Honestly with Bari Weiss - Tiger Mom Amy Chua Takes Washington

Fourteen years ago, Amy Chua published Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. It was received less like a book and more like a nuclear bomb. Here are some headlines from the time: “Why I Will Never Be a Tiger Mom.” “Why Amy Chua Is Wrong About Parenting.” “Amy Chua Is a Circus Trainer, Not a Tiger Mother.” “The Human Race Needs Elephant Mothers, Not Tiger Mothers.” “Amy Chua's Recipe for Disaster and the Externalized Cost of Book Sales.”


Then, just as the publicity around Tiger Mother died down, Amy came out with The Triple Package, about why some ethnic groups succeed. People called her racist. Then she came out in support of Brett Kavanaugh's court nomination in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal (before he was accused of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford). Afterward, people accused her of misogyny and grooming. And she was almost forced out of Yale for it. 


Then, in 2021, she was accused of hosting boozy dinner parties during COVID lockdowns and “dinner party-gate” was born. Yale punished her by barring her from teaching her “small group” first-year student contingency. 


Fast-forward to 2025. And the tables have turned.


Being a strict “tiger mom”? In. Free speech? In. Wokeness and hypersensitivity? Out.

Covid lockdowns? Definitely out. Vicious character assassinations at Senate confirmations? Out. As Free Press reporter Peter Savodnik just wrote: “The ideas that Chua was pilloried for are suddenly back in fashion.” 


Just a few weeks ago, she attended the inauguration of the incoming president and vice president—one of whom happens to be her former student and mentee. 


It’s easy to be a weather vane—to go where the wind blows. It's hard to be Amy Chua—to stand up for your beliefs even when they are not popular, even when it means personal consequences. On today’s episode, live in D.C. during inauguration weekend, Chua explains how and why she won—and what it feels like to be vindicated. 


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The Gist - Miriam Lewin: Surviving Torture, Exposing the “Disappeared”

Miriam Lewin, subject of the podcast The Burden: Avenger, spent a year in an Argentine torture center and has chronicled the stories of the “disappeared”—dissidents who were drugged and thrown into the Atlantic Ocean. Plus, Trump’s new tariffs: bold move or economic blunder? Also, an Antwentig, where stolen baby formula fuels underground economies.


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1A - The News Roundup For January 31, 2025

An American Airlines plane collided with a helicopter on Wednesday in Washington D.C., sending both crashing into the Potomac River. There are no survivors.

Donald Trump ordered a freeze of all federal grants, disrupting vital national processes.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Palestinians are making their way back into the northern parts of Gaza. Israel's ban on working with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency goes into effect this week.

A new Chinese AI app, called DeepSeek, has upended the tech industry and Wall Street. Industry watchers note the country's programmers can deliver a product on par with that of the West, for a fraction of the cost and without access to similar hardware.

We cover all this and more during the News Roundup.

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The Bulwark Podcast - Andrew Weissmann: A MAGAtocracy and a Babytocracy

While Republican senators worked to protect Kash Patel from answering some ver-wee hard questions at his confirmation hearing, not one of them had the audacity to suggest that he is the best person to lead the FBI. Meanwhile, the new administration is clearing out some of the most seasoned and effective veterans at the bureau who will be needed during a crisis. Plus, Elon is trying to get our private financial records at the Treasury Department, and Paramount is so worried that mean Mr. Trump would block a merger deal that it's ready to settle his frivolous, written-in-crayon lawsuit against "60 Minutes." Also, Tim makes an earnest plea to Sen. Bill Cassidy from the heart of New Orleans. 

Andrew Weissmann joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
show notes
Weissmann's and Mary McCord's podcast, "Main Justice"
Weissmann's Substack page
Tim's playlist

Pod Save America - Trump Heals Grieving Nation

Finally, a president willing to blame a devastating air crash on diversity hiring and two of his predecessors! Nearly two weeks into his second term, Trump continues to sow bitterness, fear, and chaos everywhere he turns: issuing a spending freeze so drastic and haphazard that his team has to rescind it after three days, demanding that more than two million federal workers resign or face loyalty tests, and vowing to send 30,000 immigrants to Guantanamo Bay. Meanwhile, three of his most extreme cabinet picks face tough questions in their confirmation hearings—but will it matter? Jon and Dan reflect on a dismal week, what's next, and signs of life in the opposition party. Then, Jon checks in with Senator Chris Murphy about the threats that Democratic leaders are getting, and why it's so important to fight back anyway.

 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.

The Gist - Presidential Plane Blame

Michael Moynihan of The Fifth Column podcast returns to break down Europe’s immigration crisis and how right-wing parties are addressing concerns that classic moderates will not. Plus, Senate hearings heat up over the nominations of RFK Jr., Kash Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard. And Donald Trump reacts to a midair collision with a critique of diversity initiatives—all of which were in place during his first administration.


Watch our interview with Michael Moynihan on The Gist's YouTube channel.


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Lost Debate - Executive Order Chaos, Dem Irrelevance, Media Stasis

Is this the most powerful presidency in modern history? Ravi welcomes Tyler Austin Harper back to the show to dig into Trump’s aggressive executive orders, the GOP’s split response, and what “malicious compliance” really means. They also discuss the chaos and backlash resulting from the executive overreach and the broader implications of Trump testing the limits of his presidential power.

Ravi and Tyler then take a closer look at how Democrats and the media have failed to adapt to the new political landscape. They examine the rising appeal of populism, the failures of the expert class, and the need for new strategies that can challenge the political status quo.


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The Bulwark Podcast - Tommy Vietor: Deniability Is All That Matters

Republican senators don't care that Trump's nominees are lying—like Kash pretending he didn't know a Nazi-adjacent podcaster whose show he's been on eight times—because the confirmation process to them is all a game and truth is irrelevant. And nominees are also mad-flipping on their signatures issues: RFK, Jr. on vaccines, Tulsi on Edward Snowden, and Kash on the Jan 6 cop beaters. Meanwhile, RFK knows embarrassingly little about the programs he'd be administering, Democrats should try combat on for size, and the Fox hosts/reality show stars turned in quite a performance after the first plane crash in 16 years. 

Tommy Vietor joins Tim Miller.