The Chuck ToddCast

Acclaimed music biographer Bob Spitz — author of definitive biographies of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin and now The Rolling Stones: The Biography, his five-year deep dive into the world's greatest rock and roll band — joins the Chuck Toddcast for a deeply enjoyable conversation about why the Stones have endured for over six decades and what their longevity says about the state of music itself. Spitz argues that the Stones gave us the foundation of the rock and roll sound and that, in many ways, there is no rock and roll today — modern musicians are producers more than performers, and now in their 80s the Stones are essentially one of the last bands keeping the form alive. He explains why their decision to flirt with politics in the 60s and then back off actually helped them endure, traces their close friendship with The Beatles , and describes Mick and Keith's strange but enduring marriage as the central engine of the band — held together by their shared love of playing live.
The conversation digs into the surprising musical and cultural backstory of how the Stones became the Stones — including the fascinating history of how white British kids embraced the blues more than American kids did. Spitz pays beautiful tribute to drummer Charlie Watts as the heart and soul of the group — a jazz lover who only played rock because it paid the bills and who, along with Ian Stewart, kept the band in line for decades — and discusses the profound effect of losing him on the band's chemistry. He explains why the Stones keep playing well into their 80s, why great guitarists are now a rare commodity with no real innovators emerging, and why Mick has stayed in such great shape. Spitz offers his verdict on the Stones' place in music history — they've come to understand themselves as the greatest rock band, and he agrees — and reveals what's next for him: a book about John Lennon's second act. He closes with a fascinating thought experiment posed by Chuck: if Mick Jagger had been killed and John Lennon had lived, would the trajectories of the two bands have completely switched?
Try ShipStation free for 60 days with full access to all features, No credit card needed! Go to https://ShipStation.com and use code TODDCAST for 60 days for free!
Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Bob Spitz (Rolling Stones Biographer) joins the Chuck ToddCast
02:00 How long have you been thinking about writing this biography?
03:15 Keith Richards biography was a phenomenal book, but only Keith’s view
04:30 The Stones longevity as a group makes them more compelling
06:00 The Stones gave us the foundation of the rock and roll sound
07:15 There is no rock and roll today, musicians are producers now
09:15 In their 80’s, the Stones are still keeping rock and roll alive
10:30 The Stones flirted with being political, then backed off
11:15 Their lack of taking a stand actually helped them endure
12:45 The Stones became great friends with the Beatles
14:00 Mick Jagger & Paul McCartney explored joint business ventures
15:30 Without Paul or Mick, both bands may not have been financially viable
16:15 Mick & Keith seemed like a strange marriage, but they made it work
18:15 The music kept the band together, they love to play and perform
19:30 You have to see the Stones in concert to truly appreciate them
20:45 They’ve had countless “Farewell Tours” and always come back
22:00 Mick has kept in great shape, his father was a fitness celebrity
23:30 Fans pitted the Beatles vs. The Stones, but the bands never did
25:30 How did white British kids embrace the blues more than American kids?
26:15 American GI’s left their blues records behind in the UK
27:45 Chuck Berry was a massive influence on the Stones becoming rock
28:30 Charlie Watts was the heart and soul of the band
30:00 Charlie loved jazz, only played rock because it paid the bills
31:30 Charlie and Ian Stewart kept the band in line
32:45 The effect of losing Charlie Watts on the Stones
34:45 They keep playing because it sustains them as humans, not for the money
36:15 Does it bother Keith that everyone sits down when Jagger isn’t performing?
37:30 Great guitarists are a rare commodity these days, no innovators
38:30 Modern music doesn’t emphasize live instrumental performance
40:45 What is the Stones' place in the music universe?
41:15 They’ve come to understand themselves as the greatest rock band
42:15 Secret to the Stones longevity?
44:00 The Stones wouldn’t participate in an extended “Dead & Company” style
44:45 Mick is about to have great grandkids, and has a 30 year old girlfriend
45:15 Next project is a book about John Lennon’s second act
46:30 Beatles had an aversion to talking to the press
47:30 If Jagger had been killed & Lennon lived, would the bands switch trajectories?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd delivers an analysis of the Virginia Supreme Court's decision tossing out the Democratic redistricting map — arguing Democrats pissed away enormous political capital for absolutely nothing and that the reaction on the left has been wildly out of proportion, treating the ruling like an election loss when it was actually a predictable consequence of trying to fight fire with fire. He notes that Democrats passed the Virginia map without ever bothering to figure out how the courts would rule, and that both Obama and Governor Spanberger spent serious political capital pushing a referendum that was always legally vulnerable. He pushes back hard on left-wing commentary framing the ruling as partisan: the Virginia Supreme Court isn't full of partisans — they're technocrats, and Democrats just spent years arguing for norms and process and then ignored norms and process. His central argument is that Democrats will never win a race to the bottom with Trump's GOP, that the "fight fire with fire" mentality is a huge strategic mistake, and that Democrats can absolutely win in newly created swing districts with the right candidates if they go back to persuading voters and building coalitions rather than treating voters as the problem. He argues that Democrats are still likely to win both the House and Senate in the midterms — proof that Trump has done nothing to improve the GOP's image and that the path back to a winning Democratic coalition is still wide open if the party chooses to take it.
Then, acclaimed music biographer Bob Spitz — author of definitive biographies of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin and now The Rolling Stones: The Biography, his five-year deep dive into the world's greatest rock and roll band — joins the Chuck Toddcast for a deeply enjoyable conversation about why the Stones have endured for over six decades and what their longevity says about the state of music itself. Spitz argues that the Stones gave us the foundation of the rock and roll sound and that, in many ways, there is no rock and roll today — modern musicians are producers more than performers, and now in their 80s the Stones are essentially one of the last bands keeping the form alive. He explains why their decision to flirt with politics in the 60s and then back off actually helped them endure, traces their close friendship with The Beatles , and describes Mick and Keith's strange but enduring marriage as the central engine of the band — held together by their shared love of playing live.
The conversation digs into the surprising musical and cultural backstory of how the Stones became the Stones — including the fascinating history of how white British kids embraced the blues more than American kids did. Spitz pays beautiful tribute to drummer Charlie Watts as the heart and soul of the group — a jazz lover who only played rock because it paid the bills and who, along with Ian Stewart, kept the band in line for decades — and discusses the profound effect of losing him on the band's chemistry. He explains why the Stones keep playing well into their 80s, why great guitarists are now a rare commodity with no real innovators emerging, and why Mick has stayed in such great shape. Spitz offers his verdict on the Stones' place in music history — they've come to understand themselves as the greatest rock band, and he agrees — and reveals what's next for him: a book about John Lennon's second act. He closes with a fascinating thought experiment posed by Chuck: if Mick Jagger had been killed and John Lennon had lived, would the trajectories of the two bands have completely switched?
Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision and explains that the courts have been forced to rule on major structural changes to American society when congress refuses to legislate. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Try ShipStation free for 60 days with full access to all features, No credit card needed! Go to https://ShipStation.com and use code TODDCAST for 60 days for free!
Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
01:45 Democrats pissed away political capital in VA, then map was tossed
05:30 Reaction on the left to Virginia ruling has been like an election loss
07:00 It’s understandable that Democrats wanted to fight fire with fire
07:45 Democrats passed VA map without knowing how the courts would rule
08:30 Obama and Spanberger wasted political capital for nothing
09:45 Dems have argued for norms + process that court said they didn’t follow
10:30 Electing the judiciary is terrible for the rule of law
11:15 The VA Supreme Court aren’t partisans, they’re technocrats
12:30 Left wing commentary assumes it was a partisan decision… it wasn’t
14:00 Dem leadership in VA misled the party & the public on referendum
15:45 We still don’t know what the maps will look like in the south after redistricting
16:30 GOP has the redistricting advantage now, but courts may intervene
17:30 VA court may give courage to other courts to stop the gerrymandering
18:45 Democrats will never win a race to the bottom with Trump’s GOP
20:15 Democrats can win in newly created swing districts with right candidates
22:00 The “fight fire with fire” mentality is a huge mistake by the Dems
23:00 Democracy is eroded when both parties play scorched earth politics
24:15 Dems should be trying to persuade and coalition build
26:00 Republicans treat voters as the problem, Dems shouldn’t do the same
27:15 Dems want to be held to a higher standard, but don’t like it when they are
28:30 Dems did real damage to their credibility with Virginia redistricting
30:00 Trump has done nothing to improve the GOP’s image, Dems can still win
31:45 Democrats know what they’re against, but not what they’re for
33:30 Spanberger was put in an impossible position by her party
35:00 Spanberger knew that swing voters didn’t like the redistricting chaos
36:15 Dems practiced politics of addition under Obama, now in survival mode
37:45 Voters viewed the Democratic party as more principled, VA jeopardizes that
38:30 Dems still more likely to win both house and senate despite the ruling
46:00 Bob Spitz (Rolling Stones Biographer) joins the Chuck ToddCast
48:00 How long have you been thinking about writing this biography?
