Podcasts

In light of the reaction to his call for anti-Trump conservatives to form a third party, Jonah invites Michael Brendan Dougherty onto The Remnant to discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks of such an approach. Things don’t entirely go as planned, as their conversation swiftly moves beyond that into the broader strangeness of contemporary politics and the conservative movement. With the American people increasingly defecting from the norms of constitutional government, what can be done to prevent our institutions from collapsing?

Show Notes:

– Michael’s author page at National Review

– My Father Left Me Ireland, Michael’s recent book

– Jonah’s uncontroversial column

– Michael’s response

– Charlie Cooke’s response

– Dan McLaughlin’s response

– The Wednesday G-File

– Trump urges Republicans not to vote 

– Bill Kristol: “What About Joe?”

– The Remnant with George Will

– Remember the Obamacons?

– Yuval Levin on nationalism and exceptionalism

– Stalin’s War, by Sean McMeekin

– Macron’s plan to reindustrialize France

– Ross Douthat: “How Conservatives Can Reshape Education”

– Charlie Kirk at his worst

– Joe Rogan debates Sanjay Gupta

– The Merrick Garland letter

– The National School Boards Association letter

– The Daily Signal’s bathroom story

– The latest Dispatch Podcast

– Norse mythology

– David Harsanyi debates Sohrab Ahmari

Dust off your calculators, because beloved economic policy wonk Brian Riedl is back on The Remnant to discuss everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the federal budget, spending, taxes, and deficits. He also touches on the right’s curious lurch toward industrial policy and common good capitalism, and why conservatives and progressives alike can’t resist the prospect of a free lunch. Is the Laffer Curve a force for evil? How progressive is the U.S. tax code? And why is Joe Biden so determined to outspend Mack the Knife? 

Show Notes:

–Brian’s page at the Manhattan Institute

–Brian’s previous Remnant appearance

–Brian’s latest chart book

–Simpson-Bowles and the art of budget negotiations

–Brian in The Dispatch on taxing the rich

–How does the U.S. tax code compare with other countries?

–The great Nordic myth

–Jack Kemp and tax reform

–Al Gore and class warfare

On today’s Ruminant, Jonah aims to set the record straight on a matter of international significance: Despite what the producers of American Crime Story would have you believe, he has never owned an oversized poster of Atlas Shrugged. Thankfully, this misunderstanding gives him an excuse to indulge in a nerdtastic exploration of the differences between objectivism and conservatism, the significance of religion to conservative belief, and the differences between conservatives and “men of the right.” There’s also a disquisition on social anxiety and Theodor Adorno’s idea of the “authoritarian personality,” as well as a rant on those who continue to minimize January 6. Plus, as a special treat for The Dispatch’s two-year anniversary, tune in to learn the intimate details of Jonah and Steve Hayes’ late night telephone conversations.

Show Notes:

–The Dispatch manifesto from two years ago

–Today’s underwhelming job numbers

–Whittaker Chambers’ review of Atlas Shrugged

–The Remnant with George Will

–George criticizes Whittaker Chambers

–Al Felzenberg on George’s opposition to Spiro Agnew

–Jonah ruminates on Richard Hofstadter

–The Age of Reform, Hofstatder’s book on status anxiety

–Hofstadter’s Social Darwinism in American Thought

–The (underrated) Tyranny of Clichés

–Theodor Adorno’s The Authoritarian Personality

–Sally Satel: “The Experts Have Overlooked Authoritarians on the Left”

–Karen Stenner’s The Authoritarian Dynamic

–The Remnant with Joe Uscinski

–Bring the villain forward

–Jonah’s latest Special Report appearance

–The January 6 subpoena saga

–Dinesh D’Souza’s evil tweet

–Jonah and Hugh Hewitt debate the alt-right in 2016

–Jonah: “This Was Always the Plan”

–Revelations from Peril, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa

–The Remnant with Scott Gottlieb

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb joins The Remnant for the first time to explore the state of the COVID-19 pandemic and what went wrong with America’s response last year. With cases falling nationally, Scott believes that the “pandemic phase” of the virus is drawing to a close. But we’re still remarkably unprepared for whatever the next pandemic might be. What were the successes and failures of Operation Warp Speed? How do natural immunity and vaccine immunity compare? And is Scott too deep in the pocket of Big Dairy to be trusted on the validity of yogurt expiration dates?

Show Notes:

–Scott’s new book, Uncontrolled Spread

–Scott’s page at AEI

–Alex Tabarrok (also known as Jack McKee) reviews Uncontrolled Spread

–Scott on our failed pandemic prep

–GOP officials and natural immunity

–Jonah on the great pandemic freakout

The incomparable George Will makes his long-awaited return to The Remnant to discuss his latest book, American Happiness and Discontents. As George writes in its introduction, “happiness has been elusive for this dyspeptic nation” in recent years. Together, he and Jonah examine why Americans have become so restless and what can be done to address the causes of their disaffection. They also discuss how populism should be understood, what it means to be a “faint-hearted originalist,” and how the degradation of America’s elite institutions can be reversed. Happy warriors and scowling primitives alike are encouraged to tune in.

Show Notes:

–The Dispatch manifesto from two years ago

–George’s previous Remnant appearance

–George’s new book, American Happiness and Discontents

–George’s previous book, The Conservative Sensibility

–George debates Oren Cass on creative destruction

–Jonah on status anxiety

–Charles Murray’s Coming Apart

–Walter Berns on democracy

–Graeme Wood on our elite surplus

–Graeme Wood on The Remnant

–Schumpeter’s Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy

–Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals

–George on the “1619 Project”

–George on public choice theory

–George on judicial review

–“Conservatism is soiled by scowling primitives”

–Hayek: “Why I’m Not a Conservative”

–George reflects on his career and philosophical evolution

–Jonah and George discuss conservatism on C-SPAN

If there’s one group Jonah has less patience for than post-liberal Catholic integralists, it’s progressives who want to replace Madisonian democracy with a parliamentary system. On today’s ranty Ruminant, he explores why America’s system of government is exceptional, why the Electoral College should stand, and why the Germans don’t always do it better. There’s also a disquisition on historicism and relativism, obligatory kvetching about Democrats spending money they don’t have, and an aside about conservative intellectuals turning their backs on light. Tune in for nerdy references to Leo Strauss, but stick around to see if Jonah can actually make it to the end without mentioning Woodrow Wilson.

Show Notes:

– Wednesday’s “news”letter

– Ben Sasse’s rant at the Kavanaugh hearing

– George W. Plunkitt, no relation to Harry S. Plinkett

– Jonah defends the Electoral College

– The Morning Dispatch breaks down Germany’s election

– Biden can’t read the room

– The Remnant with Mike Duncan

– The Remnant with Scott Lincicome

– Leo Strauss’ critique of historicism

– “Hello lamppost, whatcha knowin’?”

– Hillbilly lunacy

– Robert Kagan: “Our Constitutional Crisis is Already Here”

– The latest Dispatch Podcast 

– Actually, it’s the common good

Scott Lincicome, The Dispatch’s resident expert on all things free and economic, returns to The Remnant for a distinctly wonky discussion of tariffs, taxes, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Jonah and Scott tackle our most pressing regulatory questions. Is corporate personhood a legitimate concept? Has Biden undone any of Trump’s protectionist measures? And will supply chain shortages deprive us all of Tickle Me Elmos this Christmas? There’s also a bit about boar-cobra hybrids enslaving humanity, but you’ll have to listen to fully understand.

Show Notes:

–Scott’s Capitolism newsletter

–“Unfair and absurd”

–Scott on the exciting world of corporate tax rates

–Econ 101 with Peter Suderman

–“Human beings, my friend.”

–China’s energy crisis

–Christmas who?

–Britain braces for the end times

–Scott on America’s ports problem

–Scott’s love affair with the Jones Act

–The parley in Pittsburgh

–We need to talk about tariffs

–Wild boars reclaim the Roman Empire

–Otters annex Alaska

The revolution won’t be televised, but it will be broadcast to the world on today’s long-awaited Remnant, in which Jonah is joined by Revolutions podcast host and fellow history obsessive Mike Duncan. Over an exceptionally nerdy hour, they explore how Mike prepares for his podcast, whether America’s ghastly political situation really does resemble the decline of the Roman Republic, and why even Hamilton can’t convince the French to love the Marquis de Lafayette. They also dig as deeply into revolutionary history as you’d expect, comparing the French and American revolutions and discussing how studying the Haitian revolution transformed Mike’s outlook. Stay tuned for the references to Burke, Marx, and Yuval Levin sprinkled throughout.

Show Notes:

–Revolutions

–Mike’s new book on Lafayette, Hero of Two Worlds

–Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments

–Samuel Rawson Gardner’s history of the English Civil War

–Christopher Hill on the English Revolution

–The great man theory of history

–The March of Folly, by Barbara Tuchman

–A Time to Build, for all of you bingo card holders

–Reflections on the Revolution in France

–Irving Kristol: “The American Revolution as a Successful Revolution”

–Mike breaks down the Haitian Revolution

–Pauline Maier on the Declaration of Independence

–The Storm Before the Storm

–Jonah: “This Was Always the Plan”

–Government by rabble-rousing