The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Throwing recent rank punditry onto the back burner, Jonah speaks with his AEI colleague and UVA Professor Brad Wilcox, whose memory for statistics crashed over us in a refreshing wave of sheer competency. Tune in for a discussion of marriage, the concept of “family diversity,” and the three things Brad would do if he suddenly became Czar of America. Show Notes: -Brad’s page at AEI -Nicholas Christ...

Jonah stops to ruminate on the pathway between two menacingly-named locales—Snake River and Death Canyon (no Cliffs of Insanity, though). The topics today: why the mainstreaming of “white” identity is a genuinely awful idea, why being pro-Israel might cause you to get punched at synagogue, how progressives have adopted some of the worst parts of the European right, and much more. Show Notes: -How...

Today, we present the second part of Jonah’s conversation with Washington Post opinion columnist Megan McArdle. The punditry was just too rank, so their conversation became a two-episode-long saga. In addition to some COVID punditry, some women’s issues, and some libertoid-speak, they also reminisce on their shared old stomping ground, New York City, and how it has changed. Show Notes: -Susan Henn...

In a world where people run amok on the internet screaming their heads off, Megan McArdle stands (or in this case, sits by a microphone) as a model for the cool and collected. After a pre-game round of dog talk, Megan and Jonah settle in for some candid words on bread, being nice, and feminism — commentary so well-informed, we’re posting Megan twice in one week. Show Notes: -The Big Tech Four vs....

Jonah’s had a long week, so grab an Irish whiskey (so long as it’s not Bushmills) and join him for some ruminating punditry on the tactical errors being made by conservative advocacy groups, “Cancel Rent” insanity, “Plandemic” insanity, and additional flavors of insanity. Also, Jameson, if you’re reading this, call us. Show Notes: -The glories of Jameson Caskmates -The most recent G-File -The (und...

A.B. Stoddard is a refreshing presence on today’s podcast as she and Jonah delve into starkly rank punditry and a discussion of the eerie intentionality behind Trump’s coronavirus response. In fact, A.B.’s wise words—on Fauci, on Trump’s fantasies, on panicked Texans—leave only a singular major question remaining: will Jonah end up rocking a man bun? Show Notes: -Steve’s piece on the canceling of...

A clean-shaven Michael Strain joins the perennially bearded Jonah to talk about the topic that always brings encouraging news: the economy. Lowering the national debt and the closing of movie theaters are two bullets in this chin-stroking chamber, complemented by banter about barbecue sauce and how to retrieve small children from the sewers. Show Notes: -Michael Strain’s new book, The American Dre...

What do canned meats and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment have in common? Are there any real rebels in American culture? Why shouldn’t gerbils be allowed to eat beets? Join Jonah in the passenger seat of his car to have all of these pressing questions and more answered on this weekend’s Ruminant. Show Notes: -The latest G-File -The most horrifying term: Forcemeat -The test Trump took, in case you...

The punditry is strong today as Jonah and Luke Thompson meet at the intersection of conservatism and the Constitution. Stopping briefly for some quick jabs at Rep. Mike Gallagher and some comments that will definitely be taken out of context, we hear deep insights about big-kid words like “impoundment” and “rescission.” Show Notes: -Constitutionally Speaking, a podcast with Luke and Jay Cost -The...

Rank punditry and eggheadery dominate the docket today as Matt Continetti joins Jonah on a mournfully swampy day in D.C. From Biden huddling in his basement to William F. Buckley Jr. naming his boat “Splendid Isolation,” the guys go backward from politics today to politics yesterday in a convention of nerd-dom, spiced up by mentions of Klingon weddings and Dungeons and Dragons. Show Notes: -Andy K...

A rental-car bound Jonah invites his research assistant Nick Pompella onto the show from the reclusive Zoom cave in which Nick usually resides — or in this case, the dankness of Jonah’s basement as Nick housesits. Topping the docket today is a discussion of “whiteness,” along with verbal distress over how to pronounce “Parler” and the chilling acknowledgment that the government is the only entity...

With Jonah traipsing about somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness, David French takes over the hosting duties to welcome David Bahnsen back on. David and David talk COVID, policy, and faith. After a jab at Jonah — will he really write a book on bigfoot erotica? — the Davids discuss team good vs. team lesser evil, noting that while Scripture anticipated the Assyrians, it didn’t predict Hillary Clinton...

