Charlie Sykes: The Diminishing of Decency

Ye Gods! with Scott Carter

ENCORE EPISODE Political commentator and founder of The Bulwark, Charlie Sykes joins Scott to discuss judgment, the hereafter, and the state of American democracy. Charlie talks about converting to catholicism in his teens, the influence of his father on his life, and his hopes for his legacy. Charlie recommends The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.

In My Homily Opinion:

Viktor Frankl was a Jewish-Austrian holocaust survivor and psychiatrist who wrote that we should decide what gives life meaning, then live life, so that on our deathbed, our memories may match our meaning. Scott doesn't think we need to wait for our death bed to look back. We can do it whenever we pass from one stage of life to another. Father’s Day was one of those moments for Scott.

Share your regrets and blessings. Email us at [e-mail]

Guest: Charlie Sykes is a founder and editor-at-large of The Bulwark, host of The Bulwark Podcast, and an NBC/ MSNBC contributor. He is also the author of nine books, including his most recent book, How the Right Lost Its Mind, published by St. Martin’s Press, released in October 2017. An updated paperback edition was released in October, 2018. Sykes has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Weekly Standard, The Washington Post, Commentary, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Time.com, USA Today, National Review, The New York Review of Books, the New York Daily News, and other national publications. He has appeared on Meet the Press, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, State of the Union with Jake Tapper, the Today Show, ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, PBS, the BBC, and has been profiled on NPR. He has also spoken extensively on university campuses. He is a former contributing editor to the Weekly Standard; he also has served as editor of Milwaukee Magazine; editor of Wisconsin Interest Magazine; and founder and editor in chief of Right Wisconsin. Until he stepped down in December 2016 after 23 years, Sykes was one of Wisconsin’s top-rated and most influential conservative talk show hosts. In 2017, he was co-host of the national public radio show, “Indivisible,” which originated from WNYC. He lives in Mequon, Wisconsin with his wife and three dogs. He has three children, and two grandchildren.

Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music licensed via Epidemic Sound.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices