The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Steven Hayward enters the ranks of the three-timers on today’s Remnant, as he and Jonah engage in a discussion of the American right that manages to be both wide and deep. Jonah and Steve get the “dark clouds out of the way” (such as a pervasive illiberal cancel culture and the reappearance of especially nasty tribalism) first to make room for Steve’s heartening optimism. Such greener pastures involve an investigation into what remains of the old fusionist mindset among conservatives, why the right should not adopt basically left wing policies simply to conform with the “motivated reasoning” of certain activist conservatives, and how the right can do its part to stop the exporting of campus values into the general culture. Show Notes: -Steven F. Hayward - The Claremont Institute -Steven’s first book, Churchill on Leadership -Steven’s second book, The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, 1964-1980 -Amazon removes Clarence Thomas documentary -Cancel Pepe Le Pew -Macron more American than an American now -Rich Lowry: “Don’t Rewrite Mark Twain” -Ebay removes listings for canceled Dr. Seuss books -Jonah: “America Has Two Minority Parties” -James Clyburn: “Defund the police” cost Democrats seats -The Great Debate, by Yuval Levin -Steven’s latest book, M. Stanton Evans: Conservative Wit, Apostle of Freedom -Oren Cass: “America Should Adopt an Industrial Policy” -Oren Cass on The Dispatch Podcast -Jonah: “Does Anyone Really Believe Free Market Fundamentalists Are ‘Running the Show’?” -Christopher J. Walker: “The Federalist Society’s Chevron Deference Dilemma” -Stephanie Slade: “Is There a Future for Fusionism?” -Stephanie Slade’s latest Remnant appearance -Daniel E. Burns: “Liberal Practice v. Liberal Theory” -Blacklisted by History, by M. Stanton Evans -Robert J. Zimmer stands up for free speech at UChicago -Charles Murray attacked at Middlebury -The Port Huron Statement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s show, Jonah speaks to Manhattan Institute fellow and CCNY professor Daniel DiSalvo (an expert on public-sector unions and their history) to find out how the sausage really gets made in the intra-organizational politics of these public-sector unions, and how their influence is often the result of “the breakdown of machine politics – especially within the Democratic Party – in big cities.” Show Notes: - Dan’s page at the Manhattan Institute - “The Trouble with Police Unions” - Dan’s latest book, Government Against Itself - The first work on the “New Class,” by Milovan Djilas - Maya Wiley back by the SEIU in NYC - DeBlasio was also endorsed by SEIU - Terry Moe’s book on teachers unions - New York teachers’ all-expenses-paid “rubber rooms” - The OG happy warrior Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend’s edition of the Ruminant is a little bit like Christopher Hitchens’ D.C. apartment: a little bit of one thing right next to a little bit of the complete opposite thing. There’s a lot of ground covered in this, a practically record-breaking long episode of the podcast in which Jonah discusses his dad’s work for the wonderfully-acronymed NANA (North American Newspaper Alliance), dynamic scoring (a system in which this episode gets an A+), the necessity of telling the truth at a time in which even committed conservatives have a legitimate temptation to abandon their principles, the request from a listener for Goldberg Story Time, and much, much more. Show Notes: - Tim Russert interviews Bob Kerrey - John Edwards’ bizarre stem cell comments - CDC director “speaking in her personal capacity” - TX Gov. Abbott lifts mask mandate - Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - “Rationalia” - Jay Nordlinger’s Q&A - Memogate/Rathergate - “Slackjawed troglodytes” - Voir dire, or, as Advisory Opinions likes to say, “Vwahr Dahr” - “I don’t like the… stumps” - Mit-Voche Epistle - The Remnant with Steve Hayward and Charles Murray - Kathryn Jean Lopez’ page at National Review - Matt Lewis speaks to Bill Kristol Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elaine Kamarck of the Brookings Institution joins us for the first time. She and Jonah stray from pure rank punditry to instead discuss intra-party politics of primaries, the Democratic Party, and Elaine’s innate skepticism of the Electoral College. Jonah pushes back by saying that “When you start to dig under the surface, most people who oppose the Electoral College are really just saying that they don’t like the Senate,” to which Elaine has a great, balanced response (probably the best answer we’ve heard on this program from someone that dislikes the Electoral College). Join the program to see more light than heat on this episode. Show Notes: -Elaine Kamarck, the Brookings Institution -Elaine’s latest book, Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates -Elaine: “The urgent need for peer review in the presidential nominating process” -The McGovern-Fraser Commission Report -"I opened up the doors of the Democratic Party, and 20 million people walked out." -81 percent of black Americans don't want less police presence -NYT: “Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police” -Lessons from Mike Bloomberg’s attempt to buy the 2020 election -Why Presidents Fail and How They Can Succeed Again -The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact -Elaine and John Hudak: “How to get rid of the Electoral College” -Elaine with Jon Ward on The Long Game podcast -The latest GLoP podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an effort to explain the current state of the economy as well as the political ramifications of some parts of the Biden agenda coming down the pipeline, Jonah invited Michael Strain, his colleague at the American Enterprise Institute, for a return appearance. Strain explains complicated issues without confusing the plebeians among us who can’t look at numbers for very long before developing a headache. Speaking of headaches, near the end of the podcast the guys get into a relitigation of the ending of Lost, in addition to a brief discussion of WandaVision, Peaky Blinders, and Deep Impact, of all things. Show Notes: -Michael R. Strain, American Enterprise Institute -Michael’s latest book, The American Dream is Not Dead (But Populism Could Kill It) -Larry Summers: “The Biden stimulus is admirably ambitious. But it brings some big risks, too” -Michael in National Review: “When Will the Pandemic End?” -Consumers to unleash trillions of dollars in excess savings when pandemic ends -Paul Volcker’s war on inflation -Michael in Bloomberg Opinion: “How to Make a (Modest) Minimum Wage Hike Work” -Josh Hawley’s minimum wage proposal -Jonah’s love of public sector unions -Lost as a metaphor for lack of payoff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah joins us on a feature-length Relaxed Fit™ episode of the Ruminant in which he discusses his innate wish to continue speaking as a conservative without the sacrifice of genuinely-held principles. An important trait for a moment where that simply doesn’t happen often. In the first half, Jonah also addresses the “autoimmune problem” (both literal and figurative) of American youth as they continuously fail to prove themselves in tests of emotional fragility, and he makes a shocking claim about the Jaws sequels that must only be heard to be believed. Show Notes: -Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs, Koji and Gustav, stolen -The Friday G-File -Kevin Williamson and Jonah talk “doubling down on yeehaw” -BIG IF TRUE: Jaws 2 is good??? -Michael Powell on the insanity at Smith College -Oberlin student mistakes person in blanket for Klansman -A landmine-filled G-File on language -The intentionally meandering G-File from two Fridays ago - “The Murphy Brown thing” -What might a “red meat hat” even look like? -Bill Kristol’s “trial balloon” -“The Irony of Bill Kristol” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fellow Dispatcher Declan Garvey joins Jonah on today’s program, wherein they discuss the parallels between the GOP’s current identity crisis and the last time that Americans witnessed a similar party realignment (the Whigs vs. Jacksonian Democrats). The guys discuss the prospects for a theoretically ascendant third party - “The people I spoke to said, ‘Yeah, I’d be happy to belong to a party that addressed my concerns even if I knew it might lose in the short term,’” says Declan - as well as early 2024 contenders and the validity of the “Red Dog Democrat” theory. Show Notes: -Declan’s page at The Dispatch -“Hey, egghead, sing ‘Fair Harvard!’” -Declan: “Is it Time for the Republican Party to Split Apart?” -Steve Scalise won’t say the election wasn’t stolen -Trump’s attack on Mitch McConnell -Republican loyalty to Trump -Mitt Romney says Trump is already a 2024 frontrunner -Maine and Alaska should watch out for unintended consequences -Bill Kristol: “What About Joe?” -Tim Miller: “The Trade: Meet the New Red Dog Democrats” -Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton propose a minimum wage hike Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we confirm that Dispatch contributing editor Chris Stirewalt has indeed surpassed our gold jacket threshold while engaging in the rankest of punditry. Chris and Jonah discuss how Biden’s “poison pills” (Neera Tanden’s potential confirmation, a dogmatic insistence on a $15 minimum wage policy, et al) are quickly becoming … well, pills, simply put. While the administration continues to add progressive boxes to their checklist, Israel continues to speed ahead with vaccinations and, in the domestic realm, the lingering shadow of Trump still presents obstacles for the GOP. As a bonus, this episode should hopefully make up for the lack of a Ruminant last weekend, as the vocal similarities between Chris and Jonah make the whole thing sound like a gigantic monologue. Show Notes: -Chris’ page at The Dispatch -The WKRP in Cincinnati theme -The status of the U.S. vaccination rollout -Israel’s vaccination strategy -Fauci on normality and masking into 2022 -Jonah argued Biden should run a “return to normalcy” campaign before anyone else -Brad Pascale: Trump would have won with a different approach to COVID -Obama calling Bush “unpatriotic” for adding to the debt -“Out, out, brief candle!” -NYT: Biden should appoint a “reality czar” -Will Chamberlain: “Platform Access is a Civil Right” -Jonah’s college newspaper Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah welcomes Kevin Williamson to discuss their shared status as Americans trapped within the final layer of Dante’s Hell (aka, Texas in the midst of a large-scale winter weather disaster). From the corporatism on display to the “stunning lack of entrepreneurialism” in response to the issues the state is currently facing, to every issue in between - such as the pointless populism being proffered as an explanation for Texas’ woes - this situation is proving to be a microcosm of everything that is dysfunctional in American politics. Who better to walk us through the sociopolitical ramifications of this situation, than two men who are known for their unadulterated joviality? Show Notes: -Kevin’s page at National Review -Kevin’s new book, still in the running for “Greatest Subtitle Ever” - Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the “Real America” -Baksheesh -Jonah v. David on the zombie apocalypse -NYT: “No, Wind Turbines Aren’t the Main Cause of the Texas Blackouts” -“Solar power, when will people learn?” -Rick Perry doubles down on yee-haw -The FairTax movement -Kevin on Satan’s balls -Alex Jones’ lawyers admit he’s an actor -Texas GOP chair Allen West suggests secession -“They’re always eating candy in Shelbyville.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jonah brings The Remnant to you from the ice-wracked void of Austin, Texas. His guest is Stephanie Slade, the managing editor of Reason magazine. Stephanie and Jonah provide some helpful explanations of what the oldest coalition of modern conservatism (i.e. “fusionism”) really is, who its members were, and what its political motivations were. Then, in an instance of “violent agreement,” our two intrepid intellectual explorers refute the idea that this fusionist project is a “dead consensus” or that it necessarily precludes membership from libertarians. Interestingly, Jonah thinks that the tensions within fusionism are strong enough that “it doesn’t make sense as a purely philosophical project,” but Stephanie is confident that American political history indicates that the tension between virtue and freedom is resolved within the fusion of these different branches of conservatism. Show Notes: -Stephanie Slade’s Reason archive -Stephanie: “Is There a Future for Fusionism?” -M. Stanton Evans: The Theme is Freedom -Jonah: “Fusionism Today” -Ramesh Ponnuru: “Fusionists and Fissionists” -Murray Rothbard: “Frank S. Meyer: The Fusionist as Libertarian” -Frank Meyer v. L. Brent Bozell Jr. -Daniel E. Burns: “Liberal Practice v. Liberal Theory” -Donald Devine’s The Enduring Tension: Capitalism and the Moral Order -William James’ “blooming, buzzing confusion” -Post-liberal conservatives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend’s Ruminant, Jonah figures that it is his duty to do what he can to clean the gigantic metaphorical Augean Stable that is Washington D.C. as recompense for missing a G-File. Thus, this is an episode filled with only the rankest of punditry: Grifters abound, both within Congress and in the fundraising and activism apparatchiks of both the right and the left. Not only is it the case that the grift was getting more intense on its own, but impeachment has just made it all the more self-aggrandizing. Listen as Jonah takes aim at the nepotistic relationship between conservative boosters and lobbyists, The Lincoln Project, and Congress itself for consistently living down to Americans’ expectations. Show Notes: -Frigid Austin -The inklings of an Ivanka Trump campaign in Florida against Rubio -Demosclerosis by Jonathan Rauch -Lincoln Project awfulness -The online Roget’s Thesaurus… just in case you are curious -Matt Schlapp and pardon foolishness Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast is for those of us who feel like the state of our political parties makes us want a drink, or at least some reliable recommendations about what we should be drinking. Jonah is joined by AEI colleague Kevin Kosar, who writes on how Congress is failing to do its job - not simply because of populism and polarization, but also because “its smaller numbers of staffers mean that Congress is literally shrinking while the institution is being asked to do more than ever.” They discuss how to fix the backwardness of this system, before moving on to a discussion of Kevin’s true passion (proven by his pedigree as one of the earliest bloggers on the subject): whiskey and other fine spirits. Show Notes: -Kevin Kosar - American Enterprise Institute -Moving Congress into the 21st Century -Congress Overwhelmed -Show horses vs work horses -Kevin on the true use of earmarks -A Time to Build, by Yuval Levin -Jonah’s love of the term “co-equal” -What’s a pager? -Sen. Lamar Alexander’s farewell speech -Bill Barr’s civilized hearing -Floor Charts, doing important work -Whiskey: A Global History -Alcoholreviews.com, continually operating since 1998 -Connemara peated Irish Whiskey -White whiskey, or, uhm, moonshine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Astute listeners may remember Europe’s immigration crisis circa 2015, in which