On this episode, Jonah ruminates from his igloo (we hope - wouldn’t that be cool?) on some Alaska stories, the American founding, relativism in language, and why good manners are more important (and more complicated) than you might think. Show Notes: -Alaskans plug in their cars -The mighty Gavora Mall -The members-only Wednesday “news”letter -Remnant with John McWhorter -Tony Montana … asserts hi...

Andy Smarick, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joins a sleep-deprived Jonah in a discussion of schools in the time of COVID — all 14,000 districts’ worth. After nerding out over Supreme Court cases, civics, and badly misremembering an episode of M*A*S*H, Andy ends on a note of optimism while Jonah (hopefully) goes to get some sleep somewhere in Alaska. Show Notes: -Adrian Vermeule’s commo...

Jonah has long awaited the chance to have Columbia University linguist John McWhorter on the show, and now he’s finally here. In a particularly un-rank episode of The Remnant, Jonah asks John about the shifting nature of language, and if it’s really a good thing that usage shifts so rapidly (e.g. “literally”). Also, what grammar police campaigns have been successful in preserving grammatical order...

Jonah gratefully drags a harried Niall Ferguson onto the show, which begins with Angela Merkel and ends with “copious quantities of claret.” Listen to Jonah and Niall — mostly Niall, of the Mellifluous Voice — speak in tongues, lament the destruction of critical thinking in universities, and sneak in a jab at Woodrow Wilson [dun dun dun]. Show Notes: -Angela Merkel on “the toughest situation” in E...

On his second Remnant appearance, National Review’s Kevin Williamson travels down a series of tangent-friendly avenues with Jonah. What are statue-defacers actually accomplishing? Why are Americans “a bunch of maniacs” compared to our continental comrades? And what is Kevin’s obsession with Switzerland all about, anyway? Show Notes: -Kevin’s upcoming book, Big White Ghetto -Kevin’s smash-hit, The...

It’s the weekend, therefore it’s time for another Ruminant. This time, it’s a monologue in which Jonah truly realizes how Remnant-y he’s really become. In his own words, “the point of conservatism is not to get the Republican Party elected.” In short, this is a “down with majoritarianism, up with principles” kind of episode. Show Notes: -This week's G-File -Wednesday's "news"letter -Suicide of the...

Chris Wallace, host of Fox News Sunday, stops by to discuss his new book Countdown 1945, the state of American politics, and the intersection of technology and journalism. Show Notes: -Chris' new book Countdown 1945 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remnant regular and Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt joins to discuss the newsiest events of the day: sausage varietals, Teddy Roosevelt’s legacy, and 1800s newspapers. In addition to nerding out on these rather specific topics, they do get around to some more modern rank punditry on everything from early voting to the future of cable news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

Why are politicians so reluctant to take responsibility for the history of their own ideas? Everything from the minimum wage to community policing has a sordid past if you just look back far enough, and Jonah thinks that putting on your partisan blinders only for the specific policies you happen to dislike leads to bad outcomes. In this particularly chaotic era of American politics, Jonah points o...

In the microcosm of right-of-center news, we have been blessed with two great writers by the name of Robert George. This podcast sees Jonah talking to one of them. No, not that one, the other one! They talk about what it’s like to work for two of the most spirited publications in New York (the Post and the Daily News), and take a trip down memory lane to their time as pundits in the last dominant...

Escaping household chaos, a car-bound Jonah talks prisons with Brown University’s David Skarbek. Bolivian jails and Soviet gulags are just two choices in this long game of Where’d-You-Rather: Incarceration Edition. Skarbek takes us through the highlights of his upcoming book and touches on the delicate subject of policing. Show Notes: -Skarbeck’s upcoming book: The Puzzle of Prison Order: Why Life...

What to make of the many news stories of the week - the resignation of James Bennet at The New York Times, the establishment of an autarkic city-state in Seattle, and more? On the Ruminant, Jonah sees some connecting threads between them all, such as the shrinking of large, trustworthy media institutions. Show Notes: -This Friday’s G-File -"Firing Line with William F. Buckley, Jr." collection, hos...

AEI scholar and China expert Oriana Skylar Mastro joins The Remnant to help us all understand the "Middle Kingdom" and its moves on the world stage. At a time like this, where the U.S. is retreating from its global responsibilities, how is China going to try to spin this into a positive outcome for themselves? Oriana has some ideas. Show Notes: -Oriana’s latest insights on China -Oriana’s book, on...