The Shooter’s Manifesto Felt Disturbingly Normal

In this episode, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch analyze the attempted assault at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and the media coverage that ensued. They scrutinize the shooter’s manifesto, why it struck some observers as disturbingly ordinary, and what that implies about the normalization of extreme political rhetoric. The roundtable also weighs President Donald Trump’s renewed ambition to construct a new White House ballroom in the wake of the incident.

Next, the discussion shifts to Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for municipal grocery stores, whether government-backed supermarkets can compete on a level playing field with private businesses, and how critics may have helped convert a campaign slogan into actual policy. The group then evaluates reports that the Trump administration is contemplating a bailout that could place the majority of Spirit Airlines under federal ownership. The conversation then pivots to Iran, where fragile diplomacy and mixed signals regarding the Strait of Hormuz suggest that the conflict is far from resolved. Finally, a listener asks what a libertarian approach to redistricting would look like and whether fair maps are ever truly achievable.

 

0:00—The White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting

18:49—Mamdani’s plan for city-run groceries

27:42—Spirit Airlines bailout

37:06—Listener question on redistricting

43:23—What is the endgame in Iran?

48:58—Weekly cultural recommendations

 

References cited during the episode:

“Shots Fired,” by Eric Boehm

“What If We Acted Like Political Violence Was a Problem?” by Matt Welch

“Prediction: 2024 Will See Deadly Political Violence in the Streets,” by Matt Welch

“Charlie Kirk and America’s History With Political Violence,” by Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch

“Politically Motivated Violence Is a Small Threat,” by Alex Nowrasteh

“Hasan Piker and Jia Tolentino: The Leftists Who Think Stealing Is Great,” by Robby Soave

“With His Grandiose White House Ballroom Plan, Trump Again Asserts the Power To Do As He Pleases,” by Jacob Sullum

“Mamdani’s Fix for Food Deserts: Opening a $30 Million City-Owned Grocery Store Near Other Grocery Stores,” by Megan O’Rourke

“Zohran Mamdani’s $70 Million Grocery Gamble,” by C. Jarrett Dieterle

“Biden Killed the Spirit Airlines Merger. Now Trump Wants Taxpayers To Save the Company,” by Joe Lancaster

“Spirit Airlines Didn’t Die Because Biden Blocked the JetBlue Merger,” by Gary Leff

“The Spirit Airline Is a Bad Idea Built on a Worse Precedent,” by Veronique de Rugy and Gary Leff

“Why Redistricting Reform Goes Off the Rails,” by Walter Olson

“A Pointless War,” by Matthew Petti

“Neither War nor Peace With Iran,” by Matthew Petti

“My Books, Essay #5,” by Arnold Kling

“Michael Is a Brutally Dull Biopic With Nothing to Say About Michael Jackson,” by Peter Suderman

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