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Haunted by a certain infectious Swedish pop song, Jonah begins today’s Ruminant by expanding substantially ...

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Haunted by a certain infectious Swedish pop song, Jonah begins today’s Ruminant by expanding substantially on a recent point from the G-File: Americans are addicted to despair even though life has never been better. In a moment where anger merchants dominate the media and environmental pessimism is spreading rapidly, how can the optimistic spirit on which our country was founded be restored? And what responsibilities do prominent figures in journalism and politics have in this regard? Also, stick around until the end to hear Jonah elaborate on his departure from Fox and his new contributor agreement with CNN.

Show Notes:

– The Wednesday G-File

– The latest Dispatch Podcast

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  1. Avatar photo
    Stephen Plautz

    Does anyone else think of the old Soviet/Commmunist "Dear Comrade" when Jonah does his "Dear Listener" greeting? Should I be seeking professional help for my condition?

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    Joel Stewart

    I wish you all the best, Jonah, and I hope the move to CNN works out for you. Just make sure you knock before dropping in on Toobin's office.

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    The Stray Goose

    I've said this before - saying it again.
    Tucker Carlson is doing Chris Matthews' old schtick. He claims that he wants to hear both sides of the issue so he has opposing points of view on. But they're simply a foil. They have no chance of any reasonable sense of success. Interruptions, mocking, derision - that's what awaits the person who's attempting to present 'the other side'. It's a Carlson editorial with question marks. Matthews did it. It got boring. I stopped watching. I don't watch Carlson either.

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    The Stray Goose

    I think it's unusually naive for Mr. Goldberg to think he'll be permitted to be a fuller sense of himself. It's naive to think that Jake Tapper will be able to protect him from the woke onslaught of the illiberal mob that runs that place. CNN's going to chew him up and spit him out. I don't see how NR benefited from having that happen to Kevin Williamson at The Atlantic. Considering how new The Dispatch is they will be even more damaged by the left's concocted controversies. The CNN/MSNBC moves - two years from now it will all look like an unforced error.

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    The Stray Goose

    Going toward racism right away - we saw it this week when CNN (where Jonah Goldberg is a contributor) tried to tie the Joe Rogan controversy to the 6 Jan 21 insurrection. It's just absurd.

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    The Stray Goose

    Constipation cleanse - I recommend scotch. Works every time.

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    The Bell Tower

    Can we all agree that Finkelstein's Theory on the Effects of Alcohol on the Temporal Lobes is disappointingly bogus science?

    I listened to about half of this last night walking home from a Super Bowl party and I tried to pick up where I left off walking back to get the car just now. All I remembered was Hooked on a Feeling.

    Anyway, this was a good one. I’m all for labeling progressivism regressivism.

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    Jason Gibson

    Rocky II

    Mickey was a walking corpse and then an actual corpse in Rocky III

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    E7a56c3893

    This podcast was very timely for me. Got into an argument the other day specifically about climate anxiety. The argument started because of Matthew Yglesias article about spreading the good news about climate change, which was received very poorly amongst my peers. I argued that such anxiety was weird, unwarranted and probably unhealthy and I was met with a barrage of criticism, all of them to the effect of "well climate change is real, we are running out of time so why are you blaming the person for the anxiety?" I responded by saying that the people afflicted with these anxieties are more than likely otherwise wealth/middle class, left wing people who are super online. Again I was met with a "so what?". The whole vibe felt too much like "it's good to feel bad, we should feel anxiety to be in accordance with the moral order".

    In this respect, I do feel *some* sympathy for the circa 2012 conservative argument that liberals are fabricating an apocalyptic scenario that is not consistent with the facts. I do however, hope that we can all agree that climate change is a serious enough issue that we will need significant cooperation from the private and public sector to facilitate a good long term strategy towards more sustainable energy. I think that we *can* get bipartisan support for renewable energy if we frame it in a positive, forward looking frame that speaks to all of us across the aisle—as a part of infrastructure to make our country stronger, more resilient to geopolitical events in the middle east, and as a means of competing technologically/militarily with China. Very curious to think if this framing is even remotely plausible to a conservative audience!

    I am glad though that the left side of the aisle has been pushing the issue for over a decade. It took conservatives a frustratingly long time to even admit that 1) it was a genuine phenomenon (linked to human activity) and that 2) it is a serious issue (not just an issue, but a *serious* one).

    Also, congrats on the new gig working with (not for) CNN. May your bro rest in peace. Thanks again for a great Remnant !

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  10. James Angelichio

    I appreciated Jonah’s discussion of his contributor arrangement with CNN. I hope he is given the latitude to represent The Dispatch as it should be. Color me skeptical. Any network that employs Jemelle Hill, Don Lemon, Jeffrey Toobin, calls the Canadian truckers seditious and calls for the slashing of their tires doesn’t sound like a place I want The Dispatch to be associated with.

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