The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

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

At the end of an especially busy week in pundit-world, Jonah sits down with us all to ruminate on some of the more noteworthy topics that may have flown by too quickly to actually wrap one’s brain around them. On the docket: The final debate, some useful counter-programming on the Biden email hullabaloo, getting (erm…) a “grip” on Jeffrey Toobin, and much more. Plus, Jonah has some more evergreen thoughts on the gradual defining down of conservatism, and what the G-File has meant to him after all these years. Show Notes: -Get tickets to The Dispatch’s post-election event – What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond -The Dispatch’s final debate wrap-up -Star Trek: “Patterns of Force” -This week’s G-File -The “MacronLeaks” -The Editors podcast talking about the Biden email scandal -The members-only (so to speak) Midweek Epistle -Lucy.co, use promo code DINGO to get 20% off of all products -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant for 3 months free with a 1-year plan -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty to subscribe to We the People Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last time Tim Alberta, Politico’s chief political correspondent, was on the program, life in America was crazy, but in a typical, everyday, post-2016 kind of way. We figured that it was time to have him back now that we’re in the process of rushing towards a new form of crazy at Spaceballs-levels of ludicrous speed (“They’ve gone plaid!”). Tim takes us through some of the issues that voters in purple states actually seem to care about (Hint: The Hunter Biden drama isn’t one of them) while also touching on the confusing lack of a substantive foreign policy debate in this election cycle, the simpler times of the Christmas Tree tax and the Dubai ports deal, and the shocking value-add provided to one’s life by the purchase of an Arby’s gyro. Show Notes: -Get tickets for The Dispatch’s “What’s Next” event -PoliticoTim’s page at -American CarnageTim’s most recent book, -Matt Glassman talks about the lack of a foreign policy discussion -The Christmas Tree tax -Jonah on the 2006 Dubai ports deal -Congress slowly spending more time on memes -Matt Gaetz’s raiding party -KittyPooClub.com, enter promo code DINGO for 20% off your first order -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty to watch the latest episode of We The People with Justin Danhof Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Co-founder of Echelon Insights, Golden Retriever companion, and professional Tea Leaf-Reader Kristen Soltis Anderson breaks a long hiatus from Remnant appearances by returning to the show today. As conventional wisdom on the right settles into the idea that “the polls were wrong in 2016,” Kristen gives us a bit of a reality check on why the conditions in 2020 aren’t that simple. She also talks about her newest research on the attitudes of young voters, with some surprising results. For one, young people aren’t nearly as pessimistic as you may have been led to believe: “Two-thirds of Gen Z and Millenials believe that they can achieve the American Dream … through their own actions.” Show Notes: -Sign up for The Dispatch’s “What’s Next” event -Kristen’s latest research for the Walton Family Foundation - KSA’s Twitter thread on how emotion continues to infiltrate election analysis -FiveThirtyEight’s politics podcast -Pew: Younger people remained far less likely to [view the Vietnam War as a mistake] than those age 50 and older. -Grand New Party, by Reihan Salam and Ross Douthat -Try ZipRecruiter for free at ZipRecruiter.com/Dingo -DonorsTrust.org/Dingo to receive a free copy of “6 Reasons to Use a Donor-Advised Fund” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend’s Ruminant sees Jonah starting off in some classic Remnant Bingo™, but peppered in with a healthy dose of interesting new information on those topics – in this case, anti-Enlightenment nationalism, and the establishment of fair rules under classically liberal societies. This comes along in addition to a rundown of the ham-fisted efforts by many outlets to pretend that “originalism” is actually something much more radical and antediluvian than it really is. Then, Jonah moves on to a topic that our culture could desperately use some clarification on: “Justice” and “social justice” are two different things – and “bending the will of every institution towards social justice … is how you end up with a kind of soft totalitarianism.” And, in this particularly relaxed-fit episode, we even get some rank punditry on the tail end on subjects like the censored New York Post story and much more. Show Notes: -The Dispatch’s “What’s Next”Get your tickets now to event -The most recent G-File -Against Empathy by Paul Bloom -Mazie Hirono being weird -Making fun of originalism to own the cons -Live Not by LiesRod Dreher’s new book, -Morning Joe Rod responds to his appearance -Post The story in question -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant to get three months free off of a year-long plan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here we are, in the wreckage of another simply wonderful Supreme Court confirmation hearing; who better to discuss the aftermath, next steps, and what these hearings do to the court than Ilya Shapiro? As Jonah says, Ilya is likely “the guest most consistently asked to make a comeback - mostly by the guest himself,” but it’s easy to see why. In addition to giving the 411 on why these hearings have transformed into so much “senatorial bloviation,” he also can talk about the bigger picture as a result of the research he did for his incredibly timely new book on the politicization of SCOTUS. It has been a long time coming for this return - and much like Ulysses’ journey back from Troy, it was worth the wait. Show Notes: -Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest CourtIlya’s book, - Ilya in USA Today: End confirmation hearings -Telefon, mind control scene -Pete Buttigieg’s 5-5-5 Plan -Barrett: Roe is not a super-precedent -Barrett’s article on precedent -Ginsburg’s history with Roe -The history of an internecine fight on the right about judicial activism -Ilya Shapiro on “Team Liberty” - Shapiro on Shapiro -Lucy.co, promo code DINGO for 20% off all products -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty to hear Trent England on the Electoral College Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we bring you Will Saletan of Slate – after having struggled mightily against the malevolent whims of technology in order to get it ready. Not since Episode 11 has an installment of The Remnant so risked the sanity – nay, the very essence – of all participants involved. Luckily, the conversation more than makes up for these struggles. Jonah asks Will what it’s like to be a genuinely liberal guy in an industry space that has moved largely past actual liberalism, and then Will turns the tables on Jonah and asks him what it’s like to be genuinely conservative in an era of dwindling conservatism. Afterwards, stick around for SCOTUS punditry and what could be described as a worrying amount of Hegel-talk (for awareness: a worrying amount of Hegel-talk is any Hegel-talk). Show Notes: -SlateWill’s page at -New River Media -Dallas retcons itself -Candidate Trump reacts to the crowd while announcing travel ban -“The 5-5-5 Plan” -“What I Learned From Amy Coney Barrett,” by Laura Wolk -Fukuyama’s piece on social capital -LiquidIV.com, use promo code DINGO at checkout for 25% off anything you order -Keeps.com/Dingo to receive your first month of treatment for free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TO OUR FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD! Not seniors this time around, but Remnant listeners, that is. Jonah returns to ruminate with some fire in his belly this week – on the wasting of energy on Twitter, the bizarre phenomenon of the mainstream-media respectable conservative, court packing, The Worst President in History™, a revisiting of the weed conversation from the last Remnant, and more. Also, the quote of the day – or maybe the month, or the year – might be this: “The very essence of serious thinking … is the ability to make distinctions between superficially similar things.” Show Notes: -G-FileThis week’s -Steve Schmidt picks a pointless fight with Matt Lewis and Noah Rothman -“Respectable Conservatives” -Brian Morgenstern invokes HIPAA rights when talking about Trump’s negative COVID test -“A switch in time saves nine” -“Heil Woodrow,” something of a self-own in review form -“TO MY FAVORITE PEOPLE!” -Remnant This week’s with Jonathan Adler -Star TrekIn case you also wanted to get addicted to a -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty to subscribe to We the People and listen to Frederick Hess on education policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remnant first-timer Jonathan Adler joins Jonah today, not to watch Cheech and Chong over a bag of Doritos, but to talk about the politics of marijuana. Earlier in the year (right around the time that the world was ending, actually), Adler edited a volume entitled Marijuana Federalism, which explored the legal contradictions within the laws regarding cannabis in the U.S.; the situation is somewhat unprecedented, in that we now have a substance that is a federal crime to possess, while many states have had such an overwhelming turn in public opinion that this same substance has now become perfectly legal within their own jurisdiction. How do individual states get away with this without the feds swooping in? The amusing answer is something like: Eh, turns out that the feds are pretty understaffed. Jonah then moves on to his role - well-known among the Remnant fan base - as Inquisitor of Libertarians, figuring out how Adler feels about total drug legalization. He gives one of the most grounded and logical responses to this inquisition we’ve ever heard on the program, continually emphasizing the fundamental fact of American federalism: “The