Bad Idea, Old Idea

Most Nordic tribes were, in fact, New York Jews.

Published September 13, 2023

Megan McArdle returns to the Remnant today for a discussion that has the luxury of being detached from current events. Things operate at a high level of abstraction throughout—even the rank punditry is more nerdishly academic than usual—as she and Jonah analyze and debate a handful of topics that seem to render him increasingly despondent. Can resentment among elites explain Donald Trump’s success? Do ideas actually matter, or have all intellectuals wasted their lives? Just how ugly should we expect 2024 to be? And can Jonah outrun his ongoing mid-life crisis in a ramshackle RV?

Show Notes:

–Megan’s page at the Washington Post

–Fusion, a new magazine from the American Institute for Economic Research

–The Remnant with Tom Nichols

Listen on your player of choice

Jonah Goldberg

Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Dispatch, based in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, enormous lizards roamed the Earth. More immediately prior to that, Jonah spent two decades at National Review, where he was a senior editor, among other things. He is also a bestselling author, longtime columnist for the Los Angeles Times, commentator for CNN, and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. When he is not writing the G-File or hosting The Remnant podcast, he finds real joy in family time, attending to his dogs and cat, and blaming Steve Hayes for various things.

Please note that we at The Dispatch hold ourselves, our work, and our commenters to a higher standard than other places on the internet. We welcome comments that foster genuine debate or discussion—including comments critical of us or our work—but responses that include ad hominem attacks on fellow Dispatch members or are intended to stoke fear and anger may be moderated.