One Ticket for the Smoking Car

Jonah’s back for another roundup of the week, where he takes on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, R. ...

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Jonah’s back for another roundup of the week, where he takes on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, R. R. Reno, Napoleon – that’s right, Napoleon – and many more. In addition to addressing current events, he also discusses the necessity of the right to police its own side, and how old-school leftists ruined the word “ideology” for the rest of us.


Show Notes:

–Jonah’s spat with AOC

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  1. Adam Ewy

    Masks are absolutely necessary in a medical setting or around the most vulnerable. To make a culture war issue out of the masks is futile, but the best argument against masks, in public, is they are limited by the wearer. People with masks repeatedly and unknowingly touch their face which has the potential to increase transmission of anything. I also witnessed a grocery clerk wipe the sweet that had accumulated under her mask and then proceed to check out my groceries (turns out my virus paranoia ends at around $64).

    I am all for masks if people quit touching their face and wear them properly. I ordered some for my family but they will not arrive until June or July.

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    Gary Robbins

    Jonah, what in the world happened to you between April 26, 2020 and April 28, 2020? Your podcast on April 26 had the same introductory music as you had had almost from the very start. Then on April 28, you had the worst introductory music I have ever heard. Actually the introductory music by itself wasn't that bad, but it was as if you hired someone with Tourette's Syndrome to make weird sounds and random words. You might as well have fart sounds, at least they would make more sense. It was terrible.

    I have listened to each and every one of your Remnant podcasts. I love listening to them, but the introduction was so off-putting, I am tempted to not listen to you. With all due respect, you are damaging The Dispatch's brand by having such a weird opening. If I were the CEO of The DIspatch, I would literally order you to drop your introduction, because it damages the brand For time to time, I urge friends to listen to a podcast, or I play a podcast for a friend. But I would be ashamed to play your podcast, and I question my own sanity that I would listen to such dreck.

    Please make it stop. In the name of all that is holy and sacred, please make it stop.

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    1. Photo of Jonah Goldbergcircle-angle-nib
      Jonah Goldberg vertical-nib Author

      My goodness. Maybe I should relisten to the thing.

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        Gary Robbins

        Opps. I meant Sara, not Lisa. I don't know where Lisa came from. Maybe it was while I was fending off the rabid squirrels.

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        Gary Robbins

        Better yet, have Steve, David and Lisa listen to it. Thanks for listening.

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  3. Scott Mc

    Jonah my favorite hour of the week. I listen to this first then go backwards to hear your other ones. Keep it up. The one the format benefits is we don’t have to wait to hear your points while Sarah keeps you on mute 😊
    I always laugh plenty too.
    Thanks.

    Ps Samson’s hair wasn’t really where he divined his power so feel free to trim and cut. We now know Steve can give you tips We need to be able to recognize you on the next podcast.

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    James Spiller

    Jonah, do you think Thatcher's claim that "the facts of life are conservative" to be equally fatuous to Krugman's "reality has a well known liberal bias". They seem functionally identical to me: "As I learn, I keep confirming my priors because my priors were formed by accurately analyzing the world".

    Obviously, Thatcher was correct and Krugman's post Nobel work is mostly worthless hackery. Asymmetric Stupidity, a column in which Krugman claims he doesn't suffer from confirmation bias, on the basis that whenever he performs self examination he turns out to be correct, is perhaps the funniest self own of my lifetime https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/asymmetric-stupidity/ But I think that we should all accept that at some level we believe something akin to the less stupid form of this argument, that we're broadly correct in our understanding of the world because the facts align more closely with our beliefs than with belief systems we broadly disagree with.

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    1. Photo of Jonah Goldbergcircle-angle-nib
      Jonah Goldberg vertical-nib Author

      I don't think they're functionally identical at all, but maybe there's more context to the Thatcher quote than I've always assumed. The "facts of life" is a colloquialism suggesting basic rules of every day life, like "live within your means." Krugman was arguing that leftwing experts have unique access to the correct understanding of things. That's at least how I remember the context at the time. It was grounded in the whole "reality based community" shtick.

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        C C Writer

        The "reality has a liberal bias" thing made me think of an attitude I've long noticed many progressives/liberals tend to take, which is that if I don't agree with them it can only be because somehow I haven't been fed all of what they consider the facts, and if they can just make me sit still long enough to listen to all their facts, I'll change my mind and agree with them. It's like they are really surprised when I let them know I'm not up for subjecting myself to this; they assumed whatever opinions I have couldn't be based on facts plus reasoning and principles. I haven't read Krugman but maybe these are two ways of saying essentially the same thing.

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    Bob Miller

    Future guest suggestions - Matt Tiabi and John McWhorter

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      CynthiaW

      I love John McWhorter. I have his lectures on Language Families queued up on my Great Courses account, but I haven't started them yet.

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    Kevin Johnson

    Your pods are great, Jonah, including this one AND the one with Charlie. I personally think that many Trump critics actually help him by lying or exaggerating when he does something which is bad enough when just told straight. On the chloroquine issue, for example, I totally agree that it was bad for T to praise it far beyond the evidence, it isn’t presidential and can be harmful for him to do this. However, when commentators implied he just made it up, ignoring studies that were done or planned, including one by Governor Cuomo, the Trump curious get more evidence that the media lie about him. When he said on tv we should study injecting cleaners that was awful. But when commentators said he told people to drink bleach, which he didn’t’, for many it changed the subject from Trump’s dangerous stupidity and clownish behavior to “they’re lying about him again!” Thus, I think Trump is awful, but Charlie has a point about how pundits discuss him. Thanks much!

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    Jason Miko

    Thank you for this one, Jonah, and all the other podcasts. Don't get too self conscious about it all - I know I always learn something new or something I already knew is reinforced both of which help me to bolster my own attempts at persuasion of others. Appreciate the work you and all of your colleagues are doing there.

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    CynthiaW

    I like "The Smoking Car" as a permanent title. It reminds me Hercule Poirot and the Orient Express and sharply dressed untrustworthy Europeans. I liked "The Ruminant," too ... but cows.

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    1. Richard Fulmer

      Hmph. Bovinophobia.

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        CynthiaW

        Cows are not as cool as Hercule Poirot and murders.

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        1. Richard Fulmer

          Hmm. Little gray cells vs. chewed cud. Okay, you win.

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    Tara J

    Love all the podcasts you’re a part of, including the solo ones. No need to be uncomfortable about it, but I get it. Just wanted you to know that so you keep making them. 🤗

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  10. Aaron

    Another excellent episode of the 'Ruminant'. I just finished and have to say that I am as perplexed as you regarding the alleged dichotomy between you and Charlie. Your pumping the breaks when figures on the right push at the boundaries of classical liberalism is necessary and valuable. Also, I would add that it seems the more classically conservative approach to intellectual pursuits than some of the stuff I see today from the First Things crowd.

    My two cents. Please keep up the great work here at the Dispatch.

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    1. ROBERT

      I think the exchange provided us all an opportunity to learn from the discussion. I don't think either of them had any notion that they were engaged in a competition. This is what you get when scholars with slightly different views hash it out. Neither were moved from their position. But us listeners obtained awesome benefits and great entertainment!

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      1. Scott Mc

        Completely agree and was sayin the same as I listened. Both have smart points and actually listened to each other’s comments. It was a really good show.
        Keep it up Jonah you help open minds think.

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        1. Photo of Jonah Goldbergcircle-angle-nib
          Jonah Goldberg vertical-nib Author

          Thanks fellas. Yeah Charlie and I have been joking about it. There is no real conflict between us.

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        CynthiaW

        I agree. There was a disagreement. Each made a case for his position. It's silly to treat it as anything more than that ... but then, Twitter is silly.

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