more than 1 million people, many of them refugees, made their way to the continent. Today, Jonah is joined by one of the most informed public intellectuals on the matter, Ayaan Hirsi Ali. In addition to her first-hand account of leaving Somalia for the West, she also comes loded with information from her new book, Prey, which recounts many of the ways in which affected European nations have either struggled or outright failed to assimilate this largely Muslim population. Ayaan admires Jonah’s “chivalry” on these issues, but makes it clear that one of the direct effects of this failure is a continual erosion of women’s rights in countries that are otherwise considered beacons of social progress. Show Notes: -Ayaan Hirsi Ali - The Hoover Institution -The Ayaan Hirsi Ali Podcast -Prey, Ayaan’s new book -Infidel, Ayaan’s first book -China’s Uighur atrocities -Modernization of Turkey under Kemal Ataturk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Go down the rabbit hole of conservative eggheadiness on this weekend’s Ruminant, where Jonah discusses both the validity of “Trumpism” as an ideological construct as well as how that plays with the idea of conservatism as the “negation of an ideology.” Jonah also explains how we are seeing the ratcheting effect of increased government authority take place in real time, why Chris Stirewalt is the greatest, why right wing populism is the worst, and much more. Show Notes: -The Dispatch Podcast with Chris Stirewalt and Jonah -“Expressio Unius Exclusio Alterius” -Crisis and Leviathan by Robert Higgs -Milton Friedman and income tax withholding -This Friday’s G-File -Giuliani: My legacy? F*** it! -Area man loses mind on live television -Kirk: “Conservatism is the negation of ideology” -Jordan Peterson: Reject ideology -Murphy Brown and Dan Quayle -Erewhon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Given the state of… things (imagine us gesturing wildly as we say this) as they currently are, Jonah figured that this might be an apropos time to bring back a popular guest for his second showing: Joseph Uscinski, a political scientist and professor at the University of Miami specializing in how conspiracy theories spread. Buckle up for the discussion of Jewish space lasers, QAnon, Frazzledrip, and much more. They also discuss why the conspiratorial tendency never seems to go away, thanks to its basis in personality type, as well as the fact that “politicians … use [them] as a cudgel to go around accusing their opponents of the worst things possible.” We’re sure you can imagine just what Joe is talking about with that one. Show Notes: -Joseph E Uscinski - University of Miami -Our previous episode with Joseph -Birtherism -Every conspiracy theory promoted by Trump -Conspiracy theories are for losers -9/11 truthers -70 percent of Republicans don’t think the election was free and fair -Eric Voegelin and the roots of conspiracy theories -The God of the gaps -Conspiracy theories and evolutionary psychology -The Koch brothers control everything -Bernie and the rigged economy -Alienated America by Tim Carney -“Frazzledrip”??? -6 percent of Republicans and Democrats believe in QAnon -NYT: Biden should appoint a “reality czar” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to international supply chains, Scott Lincicome’s Five Timer gold jacket is in the mail today as he joins Jonah to discuss a whole panoply of economic trends. Scott and Jonah talk about some of his observations from his posts as a fellow Dispatch-er with his Capitolism newsletter, as well as through his role at Cato where he has just put out a ton of research refuting the too-clever-by-half idea that the government can seize the manufacturing industry for national security reasons. The guys also discuss how COVID has essentially reversed the consumer side of the American economy. (“The pandemic has temporarily converted us into a country that buys goods instead of services”), and they even manage to get in some Hayek (peace be upon him). Show Notes: -“Five Timers Club” -Scott’s newsletter, Capitolism -Democrats trying to push through $15 minimum wage -Tom Sowell on the minimum wage -More from Less by Andrew McAfee -Scott’s latest for Cato -Scott’s take on the ‘deindustrialization’ myth -A rundown on the National Technology Industrial Base -U.S. ventilator overproduction -Sherrod Brown’s “Buy American” push to the Biden administration -Jonah: Thank globalism for COVID response, not nationalism -Jonah, microcosms, and macrocosms -Invisible Wealth by Nick Schulz and Arnold Kling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Ruminant, Jonah explicates the sadly prominent “antisemitism in the gaps” theory of political history on both the left and right, his proud status as an ideologue of the lukewarmist school, and the GOP’s inability to take “yes” for an answer on winning cultural issues against the American left. He also touches on how the GameStop kerfuffle is really just a case where “the market should be left to sort it out,” and how it isn’t some kind of refutation of libertarian economics, in addition to pondering the ways that the virtual world has started to rewire our brains. Show Notes: -This week’s G-File -Iranian conspiracies about the British -“A lukewarmer” -David French: “An ocean of possibility for a reasonable GOP” -Madison Cawthorn’s staff is built around comms, not legislation -A Remnant starter on impeachment -The members-only midweek “news”letter -“Every kiss begins with Kay” -The LeafFilter commercial -Take our podcast survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Saletan of Slate returns to discuss the looming possibility of a political conflict between the Biden administration and the public sector teachers’ unions who nominally support him, the ways in which the pandemic has shifted labor back into the private sphere of the American household, why both parties should be aiming to present themselves as “the ‘not crazy’ party” (and why they both seem to be doing the opposite), and much more. Will also provides a useful thought experiment as to whether or not one is engaging in hypocrisy in political discussions: “Always try to ask, ‘Am I doing the same thing I’m accusing others of?’” Show Notes: -Will’s page at Slate -Will: “The Enemy isn’t Republicans. It’s Liars.” -Biden now wants 1.5 million vaccinations a day -Student suicides in Las Vegas -Will with Charlie Sykes on The Bulwark podcast -Jonah: “The Center is a Lonely Place to Be” -Will: “Trump is the GOP’s warlord” -Lucifer: “The very first radical” -Tucker Carlson goes to bat for QAnon -Newsweek edits 2015 story to conform to new attack on Tom Cotton -Burke and the impeachment of Warren Hastings -Jonah and Tom Friedman: BFFs -Take our podcast survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.B. Stoddard rejoins the show for the three-timer award, as well as to talk, well, politics of all things. What can we expect from Senate Republicans at the start of the new Biden administration. Especially with a vote on whether to convict Donald Trump in the pipeline? We also get some more chronicles in the saga of Mitch McConnell: Machiavellian, principled, or both? And what about the recent flurry of (largely) socially progressive executive orders from the Resolute Desk? Stoddard helps determine what of this recent political news is a signal, and what’s simply noise. Show Notes: -Stoddard at RCP -Stoddard on McConnell -The Hawaii GOP expresses its support for QAnon -Is Jim Jordan about to get more influential? -“The One Where Jonah Calls Matt Gaetz a Steroidal Playmobil Figurine” -Updates on the Patriot Party -Take our podcast survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The days of the 2012 GOP “autopsy” are long behind us. Listen as Jonah ruminates on the struggles of