The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

What to make of the many news stories of the week - the resignation of James Bennet at The New York Times, the establishment of an autarkic city-state in Seattle, and more? On the Ruminant, Jonah sees some connecting threads between them all, such as the shrinking of large, trustworthy media institutions. Show Notes: -This Friday’s G-File -"Firing Line with William F. Buckley, Jr." collection, hosted for free by the Hoover Institution -Robin Williams caricatures Buckley twice in "Aladdin" -Jonah writing on the problem of liberal media bias and the “objectivity” issue -“SAY IT! SAY IT!” -Jonah’s column about Romney -Ross Douthat’s op-ed about the Tom Cotton piece -Monopsony -Jonah and Hugh Hewitt’s disagreement about the Alt-Right from back in 2016 -Jonah: How the nationalists blew their chance -The members-only Midweek G-File -Ed Koch: “Now they must be punished.” -The “stationary bandit” -"Pirates, Prisoners, and Lepers: Lessons from Life Outside the Law" -The Hop Bird -TommyJohn.com/remnant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AEI scholar and China expert Oriana Skylar Mastro joins The Remnant to help us all understand the "Middle Kingdom" and its moves on the world stage. At a time like this, where the U.S. is retreating from its global responsibilities, how is China going to try to spin this into a positive outcome for themselves? Oriana has some ideas. Show Notes: -Oriana’s latest insights on China -Oriana’s book, on the problems with peace talks -Oriana's piece on Taiwan's future -The sheer amount of effort that goes into Chinese censorship -The controversial and confusing Russia/China joint air patrol -The current state of China’s Belt and Road Initiative -Weirdness on China’s border with India Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim Carney joins The Remnant, where he talks about some of the great shoe-leather reporting he’s been doing on the protests in the D.C. area. How many of the protesters are seriously out to cause trouble, and how many are there for good reasons? Also, what can be made of the “defund the police” movement, and where have our “little platoons” gone during the pandemic? Show Notes: -Tim’s work at the Washington Examiner -Tim’s latest book, Alienated America -Subsidiarity -Tim’s Occupy reporting -Cyclist in Montgomery County gets falsely accused -The Treason of Epidemiologists -Justin Amash’s tweet about epidemiologists -DrinkHydrant.com promo code dingo for 25% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah returns for the weekend Ruminant to address the growing unease he gets from the national protest movements. What’s going to be more damaging: the protests, or the massive overcorrection from the critics of the protests? With a little bit of perspective, it should be easy to see that everyone is manipulating data for their own ends - the epidemiologists, the protesters, and, of course, the Executive (to put it politely). Show Notes: -This week's G-File -Wednesday's "news"letter -Epidemiologists shift from social distance to social justice -The Remnant Twitter AI asking for audience suggestions -Epidemiologists insisting that you can’t go to church -The heartening history of American racial attitudes over time -Part of Jonah's review of The Defining Moment -The St. John’s Church photo op - already adorned with a Wikipedia page Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this crazy time we’re living in, what’s the most accurate historical parallel? 1968? The 1420s? UMass Boston historian and all-around smart dude Vincent Cannato returns to the show for the second time to remind us of the scary-but-true reality: we are actually living in an unprecedented era. As the ancient faux-Chinese curse says, “May you live in interesting times.” Show Notes: -Vin’s books -Just in case you’d like to get admitted to the Vatican archives -Blue check-mark Twitter in an uproar over a Tom Cotton op-ed -Jonah’s review of A Return to Modesty -The Power Broker by Robert Caro -The Confucius Institute, quite literally on the dole of their Chinese paymasters -If you have a subscription, read the wonderfully-named Francois Furstenburg in the Chronicle -Is Bill Barr right that history is written by the winners? -Ronald Radosh’s Prophets on the Right Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does liberty die? According to Padmé, with thunderous applause. According to The New York Times, with an ill-timed op-ed ghostwritten by Putin. And according to John Pitney, professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna, maybe with Trump? John joins the show to play Remnant bingo, but also to make the case that Trump’s oft-praised abrasiveness isn’t actually very American — and that his behavior usually stifles liberty instead of promoting it. Show Notes: -Pitney’s book, Un-American: The Fake Patriotism of Donald J. Trump -Pitney's piece on Obama and Trump -Richard Weaver, Ideas have Consequences -The Federalist Papers, free and online -So this is how liberty dies -P.J. O’Rourke talks about Hillary -Trump wants to protect Article XII -Claremont’s 10 years in review -Pitney’s book After Reagan: Bush, Dukakis, and the 1988 Election -'We're dying at the box office,' Schwarzenegger tells GOP -East/West coast Straussians feuds -Pitney being interviewed about expanding the House -Elaine Kamarck talking about her role as a superdelegate -Vladimir Putin’s uh, op-ed in the Times? -Jonah’s appearance with Andrew Klavan -TommyJohn.com/remnant for 25% off site wide Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah ruminates on why we can't have nice things, darling. A journey that takes us from Julien Benda’s Treason of the Intellectuals to John Courtney Murray's The Return to Tribalism. From the cigar shop to the primitive Greek usage of the word "idiot." Show Notes: -Jonah's piece Cigars: A Love Story or Two -Jonah's piece Democracy in the Tobacconist’s -Sen. Ben Sasse's civics lesson -This week's G-File -Wednesday's "news"letter -How to educate an American webinar -John Courtney Murray's The Return to Tribalism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Has the 1 percent really rigged the economy? Why do Argentinians believe the Vatican is hiding aliens? And finally, what’s the deal with Bigfoot (and the associated erotica therein)? University of Miami political scientist and conspiracy theory expert Joseph Uscinski joins Jonah to answer these questions, explain who believes such things, and why. We suggest you listen to this truly bizarre episode before the Lizard People take it off the air. Show Notes: -FiveThirtyEight podcast with Joe -The 1 percent rigs the economy, according to Bernie -Princess Diana conspiracy theories -8 out of 10 French people believe a conspiracy theory -How not to write about the Koch brothers -Rothschilds (Rothschildren?) control everything -QAnon -Yuval’s book, A Time to Build -Secret oil billionaires are out to get Obama -Oliver Stone's JFK -SaneBox.com/dingo for a $25 credit on your subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last time Matt Ridley was on, Jonah was left with so many questions that he knew he had to get him on again in short order. So he’s here again to answer more questions on the themes of his new book, How Innovation Works. Matt talks about how bureaucracy gets in the way of innovation, not by saying no to innovators, but “by saying yes too slowly,” and presents the one bit of scientific wisdom he would pass on to a future civilization. Come for the enlightenment, stay for the LED lightbulb. Show Notes: -Matt’s new book, How Innovation Works; tell us on social media if you buy it! -John Nestor’s wild ride -Matt Ridley: speed up bureaucratic decision making -Thomas Young, The Last Man Who Knew Everything -Britain’s proud history of… water abstraction reform? -Innocentive: an innovation crowdsourcing platform -Pill cameras -Anton Howes’ blog -Jonah’s piece on the RadioLab debacle -Lucretius: De Rerum Natura -Steven Pinker: what scientific concept ought to be more widely known? -Jevons Paradox -The 1890 Russian Flu pandemic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything has a price - except The Remnant, of course. That’s free. But regardless, Jonah flies solo once more and shares some advice he learned from his father about how to appraise the worth of any activity in life. On that theme, it turns out that he puts little worth in political eschatology, partisan psychological research, and the dichotomy implied by the terms ‘left-” and “right-wing.” Show Notes: -Pastor Douglas Wilson’s show, coming soon with a Jonah Goldberg episode -Marxist eschatology -David French’s recent Remnant appearance -This week’s G-File -The worst example of left-wing political-psychological drek -Conservatism as an Ideology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David French joins the Five-Timer’s Club on this edition of The Remnant. The conversation has just about the widest scope possible, including everything from end times prophecy, to Protestantism versus Restorationism, to methods for surviving the zombie apocalypse, to the blessed Snyder cut. Show Notes: -David’s newsletter, The French Press -David's podcast with Sarah Isgur -David, supposedly “breathing on the embers” of #BelieveAllWomen -The (very involved) eschatology of Assemblies of God -The Left Behind novel series -The Restoration Movement -The timelines of pre-and-post-millennialism -The Late, Great Planet Earth -Albrecht Durer’s fascinating series of Revelation woodcuts, Apocalypse -Best places to be in a zombie apocalypse -ExpressVPN.com/remnant for 3 extra months free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Walter, national editor of The Cook Political Report, joins the show to talk about which polling numbers actually convey useful information during an election season. How can Trump’s job approval ratings remain relatively high, while lots of people still say they won’t vote for him? What do the parties actually need to do to keep their coalitions intact? And how strongly does Jonah feel about quality underwear? Tune in to find out. Show Notes: -Amy’s work at The Cook Political Report -Amy’s podcast -A more holistic approach to Trump’s numbers -Negative polarization -“Taking the parties out of politics” -TommyJohn.com get up to 30% off sitewide with code: remnant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah’s back for another roundup of the week, where he takes on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, R. R. Reno, Napoleon - that’s right, Napoleon - and many more. In addition to addressing current events, he also discusses the necessity of the right to police its own side, and how old-school leftists ruined the word “ideology” for the rest of us. Show Notes: -Jonah’s spat with AOC -Suicide of the West (now out in paperback!) -Jonathan V. Last, one of the early-on disparagers of R. R. Reno, on an old Remnant -A Man for All Seasons: “Would you give the devil the benefit of the law?” -The (underrated) Tyranny of Cliches -The edition of What is Conservatism? Foreword by Jonah -The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America -DrinkHydrant.com/dingo for 25% off your first order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Matzko - a historian who has charted the legacy of talk radio and the conservative movement - joins The Remnant pantheon. While conservatives may be familiar with the lasting legacy of figures like Rush Limbaugh and Michael Medved, Paul shows that they follow a path established by religious conservatives stretching back to the 60s. Learn about the Kennedy administration’s checkered history with AM radio, and about the differing impacts of the radio populists versus the print-magazine intellectuals, such as Buckley at National Review. Show Notes: -Paul’s book, The Radio Right - out now via ebook, out in hardcover… whenever the pandemic stops -Paul’s futurism podcast, Building Tomorrow -Paul’s podcast with an old socialist friend, Impolitic -George Nash’s history of the conservative intellectual movement -Jonah’s longstanding beef with Father Coughlin -Victor Lasky’s book, It Didn’t Start with Watergate -Paul and John Samples’ research on ineffective social media regulation -The history of “Revolutionary Defeatism” -Paul on the Polish ham boycott -Pacifica Radio’s left-wing radicalism -Robert Darnton’s Censors at Work -DonorsTrust.org/dingo -ExpressVPN.com/remnant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do international institutions have scary-sounding names? Why do we fall for dolphin propaganda, every time? What form does the true Platonic Nacho take? Return guest Scott Lincicome joins The Remnant to answer these pressing questions. This episode explains more of this international man of mystery’s backstory, revealing not only what irks him about modern China-hawkishness, but also the cherished memory that reliably brings a tear to his eye. Show Notes: -Scott’s Twitter poll about animal PR -Evil dolphins -China hawkishness -American Mind wants to cancel Chinese debt -The Jones Act -How does a country become a WTO member? -Doordash.com, use promo code REMNANT at checkout for zero delivery fees for a month -ExpressVPN.com/REMNANT for an extra 3 months free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s that time again: on this weekend Ruminant, Jonah finds himself dealing with more 2016 déjà vu, as once again the public conversation turns towards the “binary choice” between two men who have been accused of sexual assault. How did we get to a point where our standards stooped so low? Jonah has a few ideas about that, and they have to do with the cop-outs of the intellectual class and the erosion of social capital. Show Notes: -Linda Hirshman’s NYT op-ed -Julien Benda’s The Treason of the Intellectuals -Background on the formerly pseudonymous author of “The Flight 93 Election” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Libertarian guru, wisdom-dispenser, and Jonah’s good friend Ron Bailey, science correspondent for Reason magazine, joins us on The Remnant. Ron guides us through the myriad reasons that the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t justify expanding the government and federal bureaucracies to unprecedented levels, before spending the second half of the podcast enticing Jonah to join him in the strange exotic land of the libertarians. If anyone can pull that off, it’s Ron. Show Notes: -Ron’s page at Reason -Ron’s book with Marian Tupy - preorder now -The CDC wasting time on COVID-19 tests -Morgue trucks in NYC -#PrivatizetheSeas2020 -Naomi Klein’s wacky This Changes Everything documentary -Murder Hornets: I’m sure it’s fine -ExpressVPN.com/REMNANT for 3 extra months free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Kornacki, national political correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, joins Jonah to breakdown the state of the 2020 election, and take a trip through the history of political tribalism. It helps that Steve wrote a whole book, The Red and the Blue, on the subject. Come for Steve's keen knowledge of all things politics, stay for the discussion on weak parties. Show Notes: -Steve’s book, The Red and the Blue -Ross Perot’s unique populism -Tip O’Neill’s words getting taken down -Greenwich piece -Clinton’s Sister Souljah moment -The unpopularity of “Latinx” -WaPo’s Washington Redskins poll -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant for 3 extra months free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Ruminant, Jonah finds himself hearing the “binary choice” argument all over again, but this time about Trump vs. Biden. In his response, he also deals with the ways in which people are failing to take the Reade allegation seriously, how we have a political class of perpetual underdogs, and how dishonest arguments have snuck into our partisan debates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah and National Review’s Charles Cooke podcast with one another from the sunny paradise of Florida on this episode of The Remnant. Why is Florida so weird, really? What is to be made of GOP governors riding the Trump Train before promptly hopping back off? And what are people actually angry about regarding the Reade/Biden allegation? Tune in to witness a disagreement that sheds more light than heat. Show Notes: -Charlie’s author page at National Review -Take a wild guess: just how many alligators does Florida have? -What’s history’s biggest mistake? -Why did the FBI need to pin Capone on taxes? -Stealth-edits in NYT’s reporting on Tara Reade -ExpressVPN.com/remnant for an extra three months free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin makes a return appearance on this, the 200th episode of The Remnant. To celebrate, Jonah and Mike bring back the ever-popular theme of half-baked ideas, mixing many of their own ideas (that still need a bit more time in the oven) with some of our very own listener-submitted thoughts. They revisit their plan to (peacefully!) annex Greenland, Mike prolongs his beef with Rep. Dan Crenshaw, and our intrepid podcasters discover how to implement mortal combat into parliamentary procedure. Show Notes: -Mike at Heritage Hill Park, which closed shortly after -The highly influential Justinian Code -William Manchester’s bio of Douglas MacArthur -The Federal Thrift Savings Plan -Episode 151: Jawing with Crenshaw -Shameless plug (now out in paperback!) -Xi Jinping looks like Winnie the Pooh -“Annoying” woman denied Swiss citizenship -Taleb’s book, Antifragile -The Svalbard Global Seed Vault Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah returns to ruminate on a smorgasbord of things this week: injecting bleach to cure COVID-19 (big if true!), an extended meditation on John Rawls’ "veil of ignorance," how the veil is nonsensical from the pro-life position, and the difference between “social justice” and a “just society.” Show Notes: -Ross’ book on social decadence -Suicide of the West (now out in paperback!) -The veil of ignorance -Pope Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors -A shrubbery! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does technological innovation actually happen? We were able to speak to Matt Ridley, who has literally written the (upcoming) book on this subject, How Innovation Works. Matt brings up fascinating points, such as whether or not innovation really relies on “great men” miraculously coming up with brilliant ideas, why we are often resistant to new technology, and how we can get out of our current innovation slump, a product of our cultural risk-aversion. And tune in to see where he places on the ranking of Most British People Ever (™). Show Notes: -GLoP Live 2: God save us all Members of The Dispatch are invited to join the GLoP live broadcast on Sunday, April 26th at 6PM ET/5PM CT/3PM PT -How Innovation Works - preorder now -I, Pencil, yet again -Kelly’s What Technology Wants -Harris’ novel, The Second Sleep -Matt’s bat facts -Remnant with Vin Cannato -ExpressVPN.com/REMNANT for 3 free months Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode goes in The Remnant Hall of Fame for a few reasons: it’s both one of the longest episodes we’ve ever done, with one of the New Yorkiest guests we’ve ever had. Vincent Cannato, professor of history at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, proves his New York credentials not just with stories of mayors from years past, but with the most authentic pronunciation of “Giuliani” you’ll ever hear. Stick around for Jonah and Vin reminiscing about AEI, Irving Kristol, and the least impressive Honda Civic in human history. Show Notes: -Live GLoP 2: Daydrinking Boogaloo - stay tuned for updates -Vin’s book on Mayor John Lindsay, The Ungovernable City -Lindsay’s, uh, “relations” with Florence Henderson -An archive of Lifebuoy Soap’s 1918 ads -Cuomo’s story about “wop” -Dunn and Shields’ book about conservative professors -More Kyle Harper on Gnosticism -Idea-laundering in academia -John Miller’s article on the slow death of military history -Ben Wattenberg’s book on who the average American really was in the 70s -SaneBox.com/DINGO for a $25 