The Mona Charen Show

Protect Democracy founder Ian Bassin talks about victories and setbacks in the effort to thwart authoritarianism America-style, and what each person can do to preserve free and fair elections going forward.
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Dave Wasserman joins Mona to discuss what’s changed and what hasn’t since 2018, including electoral map, redistricting, public discontent, and likely turnout.

Mona speaks with David Brooks (author, contributor to PBS NewsHour and opinion columnist for The New York Times) about why so many Americans feel unseen, how loneliness and moral drift are reshaping society, and what we lose when human connection is replaced by screens, algorithms, and artificial companionship.
How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/

Sonny Bunch joins to discuss “It Was Just an Accident” a film from dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi. It raises profound questions about guilt, judgment, and revenge. Also, amazing that it was made at all.
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Films & References Mentioned:
It Was Just an Accident (dir. Jafar Panahi)
The film discussed throughout the episode — a clandestinely made Iranian dissident film that won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30841958/
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (dir. Mohammad Rasoulof)
Recommended by Sonny as further viewing; set during post–Mahsa Amini unrest in Iran.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29362290/
The Lives of Others (dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
Cited as a thematic comparison for life under a surveillance state.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/
A Hero (dir. Asghar Farhadi)
Mentioned as another standout contemporary Iranian film about truth, lies, and social pressure.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11777738/

Quico Toro offers an insider’s perspective on his lost homeland and the American raid.
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