protecting serious conservatism at a time of supreme unreflectiveness among many adherents of the movement as to how it has been led astray. Jonah also expresses his optimism at the revitalized raison d’être of The Dispatch in a post-Trump America. Additionally, Jonah even previews a forthcoming idea that could be of supreme interest to The Remnant’s nerdier factions: “I owe it to readers to do a deep dive… into what Liberal Fascism has to say” about the revanchist populism of the Trumpian right. Show Notes: - Take our podcast survey - This week’s G-File - The minimum wage and eugenics - Why are they calling all of Antifa “Biden voters”? - Hunter Baker’s article - Newt Gingrich, with another asinine thing - “Not my president?” - The Wednesday “news”letter - The Remnant with Mo Elleithee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Jonah and special guest Jack Butler, his former research assistant for the tricentennial episode. It’s the best of both worlds as the program recalls its greatest hits (conspiracies about the Soviets, Bigfoot Erotica, The Episode that Shall Not be Named, and, of course, Jokes at Jack’s expense) while also breaking into new territory. The guys talk about the conflict between college Republicans who got into politics just to be edgy versus the more thoughtful millenials and Zoomers who actually hold convictions, and about how “for the first time in more than four years, conservative politics do not have to flow through the person of Donald Trump.” Show Notes: - Take our podcast survey - Jack’s page at NR - The Remnant with Joseph Uscinski (or, as Jack said in an interesting instance of spoonerism, “Douglas Urbanski”) - Lost Cosmonauts - Werner Herzog being vaguely horrified by Grizzly Man audio - Bigfoot Erotica: Origin Stories - “The Swamp: An affectionate farewell” - The “Uncomfortable Learning” program at Williams College has a strange history - Jack’s profound disappointment with Madison Cawthorn - Jack ponders the possibilities of Amazon’s show in Middle-Earth - Dan McLaughlin on what comes after Trump - Zhou Enlai on the French Revolution: “Toon soon to tell” - Community: Nick Cage, good or bad? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an exercise of “dealing with liberalism’s best arguments,” Jonah plays host to returning guest Mo Elleithee, a Democratic political strategist. They talk about the first day of the Biden administration and many of the coming political realignments. Would Democrats relish the thought of a “Patriot Party” rising up in opposition to the GOP, or would they reel in horror? Are Americans cautiously optimistic about the incoming administration’s “unity” message, and if so, are they right to be? And in a shocking turn of events, every House Democrat must now bow before the Lord Regent of West Virginia, Joe Manchin. Show Notes: -Take our podcast survey -Mo Elleithee - Georgetown University -George W. Bush’s first inaugural address -Trump’s “Patriot Party” -Liz Cheney vs. the House GOP -Chip Roy’s House speech on impeachment -NYT: “Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police” -The January 2021 Civility Poll Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this weekend’s Ruminant, Jonah discusses how the essence of conservatism in all its variety has been distilled down to a single oversimplistic metric: The more one likes Trump, and the more libs one owns, the more conservative one is assumed to be. “If you agree with Donald Trump, you’re a conservative, and if you defend Trump at all costs, you’re a good conservative.” Jonah then talks about how the larger panoply of conservative ideas is not only more interesting, but more practical for achieving realistic goals in our politics. There’s also a healthy smattering of theology, dog-talk, and Buckley stories throughout. Show Notes: - Take our podcast survey - This week’s Remnant with Yuval - This week’s G-File - DeSantis puts his kid in a MAGA onesie - Varieties of Conservatism in America - Varieties of Progressivism in America - Advisory Opinions talks about incitement standards - Pew polls attitudes about election results - This week’s Remnant with Keith Whittington - Last weekend’s Ruminant - Jonah combat’s J. V. Last’s dog-suspicion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, AEI’s Yuval Levin returns, and Jonah asks him something more important than “What happens next?” Rather, they try to think about “What should we do next?” They talk about what Congress’ institutional responsibility is in regards to impeachment. They also discuss the 10 Republican representatives who voted for impeachment (“Look, I’m Jewish: 10 is better than zero.”), and their hopes to move past the historically anomalous character of right wing discourse throughout the Trump years. “This period has just been devoid of policy conversations. … Keeping the left from crushing you is an important goal, but it’s not what matters most.” Show Notes: - Yuval’s most recent book, A Time to Build - Yuval’s quarterly publication, National Affairs - Rich Lowry: “The Crash of the Flight 93 Presidency” - The Good Fight with Yascha Mounk - William James and Charles Peirce’s “Cash value of an idea” - “’Coequal’ is my trigger word” - Federalist No. 10, where Madison discusses democracy vs. republicanism - Robert Putnam, The Upswing - “A Nation of Cowards,” by Jeffrey Snyder Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is to be made of the concerns – practical or philosophical – about a second impeachment of Donald Trump? Keith Whittington of Princeton returns to The Remnant to encourage us not to take such concerns too rigidly. Since, as we got used to hearing, impeachment is a political process and not a legal remedy, the ability to get through an impeachment quickly – say, before January 20 – is “purely a matter of political will.” In addition to digging into some founding-period legal nerdiness (the original Constitution of Virginia says what?), Jonah also asks Whittington about the standards of impeachment, what the process might look like given the specifics of what happened at the Capitol on the January 6, and also asks him to address concerns, such as the idea that an impeachment would be an infringement on Trump’s free speech rights: “There’s a difference between what a private citizen can say and what someone like the president of the United States should say.” Show Notes: - Take our podcast survey - Keith’s most recent book - Jonah’s Los Angeles Times column - “Look at him, he’s wearing a belt!” - Listen to Advisory Opinions, home of latches - David French: The conservative legal movement is actually looking pretty good - Byron York interviews Michael Luttig - The original Virginia Constitution said, “The Governor, when he is out of office, … shall be impeachable by the House of Delegates.” - Einstein’s friend finding a dictatorship loophole - John Turturro as Bernie Bernbaum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Ruminant, Jonah takes care to push through the natural inclination to simply, well, be appalled at this past Wednesday’s “events” on Capitol Hill, and manages to talk about both the lead-up to them and their ramifications. He talks about how the rioters display all of the soul-sickness that conservatives normally only talk about in regard to far-left activists, and that while conservatives are quick to point out the failures to establish genuine communities with positive outcomes in peoples’ lives within progressive politics, “we very rarely say that these are problems for conservatives too.” This week, Jonah also closes with a personal rumination on the most important little platoon of all: the family. Show Notes: -This week’s G-File - Jonah and Brit’s disagreement -Josh Blackman: Can Trump be impeached for incitement? -Ramen Noodle Guy -The Ol’ Number Six -Tucker provides a useless panacea to listeners -Tim Carney: “Trump was something to believe in” -“When God is invisible behind the world, the contents of the world will become new gods” -Alienated America -Bubba McDonald Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As The Remnant kicks back into gear, we figured it would be best to let Jonah make his trek back to D.C. and instead treat you to a secret artifact from a few days after the election. This is a conversation between Jonah and AEI emeritus scholar Charles Murray on the state of libertarianism and liberalism (both of the “small-l” variants) in the aftermath of November 2020. Murray explains why he’s pessimistic, while he and Jonah also extol the virtues of a Madisonian system, and upon reflection, they both relish in being on the right side of the debate that character is indeed destiny in the political realm: “The idea that the United States can continue to be … exceptional without character being a leading principle is ridiculous—it can’t happen.” Show Notes: -Fusionism -John Adams: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” -Eric Voegelin on how lapses into fanaticism occur -Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 -Misreading Adam Smith -Miracle At Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse think about the results of the 2020 election? The answer might come as a surprise: Even though the Democrats took the White House, on balance, Ben thinks the election proves that “We are a center-right nation, and even if people don’t have a philosophical embrace of limited government, [that idea] has a broad, functional embrace.” During this talk—originally part of The Dispatch’s post-election program What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond – Jonah asks Ben about how responsible Americans might stop our national politics from being run by political addicts, as well as asking him what he thinks about the assertion that he went through a “quiet period” in his Trump criticism, and addressing his controversial connections to Big Runza (Nebraska’s finest delicacy™). Show Notes: -“Straight-shooter” Ben Sasse wins re-election -The Hidden Tribes of America -Many Republicans are sure that the election was stolen -Kate McKinnon’s bizarrely accurate Rudy Giuliani -Jonah’s column on Trump loyalism -There’s a horse in the hospital -I Love Lucy’s ratings domination Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we close in on the end of the year, Jonah’s rumination proves to be a pretty sizable roundup of all the news that has been fit to print throughout the week. In addition to discussing attempts to relitigate the series of unfortunate events surrounding Jeffrey Toobin, the inaccuracy of our current Cold War metaphors in regards to China, and the ongoing conflict over wealth inequality, Jonah also finds the time to dip into several classically nerdy topics. Such subjects include the accidental genius of bad Kung Fu movies, how They Live isn’t nearly as Marxist as the academy would have you believe (and the fact that they try to prove that it is “just helps to prove how dumb Marxism is”), and how David French’s taste in films has made Jonah a nihilist. Show Notes: -This week’s G-File -Fatman -Caddyshack … II? -The fight scene in They Live -Kurt Thomas in Gymkata -Jonah: Farce as Tragedy -Adorno: “Thus one no longer learns to close a door softly, discreetly and yet firmly. Those of autos and frigidaires have to be slammed.” -The origin of the “alien visitor” thought experiment -A chin-stroking (so to speak) piece on Jeffrey Toobin -Pleasantville -This week’s Remnant with Matt Continetti -Jonah’s “New Cold War” column -This week’s Remnant with Scott Winship -The success sequence -Remnant Episode 100 with Thomas Sowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AEI Fellow, author, and Washington Free Beacon founder Matt Continetti comes back to the program, and Jonah gets to pick his brain about… well, a ton of different things. From his expectations for the Biden presidency, to the shockingly progressive staff of the incoming administration, to the Georgia runoffs and a critical reappraisal of the neoconservatives’ role in deradicalizing the left, Matt provides deep and nuanced answers to the biggest stories of the day as well as the issues of bigger philosophical significance to conservatives. He and Jonah also dial in on some of the upcoming decisions that those on the right will have to make in the near future – decisions that may define basic points of conservative doctrine for a long time to come: What should be counted as a conservative “win,” either in politics or culture? Is conservatism going to be big-tent or selective in its coalition-building? And what should the conservative position on China be, as it becomes clearer that the nation may have grown into a superpower that shares very few of our values? Show Notes: -Matt’s page at AEI -Obama’s third term - Biden’s campaign manager being… unkind to Republicans -The Remnant with Andy Smarick -“Bobos” -The Polish Beer-Lovers’ Party -The Remnant with Tim Alberta -The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium by Martin Gurri -The Roots of Modern Conservatism by Michael Bowen -The Remnant with Carlos Lozada -What Biden can learn from Nat Glazer -Governing Priorities by AEI -Conservatism has conserved a lot, actually Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah is joined by Scott Winship – the director of Poverty Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and fresh off the heels of his position within Senator Mike Lee’s Social Capital Project. Jonah asks Scott about the persistence of poverty in American society, and what progress has been made both recently and over the long term. Then, they get into why some of the obstacles that have to be removed in order to lift poor people up are more intractable than others. In part, Scott thinks that these difficulties “show how we’re hardwired to think about these problems in economic terms rather than in terms of social bonds,” and that certain data may blind us when searching for the real issues. Show Notes: -Scott’s research at AEI -Richard Burkhauser on poverty in the 60s versus now -The Social Capital Project -Raj Chetty on people doing better than their parents -Mr. Piketty’s big book of Marxiness -Jonah and Peter Beinart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After describing the inner workings of a longstanding lunch among his friends that has become an institution unto itself and envisioning what his ideal “no rules” podcast might be like, Jonah asks the fundamental political question of our moment: What’s the matter with Texas? Jonah talks about how the state’s election lawsuit has released another swathe of intellectual dishonesty among right-wing tastemakers, as well as the “Kraken Caucus'' (or is it the Kraken Kaukus?) more generally, and how the Constitution endorses trial by combat for picking elector slates (well, kind of). This is followed by a rumination on “corruption” in both its classical and modern sense, the updated Hunter Biden story (and the reaction to it), and how imprecise language mars our debates about censorship: “We use ‘censorship’ to mean both a government action as well as the exercise of editorial judgment that we don’t like.” Show Notes: -GLoP: Origin Stories -This week’s Remnant with Reihan Salam -Martin Shkreli, DBOY -This week’s G-File -The Duke brothers -“One in quadrillion” -Burke’s “Speech to the Electors of Bristol” -The Five Thousand Year Leap -Happy Safe Harbor Day Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conservative commentary has managed to find at least one point of withering criticism when it comes to America’s cities. This critique points out that, while cities are the places where unique innovation and exciting things are happening all the time, the local Democratic political machines (and, strangely, their voter base within the city) are constantly trying to zone, regulate, and tax that innovation and excitement out of existence. But here he comes—a knight in shining armor, making a glorious return to The Remnant: Reihan Salam, president of the Manhattan Institute. Reihan talks to Jonah about how conservatives might be able to envision a way out of obstinacy in America’s metropolitan centers, as well as addressing concerns about the GOP’s electoral future in cities, and explaining why politics often take a more radical left-wing form in cities compared to everywhere else in the country. (“Democrats are living in places that are immensely unequal, so arguments around redistribution carry a lot more purchase.”) Show Notes: -Reihan at the Manhattan Institute -Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream -Most—not some—people are low information voters -Jonah: It’s a mistake for the GOP to shun big cities -Fusion voting -The role of think tanks -College-educated Democrats are often more wrong than their co-partisans -Jill Biden wants community college to be free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this edition of The Remnant, Jonah went around the (metaphorical) corner of the (also metaphorical) office and got colleague Sarah Isgur to come on the program for all sorts of legal-beagle nerdery. Sarah explains the constitutional provisions kicking into effect that are helping to slow down the chaos surrounding the November election results, what on earth is going on in Texas, and much more. Classic Remnant wonkery is then balanced out in the latter half of the show, as Jonah and Sarah both share their spiciest takes on The Queen’s Gambit and why it may not live up to the hype. Show Notes: -Sarah’s podcast with David French, Advisory Opinions -Sarah’s newsletter, The Sweep -Texas’ original jurisdiction suits against other states -“The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes” -Centennial Crisis: The Disputed Election of 1876 by William Rehnquist -AEI’s After the People Vote -The “witchcraft” of signature matching -The Bailey Cranberry Separator -Colorable argument -Jonah and Queen’s Gambit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah flies solo once more in a podcast filled with the hottest of takes: Biden’s foot-breaking story is not only totally true – it’s also just kind of lame, weed saved George H.W. Bush’s life, and, most controversially of all, The Walking Dead still has some redeeming qualities. He also discusses why you should take John Bolton’s advice in The Dispatch seriously, and “Eurosclerosis,” the fanciest word of the day. Show Notes: -This week’s G-File -The origins of Biden-Foot-Trutherism -The week’s first Dispatch Podcast -The Remnant with Jonathan Adler -BREAKING: George H.W. Bush owes his life to hemp! Big If True! -If you want… just … a font of wisdom in response to Jonah’s “I-told-you-so” moment, look no further than his Facebook page -This week’s Remnant with Virginia Postrel; that’s the good nerd stuff, right there -John Bolton’s piece for The Dispatch on the future of conservatism -Jonah: “Too many Republicans just use conservatism as a tool” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have another Remnant first-timer on the show this week, as Jonah is joined by old friend, well-traveled military writer, and Marine veteran Bing West. With a discipline that only a Marine could muster, Bing joins the program to talk about his upcoming novel, The Last Platoon: A Novel of the Afghanistan War, which uses Afghanistan as a backdrop to tell the story of men in combat who “do their duty, even when it becomes clear that there will be no reward.” Jonah also probes Bing’s brain about the overall strategic value of the Afghanistan war, the abiding faith of American soldiers in an era of secularism, how to break up the perverse friendship between the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and most important, how a small, tri-fold shovel is sometimes the most valuable piece of equipment a soldier can have. Show Notes: -Pre-order The Last Platoon -Afghani tribal groups and opium production -Bing’s book embedded with Marines in Fallujah -Bing in WSJ: “How to save Kabul from Saigon’s fate” -Sebastian Junger’s Tribe -How counterinsurgency (or COIN) really works -The Dispatch addresses Pompeo’s thoughts on the Taliban turning on al-Qaeda -The Pepper Dogs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Jonah is joined by Virginia Postrel – former editor-in-chief of Reason magazine and author of many of the latter-day holy tomes of libertarianism, such as The Future and Its Enemies – to talk about her new book, The Fabric of Civilization. Virginia and Jonah do a deep dive into several moments in which the changes in textile manufacturing created giant, revolutionary, consciousness-shifting ripple effects regarding how civilizations viewed their relationship to markets and the economy. In particular, Virginia addresses how the un-guilded spinners of Europe were like the Luddites before it was cool, why textile-making would be one of the most laborious processes in the world without advanced technologies, and what made cotton fabric from India so special that “the French treated it much the same as the American government treats cocaine.” At least that kind of wild protectionism confirms a long-held American instinct: Never trust the French. Show Notes: -Virginia’s book, The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World -“Isaiah’s Job” -Our first episode with Matt Ridley (on technical innovation) -Our second episode with Matt Ridley (on more technical innovation) -Virginia at Volokh Conspiracy: The textile industry’s relationship to literacy -The salaries of spinners may be higher than one thinks -The High Sparrow and the Labor Theory of Value -Some bits from “The Bad Polanyi” on ancient Assyria -Virginia talks about Indian cotton prints Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Jonah is joined by Charles C.W. Cooke of National Review. It’s an eclectic mix today, as the duo gets into a good deal of punditry surrounding the Trump campaign’s election challenges and then move onto the future of conservatism (or “conservatarianism” in Charlie’s case) as a whole before tying the whole thing up around the Thanksgiving theme of gratitude. As a freshly minted American living through a relatively chaotic period in our politics, what is Cooke grateful for when it comes to the U.S.? During this holiday season, Jonah thinks we might all do well to be grateful for the fact that “we still live in a country where following politics is essentially a hobby … and isn’t a matter of survival.” Show Notes: -Charlie’s main podcasting gig -Charlie’s, uh, other main podcasting gig -Florida man saves puppy from alligator -National Review and the John Birchers -The Conservatarian Manifesto -Max Boot: America’s A-Team -Randoph Bourne: “The State” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After filing a more-spirited-than-average G-File, Jonah joins us for the weekend Ruminant. Today, he talks about how certain individuals associated with Trump seem determined to end their careers in ignominy, as well as discussing many other phenomena, such as America’s oversaturation of elites, the necessity of reading people with whom you disagree, the inadequacy of applying the left-right spectrum to American politics, what the possible consolidation of fringe-right news stations might look like, and how genuine post-Trump conservatism “is almost, in certain way, the same as [if it was] pre-Trump.” And, of course, the most exciting news in Jonah’s world right