Bright Lights, Bad City

As a young man, Jonah left his heart in San Francisco. But after today’s conversation ...

Published January 19, 2022

As a young man, Jonah left his heart in San Francisco. But after today’s conversation with Remnant first-timer Michael Shellenberger, he probably won’t be going back for it any time soon. Michael joins the show for an exceedingly wonky discussion of his new book, San Fransicko, which explores how progressive policies are enabling an addiction and mental health crisis in America’s cities. Together, they explore the causes of urban decay and what conservatives can do to reverse the trend in places like New York and San Francisco. Tune in for ruminations on nuclear power, Nietzschean philosophy, and criminology, but stick around to hear Jonah and Michael compare notes on what it’s really like to be mugged by reality.

Show Notes:

– Michael’s Substack on cities, energy, and the environment

– Michael’s new book, San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities

– Michael’s previous book, Apocalypse Never

– Tom Wolfe’s “The Great Relearning”

– San Fransicko reviewed in the New York Times

– Madness in the Streets, by Rael Isaac and Virginia Armat

– The Homeless, by Christopher Jencks

– The Remnant with Shawn Bushway

– Michael: “Why Wokeism is a Religion”

– Woke Racism, by John McWhorter

– John Dewey’s “universe with the lid off”

– Paul Tillich’s definition of religion

– Jonah on the case for nuclear power

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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.

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