Merry Christmas, Ms. Gavora

Jonah gets giggly.

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47

On today’s Remnant, Jonah’s esteemed wife and bear skeptic, Jessica Gavora (aka the Fair Jessica), makes her highly anticipated return. The two JGs explore some more nerdish topics than last time, including what it takes to be a successful ghostwriter, how the right changed during the Trump years, and what it’s like writing speeches for prominent politicians. They also touch on a few personal subjects, including memories of Jonah’s mom, the recent trip to Istanbul, and Jessica’s current book project (she needs your help!). Plus, stick around until the end to hear Jessica make her best case against human-bear interaction.

Show Notes:

– The Fair Jessica’s first Remnant appearance

– Betsy DeVos’ Hostages No More

– Hugh Hewitt: “The ‘Agnew Option’ could be a way out for Trump — and America”

– The Fair Jessica’s Tilting the Playing Field: Schools, Sports, Sex and Title IX

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Comments (47)
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  1. Avatar photo
    Msmerm

    It's like finding harbor from dreadful storms to listen to conversation between married people who are delighted by each other. I had parents like that. Married couples like this make marital love seem like the most natural thing in the world. Of course, you have to discuss all sorts of depressing things, but there's a place of sanity and grand and ultimately hopeful comedy from which to look at all that dreadful stuff. Thank you for this.

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  2. Runyan.Jason

    That was one of THE BEST episodes ever! Jonah's wife is freaking awesome! I hope they can make this a holiday tradition. And what made me laugh my butt off was I have known one guy from Alaska. We were walking through a store and he saw one of those cute polar bear pictures that had some cutesy little quite, and he became enraged, talking about how infuriating it was because polar bears are one of the meanest bears out there, and are one of the few that will actually charge and attack you for no reason, and how surprisingly fast they are. So the bear thing reminded me of him. Hahaha!

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  3. Avatar photo
    Kyle Munyon

    Jonah,

    Listened to this while doing some post Christmas projects around the house. Thanks for sharing your spouse with us for such an engaging conversation.

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    Todd T

    Great conversation! Took me a few minutes to realize your wife isn’t the Ghost Rider but a ghostwriter.

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    Ben Connelly

    Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year, Jonah and Jessica! Like other commenters, I thought this was a great episode and not at all a downer. Mr. Gavora sounds like an amazing man and I hope someday to read the book!

    If Ms. Gavora is looking for some extra writing to do, I think it would be really funny to have her ghostwrite a G-File sometime in the voice of Jonah Goldberg. Admittedly, it would probably be necessary to inform readers that she wrote it and not Jonah, since I think she could probably fool all of us.

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  6. Avatar photo
    Kyzyl Tuva

    I have been looking forward to TFJ coming back onto the Remnant since Episode 101. You guys are great together. I read Betsy DeVos’s book and loved it. Thank you Jonah and Jess. I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year to you.

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  7. Eigerjoch

    I enjoyed the first episode with The Fair Jessica so much, that when I saw this new one in my feed I thought, I will save this for when I can listen properly, which turned out to be xmas day:) great discussion and not at all a ‘downer’!!
    (I think if I was ever in a bear area tho I would not carry a gun, despite danger, because most likely would simply panic and shoot self in foot if bear charged me:)

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  8. Michael.Mcchesney

    This podcast was really enjoyable. In 2016, I was hoping that Marco Rubio would be the GOP nominee and would choose Nikki Haley as his running mate. But for 2024, my first choice for a nominee is Nikki. As it happens, I think Marco would make her an excellent VP. I was wondering if Jessica would be her chief speechwriter and was disappointed there is friction between them. Jessica is obviously far more knowledgeable about the line between Trump critic and supporter that she has walked. My own impression is that she criticized Trump's worst excesses calmly than returned to whatever message she was trying to present. I thought Paul Ryan walked a similar line during the first 2 years of the Trump administration. Can we get him back instead of McCarthy? I didn't think so. Working as Trump's UN Ambassador, never made me think less of Nikki. If it weren't for the grownups in his administration, how much worse off would we be today?

    Now that I have gotten to hear from the fair Jessica, the guest I would be most interested in hearing from would be the lovely Lucy. Now, I think I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than Jonah bringing her on. But I find myself curious about what it was like growing up with her parents and grandparents and to what extent she shares their political beliefs. The only thing I know about her opinions is that she thinks Jonah has done way too many podcasts. He mentioned that she said that as he was heading out for the live taping of his 500th. But some young people embrace many of the political positions of their parents while others seem to react against them. But unless and until Lucy graduates college and embarks on a career in politics or punditry (or dog breeding) I think my curiosity about her opinions will remain unsatisfied.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Ben Connelly

      I strongly doubt Jonah would have his daughter on unless she asked him and really wanted to come on. In general, even if she isn’t a minor anymore, it isn’t always a great idea to expose one’s children to public life. All David had to do was mention his daughter’s name basically to get waves of cretins attacking him and her.

      As far as children sharing their parents’ opinions, I’d be willing to bet that the Fair Jessica has been a strong influence on Lucy, as well as Lucy’s grandparents. From what little Jonah has said, I think Lucy probably has arguments with her left-wing peers, which means she’s probably right of center herself. In general, to be sure lots of children end up with different opinions than their parents. However Jonah and his wife both took after their parents, and Bill Kristol took after his. John Podhoretz took after his. My sister is to the left of the rest of my family, but I certainly took after my father in terms of being conservative myself.

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    Anne W (Raw5254)

    This was a fun one, but also very interesting. I think your lovely wife did a grand job, and you make a good couple!

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  10. Steve.Waters5149

    For some reason, I cannot get access to The Remnant in real time. The most recent episode, on top, is from September.

    Help!

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    1. Adaam James

      Hi Steve! What app are you using to catch your pods?

      Try this RSS: https://feeds.simplecast.com/PYBDzR1c

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      1. Steve.Waters5149

        Apple podcast. The RSS did not work for me. Thanks.

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