now? How a calmer political environment means that he can write about more interesting stuff. Show Notes: -This week’s G-File -Tucker Carlson almost closes the circle, but doesn’t make it quite there -The entire Dispatch team descends on the Cuomo Emmy news -The “Iron Law of Oligarchy” -The midweek “news”letter -A legendary piece of Goldbergian hagiography – Gargoyles: Guardians of the Gate -The quotable Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah’s return to The Remnant features a guest with “The most important hair in public policy,” Ryan Streeter from AEI. While Ryan’s magnificent mane isn't captured in the final product, his spot-on analysis of the causes of American stagnation (and what we can do to get out of it) certainly are. Why is fulfilling work so hard to find for a great many Americans? Which of the structures meant to stand between the individual and the government do our current policy regimes totally fail to support? Are all politicians really just heartless hacks? And what factors are the advocates of working-class Republicanism forgetting when they envision the future of the party? Lucky for us, Ryan thinks about this kind of thing for a living, and therefore has more revealing answers than you may find anywhere else. Show Notes: -Ryan’s page at AEI -Imagine Blue Steel from Zoolander, but it’s Ryan’s hair -Longstanding anti-“poaching” measures within fast food companies -AEI’s research into civil society and volunteerism -To Empower People: The Role of Mediating Structures in Public Policy -Rubio and the supposed face-heel turn of “market fundamentalism” -Ryan called some of America’s restlessness back in 2011 -The UCLA loneliness scale -Ben Carson, doing actual interesting things while no one pays attention Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah the Globetrotter has once again scattered to the four winds, temporarily leaving The Remnant once more in the capable hands of David French. Today, David speaks with his good friend Yascha Mounk, contributor to The Atlantic and founder of Persuasion. Mounk talks us through the current conditions within mainstream media outlets and how those institutions have the opportunity to lower the temperature of American discourse now that Trump is leaving office. David also talks about how a Biden administration might be expected to behave, and Yascha mentions that much of the conventional wisdom about the presidential election results are not only misguided, but that they often “underestimate the intelligence of the American people.” Show Notes: -David’s newsletter, The French Press -Yascha’s new publication, Persuasion -David Shor’s 2020 postmortem -The earliest mention of “nutpicking” that the Remnant crew could find -Jonathan Haidt’s Heterodox Academy -“Beirut on the Charles” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s Ruminant sees Jonah reach his final form, as he begins with post-election punditry before seamlessly transitioning into a brand of deep-cut, Grade A political-nerd eggheadery the likes of which are rarely seen even on this vaunted podcast. Listen as Jonah effortlessly bounces in a positively pinball-esque manner between Whittaker Chambers, Orwell, AOC, Joe Manchin, James Burham, Cicero, and obscure Italian Communist Party intellectuals, in a display that will both amaze and delight. Show Notes: -This week’s Wednesday “news”letter -The genuine Friday G-File for this week -“Second Thoughts on James Burnham” -The Beaconsfield Position -This week’s Remnant with Kevin Williamson -Jonah’s column on Joe Manchin -“That bit from Cicero” -Jim Geraghty: “Trump was not stabbed in the back” -The Bureaucratisation of the World by Bruno Rizzi -Charles Murray’s By the People: Rebuilding Liberty Without Permission Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s program, Jonah chats with an old friend who will definitely NOT polarize the Remnant audience whatsoever (If we wish hard enough then it has to come true, right?): National Review’s Kevin Williamson. Williamson is out with a new book, Big White Ghetto. Jonah sets up Kevin for a heaping helping of rank punditry to start things off before moving into some book-talk and some eggheadery. In addition to Jonah’s efforts to make Kevin explicate his self-described political ideology (“anarcho-capitalist Eisenhower libertarian”), the two also discuss the ways in which America’s titular big white ghetto actually, well, became a ghetto, and what the solutions might be for the people who feel trapped in struggling communities. In Kevin’s mind, part of the issue is that no one in politics is comfortable saying something that is obviously true: “Cities and towns disaggregate and disincorporate over time, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. But this is also why I’m not running for office.” Show Notes: -Kevin’s new book, definitely in the running for “Greatest Subtitle Ever” – Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the “Real America” -Karl Rove: This election won’t be overturned -Gangsters don’t have a retirement plan -Conrad Black’s column -Dee Dee Myers appearing generally confused -Jonah’s piece on Republicans and cities -Kevin, reporting from Eastern Kentucky -The most recent Dispatch Podcast -Eisenhower’s response to the prospect of dropping nukes on Dien Bien Phu -The glories of Taco Villa -The Remnant with John McWhorter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Before Times, when we’d all walk around bookstores putting our dangerously diseased digits on various tomes without a care in the world, did you notice a recurring phenomenon? It’s been the case for the past few years that the nonfiction sections of any major bookstore are filled with a glut of “Trump era” books – either memoirs from officials, books attempting to psychologize the man himself, or vaguely rant-y polemics that are big on rhetoric but light on substance. What if, hypothetically, you wanted to torture yourself by entering a purgatory-like state in which you read around 150 of those things? That’s what Carlos Lozada – book critic for the Washington Post – did so that you don’t have to. Today, Jonah speaks with Lozada about how he was able to synthesize the “Trump canon” into a set of identifiable narratives about this moment in American politics, eventually resulting in his own new book, What Were We Thinking: A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era. Show Notes: -Carlos’ book, What Were We Thinking -Jonah on The Greening of America: “Stupendously awful” -Miles Taylor, “senior administration official”? -“LODESTAR!” -The largely unread followup to Fire and Fury -Don McGahn’s crazy 2 years in the administration -Carlos reviews Michael Cohen’s bizarre book -Solzhenitsyn in prison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this weekend’s Ruminant, Jonah asks why we have to make American politics even more difficult than they already are. Why is it that, in an election that reveals Americans’ contested preferences so obviously, that we have to continue to turn up the heat by piling on additional conspiracy theories about the rigging of the election? Maybe, as Jonah thinks, this simply reveals a series of “deeply unpatriotic commitments” among our political and commentariat classes. He makes his way to greener pastures by talking about our glorious canine companions, and by addressing some of the supposedly highfalutin concerns of those on the right looking to out-think the market in our populist moment. Show Notes: -Get tickets to The Dispatch’s event, “What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond” -Chris Stirewalt, rightfully serene as always -Gingrich: "You Are Watching An Effort To Steal The Presidency Of The United States" - The Remnant with Razib -The Remnant with Jim Geraghty -Hayek’s “The Use of Knowledge in Society” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a moment where punditry can feel relatively grim – mostly due to the feeling of instability resulting from this endless election – Jonah wanted to have on someone who was capable of a different variety of punditry. Who fits the bill better for a political commentary of “pluckish optimism” than National Review’s Jim Geraghty, who displayed his infinite humility by choosing not to wear his brand new “Remnant 10-Timer” Championship Belt on the Zoom call? Jim gives his analysis regarding many of the questions that will remain for conservatives after the election is decided: Whither goes the GOP? (A “multi-ethnic, working class, populist party?) What is the correct story to tell about Latino voters and Trump? (And why is the mainstream media adopting the most racist interpretation of this situation rather than the most accurate?) And, most importantly, is Mar-a-Lago Trump’s Elba, or his St. Helena? Show Notes: -National ReviewJim’s page at -Josh Hawley’s retweet of Adrian Vermeule -“Two moon parties” -Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row AmericaChris Arnade’s -William Rusher, who often said that politicians will always disappoint you -Wednesday’s “news”letter -McConnell and Biden are, like, basically friends, guys Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this momentous day, in which the very nature of American politics may be defined anew for the foreseeable future, Jonah wanted to have on Razib Khan, director of science at Insitome, to talk about the most relevant, up-to-the-minute, topical subject so that, in this consciousness-shifting moment, we may be able to hold on for dear life and come up with a coherent worldview amidst the chaos. That subject, you ask? Dog genetics. How did Man’s Best Friend become such a highly variegated species – some big, some small, some smart, others dumb, and on and on with countless other variables? Razib fills us in on the state of research into canine development over the last 10,000 years, why the regional variations between lineages of dog are so distinct, and how the new frontiers of this genetic research seek to address “how these animals became what they are, and how they evolved alongside humans in response to environmental pressures.” We also get to hear Razib voice what may be the most controversial statement of our political era: “Wolves are smarter than dogs.” Tune in to hear Razib defend this heretical stance. Show Notes: -Razib’s freshly-minted newsletter -Get tickets for The Dispatch’s event, “What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond” -Razib in Quillette: “The Evolutionary History of Man’s Best Friend” -The Remnant with Cass Sunstein -Eusocial animals -The Invaders: How Humans and Their Dogs Drove the Neanderthals to Extinction -Przewalski’s Horse -Origins and genetic legacy of prehistoric dogs -NYT Science writeup of the magazine article -Ancestry’s German-turned-Irish guy -Border Collie intelligence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seeing that there’s literally one story in the news right now (AN ELECTION IS HAPPENING SOON), Jonah decided to use his time on this weekend’s Ruminant to touch on some topics adjacent to the election, but also to incorporate some more evergreen topics into the mix. For example, there’s a discussion of the eternal return of the “get money out of politics” argument – and why Jonah thinks the argument is pointless in a world where the biggest benefit a candidate can get is a hysterical cycle of earned media – an unpopular defense of the slow, ungraceful politics of Mitch McConnell, equally unpopular opinions (at least in some quarters of the right) on the Biden scandal, and most importantly, why “your meatloaf is, like, 5,000 years old.” Show Notes: -Get tickets to The Dispatch’s post-election event, “What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond” -This week’s G-File -The Chronicles of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg -Charles Cook: Don’t expect a contested election -The Wednesday “news”letter from this week -“I’m not a witch, I’m you!” -McConnell’s 1998 opinion on campaign finance reform -How Innovation Works, by Matt Ridley -It’s a mistake for Republicans to leave cities out of their coalition -A forum of Europeans talking about how their ghettos are in the suburbs -Ten Global TrendsJonah’s column, inspired by -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant to get 3 months free off a year-long plan -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty to listen to Andrew McCarthy on the latest episode of We the People Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today two-thirds of the GLoP Culture podcast are together (a veritable biumvirate, one could say) to keep you up to date with some pre-election punditry while also distracting you just enough with pop culture news to prevent a sense of total crushing morosity. John Podhoretz of Commentary magazine joins Jonah to discuss the realities of Jewish political life in America, and to level with us about how realistic the chances of an upset are in the coming election. Then, John – with his It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia-style cork board at hand, interconnected strings and all – walks a perplexed Jonah through the evermore-confusing details of the Hunter Biden scandal, who seems to have done what, and what parts of the whole mess you should even care about. Then, in addition to a lightning round of pop culture questions, the guys also discuss their NYC-nostalgia, and their oddly specific memories for local television commercials from their childhood. While all of those lines seem cheesy now, John points out that “Maybe there’s something to be said for them, as it’s been nearly 60 years and I remember every word.” Show Notes: - Get your tickets to The Dispatch’s post-election event, “What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond” - Commentary, the 75-year old monthly of intellectual analysis and political probity… you know the rest - John on the possibility of Jewish conservatism - The surge of American anti-Semitic violence - “Timmy’s my Jewish friend” - “Don’t cross the street in the middle of the block” -The oddly sensual Carvel ice cream commercial -New Yorker The giant excerpt of Obama’s memoir - CommentaryIrving Kristol on McCarthyism in -Tucker loses his mail Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could Bigfoot Erotica influence the election? Fan-favorite Chris Stirewalt of Fox News says, “It’s a possibility.” (BIG IF TRUE) No, but really, Jonah wanted to have Chris back on The Remnant to cut through the vast amount of statistical noise being generated in the run-up to the election. With some polls suggesting a Biden landslide, other polls predicting a closer-than-expected outcome, and yet still more organizations suggesting a legion of silent-assassin-Republicans, waiting in the wings to shock the pollsters once again, Stirewalt clarifies these contradictory auguries with a brevity and hilarity rarely found in the mucky world of punditry. While the haruspicy might make for a very unhygienic office space, Stirewalt gets the job done, and that’s why we trust his expertise. Show Notes: -Get tickets to The Dispatch’s post-election event, “What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond” -Follow Chris’s work at Fox News -Vote SMOD 2020 -Muhlenberg College’s state polling for PA -John Zogby -Paul, proud octopus and FIFA Diviner -Ron Johnson’s business background -The Partisan Vote Index -Perino & Stirewalt: I’ll Tell You What -Harrys.com/DINGO to receive a Harry’s Trial Set -TommyJohn.com/REMNANT to save 15% on your first order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices