The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Francis Fukuyama makes a triumphant return to The Remnant to discuss the current state of liberalism, the flaws with emerging sects of postliberalism, and the rapidly deteriorating expectations of normalcy for the second Trump administration. Plus: reactionary horseshoe theory, the new American oligarchy, and the risks of Trumpian expansionism. Show Notes: —Francis’ work on Substack —The Patrick D...

Alex Tabarrok, professor of economics at George Mason University, joins Jonah Goldberg to discuss the exceptional nature of American democratic capitalism and debate the merits of all sorts of borders. Later in the episode, Jonah gets a crash course in crypto and asks Alex about the future and ethics of AI and large language models. Show Notes: — Alex’s piece on Liberal Fascism and CurtisYarvin Th...

Jonah Goldberg has gone to drastic lengths to cure his latest illness, absconding to Belize to drink fresh coconut water and ponder his life choices in the rainforest. Ruminations from his hammock include Donald Trump’s irresponsible comments on the tragic DCA plane crash, the ongoing tariff debate, and the discourse surrounding the hierarchy of love. Show Notes: —Ross Douthat on The Remnant —Mich...

New York Times columnist and best-selling author Ross Douthat joins The Remnant today to discuss his new book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, and dive into some rank punditry. Ross and Jonah Goldberg talk tech execs in Washington, spiritual metaphysics, and what Emilia Perez says about the relationship between culture and politics. Later in the episode, Ross explains why religion—no ma...

Francis Dearnley, executive editor at The Telegraph and Remnant fan-favorite, stops by the show to discuss the struggles of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the British perspective on Donald Trump’s second term and the rise of populism, and the desperate need for functional governance. Plus: targeted solicitor slander, the lunacy of London living, and an update on Ukraine. Show Notes: —Francis De...

Buckle up, there are tiny, crazy monkeys on tricycles riding around inside Jonah Goldberg’s brain, and the only way to let them out is an epic, mega Ruminant. You’re welcome, America. Jonah begins with a defense of his free spirit and recent snarkiness before he launches into a critique of Curtis Yarvin’s recent antics in the New York Times. He covers FDR’s stint in Silicon Valley, neo-reactionary...

Michael C. Moynihan, fellow podcaster extraordinaire and Lisan al-Gaib of the House Un-American Activities Committee, pays a visit to the Court of TheRemnant to defend Bill Buckley, discuss horseshoe theory as it relates to immigration, and critique cheap radicalism. Plus: the problems with post-liberalism, the slippery slope of foreign policy obsession, and a neocon apologia session. Show Notes:...

Jonah Goldberg has a bone to pick with John Podhoretz’s exuberance over the second Trump ascension. Once John has been adequately chastised, the pod couple covers Trump’s inauguration speech, discuss the new President’s slew of executive orders and foreign policy plans, and engage in some kvetching over Joe Biden’s final moves. Towards the end of the episode, John airs his grievances on the ceasef...

Dialing in from the mystical land of Indiana, Jonah Goldberg ruminates upon Lord Acton’s parable of absolute power and abject corruption, the distinction between good manners and draconian DEI policies, the distinction between market signaling and sound business decisions, and the vice signaling dominating the right in anticipation of Trump’s ascension. Show Notes: —The Arms of Krupp —A 2002 vinta...

Dr. Hal Brands joins Jonah to discuss the future of global alliance blocs, China and Russia’s material interests, and how to cut a nuclear deal with Iran. Stay tuned for a reality check on the Greenland acquisition plan. Brands is a professor of global affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, a senior fellow at AEI, and most recently author of The Eurasian Century: Ho...

Dispatch in-house California expert James P. Sutton joins Jonah Goldberg to provide a sober, conspiracy-free evaluation of the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles County. James and Jonah weigh the extent of human error versus political error, disastrous insurance policy failures, and how public officials can best ensure that something like this never happens again. Plus: the role of climate chan...

Sir Jonah Goldberg, the earl of The Dispatch, uses his teatime to discuss his preference for the Dutch masters, the Stranger Things play, and Henry VIII’s array of underwear models. Somehow, he ties it all back to personal pluralism, forestry management, the abject failures of democratic city governance, and Donald Trump's new imperial ambitions. Show Notes: —Cross & Country with Jonathan Rauch —T...

Jonah Goldberg had an insatiable hankering for beans on toast and has thus opted to abandon ye loyal listeners for an English vacation. To fill the Jonah-shaped vacuum, Sarah Isgur and Michael Warren of Dispatch fame have revived The Collisionto talk all things legal and presidential one last time. They cover the latest developments in Donald Trump’s New York criminal case and classified documents...

Brookings Institution senior fellow and best-selling author Jonathan Rauch has returned to The Remnant once more to subject his latest book to Jonah Goldberg’s barrage of inquiry. The book in question, Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy, seeks to remind Americans that liberalism cannot function without strong Christian institutions and argues that living the Christian doc...

After attending to the various and sundry, Jonah Goldberg explains why you should read George Orwell's Politics and the English Language, why the conflation between "the swamp" and "the deep state" irritates him so much, and the issue with saying "Trump is Hitler." Show Notes: —Jonah's debate with Charles Kesler —Liberal Fascism —Kevin Williamson on the Deep State and Vikings —Kevin Williamson on...

On the first Remnant episode of 2025, Jonah Goldberg is joined by Chris Stirewalt to discuss the ethical implications of doing something “country style,” debate who made the biggest political mistake of 2024, and dive into the strategic value of “popularism.” Few are more qualified than Chris to kick off another year of punditry, eggheadery, rabbit holes, and rumination. Show Notes: —Jonah’s LA Ti...

Jonah Goldberg is joined by Virginia Postrel, the former editor of Reason magazine, best-selling author, and contributing editor for Works In Progress to discuss technocrat schadenfreude, selective dynamism, and Jonah’s Burkean sympathies. Plus: a discussion on the right-wing version of utopia and the myths of American nostalgia. Show Notes: —Virginia’s latest book, Fabric of Civilization —Virgini...

Jonah Goldberg jubilantly welcomes the new year with a responsible intake of schadenfreude, as MAGAworld tumbles into disarray over immigration. Will the unprecedented wisdom of tech bros solve all the intractable problems that have plagued our country for years or just most of them? Tune in to this Ruminant for a tour of the race-baiting and loathing on the far right. Warning: Please consult a do...

Once again, Jonah Goldberg has received countless requests from the children of the world for some serious conservative eggheadery for Christmas. Ever benevolent, Jonah has obliged by hosting Richard Reinsch, the Editor in Chief of the Civitas Outlook at the University of Texas to discuss how conservatives can reform existing institutions from the inside out. Jonah and Richard also cover the legit...

In the spirit of the holidays, Remnant-verse Uncle Tevi Troy joins Jonah Goldberg to lament the changing times, discuss the downstream effects of the Obama years, debate the best time travel references, and spitball some solutions to the chaos in the Democratic Party. Later in the show, Tevi and Jonah cover the future of Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s love affair and remind everyone to stay in their...

As the holiday season reaches its zenith, the gods of punditry have forced one Jonah Goldberg to cover a looming government shutdown at the hands of the de facto president. He predicts Elon Musk’s aims in his congressional meddling, expounds upon the difference between being wrong and being evil, and reminds us all that liberal democratic capitalism will not fill the gaping hole in the soul of man...

It’s high time to start the postmortem of the latest Great Awokening. Jonah is joined by sociologist and author Musa al-Gharbi to discuss his new book, We Have Never Been Woke. Musa makes the casethat many of the maladies of the woke movement stem from a desire to achieve social justice without individual sacrifice and that wealth redistribution is much more complicated than the Macbook Marxists h...

Jonah Goldberg has been feeling censored by the tyranny of Sarah Isgur lately, so he’s decided to bring in the big guns: Greg Lukianoff, the president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Greg and Jonah discuss the current state of free speech writ large, the legal distinction between defamation and free expression as it relates to artificial intelligence and deep...

It’s Friday the 13th, and little rodents are crawling around inside Jonah Goldberg’s brain. What else is new? This week’s Ruminant considers the drones flying over the Garden State, Jonah’s best Tucker impression, a redux of Liberal Fascism featuring Luigi Mangione, and a clapback to those opposed to impeaching Joe Biden. Plus: transport by elephant, a critique of Time magazine, and Trump’s faith...

There are many pressing questions plaguing the mind of modern man. Where do we go when we die? What is the meaning of life? Was Christopher Columbus Jewish? Razib Khan, the unofficial geneticist of The Remnant, stops by to answer the latter, arguing that cultural identities are very different from genetic identities. Jonah and Razib get into the 23&Me craze, the Dalai Lama’s microaggressions, and...