Podcasts

VDH on California’s Mail-In Ballots, John Bolton’s Classified Case, and D-Day’s First Week

June 9, 2026 10 Comments

“I can think of three races where Californian Republicans in purple districts clearly won on Election Day—they’ve even had victory celebrations. And then it starts just like this. You start to see the mail‑in ballots and then trickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, and the portions have nothing to do with the proportions that were counted before. So if Republicans are 58 points ahead across mail‑in ballots, in‑person voting on Election Day, it doesn’t matter.” The asymmetries will grow, argues Victor Davis Hanson following the now‑projected defeat of Spencer Pratt (who came in second place behind incumbent Mayor Karen Bass on Election Day) in the Los Angeles mayoral primary almost a week after the election, on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”

Victor Davis Hanson: What Happened to Patriotism?

June 9, 2026 No Comments

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, historian Victor Davis Hanson joins Raymond Arroyo to discuss patriotism, national identity, and the cultural forces shaping the country’s future. Why are Americans more divided than ever, and what can history teach us about rebuilding a shared sense of purpose?

Iran Updates, Nowak Murder Trial, and George Floyd Similarities

June 6, 2026 3 Comments

How are George Floyd and the murder of Henry Nowak a symptom of broader tribalism? Victor and Sami Winc discuss further developments surrounding the Henry Nowak case, and similarities to the George Floyd case. Hanson dives deep into the Henry Nowak murder trial and the subsequent public outrage over bodycam footage, which showed police handcuffing the dying teenager after accepting a false racism claim from the killer. He contrasts the case heavily with the aftermath of the George Floyd incident, arguing that Floyd’s death involved career criminality and drug intoxication. Victor Davis Hanson frames the police response as a symptom of a broader tribalism and DEI inclusion standards that have infected Western institutions. They also discuss developments in the war with Iran.

California Primaries, DEI Double Standards, UK Henry Nowak Case & Left-Wing Media Meltdowns

June 5, 2026 3 Comments

Victor Davis Hanson and co-host Sami Winc cover the House hearing on the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey then turn to California primary returns and claims of weak ballot integrity, weighing prospects for Spencer Pratt and Steve Hilton. They discuss New Jersey’s Adam Hamawy and Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed, arguing mass migration, enclave politics, and anti-Israel sentiment are reshaping U.S. politics, including in California leadership, Hollywood, universities, and city councils. Hanson revisits the UK Henry Nowak case, citing body-cam details, alleged cover-up behavior by the Digwa family, and what he calls “unequal enforcement” under DEI. The episode also addresses Paul Krugman’s rhetoric about purging Trump supporters, CBS/60 Minutes turmoil involving Scott Pelley, a Virginia case allowing a male sex offender into girls’ locker rooms due to self-declared transgender status, Jill Biden’s memoir tour, and brief notes on nicotine/COVID and Ebola concerns.

Iran Stalls, Two-Tier Justice in Britain, and America’s Immigration & Jobs Reckoning

June 4, 2026 No Comments

Victor Davis Hanson covers the stalled Iran negotiations on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” argues that Iran is delaying while proxies attack and that the U.S. should issue firm demands and, if unmet, use decisive military pressure to restore deterrence. Victor and Jack Fowler react to the Henry Nowak killing in England, focusing on bodycam footage showing police handcuffing the dying victim after accepting the killer’s racism claim, and Hanson frames it as “two-tier” DEI policing contrasted with the George Floyd case and aftermath. The conversation broadens to backlash against immigration and assimilation, including protests over ICE detention despite past presidents’ higher deportation totals. They cover Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s sexting scandal and SS-related tattoo, and end with commentary on “Trans Period Pride” and transgender activism as a modern fad amid historical precedents.

Founders’ Fire: From 1776 to Trump—Arthur Herman on Innovation, Wealth, and American Renewal

June 4, 2026 1 Comment

Victor Davis Hanson interviews historian Arthur Herman about his book “Founders’ Fire: From 1776 to the Age of Trump,” linking the Founding Fathers to later American business and technology founders and arguing they drive American exceptionalism through risk-taking and innovation. Herman describes a recurring cycle in which founder energy becomes institutionalized and bureaucratic until crises like the Civil War and World War II spark renewal, and he ties recent political turbulence and Trump’s rise to a similar governance crisis and a push to reinvent government around founding principles. They address attacks on wealth and “robber baron” narratives, the role of patents and the pursuit of happiness in enabling entrepreneurship, the outsider traits common among founders, and a shift from globalization to an innovation-first model amid regulation, censorship, and antitrust pressures.

‘Class Snob’ Democrats Clash With ICE Agents in New Jersey

June 2, 2026 No Comments

Victor Davis Hanson comments on the rising hostility toward ICE agents after the arrest of Nicholas Matthew Scelfo for threatening an agent’s family, arguing authorities should make examples of such offenders while blue-state politics instead target citizen-journalism. Hanson portrays anti-ICE protests as an elitist class phenomenon that harms working-class communities and ties it to broader DEI-driven cultural and institutional decay, including politicized pro sports and coarsening public behavior. The episode highlights California’s AB 2624 (“Stop Nick Shirley Act”) as a retaliatory, constitutionally suspect effort to deter filming of nonprofit employees tied to illegal-immigrant services and alleged fraud exposure. Hanson also warns about tribalism, immigration-driven integration failures, UK policing distortions, and breakdowns in public order.

California Politics, Greek Mythology, and The Future of the West

May 30, 2026 2 Comments

California’s political dysfunction, growing concerns over immigration and election integrity, and declining trust in public institutions reflect a broader struggle over accountability, governance, and national identity. Questions surrounding border security, demographic change, public safety, and political leadership continue to shape debates across the United States while voters increasingly question whether government institutions are serving the public interest. At the same time, challenges abroad—from China and Iran to Canada, Europe, and the future of Western alliances—are forcing leaders to confront shifting geopolitical realities. Economic competitiveness, technological innovation, national sovereignty, and civic trust remain central to the ability of free societies to navigate an increasingly uncertain world.

Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and Why Trump Holds All the Cards

May 29, 2026 1 Comment

Iran, China, immigration, elite institutions, and the future direction of the Democratic Party all point back to a broader debate over power, nationalism, and the stability of the Western world. Growing tensions in the Middle East, questions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, and fears of conflict with China continue shaping American foreign policy, while political and cultural battles at home are increasingly centered around institutional control, media influence, and ideological conformity.

The Modern Left Wants Control More Than Accountability

May 28, 2026 1 Comment

America’s political and cultural institutions are becoming increasingly centralized, ideological, and disconnected from ordinary citizens. Media organizations, universities, government agencies, and political elites continue accusing opponents of authoritarianism while expanding their own influence over public life, speech, and information. This phenomenon helps explain California’s political decline, the growing distrust in elite institutions, the use of “fascism” as a political weapon, and why more Americans feel the system is no longer accountable to the people it governs. Questions surrounding healthcare, welfare spending, lawfare, media control, and one party dominance all point back to a broader struggle over power, institutional trust, and the future direction of the country.

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Episode 59 of The Victor Davis Hanson Podcast

The madness at America’s open southern border, media legendizing, the left’s “Imaginarium,” Biden first national address –a truth-free zone, the international consequences of domestic unrest, and the gauging the likelihood of a Newsom recall in California – all that and more get the VDH treatment.