Minnesota Election Shenanigans, San Francisco Insanity, And The Affordability Myth
Release Date: 10/30/2026
What The Heck Happened On Tuesday?
Bookworm Room's Podcast
What really happened in the 2026 midterm elections, and why did Republicans suffer such devastating losses? Andrea Widburg examines the election results, compares economic data from the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, and considers whether Americans’ negative perceptions of the economy reflect reality or relentless media messaging. She also explores Republican voters’ frustrations with Congress and Trump, the war with Iran, J.D. Vance’s increasingly troubling political positions, and Trump’s own mistakes. Finally, drawing inspiration from George Washington’s extraordinary...
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A Conversation With Dinesh D’Souza
Bookworm Room's Podcast
What do Israel’s uncertain election results, America’s looming midterms, Donald Trump’s approach to Iran, and biblical archaeology have in common? They’re all subjects in my wide-ranging conversation with author, filmmaker, and political commentator Dinesh D’Souza. We discuss Netanyahu’s political prospects, the failures that allowed October 7 to happen, Trump’s successes and shortcomings, the growing radicalism of the Democrat party, and whether Republicans can hold on to Congress. D’Souza also offers an interesting perspective on Trump’s foreign policy: The president...
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Minnesota Election Shenanigans, San Francisco Insanity, And The Affordability Myth
Bookworm Room's Podcast
Minnesota’s election laws are supposed to protect the integrity of the vote, but do they instead invite fraud? I look at the state’s astonishing voter-vouching system, James O’Keefe’s undercover investigation, and the decision to prosecute O’Keefe and Cam Higby. Thanks to the Streisand effect, that prosecution may have exposed Minnesota’s election practices to far more scrutiny than the authorities ever intended. I also explain why I believe election practices in one state can undermine the voting rights of Americans everywhere. Then it’s on to San Francisco, where city officials...
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Troy A. Miller On Faith, Politics, And America’s Future
Bookworm Room's Podcast
In this wide-ranging conversation, Andrea Widburg speaks with Troy A. Miller, president and CEO of , an association of Christian communicators, about why so many Christians stay on the political sidelines despite holding strong moral convictions. They explore the misunderstood separation of church and state, the chilling effect of the Johnson Amendment on political speech from the pulpit, and why religious values are no less legitimate in the public square than secular ones. The conversation also examines the growing influence of Christian media, younger Americans’ search for faith, truth,...
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The Left’s Astonishing Lack of Nuance and Imagination
Bookworm Room's Podcast
In this podcast, I explore two defining weaknesses of the modern left: a lack of nuance and a failure of imagination. Beginning with a Scottish museum's absurd decision to remove ancient Egyptian mummies out of respect for the dead, I examine how progressives increasingly ignore context, intention, and human complexity. From gun control and Obamacare to Islamism and identity-obsessed academic psychology, I argue that people who pride themselves on empathy and tolerance are often astonishingly incapable of imagining that other people might think, believe, or want something entirely different....
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Europe’s Unrest And The 2028 Republican Presidential Race
Bookworm Room's Podcast
In today’s podcast, I start with the growing violence in Europe, where the alliance between Islamists and leftists raises troubling questions about whether Europeans still have the will to defend their civilization. Then I turn to American politics, where J.D. Vance’s suggestion that he might sit out the 2028 presidential race makes me wonder whether Marco Rubio’s rising star—and Vance’s continued association with Tucker Carlson—might have something to do with that decision.
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Why The Political Party That Rejects Antisemitism Is The Better Bet
Bookworm Room's Podcast
I’ve realized that I’ve become a single-issue voter—but probably not for the reason you’d expect. In this podcast, I explain why antisemitism, abortion, euthanasia, statism, and the value of individual human life all connect for me, and why that connection now shapes how I look at politics. It’s a blunt argument about life, death, liberty, and the moral divide between the parties—and why I think that divide matters more than any one candidate.
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Don’t Let Young People Fill Their Moral Vacuum With Sharia
Bookworm Room's Podcast
What happens when a culture celebrates sexual freedom but leaves young people without a moral compass? I revisit the Cornell fraternity controversy to explore shame, personal responsibility, and the double standard surrounding intoxication and consent. Then I consider young people’s search for traditional faith—and troubling polling about their attitudes toward Sharia law. If the next generation is hungry for meaning and clear standards, what are we offering them? Sources: The New York Times’s “How a Cornell Student Went From Shame to Action”: Rasmussen Reports’ “Sharia...
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The Double Standard Of Drunken Sex
Bookworm Room's Podcast
If everyone involved is drunk, drugged, and making terrible decisions, why is one person presumed incapable of consent while the others are presumed fully responsible? Using the Cornell rape allegations and the Brock Turner case, I challenge the double standard surrounding intoxication, sexual consent, and personal responsibility—and ask whether our culture has confused bad judgment with criminal intent. The 2019 ABC News report is here: https://abcnews.com/US/humiliated-chanel-miller-survivor-brock-turner-sex-assault/story?id=65821466
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An interview with Ruel Domi: Populism, Socialism, European Politics
Bookworm Room's Podcast
American Thinker editor Andrea Widburg sits down with writer Ruel Domi, an Albanian-born graduate student who brings a distinctly European perspective to American politics. They discuss Europe’s economic and political troubles, immigration and assimilation, what “right” and “left” mean on opposite sides of the Atlantic, and why socialism has become so attractive to younger Americans. Along the way, they find plenty to agree about—and a few things worth arguing over.
info_outlineMinnesota’s election laws are supposed to protect the integrity of the vote, but do they instead invite fraud? I look at the state’s astonishing voter-vouching system, James O’Keefe’s undercover investigation, and the decision to prosecute O’Keefe and Cam Higby. Thanks to the Streisand effect, that prosecution may have exposed Minnesota’s election practices to far more scrutiny than the authorities ever intended. I also explain why I believe election practices in one state can undermine the voting rights of Americans everywhere.
Then it’s on to San Francisco, where city officials are busy renaming César Chávez Street while thousands of people remain homeless. That leads me to the city’s astronomical cost of living, including a new program offering childcare assistance to families earning as much as $325,000 annually. Finally, drawing on my own experiences growing up, working, and raising a family in California, I consider whether young Americans really have it harder than previous generations—or whether their expectations about what constitutes a good life have become wildly unrealistic.