freedom to live how you want to live also includes the freedom to live conservatively.” This brings the two gents down the avenues of nationalism, post-liberalism, and the hope for a return to localism, all wrapped up with a bow of “420” puns that Jonah just can’t help but put to good use. Show Notes: -Marijuana Federalism: Uncle Sam and Mary Jane -The origin of “laboratories of democracy” -Vitamin E Acetate as the root cause of many vaping illnesses -Libertarianism: A Primer -The Office, a dinosaur in internet years, is Netflix’s most popular show -For the uninitiated, the fusionist’s Bible -Acton.org/Dingo to subscribe to the Acton Line podcast -Gabi.com/Remnant to stop overpaying on your insurance today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the first six days of October 2020 have felt like 87 years, who’s better to sift through everything that has happened than one of The Dispatch’s own quadrumvirate of podcasters, Steve Hayes? Here to give Jonah the inside scoop on some of the background reporting he’s done for The Morning Dispatch, Steve has some ideas about how Trump’s overly-cinematic return to the White House could’ve been handled better, why there was a communication breakdown between Trump’s medical staff and his PR people, and, most mysteriously, what on God’s green earth Mark Meadows has been trying to do for the past few days. Beyond these more Machiavellian machinations, they also delve into some of the downright silliness that’s gone on – such as the new pessimism that anything can even be done to stop COVID, since it’s a contagious disease (the stamping out of which has characterized (“Uh… literally the entire history of human civilization,” in Jonah’s words). They also give an update on the State of The Dispatch, and ponder what their place in the conservative media landscape may look like in a post-Trump era – whether that’s sooner or later. Show Notes: -The Dispatch30-day trial at , ends Thursday Oct. 8th at midnight -The Morning Dispatch -Watch as Sean Conley awkwardly flails -A history of the administration’s bipolar relationship with Fauci -“Why do we actually think we can stop the progression of a contagious disease?” – A thing unironically said by an elected official -Mike Pence’s confessional piece on his negative campaign in Indiana -The Joe Biden agenda -The Dispatch’s opening manifesto -DonorsTrust.org/Dingo to receive “6 Reasons to Use a Donor-Advised Fund” -Go to CaucusRoom.com to experience a social network by and for conservatives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend’s Ruminant features Jonah running through a set of possible scenarios that might play out given President Trump’s COVID diagnosis – if we do say so ourselves, it’s a positively David French-like methodology given the approach to David’s new book (Out now!). Will Trump be able to do a Zoom debate? Will Mike Pence have the opportunity to do more than he currently does (which, as of now, seems to be standing completely still in a pensive silence like a sculpture of a Roman general)? Then, Jonah discusses the current partisan tendency for “both the right and the left [to] weaponized norms,” chastising opponents for hypocrisy while refusing to adopt responsibility for their own flubs that damage the constitutional order. He explores the ways in which this manifests in both the nationalism debates as well as the current SCOTUS mess, and how the more intellectually serious proponents of nationalism can’t seem to decide whether they actually like to play by the rules or make things up as they go. All of this is followed up by a veritable potpourri of quick hits: Inside baseball on how syndicated column publishing works, how dumb the tax code is, steaks, dogma, and more. Show Notes: -The Dispatch30-day trial at -This week’s G-File -Just in case you were wondering about how the Swiss executive branch works, since it comes up here rather often -Trump’s battleground state polls are… not great -Dispatch Podcast The on the debate -“Facts have a liberal bias” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In true Remnant fashion, Jonah speaks to Seth Masket – a political scientist at the University of Denver – in an attempt to understand why so few people in American life actually get what they want out of their vote. In Seth’s new book, Learning from Loss, he traces the Democratic Party’s inability to come up with a coherent “autopsy” post-2016 as Republicans did post-2012 (which is not to say that the GOP actually followed its own advice; we wouldn’t have Trump if it did). There’s some debate punditry at the beginning, before Seth and Jonah swiftly move into the explanations that Democratic organizers and activists have developed for why Clinton lost to Trump. The primary explanations often focus on a contentious topic: identity politics. As Seth says, “Doing this research helped to remind me that all identity claims are essentially a construction,” but for something so artificial, they have a very outsized effect on our politics. While Seth and Jonah effectively take opposite sides on this issue, they generate much more light than heat, while also arriving at an answer to the fundamentally important question in 2020: For a party so concerned with diversity, how is it that the Dems ended up nominating a septuagenarian white guy? Show Notes: -The Dispatch30-day trial at -Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020Seth’s new book, -White liberals have moved farther to the left -Overdetermined phenomena -Weather’s effect on elections -The RNC’s 2012 “autopsy” -The invisible primary -The Party Decides -White Identity PoliticsAshley Jardina’s -Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop -DrinkHydrant.com/Dingo for 25% off your first order -Acton.org/Dingo to subscribe to the Acton Line podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Jonah on today’s episode of The Remnant with our first-time guest: CBS’s John Dickerson. The subjects included in John’s latest book, The Hardest Job in the World, will allow you to get a fix of incredible nerdiness about presidential history in equal proportion to your daily recommended dosage of rank punditry. Why is it that we’ve made the presidency, in John’s words “essentially an impossible job”? Another shock: Many of the parts of presidential decorum that we consider par for the course are actually pretty ahistorical, and John makes the case that this weird, patristic view of the presidency in which the Executive has to appear in person at every important going-on throughout the country actually erodes some of the prudential, quiet, considered principles meant to undergird the job. Oh, and there’s some mutual Wilson-bashing in store as well, which is always a bonus. Show Notes: -The Hardest Job in the World: The American PresidencyJohn’s book, -Franklin’s final speech at the Constitutional Convention -Theodore Roosevelt and “scientific management” -FDR flying into Chicago to accept the nomination in person -Book of VirtuesBill Bennett’s -Ancestry.com/Remnant to discover your story -Harrys.com/Dingo to receive your free trial offer today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah’s longtime friend Tevi Troy makes his second appearance on the program, this time to discuss not only the history of presidential debates, but also to share some info on how the sausage gets made from his time doing debate prep for George W. Bush. Beyond simply recounting some of the best zingers in the history of these debates (“The youth and inexperience of my opponent…” “You’re no Jack Kennedy.”), they discuss the degree to which these moments are actually staged, and how the pretzel-like overcomplicated logic of certain debate preppers actually contribute to their candidate looking pretty silly on national TV. Keeping this history in mind, Tevi also talks about what he’ll be looking for in the upcoming debates (both campaigns should be taking notes, honestly), and happily discovers that he has reached “Vin Cannato Equilibrium” in the canon of the REU (Remnant Extended Universe). Show Notes: -The Dispatch30-day free trial at -Fight HouseTevi’s latest book, -George H. W. Bush looks at his watch -“Conservatism as a Second Language” -Intra-American migration due to COVID -Quayle/Gore debate highlight -Bush headchecks Gore -Biden decides to be, uh, pugilistic towards Paul Ryan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fellow Dispatcher David French returns to the program on the publishing date of his new book, Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. If you’ve looked around at American politics over the last few years, and you’ve started to view the coastal states and the middle of the country as a bickering couple – wondering, “Why don’t they just break up already? – David’s book is for you. Jonah asks David to outline some of the scenarios by which a fracturing of the republic could happen, and works through the ways that America’s spirit could be successfully restored – all while avoiding an Articles of Confederation-style mess in which the country’s regions become too individually weak to do anything. Join for this enlightening discussion, and stick around until the end for characteristic rankness on Tenet, Amazon’s The Boys, and the mighty Dune. Show Notes: -Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our NationDavid’s book, -Don’t forget to take advantage of our 30 day free trial of The Dispatch -Jonah’s piece on Supreme Court deal-making -David’s piece on the same topic -Cass Sunstein: “The Law of Group Polarization” -Is Barack Obama the Messiah? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just as there are different Enlightenments, there are different nationalisms, too. In both cases, it’s important to see what points they all converge on. On this edition of the Ruminant, Jonah walks through the ways in which we’ve seen this all before – even in spite of how strange this moment feels. Confucius says: “Enjoy your weekend!” Show Notes: -The Dispatch30-day free trial at -The latest G-File -Rectification of the Names -Divided We FallDavid’s soon-to-be-out book, -HumanProgress.org -Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know: And Many Others You Will Find Interesting -Brazil’s direct democracy -Address to the German NationFichte’s Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We need to agree that the Senate doesn’t work,” Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse tells Jonah on today’s episode of The Remnant. “The Founders had this great idea that you separate power vertically and horizontally if you believe in universal human dignity, and the Senate is kind of the most unique single institution that the Founders created in the Constitution.” Sasse’s appearance comes on the heels of his Wall Street Journal op-ed, in which he calls for modified Senate term limits, repealing the 17th Amendment, and cutting the C-SPAN cameras to improve debate on the Senate floor. “The cameras change the dynamic in the room because people don’t ask real questions if they’re instead trolling for a sound bite that they can hope goes viral,” Sasse explains. What’s worse, senators use the C-SPAN camera rules to trick their constituents into thinking they’re debating their colleagues when they’re not. “They regularly do this, hand gesturing to the senator right next to them that they’re supposedly rebutting, but the rules in the Senate require the C-SPAN cameras to be cropped right around their head and shoulders, so you don’t know as a viewer that there’s no one there in the Senate.” After railing against the senatorial political posturing that’s poisoning our parliamentary system, Sasse and Jonah discuss the filibuster, clickbait journalism, and the dangers of perceiving politics as religion. Learn alongside Jonah, and stick around to the end to hear Sasse school his colleagues in real time. Show Notes: -The Dispatch30-day trial at , Sasse’s article: “Make the Senate Great Again,” In celebration of Brian Lamb, what Sasse means by “agglomeration economy,” and Sasse’s opening remarks at the Kavanaugh hearing. -LiquidIV.com, use promo code “DINGO” at checkout for 25% off and ExpressVPN.com/Remnant for three months off a year-long subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let the waves of optimism wash over you as return-guests Ron Bailey (Reason) and Marian Tupy (Cato Institute) join forces as Jonah’s tour guides through the last several centuries of human progress. Listen to the first half to hear why there is actual good news about the human condition – even during a pandemic – and stick around in the second half for a satisfying helping of philosophical eggheadery on education, personal liberty, and the logic of nonviolent protest. Show Notes: -The DispatchTry a 30-day trial membership for -Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know: And Many Others You Will Find Interesting -Marian’s project, HumanProgress.org -ReasonRon’s page at -Jason Hickel refutes the World Bank’s measurement of extreme poverty -Julian Simon’s bet with Paul Ehrlich -Malthus, the original Thanos -Famines rarely happen in democratic countries with a free press -China’s Social Credit System -University of Edinburgh set to remove David Hume’s name from building -Jonah: Irradiating the Past -DonorsTrust.org/Dingo to get a free copy of “6 Reasons to Use a Donor-Advised Fund” -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant for an extra 3 months free with 12-month plan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when you make a pundit talk about Antifa, the Dune trailer, the Republic of Venice, and 60s Iron Man cartoons all in one go? Tune in to the weekend Ruminant to find out! Show Notes: -The DispatchStart a 30-day free trial of -Jonah’s Wednesday G-File, un-paywalled due to popular demand -RemnantThis week’s second , with Andy Ferguson -Basically what Jonah means by “A Shoshana point.” -Dune The little-known miniseries -Iron Man The bizarre theme song to the 60s cartoon -Neo-barbarism abounds -Federalist no. 39, the one that talks about Venice -Denis Dutton’s bad writing contest -Keeps.com/Dingo to get your first month of treatment for free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew Ferguson’s follow-up appearance on The Remnant has been a long time coming, and you can tell; he and Jonah are filled with plenty of wisdom on the state of modern journalism, what the conservative media landscape used to be like, and how to not go completely hollow while keeping up with the news cycle. Show Notes: -30-day free trial of The Dispatch -The AtlanticAndy’s page at -Bob Dole: “I’m not bound by the platform. I probably agree with most everything in it, but I haven’t read it.” -Jonah: The center is a lonely place to be -“The New Journalism” -All Too HumanGeorge Stephanopoulos’ -Donald Rumsfeld releases transcript of Woodward interview -“Springtime for Introverts”: Andy’s piece that was true… for a while -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant for an extra 3 months on a year-long plan -Gabi.com/Remnant to stop overpaying on your insurance now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fresh off the heels of his new manifesto (not of the communist variety, though), Iain Murray, CEI senior fellow, joins Jonah on The Remnant to discuss The Socialist Temptation: what it is, who it hits hardest, why socialism isn’t really even an economic theory, and what to do about it. Show Notes: -The Socialist TemptationIain’s new book, -BBC’s generously donated show sets, to spruce up your Zoom background -Iain refuting Thomas Piketty -Josh Muravchik’s “Theories of the New Class” -“Socialism is the name of our desire” -Corporatism and Comparative Politics: The Other Great “Ism” -Ten Thousand Commandments 2020 -Violence and Social OrdersNorth’s -#NationalizeMySpace -Reagan’s speech at Hillsdale in the 70s -Jonah at the Oxford Union -“Socialism is so hot right now” -DonorsTrust.org/Dingo for access to “6 Reasons to Use a Donor-Advised Fund” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who actually believes the media anymore? Can you really call yourself a liberal if you’re also a socialist? And what dog species does Zoë hate with a burning passion? It’s the weekend, and you know what that means: These questions and many more will be answered on this edition of Jonah’s Ruminant. Show Notes: -“Fiery, but mostly peaceful” -The New Guinea Singing Dog -The Socialist TemptationIain Murray’s -is What… Debbie Wasserman Schultz doing with her life nowadays? -NYT The always-lovely Op-ed page: “Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police.” -The Conspiracy of Equals -DrinkHydrant.com/Dingo for 25% off your first order -Ancestry.com/Remnant to discover your family’s story Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the words of a famed conservative activist, “When they go low, we go high.” That’s what we’re doing today on The Remnant by getting out of the muck of American domestic politics and having a conversation with veteran guest Kenneth Pollack on the intricacies of the Israel-UAE deal instead. What does this mean for the region, and what are the historical corollaries (Hint: It might be on your Remnant Bingo card)? Show Notes: -Foreign PolicyKen’s piece for -Iran’s weapon facilities keep exploding -The 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention -Make Vienna Great Again -1979’s mosque seizure in Mecca -LiquidIV.com promo code DINGO for 25% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A solo Jonah returns, surrounded by cold beverages, to finish up his thoughts from last time about the final day of the RNC. He then moves on to the tactics of political grandstanding, the autocephalous (uh, Google it) nature of the activist left, and the importance of identifying the correct microclimate of the Loch Ness Monster. Show Notes: -Yuval’s latest Remnant appearance -Tom Cotton, sending mixed messages about America First -Harassing diners in Adams Morgan -“Vegetable rights and peace!” -Is the Loch Ness Monster a swamp-dweller? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While it may be the middle of the week, there’s no law against Jonah recording Ruminant-style (i.e. alone) – at least not yet. He discusses the RNC – and invents the fun tongue-twister, “Ceaușescu-esque,” while doing so – the “Biden is a vessel for radicals” theory, and the economically confused obsession with Jeff Bezos. Show Notes: -Kimberly Guilfoyle’s speech is pretty meme-y -Jonah’s spat with Erielle Davidson -Remnant veteran Jim Pethokoukis talking about why Jeff Bezos is unironically great -China’s post-Soviet “Princelings” -Milton Friedman explains why you shouldn’t get to take inherited money away from children -Jonah on Marx’s antisemitism -Why Nations Fail -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty for weekly new episodes -DrinkHydrant.org/Dingo for 25% off your first order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah makes a triumphant return to the Remnant on this episode, where he finally has a stable enough connection to record after a saga of perambulations around America’s western half. Jonah and Nick - his fearful amanuensis - discuss Alaska, the awkwardness of America’s largest political party holding a Zoom convention, and the potential for two actual crazy people to become elected officials within the GOP. Show Notes: -Jonah’s glacial ice chunk -“The Green Room,” within Hell’s Canyon -Row Adventures, for the brave vacationers among the audience -CarShield.com, use promo code Dingo to save 10% -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty to watch Conceived in Liberty with Mitch Daniels -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant for an extra 3 months Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remnant Hall-of-Famer Jim Geraghty joins the show with the continually-put-upon David French, who is heroically guest-hosting as Jonah continues to galavant around in the land of [REDACTED]. On COVID, Jim gets to reminisce a little about the early weeks of reporting on the pandemic while also updating us. The guys then move on to the election, the “convention” (if you can call it that), and Best Spanish Language Heist Show of 2020 - a category with shockingly little competition. Show Notes: -Jim’s Morning Jolt -California vs. New York in the pandemic times -Alan Grayson is a strange man -Why are so many people dying of COVID in Belgium? -The treason of epidemiologists -The Postmaster General’s statement -Does Trump want to lose? -Money Heist -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant for 3 months free off a year plan -Keeps.com/Dingo to receive your first month of treatment for free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have no fear, dear listener: while Jonah is still radio silent as he swan-dives in slow-mo off of waterfalls (or something), The Remnant hasn’t forgotten you. David French returns to guest host this episode with return favorite Ramesh Ponnuru from National Review and AEI. There’s the requisite Kamala Harris talk, but also deeper questions about ideology and the “Burn It Down” debates. Show Notes: -Ramesh’s page at NR -Henry Olsen: Kamala changes nothing -Kevin Williamson summarizes the “Burn It Down” debates -The inside baseball of Trump’s teleprompter troubles -Ramesh on why the Republicans need to keep working-class voters -“Always twirling towards freedom” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Throwing recent rank punditry onto the back burner, Jonah speaks with his AEI colleague and UVA Professor Brad Wilcox, whose memory for statistics crashed over us in a refreshing wave of sheer competency. Tune in for a discussion of marriage, the concept of “family diversity,” and the three things Brad would do if he suddenly became Czar of America. Show Notes: -Brad’s page at AEI -Nicholas Christakis’ most recent book -Kevin E. Stuart on his baseball studies -Most NBA players grew up in a two-parent household -Brad Wilcox on elites not preaching what they practice -Ross Douthat on, among other things, liberalism’s method of undercutting the married-parent household -Some of Brad’s work on marriage vs. cohabitation -The Disparate Effects of Family Structure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah stops to ruminate on the pathway between two menacingly-named locales—Snake River and Death Canyon (no Cliffs of Insanity, though). The topics today: why the mainstreaming of “white” identity is a genuinely awful idea, why being pro-Israel might cause you to get punched at synagogue, how progressives have adopted some of the worst parts of the European right, and much more. Show Notes: -How to punch a shark -Virginia Dare, and the disappearance of the Roanoke colonists -The Omni-Americans by Albert Murray -Joseph de Maistre’s feelings on “man” -Jerry Falwell Jr.’s, uh, “Fall” -President Reagan, Mastermind -Jonah’s heresiarchal opinion on chicken thighs -Buckley’s line, “Cancel your own [G-D-] subscription” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we present the second part of Jonah’s conversation with Washington Post opinion columnist Megan McArdle. The punditry was just too rank, so their conversation became a two-episode-long saga. In addition to some COVID punditry, some women’s issues, and some libertoid-speak, they also reminisce on their shared old stomping ground, New York City, and how it has changed. Show Notes: -Susan Hennessey calling out people who say Kamala Harris is too ambitious -Megan on Stephanie Cutter for the Daily Beast -Truly terrifying GDP numbers -Vin Cannato’s book, which Megan loves -Gabi.com/Remnant to see how much you can save on your insurance -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty to watch Conceived in Liberty weekly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a world where people run amok on the internet screaming their heads off, Megan McArdle stands (or in this case, sits by a microphone) as a model for the cool and collected. After a pre-game round of dog talk, Megan and Jonah settle in for some candid words on bread, being nice, and feminism — commentary so well-informed, we’re posting Megan twice in one week. Show Notes: -The Big Tech Four vs. Congress -Maxine Waters asks a particularly garbled question to Bank of America -“The Great Relearning,” by Tom Wolfe -Megan’s book, not actually titled Permission to Suck. -Charlie Kirk’s mask terribleness, as featured in Jonah’s Wednesday G-File -Louie Gohmert blames the mask for his COVID-19 -Megan on why racism kills -ZipRecruiter.com/Dingo to try it now for free -DrinkHydrant.com/Dingo for 25% off your first order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah’s had a long week, so grab an Irish whiskey (so long as it’s not Bushmills) and join him for some ruminating punditry on the tactical errors being made by conservative advocacy groups, “Cancel Rent” insanity, “Plandemic” insanity, and additional flavors of insanity. Also, Jameson, if you’re reading this, call us. Show Notes: -The glories of Jameson Caskmates -The most recent G-File -The (underrated) Tyranny of Cliches -Plandemic movie picking up speed -Our episode on conspiracy theories, with Joe Uscinski -Obama floats a falsehood about Rutherford B. Hayes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices