The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

On today’s Ruminant, Jonah serves up a typically eclectic potpourri of rank punditry and historical nerdery. After exploring how, in almost literary fashion, Kevin McCarthy’s hidden normalcy has proved to be his undoing, Jonah turns to the origins of socialism, and what the Soviet approach to collectivism can tell us about Putin’s ambitions for Russia today. He also shares his thoughts on Florida’s Disney kerfuffle, modern architecture, and what we can expect from the upcoming midterms. Show Notes:- The Remnant with Thomas Chatterton Williams- Kevin McCarthy’s political malpractice- Jonah: “Karl Marx’s Jew-Hating Conspiracy Theory”- The Remnant on Marx and antisemitism- The Remnant with Klon Kitchen- Elizabeth Warren’s midterm proposal- Jonah: “More Sandwiches, Less Kale Foam”- Ruy Texiera: “Eyes Wide Shut”- Charlie Cooke: “Ron DeSantis’s Misguided Attack on Disney’s Legal Status” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas Chatterton Williams, nonresident AEI fellow and writer at The Atlantic, joins the Remnant for the first time to discuss race and ethnicity in America. Thomas, who describes himself as “ex-black,” believes we need to “unlearn race” to fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence. But what would that entail in practice, and how can we move away from racial categories while preserving a diverse culture? Moreover, why is it beneficial to spend time residing in a foreign country? What are “American values?” And will France soon annex the United States? Show Notes:- Thomas’ page at AEI- Thomas’ latest book, Self-Portrait in Black and White- Thomas: “My Family’s Life Inside and Outside America’s Racial Categories”- Thomas: “Saving Classics From Identity Politics”- Albert Murray’s The Omni-Americans- The Remnant with John McWhorter- Emmanuel Macron rejects wokeism- Jonah: “What if we Ran Our Elections Like France?”- James Baldwin: “The Discovery of What it Means to be an American” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah and Matt Continetti continue their tremendously nerdy adventure through the history of American conservatism today, taking us from the 1970s to the present. In a conversation tailor-made for holders of the Remnant bingo card, they discuss the Reagan Revolution, the Clinton years, the future of the conservative movement, and much more. Can the contemporary right hold off resurgent anti-Americanism? Could fascism happen here? And how many more times will Matt need to appear for Jonah to ask everything that’s on his mind?Show Notes:- Matt’s page at AEI- The Right, available now- Part 1 of Jonah and Matt’s shameless nerdfest- Buckley’s The Unmaking of a Mayor- Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative- Milton and Rose Friedman’s Two Lucky People- Kevin Phillips’ The Emerging Republican Majority- John Patrick Diggins’ Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History- Stephen F. Hayward’s The Age of Reagan- Jonah: “Appetite for Power” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After providing an update on his absence this week, Jonah begins today’s Ruminant on a note of uncertainty: He hasn’t decided whether an Elon Musk Twitter takeover is something we should welcome or fear. His mind is also occupied by the idea raised by Megan McArdle that Americans are increasingly “sidestepping institutions” in their daily lives, as well as Matt Continetti’s perspective on the term “right-winger.” Plus, tune in for a predictably nerdy disquisition on populism and why an old-fashioned liberal ethos is what separates conservatism from statism.  Show Notes:- The Remnant with Megan McCardle- Martin Kramer’s The War on Error- The Remnant with Michael Brendan Dougherty- Part 1 of the Remnant’s Matt Continetti nerdapalooza- Father Coughlin: Man of the left- Louis Hartz’s The Liberal Tradition in America- Seymour Martin Lipsett’s American Exceptionalism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Remnant ascends to a higher plane of nerdom today, as Matthew Continetti returns to discuss his new book, The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism. This episode presents the first half of a two-hour conversation between Jonah and Matt, which takes us on a freewheeling journey from the ‘20s to the ‘70s. They begin by exploring whether it’s possible to provide a simple definition of conservatism before digging deeply into the evolution of the movement. What did conservatism look like before the New Deal? How did William F. Buckley Jr. shape modern politics? Is fusionism still relevant? And how should we remember figures like Richard Nixon, Calvin Coolidge, and George Wallace? All of these questions and more are addressed within. But to learn about the Reagan era onward, and to hear some of Jonah’s quibbles with the book, you’ll have to tune in next week. Show Notes:- Matthew’s page at AEI- The Right, available now- George Nash’s The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945- George Weaver’s Ideas Have Consequences- Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind- Matthew previews The Right in the Wall Street Journal- Frank Meyer’s reluctant and apologetic essay collection, What Is Conservatism?- Lionel Trilling’s The Liberal Imagination- The Remnant with Stephanie Slade- How William F. Buckley changed his mind on civil rights- Buckley’s The Unmaking of a Mayor- Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Remnant gets wonky today as Klon Kitchen, AEI senior fellow and author of The Current newsletter for The Dispatch, returns to discuss Russia’s information war in Ukraine. With no end in sight for the conflict, Jonah and Klon explore what America’s intelligence support for Ukraine looks like and what other measures we could take to assist the country. They also touch on the veracity of Russia and China’s COVID statistics, what Putin’s war will mean for Taiwan, and how Klon would advise Joe Biden if he were summoned to the White House. Stick around until the end for obligatory dog discourse. Show Notes:- Klon’s page at The Dispatch- Klon: “Why Russia’s Cyber Warriors Haven't Crippled Ukraine”- Daniel Hannan: “Vladimir Putin's kleptocracy will be his own undoing”- Mike Duncan on the Russian Revolution- The Remnant with Mike Duncan- Klon on semiconductors and the “splinternet”- The Remnant with Lyman Stone- Jonah: “Vladimir Putin, Brittle Oak”- The Remnant with Edward Carr- Klon: “School’s in Session” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah’s still in Chicago for today’s Ruminant, and he isn’t terribly comfortable with the pre-summer weather. Still, severe cold in spring is less frustrating than our political dysfunction, and Jonah has plenty to discuss on that front. After exploring the distinction between disinformation and misinformation and the state of American media bias, he turns to the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, Florida’s controversial education bill, and why misusing the term “groomer” is both immoral and tactically foolish for Republicans. Ready your bingo cards for a predictably freewheeling ride.Show Notes:- The Remnant with Megan McCardle- Jonah on disinformation at the UChicago Institute of Politics- Soviet disinformation- The paradoxes of media bias- Jonah on the Kavanaugh allegations- Anne Applebaum’s UChicago panel- Anne Applebaum on Hunter Biden’s laptop- David French: “Against the ‘Groomer’ Smear”- The Remnant with Adam White- How Title IX became a political weapon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live from the Windy City, Jonah returns to the Remnant driver’s seat. He’s joined by Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle, who has plenty of thoughts on America’s strange plague of mobocratic thinking and workplace safetyism. The pair also explore Jonah’s distaste for public sector unions, Megan’s opposition to student loan forgiveness, and the circumstances in which populism can be put to good use. Plus, for all you bingo cardholders, there’s plenty of dingo discussion and kvetching about primaries mixed in.Show Notes:- Megan’s page at the Washington Post- Megan: “It’s time for major institutions to make their employees get off of Twitter”- Grace Metalious’ Peyton Place- Sleeping with the fishes- The New Yorker “flyover country” cover- Jonah and Elaine Kamarck talk primaries- Megan on student loans- The Remnant with David French and Jonathan Rauch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Jonah traverses the Virginia woodlands, David French assumes control of the Remnant. His guest is Jonathan Rauch, who returns to provide a refreshingly calm perspective on our debates over gender and inclusion. After breaking down the history of the LGBTQ movement, Jonathan and David evaluate the Lia Thomas situation, Florida’s controversial education bill, and how conservatives should approach radical gender ideology. They also discuss a potential academic pushback against cancel culture, and the dangers of misusing the term “groomer” for political gain. Show Notes:- Jonathan’s previous Remnant appearance- Jonathan’s latest book, The Constitution of Knowledge- The French Press- Jonathan: “Walking the Transgender Movement Away from the Extremists”- Jonathan: “What’s Happening on the Left Is No Excuse for What’s Happening on the Right”- David reviews Andrew Sullivan’s Out on a Limb- David and Nancy’s Kanakuk Kamps exposé- Does the anti-woke right pose a threat?- Scott Alexander on liberalism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The drive-time Remnant format returns for another predictably eclectic broadcast. Today’s episode finds Jonah, Guy, and Ryan perplexed by Madison Cawthorn’s claims about D.C. debauchery, amused by conspiracy theories about Will Smith’s Oscar's slap, and fascinated by the lowest moments of otherwise great TV shows. They also touch on Jonah’s latent arachnophobia, Guy’s animated obsessions, and Ryan’s fondness for Lucky Charms. By the end of it all, the Remnant may have conclusively jumped the shark.Show Notes:- The Wednesday G-File- Hungary eyes- GLoP, slap edition- The Dispatch’s guide to Oscar nominees- The Remnant with Chris Stirewalt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices