As Jonah predicted in the outro of yesterday’s Remnant episode, everything is indeed on fire. To help interpret what is perhaps the most chaotic news cycle in recent memory, Jonah is joined by Bulwark contributor Damon Linker. Tune in for Jonah and Damon’s referendum on newly selected VP candidate J.D. Vance, the state of the GOP at the 2024 convention, and the conversions of conservative think tanks. To close it out, they discuss the great Republican schism and the fallout of the Trump assassin...
Jul 18, 2024•1 hr 30 min
On today’s episode of TheRemnant, Jonah’s guest is none other than Robert Doar, the president of the American Enterprise Institute. The two New Yorkers inevitably spend much of the episode quibbling over New York City. Fortunately for us, they also laud the Eisenhower administration and RFK’s (the first one, not the falcon one) DOJ, discuss the realities of the Jim Crow era and welfare reform, and dive into some top-tier AEI lore. Jonah remains obsessed with the topic of neoconservatism, so to c...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 8 min
This week’s Ruminant is dedicated to the devoted gnostic scholars of “Trumpism,” the Holy Grail of embattled conservative intellectuals and political toadies alike. Jonah also addresses the new elephant in the room: Project 2025 (consider our fact check on the discourse as mandatory reading). Blame the early hour, but Jonah also finds himself regressing to his days of media criticism, and even doubles down with media criticism-criticism. For dessert, he responds to comments on his debate with Ni...
Jul 13, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the octagon! The summer of 2024 has been one of epic feuds: Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake, Joe Biden vs. George Clooney, and, most notably, Jonah vs. Hoover Institute fellow and Free Press columnist Niall Ferguson. Jonah and Niall duke it out over the latter’s controversial claim: that America is the new Soviet Union. Jonah says nyet. Questions fly and accusations abound. Why is U.S. life expectancy declining? Is Jonah in denial? Is Niall just a provoc...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr 18 min
We’ve heard the English countryside is lovely in July, so The Remnant is taking a vacation. Daniel Hannan, member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, stops by to discuss last week’s historic British elections. The Conservatives have taken a beating, a new prime minister takes the helm, and exceptions are acknowledged. Daniel and Jonah bridge the gap between American and British politics, prod at Trumpery and its Farage-ian offshoot, and take a day trip to France to investigate the popul...
Jul 10, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Independence Day is in the rearview mirror, and the party is over at the Goldberg dojo. On today’s episode, Jonah airs some grievances with the current state of political discourse: the Democratic Party is screwing the pooch, Vice President Kamala Harris is burdened by what has been and more burdened by what can be, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is overrated, etc. Further ruminations cover executive privilege, the mystique of the Serbian Black Hand, and quotations from the book of Cool...
Jul 06, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Luke Burgis, author and professor of business at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship, grants Jonah a well-deserved break from punditry with a crash course in mimetic theory. René Girard takes center stage as Luke and Jonah discuss the roots of human desire; how such desires lead to tribalism, conflict, and violence; and the relationship between mimetic processes and social discord. Scapegoats and gossip abound as Luke schools both high-minded Remnant listeners and theoretical normi...
Jul 04, 2024•1 hr 35 min
To repent for his absence and abbreviated Ruminant, Jonah bequeaths listeners a special live episode, featuring American Enterprise Institute all-stars Chris Stirewalt and Yuval Levin. Together, the trio conducts a presidential debate post-mortem. Is it finally time for the Democratic Party to face the music? Have we reached the endgame of a nightmare political era? What is a golf handicap? Topics outside debate-gate include the Supreme Court verdict in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Geor...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 21 min
There are days in media that call upon the entire newsroom to fuel up on caffeine and join in camaraderie to produce timely, round-the-clock coverage. Then there are days that leave a producer waiting lonesomely for a Ruminant recording until 11p, while the interns are out drinking, the staff long asleep, and the research assistant returned to the locked basement under the trapdoor where she slumbers and dreams about her vanishing youth and Il Duce's future show notes. But come rain or come shin...
Jun 29, 2024•32 min
With Jonah still MIA, Chris Stirewalt returns as Remnant guest host extraordinaire, joined by Benn Steil, director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss Steil’s latest book and determine if the bizarreHenry Wallace was a noble man of the soil, an unsophisticated victim, or vindictive villain. To determine how Wallace changed the course of history, Stirewalt and Steil discuss the Soviet Union’s duping of an Einsteinian genius, the cult of Nicholas Roerich, and...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Jonah abdicates his duties and conscripts Dispatch national correspondent Kevin D. Williamson to pick up the slack. Kevin is joined by Kent Lassman, the president and CEO of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, to discuss Adam Smith, free trade, and the recent SCOTUS verdict on Moore v. U.S. Kevin and Lassman shoulder the Sisyphean burden of decoding tax law, discuss the miracle of American innovation, and debate the hot question of punditlandia: Who should make law? Show Notes: -Follow Kevin’s...
Jun 26, 2024•58 min
On this week’s installment of The Ruminant, Jonah talks about all the things he says he doesn’t want to talk about. Digs are thrown at tariffs, the administrative state, popular fronts, and executive orders. The definitions of unity and democracy are debated as Jonah bushwhacks the path towards productive political debate. To close it all out, Jonah revisits the Juneteenth discourse and addresses his Soviet kerfuffle with Niall Ferguson. Show Notes:—Kevin Williamson for The Dispatch: An Economic...
Jun 22, 2024•1 hr 29 min
Remnant mainstay Matthew Continetti, director of domestic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Jonah for a trip to think-tanklandia. Rank punditry abounds: Joe Biden’s identity crisis is discussed, the vibes of the American electorate are analyzed, immigration policy is considered, and laughs are had all around. As a treat for all 16 listeners who care, Matt and Jonah revisit the recent Ruminant diatribe on neoconservatism and review the new hit reality TV show that is the ...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 20 min
Francis Dearnley, assistant comment editor at The Telegraph and host of the daily “Ukraine: The Latest” podcast, joins Jonah to dig into the wide, Whiggish world of British politics. Francis helps those of us in the former colony understand the who’s and what’s of British conservatism, the B-word (Brexit, that is), and the failures of U.K. immigration policy. Francis and Jonah continue this brilliant edition of The Remnant by discussing the anti-Israel demonstrations in the U.K., the future of w...
Jun 19, 2024•1 hr 24 min
First and foremost, Jonah clears up the controversy surrounding The Dispatch cake-gate and discusses the rats that live in his walls. Topics for this week’s Ruminant include Donald Trump’s return to the Capitol, the true intentions of free-speech absolutists, the insidious nature of the Hamas PR team, and the most recent episode of The Skiff with David French. Jonah condemns trolling and partisan point-scoring and continues to pontificate on Hunter Biden’s legal woes. Show Notes: —Targeting of J...
Jun 15, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Ben Sasse, former U.S. senator and current president of the University of Florida, stops by for a fantastic conversation covering college admission reforms, the most sought after job in higher education, problems facing collegiate history departments (and how to solve them), and the roots of the recent campus protests. In order to avoid Sasse’s desire to discuss the College World Series, Jonah asks the big question: Where have all the good politicians gone? Show Notes: -The Hamilton Center at th...
Jun 13, 2024•1 hr 13 min
The one and only Yuval Levin, director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Jonah to discuss his new book, American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—And Could Again. Jonah peppers Yuval with a variety of questions: Is the Constitution a cultural document or a document that creates the culture? Why are the principles of the Constitution so hard to export? How do we interpret the Civil War-era amendments? Buckle in for a deep ...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 24 min
Jonah has been dog-less and alone in his house for too long. Consequently, today’s Ruminant delves with unrepentant granularity into the history of neoconservatism. From its founders to its detractors, Jonah gives the full sweep, and all to grapple with a single question: Is the current crop of left-skeptic liberals—including Nellie Bowles, Yascha Mounk, John McWhorter, et al.—really just a new batch of neocons? Show Notes: —The Cult of the Presidency by Gene Healy —Michael Crowley’s profile of ...
Jun 08, 2024•1 hr 21 min
Dispatch senior editor Mike Warren capitulates to Jonah’s pleas for a spontaneous conversation to unpack the various legal woes plaguing the news cycle this week. Plea deals fall apart, guns are found in dumpsters, and hush money is paid. As usual, there are political implications and lots of both sides-isms. Stayed tuned for the down low on Mar-a-Lago, some Supreme Court speculation, and Jonah and Mike’s takes as to why the media leans to the left. Show Notes: —The Joe Biden interview In questi...
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr 24 min
The wonderful Nellie Bowles joins Jonah to discuss her new book, Morning After the Revolution: Dispatches from the Wrong Side of History. Score some Remnant bingo points for a conversation on topics including (but certainly not limited to) the “Abolish the Police” movement, the hypocrisy of progressivism, the importance of skeptics, and memory-holing. Show Notes: —Morning After the Revolution: Dispatches from the Wrong Side of History —Nellie on Honestly with Bari Weiss —The Intellectual Dark We...
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr 10 min
On this week’s Ruminant, Jonah drinks coffee and remembers things. Topics include his thoughts on the newest installment of the Mad Max franchise, Donald Trump’s karmic retribution, and a Muslim exotic dancer named Lulu. He also touches on the state (or lack thereof) of the alt-right, and responds to the critiques of Wednesday’s G-File. Show Notes —Chris Hemsworth’s Prosthetic Nose —Trump’s Guilty Verdict (and the subsequent reactions) —Auditions for Trump’s VP Ticket —“Radical Chic” Politics —W...
Jun 01, 2024•1 hr 21 min
Atlantic writer Caitlin Flanagan joins Jonah for an episode that bounces from topic to topic, from the “trans thing” to the COVID-10 lockdowns and the failure of the modern-day lefties. Take out your daubers for a number of bingo card call-outs and stay tuned for a sentence Jonah’s never uttered before. Show Notes: —Alice Walker's issue with the Jews —Tom Wolfe's "The Great Relearning" essay —UCLA medical school's racial quotas —Jesse Singal's Remnant appearance Learn more about your ad choices....
May 30, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Jonah hijacks the GLoP Culture podcast, kicks John Podhoretz out of the driver’s seat, and floors it into The Remnant feed with Rob Long sitting shotgun. They discuss Rob’s Come to Jesus moment, Jonah’s crass words to Jon Karl (are there any dues?), and of course, a little bit of pop culture. Stick around to hear hot takes on improv, The Fall Guy, and Frosted. And John, we know you’re listening. Show Notes: —Rob Long's X profile —GLoP on Apple Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...
May 29, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Jonah picks a fight with the alts—both left and right—on this episode of TheRuminant, with a healthy dose of both-sides-are-wrong argumentation. Tune in for thoughts on Justice Samuel Alito’s flag-gate, President Joe Biden’s commencement speech at Morehouse College, and America’s proud (?) history of moral panics. Show Notes: —AO episode on Alito flag incident —Biden’s Morehouse College commencement address —Ken Pollack on The Remnant —Countries recognizing a Palestinian state —Michael Warren’s ...
May 25, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Ken Pollack, a Remnant all-star and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Jonah for an extended discussion on the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the race to be the supreme leader’s successor. The two also get into the various Iran appeasement campaigns, Biden’s approach to Israel, and the necessity of the United Nations. Show Notes: —Reuters reporting on the Ayatollah’s successor —Ken’s profile at AEI —Ken’s profile at Georgetown —Ken’s most recent book, Armies ...
May 23, 2024•1 hr 45 min
Jonah invites Alison Gopnik, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, to discuss the ideal way to raise little barbarians—also known as human babies. The two weed through the metaphors of garden parenting vs. carpentry parenting and the need of being needed before making a small segue into caregiving policy ideas. (The government can’t love you, Jonah!) Show Notes: —Friedrich von Hayek’s Nobel Prize speech —Jonathan Haidt on The Remnant —Tim Carney on The Remnant —Sarah Hardy’s book on mothers ...
May 22, 2024•1 hr 24 min
Stranded on a highway, gazing into the smoggy horizon, Jonah contemplates plaintively social media's latest display of statistical illiteracy demonstrated by a proclaimed preference of many women to be stranded alone with a bear, rather than a man. If you were wondering why you all didn't receive a G-File today, ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. Show Notes: —Nick Catoggio’s “Never Trump” piece —Wednesday G-File —Last week’s Dispatch Podcast —Megan McArdle on man vs. bear —Jean Twenge on T...
May 18, 2024•1 hr 18 min
Get your bingo cards at the ready, because Jonah is joined by Ryan Bourne—a policy scholar at the Cato Institute and author of The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy—for a decisively wonky Remnant on all things prices. What are prices? Why doesn’t price fixing work? And what's up with the libertarians? Show Notes: —Ryan's new book The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy —Ryan’s ...
May 16, 2024•1 hr 26 min
Voters weighing actual policy positions? A man can dream. No, it’ll be vibes—not issues—driving voters to the polls in November. Jonah invites Seth Masket, director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver, on today’s episode of The Remnant to commiserate over the sorry status of the current American electorate, Sister Souljah strategies, and the lack of centrist Democrats. Show Notes: —Seth’s newsletter —Why anti-Biden books aren't selling —Seth's previous appearance on Th...
May 15, 2024•1 hr 9 min
What peeves Jonah about the Biden administration’s increasingly hostile stance towards Israel isn’t just the geopolitical recklessness, but also the political incompetence. This Ruminant is a fuming rant about abandoning allies, the Cult of Youth, and the war against all things normal. Jonah also responds to the drama he stirred up among the anti-Trump (and anti-anti-Trump) crowd. Show Notes: —This week’s episode of The Dispatch Podcast —Jonah’s tweet about anti-Trumpers and Biden —Tim Miller’s ...
May 11, 2024•1 hr 20 min