49:15 Keith Richards biography was a phenomenal book, but only Keith’s view
50:30 The Stones longevity as a group makes them more compelling
52:00 The Stones gave us the foundation of the rock and roll sound
53:15 There is no rock and roll today, musicians are producers now
55:15 In their 80’s, the Stones are still keeping rock and roll alive
56:30 The Stones flirted with being political, then backed off
57:15 Their lack of taking a stand actually helped them endure
58:45 The Stones became great friends with the Beatles
1:00:00 Mick Jagger & Paul McCartney explored joint business ventures
1:01:30 Without Paul or Mick, both bands may not have been financially viable
1:02:15 Mick & Keith seemed like a strange marriage, but they made it work
1:04:15 The music kept the band together, they love to play and perform
1:05:30 You have to see the Stones in concert to truly appreciate them
1:06:45 They’ve had countless “Farewell Tours” and always come back
1:08:00 Mick has kept in great shape, his father was a fitness celebrity
1:09:30 Fans pitted the Beatles vs. The Stones, but the bands never did
1:11:30 How did white British kids embrace the blues more than American kids?
1:12:15 American GI’s left their blues records behind in the UK
1:13:45 Chuck Berry was a massive influence on the Stones becoming rock
1:14:30 Charlie Watts was the heart and soul of the band
1:16:00 Charlie loved jazz, only played rock because it paid the bills
1:17:30 Charlie and Ian Stewart kept the band in line
1:18:45 The effect of losing Charlie Watts on the Stones
1:20:45 They keep playing because it sustains them as humans, not for the money
1:22:15 Does it bother Keith that everyone sits down when Jagger isn’t performing?
1:23:30 Great guitarists are a rare commodity these days, no innovators
1:24:30 Modern music doesn’t emphasize live instrumental performance
1:26:45 What is the Stones' place in the music universe?
1:27:15 They’ve come to understand themselves as the greatest rock band
1:28:15 Secret to the Stones longevity?
1:30:00 The Stones wouldn’t participate in an extended “Dead & Company” style
1:30:45 Mick is about to have great grandkids, and has a 30 year old girlfriend
1:31:15 Next project is a book about John Lennon’s second act
1:32:30 Beatles had an aversion to talking to the press
1:33:30 If Jagger had been killed & Lennon lived, would the bands switch trajectories?
1:38:15 ToddCast Time Machine - May 17th, 1954
1:39:00 Brown vs. Board was the court pushing back against a legal fiction
1:39:30 Plessy vs. Ferguson was the foundation for segregation
1:40:15 Segregation had to end via the courts, congress refused to end it
1:41:30 Southern Democrats held enormous power in the 50s
1:42:00 The system challenged by Brown had too much power in congress
1:42:45 The NAACP was chipping away at segregation one case at a time
1:43:30 The court needed a unanimous decision for Brown to have legitimacy
1:44:30 The US was championing freedom abroad while segregated at home
1:45:00 Without the cold war, we don’t desegregate or pass the Voting Rights Act
1:45:30 Court rules 9-0 on Brown, didn’t end segregation but delegitimized it
1:46:30 Southern politicians organized massive resistance
1:47:00 Federal troops sent into Little Rock to escort black students into school
1:47:45 Brown changed how Americans thought about the power of the court
1:48:30 Courts became more like political actors in decades after Brown
1:49:45 The ruling in Brown was definitive, its implementation was not
1:50:30 Ask Chuck
1:50:45 How much could voter suppression affect juiced Democratic turnout?
1:57:00 What if Trump never becomes a lame duck president?
2:01:30 Is gerrymandering creating better chances for moderates?
2:08:00 What are the most realistic options for scaling back entitlements?
2:13:15 Predictions for the political futures of Nikki Haley & Ron DeSantis?
2:19:15 Is there a scenario for a bipartisan impeachment to avoid bad pardons?
