All Things with Kim Strassel

A Crucial Swing Senate Race in North Carolina

Primary season has come for the 2026 midterm election, and with razor-thin margins in both chambers of Congress, so-called purple states have become crucial battlegrounds for control of the Senate. In North Carolina, Republican Michael Whatley has secured his party’s nomination and will face off against former Democratic governor Roy Cooper to replace the retiring Thom Tillis. On this episode of All Things, Kim Strassel breaks down the race with Whatley, including why Cooper’s record on crime is an issue, how tariffs are playing with voters, and why the whole race may come down to, “the economy, economy, economy.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

The Imprisonment of Jimmy Lai

Donald Trump will travel to Beijing this week for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. President Trump has said that one issue he will bring up during the meeting is the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes against the National Security Law. On this episode of All Things, Kim Strassel speaks with Lai’s close friend and Wall Street Journal Opinion columnist William McGurn about what led to Lai’s arrest and why his cause has been taken up by journalists around the world.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Trump Launches 'Operation Freedom'

President Donald Trump announces “Project Freedom,” a new initiative to get ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran responds by launching missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates and U.S. warships. What does this mean for the fragile ceasefire and talks with Iran? On this episode of All Things, Kim Strassel speaks with Seth Jones, president of the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies about the new operation, the damage the blockade is doing to the Iranian economy and what steps the U.S. still needs to take to bring its Iran operation to a successful conclusion.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Dana Perino on Presidential Security and Purple States

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner has led to questions about how best to protect the president and other officials in a dangerous situation. What went right with the response to the shooting and what improvements can be made? On this episode of All Things, Fox News anchor and former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino talks to Kim Strassel about what she experienced during the George W. Bush administration. The two also discuss Dana's debut novel, "Purple State," a tale of Gen Z Democrats working on a presidential campaign in Wisconsin--and falling in love.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Sen. Tom Cotton on the Iran Blockade, Reconciliation and Surveillance

The U.S. blockade of Iran continues amid an uncertain round of peace negotiations, while Congress wrestles with the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown and the looming lapse of a key foreign surveillance tool. On this episode of All Things, Intelligence Committee Chair Sen. Tom Cotton talks with Kim Strassel about the status of the blockade and the potential for regime collapse in Iran, why Democrats and Republicans are still far apart on funding DHS and ICE, and his efforts to get GOP members to agree to renew a central provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]