credit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another weekend, another Ruminant - this time with Jonah talking about the intellectual backdrop of conservatism, and what early conservative (and progressive) ideologies might have to say about today’s coronavirus response. Join Jonah in a cloud of cigar smoke inside his own car to talk about the New Deal, Trump’s call to LIBERATE [INSERT STATE HERE], and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The vox populi has been heard, so we went with a listener-suggested guest on this episode of The Remnant. Kyle Harper is an incredibly knowledgeable historian of the Roman Empire who specializes in the origins of Christianity, but that doesn’t quite do him justice. As Jonah (or, Jonas Magnus) discovers, he’s effectively a polymath who knows about everything from the gnostics to the history of infectious disease - which is, uh, convenient? Watch out for his Oklahoma nationalism, though; he might be trying to annex the rest of the country. Show Notes: -The deep human history of respiratory viruses -Kyle’s latest book, The Fate of Rome -Hunter-gatherers as the “original affluent society” -Romans were short -Calvin Coolidge’s son -Tacitus: “they make a desert and call it peace.” -Michael Munger on EconTalk, speaking to the ideological history of slavery -Jamelle Bouie’s argument about the Enlightenment and racism -“Climate essentialism” in Hippocrates -Let’s all move to Oklahoma -DoorDash, promo code REMNANT for $5 off, and zero delivery fees for the first month Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the new Remnant, Jonah talks with James Pethokoukis, a fellow at AEI, about how markets are reacting to coronavirus and what the recovery might look like. (V-shaped? U-shaped? Nike swoosh-shaped?) As a result of their isolation-based hallucinations, they also get particularly animated in the rank punditry and pop culture portions - so don’t miss out on their hottest Star Trek takes, or Jim’s shocking defense of the finales of Lost and Battlestar Galactica. Show Notes: -Jim’s podcast, Political Economy -Suicide of the West (now out in paperback!) -AOC’s late-stage capitalism tweet -Trump’s “Opening Our Country Council” -“Assume a can opener” -Bill Bennett saying that coronavirus isn’t a pandemic -Some craziness from Claremont -James’ column: is this really a black swan? -Pale Rider, about the 1918 flu -Star Trek’s transporter is a copy-kill-paste machine -DonorsTrust.org/dingo -Bound by Oath, a podcast by the Institute for Justice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Jonah’s Fortress of Solitude on this latest solo episode of The Remnant. On the docket today are topics like subsidiarity in a crisis, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (which Jonah struggles to pronounce), and listener feedback from The Dispatch comments section. Show Notes: -The Quart of Blood Technique -I, Pencil -A $1,500 chicken sandwich that was “just fine.” -Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Teles, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University, joins us on the heels of his newly released book, Never Trump. Stop sharpening your pitchforks, everyone! It’s an objective treatment of the Never Trump movement that doesn’t come down one way or the other on it. It also leads into some classic Remnant wonkery, with tangents into the problems with party strength, mediating institutions, and political history, and how these things relate to the tensions within modern conservatism. Show Notes: -Steve and Rob Saldin’s book, “Never Trump” -Milan Svolik: “Polarization versus Democracy” -The DNC commission that created changes in 1972 -Eddie Izzard: “Cake or Death?” -Gorillas in the Mist Conservatism -Buckley’s function as conservative purgemaster -George Nash’s book on conservative intellectual history -Knightian uncertainty -Invasion of the Body Snatchers -Aldrich’s “Why Parties?” -Remnant 186, with Shoshana Weissmann -Bound by Oath, a podcast by the Institute for Justice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Through the magic of the internet, AEI's Lyman Stone joins The Remnant all the way from Hong Kong to talk all things coronavirus: how we got here, the numbers, China's role in the outbreak, and where we go from here. Show Notes: -Lyman’s work at AEI -Hong Kong’s relative laxity during the pandemic -Problems with getting an accurate coronavirus death count -Siddhartha Sanghi retracts his claim about reduced deaths from social distancing -Chinese doctors disappearing -Jim Geraghty’s reporting on the Wuhan virology lab -Fauci Truthers -NY churches being “converted,” if you will, to field hospitals -Taiwan’s coronavirus travel ban policy -John Barry’s book on the 1918 flu -DrinkHydrant.com, promo code “dingo” at checkout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back by popular demand, Jonah flies solo as he expands on his thoughts from the week: the necessity of earned success, Adrian Vermeule's essay on originalism, and dogs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Remnant returns to its quarantine schedule with long-awaited guest and (possibly) the most-ever cited legal scholar, Cass Sunstein. Cass and Jonah have a longstanding camaraderie that began with a shared love of dogs - a subject they may write a book about - but they also have an uncanny ability to discuss flaws and weaknesses in one another’s political priors that’s rare in modern debate. There’s dog talk, bonobo talk, and some rank nudgery on this episode, so it’s a great pick-me-up episode with a little bit of something for everyone. Show Notes: -Self-domestication of dogs -Cass talking about the Russian Fox Experiment -The Tame Bonobo Theory -For Kant nerds: Christine Korsgaard’s deontological argument for animal rights -Cass’ book on “The Cost-Benefit Revolution” -Cass and Thaler’s “Nudge” theory -“Trusting Nudges” -Bound By Oath, the Institute for Justice’s 14th Amendment history podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Jonah continues the great Remnant tradition of allowing senior National Review political correspondent Jim Geraghty to dispense genuinely unique and fascinating observations about current global issues. And what better time could there be for that than right now? During a moment in which even Americans’ feelings about a global health crisis break down along partisan lines rather than facts on the ground, Geraghty’s brand of succinct investigative reporting is a breath of fresh air. Show Notes: -Jim’s newsletter, The Morning Jolt -Latest updates on the lies that China has told -Tom Cotton talks about China re-closing movie theaters -Shortage of chemical reagents required to make COVID tests -Jonah’s column about Booker’s “moral imagination” -“Good luck” -Draft Cuomo 2020 -Yamiche Alcindor/Trump weirdness -DonorsTrust.org/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the words of Gene Wilder, “There’s no earthly way of knowing … in which direction we are going.” That’s the mood on the latest Remnant, which sees Jonah flying solo in a second - and more streamlined - attempt at an audio G-File. Some of this is an expansion on the topics in this week's G-File, but most of it consists of unique, free-flowing observations from Jonah’s mind. Huzzah for keeping sanity during quarantine! Let us know what you think of this format on the @JonahRemnant Twitter, through Jonah at @JonahDispatch, or by email at [email protected] - we want to know! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shoshana Weissmann is a Renaissance woman, and only at age 27: she’s the head of digital media at R Street Institute, a policy fellow specializing in occupational licensing, and an institution unto herself on social media. She brings a blessed breath of brevity to this episode of The Remnant, on which there is no coronavirus talk! She and Jonah touch on some hilarious job licensing restrictions (fortune tellers?), talk a little memes, a little charismatic megafauna, a little Judaism, and even a little online dating. It’s a reminder of how life was before “The Event,” so it’s really a can’t-miss. Show Notes: -Shoshana at R Street -Professor Randy Barnett, Shoshana’s inspiration -The wild world of florist licenses in Louisiana -George Will on Jacob Maged, the immigrant dry cleaner punished by the National Recovery Administration -The city of Annapolis’ occupational license for fortune-telling -Shoshana stans Arizona Governor Doug Ducey -Oklahoma’s trying to regulate your Qi -The legendary Snapchat hotdog -Giant prehistoric sloths -The uniquely interesting history of Ethiopian Jews -Date-onomics -Michael Novak: “A neoconservative is a progressive with three teenage children.” -Earnest.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Williamson is a man of mystery: he’s an “Eisenhower libertarian,” he’s been accused of being a D.C. insider (he lives in Texas), and (most famously) he’s a former staff writer for The Atlantic even though they only gave him one byline before firing him. Life in Kevin’s Fortress of Solitude has stayed mostly the same - even in the midst of a pandemic. Lucky for us, that means he had time to talk to Jonah about his unique political perspective, the role of government in a crisis, and how his “libertoid” opinions help him solve those mysteries of his. Show Notes: -Kevin’s latest book, The Smallest Minority -Kevin’s upcoming essay collection, Big White Ghetto -The (massively underrated) Tyranny of Cliches -Suicide of the West (now out in paperback!) -Adhocracy, a favorite term of Jonah and Kevin’s -Kevin’s The End is Near -Kevin’s claim to being an “Eisenhower libertarian” -Douglass North’s impenetrably brilliant Violence and Social Orders -Obama’s second inaugural: “preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.” -The unfortunately-named philosophical paradox, “Buridan’s Ass” -Cleta Mitchell, releasing works for consumption by the populist masses -Kevin’s The Case Against Trump -$25 credit from SaneBox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In order to give you all a break from the talk about the end of the world, this episode has Jonah speaking with psychologist Dr. Michele Gelfand about one of his pet-obsessions: “tight” and “loose” theories of culture. Why do places like Japan and Singapore seem to be in lockstep while the U.S. is so freewheeling? How should we tighten up, culturally, as a response to COVID? And why are Mexican teachers unions so weird? We ask the hard questions here on The Remnant, so don’t miss it. Show Notes: -Michele’s book, Rule Makers, Rule Breakers -The complexity of fractals, for those who actually understand math -Michele’s Tight-Loose Quiz -Mexican teaching jobs are given to… teachers’ kids? -The gum-free land of Singapore -D.E. Brown’s list of universal traits across all human cultures -Jonathan Haidt’s article, which then spawned a book, which then spawned a Remnant episode -Robert Wright, The Moral Animal -John Tooby’s “coalition instinct” -Jonah’s Wednesday “news”letter -Michele’s piece on COVID in the Boston Globe -Michele’s “Honor Dictionary” -The fascinating concept of “pluralistic ignorance” -GetBlueVine.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt joins The Remnant to discuss coronavirus and its impact on the 2020 election. Where does Bernie Sanders go from here? Should Joe Biden run a front porch campaign? How do Obama/Trump voters vote this time? Show Notes: -Chris Stirewalt -Stirewalt's politics newsletter -Stirewalt and Dana Perino's podcast -The Morning Dispatch -The Dispatch -UnTuckIt.com code DINGO -DonorsTrust.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times columnist and resident French expert Ross Douthat returns once more to talk about his new book, The Decadent Society. He makes the case that decadence is more than just high-calorie desserts and rich Corinthian leather; the phenomenon is more about the space race, the birth dearth, our dumb Hollywood blockbusters, and our painful politics. Oh, and the coronavirus has turned him into a doomsday prepper. But Ross is a Bonhomme if you will, so we’re betting he survives his book tour unscathed. Show Notes: -Ross’ book, The Decadent Society -Daniel Kahneman on thinking fast and slow -The evils of the coronavirus distributors in public bathrooms -The process of recording an audiobook -Peter Thiel and his “almost lifelike” enunciation -Jacques Barzun’s From Dawn to Decadence -Suicide of the West, now out in paperback! -F.J. Turner’s Frontier thesis -Where UN peacekeepers have succeeded, and where they’ve failed -Robert Nisbet’s recounting of the WWI horse problem -Tina Fey on Conan O’Brien’s podcast -Ross’ NYT podcast -DoorDash, promo code REMNANT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elizabeth Warren might be out of the running for the Democratic nomination, but that doesn’t mean that the most harmful parts of her agenda haven’t been assimilated into other Democrats’ platforms. David Bahnsen literally wrote the book on that bad agenda and asserts that the worst parts of it (i.e. an outright unconstitutional wealth tax) might still be coming down through a different nominee. David and Jonah also engage in some rank punditry, and they even ask the question that all the cool kids are asking: what’s the deal with Postmillennial Protestant eschatology? Show Notes: -David’s (somewhat ill-timed) book -John Podhoretz’s (equally ill-timed) book -Monday’s 2,000-point Dow drop -Saudi Arabia and Russia’s oil price shenanigans -Mohammed bin Salman behaving completely normally, for sure -The role of smoking in COVID-19 vulnerability -Charles Cooke’s great take on MSNBC’s math -“Did we lose a war?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does our culture need to become more nationalistic? What about reorienting our society towards “the highest Good,” as defined by your religion of choice? Stephanie Slade, managing editor at Reason, doesn’t think so, but she brings a unique perspective that many other libertarians don’t: she’s also a practicing Catholic. In this episode, Stephanie explains how she balances these two commitments that, on the surface, seem at odds with one another. Jonah also picks a fight with her about drug ads on primetime television. Show Notes: -Stephanie’s piece for Reason on nationalism -Stephanie’s piece on balancing her Catholicism and libertarianism -Stephanie on the Roman Circus podcast -The peak of the French-Ahmari Wars -The Free State Project -Free will in the Catechism -Randolph Bourne on the “Health of the State” -Jonah on Nick Gillespie’s Reason Interview -Bellamy’s Children -Daniel Burns on liberal practice versus liberal theory -Yoram Hazony’s beef with classical liberalism -Trump calling himself a nationalist -Beer: just as important as the Epic of Gilgamesh -Earnest.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the American Dream dead? How are most Americans actually doing? Will the coronavirus kill us all? And most importantly, is Star Trek: Picard actually good? Repeat guest Michael Strain, author of The American Dream Is Not Dead, has all of these answers and more. Show Notes: -Michael’s book, The American Dream Is Not Dead -Gunga Galunga -Marco Rubio’s father as an American success story -Ezekiel 25:17 -Irving Kristol on the power of ideas -The New York Times on the power of lawns -Josh Hawley at King’s College -Brink Lindsey on U.S. culture after the 50s -The Success Sequence -G7 Coronavirus statement -Oren Cass’ Cost-of-Thriving Index -Gordon Gekko’s brick phone -“Billionaires” -Elaine on stuffed crust pizza -Jeri Ryan is why we live in this timeline -DonorsTrust.org/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Princeton Professor Keith Whittington is so sharp that he gives you paper cuts when you shake his hand. That’s why we had him on - to walk all of us mere mortals through the complex history of judicial review as outlined in his book, Repugnant Laws. Keith brought a mix of history, current events, rank punditry and more to this podcast! Show Notes: -Keith’s book, Repugnant Laws -The history of the “8 glasses of water a day” myth -Keith’s last book, Speak Freely -Oliver Wendell Holmes’ opinion for Buck V. Bell -The scary reality of self-censorship at universities -Temperance-era protests at Berkeley over family serving beer to firefighters, God forbid -Remnant 146 with Adam White -Keith’s WaPo piece on Dershowitz’s impeachment argument -Remnant 174 with Josh Kraushaar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Delicate ears beware - Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng got explicit with us to talk about the inner workings of the Trump administration staff, which is the topic of their new book called Sinking in the Swamp. How much favor do Trump-positive talking heads really get from the White House? Are Trump’s numerous ex-staffers now effectively lobbyists? And can we pronounce Asawin’s name correctly? Show Notes: -Buy Sinking in the Swamp! -Tito Puente -Bannon’s use of the “Island of Misfit Toys” phrase -Stephen Miller’s strange history -The “Singularity of Asininity” -James Adomian’s Gorka impression -Lachlan’s article on Gorka’s park-job -GetBlueVine.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a return to normal Remnant-y quirkiness, we have on “the oldest young person” that Jonah knows, Andrew Egger. There’s rank punditry, far-afield movie references, and an unnerving amount of Midwest-bashing; it has everything! Show Notes: -Andrew Egger -Huey Long: “Enough money to burn a wet mule” -Andrew’s piece on Bloomberg -“Blue Million” -NYT accent identifier -Wag the Dog -Suicide of the West, now in paperback -Minnesota Nice -Midnight Run -Bernie supporting Castro, Sandinistas in 1985 -Andrew’s piece on the wall -Roger Stone gets 40 months -The Dispatch Podcast -The Dispatch -UnTuckIt.com promo code dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tevi Troy stops by The Remnant to break the first rule of Fight House and talk about Fight House his new book about rivalries in the White House. Jonah and Tevi then take a trip down memory lane at their time together at AEI in the early 1990s. Show Notes: -Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump -Tevi Troy -Camelot created the modern presidency -Devaluing the Think Tank -DrinkHydrant.com promo code dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National Journal politics editor Josh Kraushaar stops by for a special Valentine's Day edition of The Remnant full of rank punditry on all things 2020. Show Notes: -Josh’s podcast, Against the Grain -Josh’s column, also called Against the Grain -The history of The Hotline -The unwokeness of most Democrats - precisely in point #6 -Steve Inskeep asking Warren what states she thinks she can win -Biden yelling in town halls -Jonah explaining Seth Masket’s argument at length -The Party Decides, a book that’s less and less true by the day -John Rauch’s suggestions re: primaries -Bernie calling open borders a Koch conspiracy -Ron DeSantis politicizing his kids -The chaos of second terms -Romney’s note to Senate colleagues Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AEI resident scholar Derek Scissors joins The Remnant to discuss all things China including the trade agreement with the U.S., Huawei, and coronavirus. Show Notes: -Derek Scissors -China’s global investment -U.S.-China trade agreement -China's 2019 economic summary -The Dispatch -DoorDash code: Remnant -Earnest.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For part one of their crossover podcast event Jonah talks with Bridget Phetasy about meeting on Twitter, culture wars, drug legalization, writing for Playboy, and #MeToo. Show Notes: -Bridget Phetasy -Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy -Dumpster Fire with Bridget Phetasy -The Dispatch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Hayes, editor of The Dispatch, walks over from his desk to talk with Jonah about the best steak in Iowa, the end of the impeachment trial, and an update on their new media company The Dispatch. Show Notes: -The Dispatch in Iowa -Jonah on Hugh Hewitt -Joe Biden fact check -The Atlantic profile of The Dispatch -The Dispatch -GetBlueVine.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices