhetoric that economic downturn increases crime. “Staring in the second half 2014 however, after the shooting of Michael Brown and Ferguson, Missouri…crime in heavily black neighborhoods starting going up because again officers are backing off of policing under the relentless hostility they get on the streets and under the message that they they are the biggest threat facing young black men,” she said. Domenech and Mac Donald discuss the “Ferguson Effect”, discretionary policing, Freddie Gray, the broken windows theory, and what policing is becoming in Chicago, Detroit, and other urban areas.

Clare Foran, writer at The Atlantic, joined The Federalist Radio Hour to provide some closure on the Bernie Sanders’ campaign and explained ways his supporters may split over Hillary. Foran shared stories from the democratic campaign trail and the political social media war zone. There’s a juxtaposition within Sanders’ platform between a desire for a revolutionized political system, and a message of nostalgia for the days before globalization. “It seems to me a lot of what Sanders was saying had a similar appeal (to Trump), the difference is he’s saying it to young people about a time that existed before they born,” Domenech said. “Not in the way Trump is saying to older voters and baby boomers about when they were kids.” Foran described the motives of the faction of Sanders supporters have become #NeverHillary and whether the Clinton campaign even feels the need to unite the Democratic party. “I certainly think that the Democrats are banking on Trump as a unifying force, basically a vote against Trump, even if it’s not a vote for Clinton,” she said. andnbsp;

Joel Gehrke, political reporter for the Washington Examiner, joined the Federalist Radio to report on all sorts of bills and filibusters on the hill this week as a response to Orlando and the call for gun control. Bre Payton and David Harsanyi discussed Obamas remarks in Orlando this week and his refusal to acknowledge the shooters relationship to radical Islam. Politically this seems weird because they are enabling Donald Trump, Gehrke said. If Obama wants people to not turn to somebody like Trump, they need to at least feel like cares about this and Im not sure if hes convincing. Gehrke explained how Democrats are ignoring due process and how the terror watch list would actually work. I suspect that there is a more interesting policy debate happening behind the scenes, he said. I would not be surprised if this ends up moving toward somebody trying to tailor a type of weapons sales ban to one of those smaller lists. Later in the hour, they discussed the good and bad of sex in our golden age of television and why some shows are catered to women while others are more interesting to men. I think that Outlander fleshes out the consequences of violent behavior when it does deal with violence a lot more than Game of Thrones would, Payton said.

Alex Isenstadt, reporter at Politico, returned from a Republican donor class summit in Utah and joined the Federalist Radio to share what leaders were feeling about Trump and the future of their party. Domenech and Isenstadt also discuss potential VP picks for both campaigns and how Trump failed to use the Orlando shooting for his own political gain. Donald Trump has no desire to approach other millionaires asking for donations or intentions to make fundraising phone calls. He has no hunger or desire to court donors, Isenstadt said. So its really hard for him to raise money and its really hard for him to raise the infrastructure that is needed. In a meeting with GOP leaders, Mitt Romney criticized the 2016 Republican field for not finding a better way to defeat Trump and for fighting amongst themselves. He also grew very emotional during this back and forth he had with Wolf Blitzer, he said. You got the sense that (these donors) feel they are on a an island that for the first time they are leaderless and somewhat scared. andnbsp;

Yuval Levin, editor of National Affairs, joined The Federalist Radio Hour to discuss his new book, The Fractured Republic: Renewing Americas Social Contract in the Age of Individualism.  Levin explained why baby boomers are so nostalgic about the way America used to be and the frustration with the present moment. Levins book walks through the America of the 20th century and how its isolated from the rest of American history. The country that came out of World War II was an incredible cohesive and unified version of the United States, very usually so, he said. Almost immediately after the war that began to break down. One lesson conservatives can learn from 2016 already is that they have had the wrong impression of the Republican electorate. Donald Trump has just run roughshod over all those litmus tests, he said. The idea that the Republicans electorate is a highly conservative voting base strikes me as a mistake thats analogous to the mistake social conservatives make about the country at large. Levin discussed the areas that both political parties are blind to, and how our fragmented national life can play to its strengths within its diversity and decentralization.

Alyssa Canobbio, media analyst at the Washington Free Beacon, shares of some of the most annoying aspects of the mainstream media and the medias ignorance when it comes to covering not just politics, but events like the Orlando shooting. Theyll say one thing and it sets off the far left and that sets off the far right to go after the far left, Canobbio said. The lack of understanding and the lack of knowledge and the lack wanting to understand-- you dont see Joan Walsh going out and trying to learn about guns. As a New Jersey native, and former employee of Donald Trump, Canobbio gave some insight into the local impression of the Republican front runner. He bankrupted Atlantic City and put so many people out of work, she said. Later in the hour, Canobbio talks weddings, deceptive editing controversies, and the decline of trust in media.

Today the Federalist Radio Hour heard from several journalists and national security experts in attempting to debrief and understand the terrorist attack in Orlando. John Schindler, national security columnist at the Observer, said the gun control debate is a red herring. If you simply say this is a crazy guy with a gun without looking at other motivations, youre not going to vet the next one, he said. Michael Daly, is a special correspondent for the Daily Beast, and has reported on the killers personal background and family history. Usually they acquire the weapons sometime before, but this was like he decided what he was going to do and just went ahead and did it, Daly said. M.G. Oprea, senior contributor at The Federalist, addressed the language that Obama and other leaders are deferring to as opposed to facing the reality of dangerous Islamic beliefs. Its more important to be careful not to criticize or offend anybody than it is to accurately assess the threat, she said. Obama and a lot of people on the left, cannot believe that people would have actual religious convictions that would lead them to do anything.

Today on Federalist Radio, J.C. Derrick, reporter at World Magazine, discussed how Renee Ellmers lost re-election, the FTO controversies under Hillary Clintons State Department, and recent news surrounding collegiate student athlete sexual assault cases. There is a back story to how Ellmers defeat has much to do with betraying pro-lifers. Theres been a great deal of frustration express by pro-life groups in recent years with the existing structure of leadership in Washington, Domenech said. Derrick explained his findings in reporting on the Clinton Foundation, the State Department, and donors possible efforts in thwarting combat against Boko Haram. We discovered these ties between the Clinton family and very wealthy, corrupt Nigerian businessmen and politicans, he said. Much has been written about the Clinton and these oddities... but most of these stories have not tied these donations from suspicious people and government entities to any specific policy.

Sean Trende, senior elections analyst at Real Clear Politics, joined Ben Domenech in discussing the groupthink of Twitter pundits, the potential evolution of the Republican Party, and the lack of historical analogues for Americans to compare this election to. With each passing month it becomes increasingly difficult to filter out the news from the noise coming from both cable news and social media. Were all in an echo chamber, Trende said. In the past Ive relied upon having a balanced Twitter feed to figure out whats true and whats not and they just doesnt exist anymore. Many Republicans fear their party is going to enter an extended period of time in the wilderness. I dont think history supports this idea of a long-standing permanent majority, Trende. Theres a good chance that what going on is a portion of the Tea Partys frustration directed at senators and congressmen was being directly at the presidential race. andnbsp;

Mike Warren, staff writer at The Weekly Standard, talks Trumps statements about the judge ruling on his Trump University case, the differences between 2012 and 2016, and the weaknesses of the Trump campaign that we might see emerge when it comes to the general election. Donald Trump has said a lot of crazy and racist statements over the course of his campaign, but this time it seems different.  The fact that Trump seems to be exploiting his position as the presumptive nominee for his own business ends I think does put all of that into focus and make folks wonder, What is it we are really signing up for here? Warren said. As one who has followed both the 2012 and the 2016 campaigns on the trial, Warren explained how what happens on the ground at rallies and events now matters less than what happens on TV. We political journalists should always keep in mind that so much of what we do doesnt matter in which the access that most Americans have to our publications... pales in comparison to cable news, Warren said. andnbsp;