Unpopular Front Podcast

In his speech to the House of Commons on the eve of the Battle of Britain, Winston Churchill warned that if “we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.” In exile 4 years later, Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno wrote, “The fully enlightened earth radiates disaster triumphant.” And in 1945, Thomas Mann declared, “‘the really characteristic and dangerous aspect of National Socialism was its mixture of robust modernity and an affirmative stance toward progress combined with dreams of the past: a highly technological romanticism.”In their very different ways, they were all intimating what would come to be called “reactionary modernism,” an enormously useful and illuminating term in the study of fascism, both past and present. For this episode of the Unpopular Front author series, I’m very lucky to be joined by the person who coined the term, Jeffrey Herf, professor Emeritus of history at the University of Maryland and author of Reactionary Modernism: Technology, Culture, and Politics in Weimar and the Third Reich. Professor Herf's book investigates how the “conservative revolutionaries” of Weimar—figures like Martin Heidegger, Carl Schmitt, Oswald Spengler, and Ernst Jünger, along with a group of much lesser-known ordinary engineers—combined a paradoxical rejection of the Enlightenment with an embrace of high technology, which they thought would be “spiritualized” with the energy of the purified Volk. Taken together, they contributed to an aesthetic and ideological movement that Joseph Goebbels would later dub “steely romanticism.” This cult of the machine would include a desire to split the “creative” and productive side of capitalism from the abstract mercantile and financial side, forming a philosophical underpinning of Nazi antisemitism and, eventually, the Holocaust. I talked to Jeffrey about all this and its relevance to contemporary debates about Trump, Silicon Valley, and much more! Read more:Jeffrey Herf, “Reactionary Modernism: Some Ideological Origins of the Primacy of Politics in the Third Reich” in Theory and Society, Nov. 1981 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unpopularfront.news/subscribe

In this episode of Unpopular Front’s author series, I spoke to John P. McCormick, Karl J. Weintraub Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. John is the author of several books, including Carl Schmitt’s Critique of Liberalism: Against Politics as Technology, Machiavellian Democracy, and, most recently, The People’s Princes: Machiavelli, Leadership, and Liberty. The popular image of Niccolò Machiavelli is a “teacher of evil,” who counsels rulers how to use force and fraud to consolidate their regimes, but John’s illuminating books present us with a much different picture. In them, Machiavelli is a radical democrat, interested in encouraging popular participation in politics and fostering republican institutions that will protect the common people’s liberties from rapacious elites. Unlike his classical forebears, Machiavelli does not differentiate between oligarchs and aristocrats; for him, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty; power is ever stealing from the many to the few,” as the old saw goes. And, although Machiavelli lived in 16th-century Florence, a very different society from our own, I think you’ll find his political theory relevant to the present day. As John writes in Machiavellian Democracy: Every polity, Machiavelli observes, is comprised of two diverse humors: the oppressive appetite motivating the grandi, who wish to command and dominate the people; and the appetite to resist or avoid domination characteristic of the popolo, who desire only not to be commanded or oppressed by the grandi.As a kind of companion piece to our discussion, I recommend checking out a New York Times op-ed from yesterday by Anand Giridharadas, “How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails.” You’ll quickly see how Machiavelli can still help us clearly understand class and conspiracy in the 21st century. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unpopularfront.news/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.unpopularfront.newsI joined Max Read of Read Max for our bi-weekly Live chat, which we do together every other Wednesday at 2 pm. We talked about Olivia Nuzzi’s memoir, the Jeffrey Epstein emails, ethics in gossip journalism, what populism gets right about the ruling class, and what Niccolò Machiavelli can tell us about all of it. I hope you enjoy!

In this episode of Unpopular Front’s author series, I spoke to political theorist, writer, and researcher Laura K. Field. Laura has written for The Bulwark, The New Republic, Politico, and is a scholar in residence at American University, a senior advisor at the Illiberalism Studies Program at Georgetown, and a fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is also the author of Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right, out now from Princeton University Press. I had the honor to blurb this book: “A pathbreaking intellectual history from the world’s preeminent researcher of the contemporary American right. Furious Minds scrupulously chronicles the coalescence of a modern movement that took place as much online as in the seminar room or the corridors of power. Essential reading to understand today’s political situation.”Laura’s book charts the rise of a group of malcontent intellectuals as they go from a scrappy group of bloggers fantasizing about an authoritarian America to joining a seditious conspiracy against the Republic and providing legal architecture for a coup. It also gives a very helpful taxonomy of the different schools of MAGA thought. We talked about all that, the strange influence of Leo Strauss and his students, and how JD Vance has embraced the New Right thinkers. If you’re in the New York City area, Laura will be doing an event on December 4th at the CUNY Graduate Center from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM with intellectual historian Richard Wolin. That’s 365 Fifth Avenue, Room 8301. Click the link to RSVP. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unpopularfront.news/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.unpopularfront.newsGood morning! Max Read and I spoke with our buddy Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker columnist extrordinaire and co-host of the Time To Say Goodbye podcast, about the results of Tuesday’s elections and what, if any, lessons can be drawn from them for Democrats going forward. Yesterday’s post had some typos (my apologies), but they should be fixed now.

William Hogeland, a historian of the early American republic, dives deep into the complexities of the Founding Fathers. He challenges the romanticized views of Alexander Hamilton, revealing his authoritarian tendencies and the class conflicts of early America. Hogeland discusses the Whiskey Rebellion as a pivotal moment of federal suppression and scrutinizes the origins of emergency powers that still impact today's politics. He also critiques the misapplication of Founders' ideals in modern dialogues and suggests that the Constitution may need reevaluation to address current issues.

I’m sorry for the double email, but some readers have asked me to upload my Chicago lecture as a podcast so they can listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else they get they listen to their podcasts. So, please enjoy! Note that comments are closed on this post, but you can join the discussion on the main post. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.unpopularfront.news/subscribe

Dylan Riley, a UC Berkeley sociologist and author of The Civic Foundations of Fascism, examines the dynamics of civil society and democracy in today's political landscape. He discusses how social media acts as a contemporary analogue to interwar civil society, facilitating mobilization and shaming. Riley contrasts Trumpism with classic fascism, probing the complexities of MAGA's strategies and the fragmentation of culture. He also addresses the challenges facing the Democratic Party and the intricacies of right-wing working-class alignment in modern America.

Max Read, writer and editor of Read Max, dives into the controversial Epstein birthday book, sparking discussions about celebrity connections and conspiracies. He critiques the tech world's uneasy tango with Trump and the fallout from an AI bubble that may be bursting. The dialogue also highlights the erosion of artistic value through technology and the ongoing decline of American manufacturing skills. With sharp insights, Read sheds light on the societal impacts of these trends and the need for better critical thinking in an increasingly complex landscape.

John Ganz, a writer for the Substack newsletter Unpopular Front, dives deep into a variety of provocative topics. He dissects the complexities of the Epstein case and elite impunity, revealing how systemic corruption shapes power dynamics. The discussion shifts to the intricate ties between wealth, power, and American identity, questioning populist narratives. Ganz also tackles the fluidity of race in politics and the erosion of citizenship, while analyzing the chaotic ideology behind Trumpism and the evolving Republican landscape, illuminating the roles of political outsiders and dynasties.