2:24:00 Greg Olsen was commencement speaker at Chuck’s daughters graduation
2:25:30 Thoughts on the NBA playoffs & NCAA tournament expansion
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd delivers an analysis of the Virginia Supreme Court's decision tossing out the Democratic redistricting map — arguing Democrats pissed away enormous political capital for absolutely nothing and that the reaction on the left has been wildly out of proportion, treating the ruling like an election loss when it was actually a predictable consequence of trying to fight fire with fire. He notes that Democrats passed the Virginia map without ever bothering to figure out how the courts would rule, and that both Obama and Governor Spanberger spent serious political capital pushing a referendum that was always legally vulnerable. He pushes back hard on left-wing commentary framing the ruling as partisan: the Virginia Supreme Court isn't full of partisans — they're technocrats, and Democrats just spent years arguing for norms and process and then ignored norms and process. His central argument is that Democrats will never win a race to the bottom with Trump's GOP, that the "fight fire with fire" mentality is a huge strategic mistake, and that Democrats can absolutely win in newly created swing districts with the right candidates if they go back to persuading voters and building coalitions rather than treating voters as the problem. He argues that Democrats are still likely to win both the House and Senate in the midterms — proof that Trump has done nothing to improve the GOP's image and that the path back to a winning Democratic coalition is still wide open if the party chooses to take it.
Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision and explains that the courts have been forced to rule on major structural changes to American society when congress refuses to legislate. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Try ShipStation free for 60 days with full access to all features, No credit card needed! Go to https://ShipStation.com and use code TODDCAST for 60 days for free!
Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
01:45 Democrats pissed away political capital in VA, then map was tossed
05:30 Reaction on the left to Virginia ruling has been like an election loss
07:00 It’s understandable that Democrats wanted to fight fire with fire
07:45 Democrats passed VA map without knowing how the courts would rule
08:30 Obama and Spanberger wasted political capital for nothing
09:45 Dems have argued for norms + process that court said they didn’t follow
10:30 Electing the judiciary is terrible for the rule of law
11:15 The VA Supreme Court aren’t partisans, they’re technocrats
12:30 Left wing commentary assumes it was a partisan decision… it wasn’t
14:00 Dem leadership in VA misled the party & the public on referendum
15:45 We still don’t know what the maps will look like in the south after redistricting
16:30 GOP has the redistricting advantage now, but courts may intervene
17:30 VA court may give courage to other courts to stop the gerrymandering
18:45 Democrats will never win a race to the bottom with Trump’s GOP
20:15 Democrats can win in newly created swing districts with right candidates
22:00 The “fight fire with fire” mentality is a huge mistake by the Dems
23:00 Democracy is eroded when both parties play scorched earth politics
24:15 Dems should be trying to persuade and coalition build
26:00 Republicans treat voters as the problem, Dems shouldn’t do the same
27:15 Dems want to be held to a higher standard, but don’t like it when they are
28:30 Dems did real damage to their credibility with Virginia redistricting
30:00 Trump has done nothing to improve the GOP’s image, Dems can still win
31:45 Democrats know what they’re against, but not what they’re for
33:30 Spanberger was put in an impossible position by her party
35:00 Spanberger knew that swing voters didn’t like the redistricting chaos
36:15 Dems practiced politics of addition under Obama, now in survival mode
37:45 Voters viewed the Democratic party as more principled, VA jeopardizes that
38:30 Dems still more likely to win both house and senate despite the ruling
42:15 ToddCast Time Machine - May 17th, 1954
43:00 Brown vs. Board was the court pushing back against a legal fiction
43:30 Plessy vs. Ferguson was the foundation for segregation
44:15 Segregation had to end via the courts, congress refused to end it
45:30 Southern Democrats held enormous power in the 50s
46:00 The system challenged by Brown had too much power in congress
46:45 The NAACP was chipping away at segregation one case at a time
47:30 The court needed a unanimous decision for Brown to have legitimacy
48:30 The US was championing freedom abroad while segregated at home
49:00 Without the cold war, we don’t desegregate or pass the Voting Rights Act
49:30 Court rules 9-0 on Brown, didn’t end segregation but delegitimized it
50:30 Southern politicians organized massive resistance
51:00 Federal troops sent into Little Rock to escort black students into school
51:45 Brown changed how Americans thought about the power of the court
52:30 Courts became more like political actors in decades after Brown
53:45 The ruling in Brown was definitive, its implementation was not
54:30 Ask Chuck
54:45 How much could voter suppression affect juiced Democratic turnout?
1:01:00 What if Trump never becomes a lame duck president?
1:05:30 Is gerrymandering creating better chances for moderates?
1:12:00 What are the most realistic options for scaling back entitlements?
1:17:15 Predictions for the political futures of Nikki Haley & Ron DeSantis?
1:23:15 Is there a scenario for a bipartisan impeachment to avoid bad pardons?
1:28:00 Greg Olsen was commencement speaker at Chuck’s daughters graduation
1:29:30 Thoughts on the NBA playoffs & NCAA tournament expansion
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd opens with the latest from the Iran war: the Saudis have now denied the U.S. military access to strikes from their bases and airspace, the U.S. cannot claim any net positive from this conflict, and Trump's best realistic outcome is some version of the Obama nuclear deal 2.0. He notes that both sides are being squeezed — Iran can't keep this going forever either — but warns that beyond the immediate political damage to Trump, the war has handed China tremendous long-term leverage, AI spending is the only reason the U.S. economy hasn't already tanked, and asymmetric warfare has once again proven it can beat superpower militaries. He argues Trump's request for $1 billion in taxpayer funds for a White House ballroom is political suicide — if Obama had made the same ask, the media firestorm would have been deafening — and that Congress approving the money would be handing Democrats an enormous political gift. He flags the FBI's new investigation into Virginia Democrat Louise Lucas, warns that nothing coming from Trump's DOJ can be trusted at face value, and argues the trumped-up charges against James Comey create reasonable doubt about every other case the administration brings. He warns the administration is actively poking the bear with African American voters in ways that could supercharge Black turnout and reshape the midterm calculus, flags the FBI investigation related to The Atlantic's story on Kash Patel's drinking (the bureau denies investigating the reporter, but the careful language suggests a leak investigation exists. He closes with a beautiful and personal commencement-style address to the graduating class of 2026 as his daughter prepares to walk.
Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Try ShipStation free for 60 days with full access to all features, No credit card needed! Go to https://ShipStation.com and use code TODDCAST for 60 days for free!
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
04:30 Saudis have denied U.S. military access to bases & airspace
06:00 Trump is only going to get the nuclear deal 2.0 at best
07:30 Iran can’t keep this going as well, both sides being squeezed
08:30 U.S. can’t claim any net positive from this war
09:30 This is bad for Trump politically, but it’s bad for the US long-term
10:15 Trump has handed China tremendous leverage
11:00 AI spending is the only reason the U.S. economy hasn’t tanked
12:30 Asymmetric warfare beats superpower militaries
14:15 Greenlighting $1B in taxpayer funds for ballroom is political suicide
15:15 If Obama made the same ask, there would be a media firestorm
16:00 Congress giving Dems a huge political gift by approving funds
17:15 FBI launches investigation into Virginia dem Louise Lucas
18:30 You can’t trust the narratives from Trump’s DOJ
20:00 Trumped up charges against Comey create doubt in other cases
20:45 Administration is poking the bear with African Americans voters
22:00 Supercharged black turnout would change midterm election calculus
23:00 FBI investigation into Atlantic story about Kash Patel’s drinking
23:45 FBI denies investigating the reporter who broke the story
24:30 Denial language suggests a leak investigation exists
26:00 Worried about the future and for this graduating class
28:30 Chuck’s advice for the graduating class of 2026
29:15 Graduates are heading into a very uncertain future
29:45 Adulthood is not a race, don’t always need to hurry
31:00 The first job you take isn’t your forever job
32:00 Don’t confuse a setback with failure
32:45 Respect your elders and respect experience
35:00 Don’t be embarrassed by your struggles or disregard someone else’s
36:00 Life happens. Don’t wait for the perfect time for something
37:15 Road trips are the best way to learn about America
38:15 Don’t be a “Yeah, but” person
40:00 Life is not a competition with your friends’ lives
40:45 It takes a lot of hard work to get lucky
42:00 Sorry that we’ve brought grads into a very angry America
42:30 Talk to people who disagree with you
43:30 If you only experience America through an algorithm, you’ll misunderstand it
47:45 Ask Chuck
48:00 How would you approach teaching, more depth or more breadth?
52:30 Should we pay members of congress more?
56:15 What can make local law enforcement a more enticing job?
1:01:45 How does Trump’s drift towards lame-duck status play out?
1:06:15 Why do you think redistricting would create an electoral backlash?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Conservative writer Kevin Williamson — National Correspondent for The Dispatch and one of the sharpest voices on the right — joins the Chuck Toddcast for a wide-ranging and characteristically blunt conversation about Trump's Iran disaster, the collapse of the political parties, and what kind of country America is becoming. Williamson argues Trump made a colossal mistake getting into the Iran war and there's now no way out without national humiliation: the goals of the conflict have constantly been changing, and Trump effectively told the Iranians where his political weaknesses were and they called his bluff. He notes the absurdity of America blockading the Strait specifically because we're mad that it's been blockaded, observes that the firing hasn't actually ceased despite the supposed ceasefire, and offers a withering verdict on the president himself: "Trump is just not a smart guy, he's an insult artist," surrounded by people who don't have the nation's interests in mind. They explore whether China could end up being the country Trump needs to bail him out in Iran, whether a nuclear Iran could benefit Putin (would he actually sell them one?), and notes the Gulf states are tired of this. He warns that securing the Strait of Hormuz requires ground troops Trump is too afraid to commit, that the Iranian regime is nothing like Venezuela's and won't fold, and that Trump never prepared the country for pain at the pump.
The conversation broadens into Williamson's structural diagnosis of American politics, and his unsentimental view of where this is all headed. He argues that politics has become like religion, especially for the most religious, which is why Trump's coalition won't fracture even when farmers are being destroyed by Trump's own policies and still vote for him. He says Trump's declining popularity isn't restraining his decision-making at all, that Republicans are already assuming a midterm wipeout, and that Trump will be impeached if Democrats take the House — and should be — though he acknowledges it may not be the smartest political move. They dig into whether both American parties are at genuine risk of collapse, arguing their decline has been a huge loss for the country: celebrity and social media have filled the vacuum, with communication ability now mattering more than actual governing competence. He half-jokes that Taylor Swift could be president if she wanted to be, dismisses the idea that Stephen Colbert could carry a progressive banner, and closes with a genuinely dark prediction: America is losing its identity, may simply be too rich for its own good, and is heading for a low so bad that most Americans aren't prepared for it.
Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Try ShipStation free for 60 days with full access to all features, No credit card needed! Go to https://ShipStation.com and use code TODDCAST for 60 days for free!
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Kevin Williamson (The Dispatch) joins the Chuck ToddCast
01:15 Trump made a colossal mistake with Iran war
01:45 We can’t get out of Iran war without being humiliated
03:00 The goals of the war have constantly been changing
04:30 Iran can’t win a battle with the U.S. but its45 sphere of influence is bigger
06:00 Trump told the Iranians what his weaknesses are, they called his bluff
07:00 The firing has not ceased, there’s no actual ceasefire
07:30 We’re blockading a Strait because we’re mad it’s blockaded…
08:30 Trump is just not a smart guy, he’s an insult artist
09:15 The people around Trump don’t have the nation's interests in mind
10:00 Rubio looks good because the people around Trump are so bad
12:00 Will China be the country Trump needs to bail him out in Iran?
13:00 Iran having a nuke could benefit Putin, would he sell them one?
14:30 Trump didn’t prepare the country for pain at the pump
15:45 We could really use our European allies that we spurned
16:30 Unclear if Iran would accept a JCPOA style deal now
19:30 50 years after the revolution, Iranian regime hasn’t changed priorities
21:00 The gulf states have influence over Trump and they’re tired of this
23:15 Gulf states probably assumed Trump would go for regime change
24:30 The Iranian regime is nothing like the regime in Venezuela
26:00 The rural vs urban divide leads to failed democratic states
27:45 Trump’s declining popularity isn’t restraining his decision making
28:45 Republicans are already assuming a wipeout in the midterms
29:15 Trump will be impeached with a Dem majority in the house, and should be
30:00 Impeaching Trump may not be best option politically, but the right thing to do
32:30 Securing the Strait requires ground troops, which is terrible politics
33:15 Trump is a coward, and afraid of the risk of using ground troops
35:00 Trump doesn’t want to get into an open ended occupation of Iran
35:30 Unlikely that Trump’s coalition fractures, it’s a personality cult
36:45 Farmers are being destroyed by Trump, yet many still support him
38:00 Politics has become like religion, especially to the most religious
39:15 Kevin quit the GOP over Arlen Spector, which now seems quaint
41:00 What kind of conservative do you consider yourself to be?
45:30 Are both American parties at risk of collapse? Could another party emerge?
46:15 The parties matter less now than before Trump was elected
47:00 The decline of the parties has been a huge loss
48:00 Celebrity & social media has filled the gap left by the parties
49:15 Stephen Colbert is unlikely to be the celebrity to carry the progressive banner
50:30 Taylor Swift could be president if she wanted to
51:30 Communication is the winning trait of politicians now, not ability
54:30 We’re losing our American identity, maybe too rich for our own good
56:00 We’re going to hit a low that’s so bad, Americans aren’t prepared for it
57:45 The next election is not going to solve our problems
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.