The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Welcome back to Jonah’s Fortress of Solitude on this latest solo episode of The Remnant. On the docket today are topics like subsidiarity in a crisis, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (which Jonah struggles to pronounce), and listener feedback from The Dispatch comments section. Show Notes: -The Quart of Blood Technique -I, Pencil -A $1,500 chicken sandwich that was “just fine.” -Wordsworth and Coleridge’s...

Steven Teles, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University, joins us on the heels of his newly released book, Never Trump. Stop sharpening your pitchforks, everyone! It’s an objective treatment of the Never Trump movement that doesn’t come down one way or the other on it. It also leads into some classic Remnant wonkery, with tangents into the problems with party strength, mediating...

Through the magic of the internet, AEI's Lyman Stone joins The Remnant all the way from Hong Kong to talk all things coronavirus: how we got here, the numbers, China's role in the outbreak, and where we go from here. Show Notes: -Lyman’s work at AEI -Hong Kong’s relative laxity during the pandemic -Problems with getting an accurate coronavirus death count -Siddhartha Sanghi retracts his claim abou...

Back by popular demand, Jonah flies solo as he expands on his thoughts from the week: the necessity of earned success, Adrian Vermeule's essay on originalism, and dogs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Remnant returns to its quarantine schedule with long-awaited guest and (possibly) the most-ever cited legal scholar, Cass Sunstein. Cass and Jonah have a longstanding camaraderie that began with a shared love of dogs - a subject they may write a book about - but they also have an uncanny ability to discuss flaws and weaknesses in one another’s political priors that’s rare in modern debate. The...

In this episode, Jonah continues the great Remnant tradition of allowing senior National Review political correspondent Jim Geraghty to dispense genuinely unique and fascinating observations about current global issues. And what better time could there be for that than right now? During a moment in which even Americans’ feelings about a global health crisis break down along partisan lines rather t...

In the words of Gene Wilder, “There’s no earthly way of knowing … in which direction we are going.” That’s the mood on the latest Remnant, which sees Jonah flying solo in a second - and more streamlined - attempt at an audio G-File. Some of this is an expansion on the topics in this week's G-File, but most of it consists of unique, free-flowing observations from Jonah’s mind. Huzzah for keeping sa...

Shoshana Weissmann is a Renaissance woman, and only at age 27: she’s the head of digital media at R Street Institute, a policy fellow specializing in occupational licensing, and an institution unto herself on social media. She brings a blessed breath of brevity to this episode of The Remnant, on which there is no coronavirus talk! She and Jonah touch on some hilarious job licensing restrictions (f...

Kevin Williamson is a man of mystery: he’s an “Eisenhower libertarian,” he’s been accused of being a D.C. insider (he lives in Texas), and (most famously) he’s a former staff writer for The Atlantic even though they only gave him one byline before firing him. Life in Kevin’s Fortress of Solitude has stayed mostly the same - even in the midst of a pandemic. Lucky for us, that means he had time to t...

In order to give you all a break from the talk about the end of the world, this episode has Jonah speaking with psychologist Dr. Michele Gelfand about one of his pet-obsessions: “tight” and “loose” theories of culture. Why do places like Japan and Singapore seem to be in lockstep while the U.S. is so freewheeling? How should we tighten up, culturally, as a response to COVID? And why are Mexican te...

Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt joins The Remnant to discuss coronavirus and its impact on the 2020 election. Where does Bernie Sanders go from here? Should Joe Biden run a front porch campaign? How do Obama/Trump voters vote this time? Show Notes: -Chris Stirewalt -Stirewalt's politics newsletter -Stirewalt and Dana Perino's podcast -The Morning Dispatch -The Dispatch -UnTuckIt.com code...

New York Times columnist and resident French expert Ross Douthat returns once more to talk about his new book, The Decadent Society. He makes the case that decadence is more than just high-calorie desserts and rich Corinthian leather; the phenomenon is more about the space race, the birth dearth, our dumb Hollywood blockbusters, and our painful politics. Oh, and the coronavirus has turned him into...

Elizabeth Warren might be out of the running for the Democratic nomination, but that doesn’t mean that the most harmful parts of her agenda haven’t been assimilated into other Democrats’ platforms. David Bahnsen literally wrote the book on that bad agenda and asserts that the worst parts of it (i.e. an outright unconstitutional wealth tax) might still be coming down through a different nominee. Da...

Does our culture need to become more nationalistic? What about reorienting our society towards “the highest Good,” as defined by your religion of choice? Stephanie Slade, managing editor at Reason, doesn’t think so, but she brings a unique perspective that many other libertarians don’t: she’s also a practicing Catholic. In this episode, Stephanie explains how she balances these two commitments tha...

Is the American Dream dead? How are most Americans actually doing? Will the coronavirus kill us all? And most importantly, is Star Trek: Picard actually good? Repeat guest Michael Strain, author of The American Dream Is Not Dead, has all of these answers and more. Show Notes: -Michael’s book, The American Dream Is Not Dead -Gunga Galunga -Marco Rubio’s father as an American success story -Ezekiel...

Princeton Professor Keith Whittington is so sharp that he gives you paper cuts when you shake his hand. That’s why we had him on - to walk all of us mere mortals through the complex history of judicial review as outlined in his book, Repugnant Laws. Keith brought a mix of history, current events, rank punditry and more to this podcast! Show Notes: -Keith’s book, Repugnant Laws -The history of the...

Delicate ears beware - Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng got explicit with us to talk about the inner workings of the Trump administration staff, which is the topic of their new book called Sinking in the Swamp. How much favor do Trump-positive talking heads really get from the White House? Are Trump’s numerous ex-staffers now effectively lobbyists? And can we pronounce Asawin’s name correctly?...

In a return to normal Remnant-y quirkiness, we have on “the oldest young person” that Jonah knows, Andrew Egger. There’s rank punditry, far-afield movie references, and an unnerving amount of Midwest-bashing; it has everything! Show Notes: -Andrew Egger -Huey Long: “Enough money to burn a wet mule” -Andrew’s piece on Bloomberg -“Blue Million” -NYT accent identifier -Wag the Dog -Suicide of the Wes...

Tevi Troy stops by The Remnant to break the first rule of Fight House and talk about Fight House his new book about rivalries in the White House. Jonah and Tevi then take a trip down memory lane at their time together at AEI in the early 1990s. Show Notes: -Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump -Tevi Troy -Camelot created the modern presidency -Devaluing the Think Tank -Dr...

National Journal politics editor Josh Kraushaar stops by for a special Valentine's Day edition of The Remnant full of rank punditry on all things 2020. Show Notes: -Josh’s podcast, Against the Grain -Josh’s column, also called Against the Grain -The history of The Hotline -The unwokeness of most Democrats - precisely in point #6 -Steve Inskeep asking Warren what states she thinks she can win -Bide...

AEI resident scholar Derek Scissors joins The Remnant to discuss all things China including the trade agreement with the U.S., Huawei, and coronavirus. Show Notes: -Derek Scissors -China’s global investment -U.S.-China trade agreement -China's 2019 economic summary -The Dispatch -DoorDash code: Remnant -Earnest.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For part one of their crossover podcast event Jonah talks with Bridget Phetasy about meeting on Twitter, culture wars, drug legalization, writing for Playboy, and #MeToo. Show Notes: -Bridget Phetasy -Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy -Dumpster Fire with Bridget Phetasy -The Dispatch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Hayes, editor of The Dispatch, walks over from his desk to talk with Jonah about the best steak in Iowa, the end of the impeachment trial, and an update on their new media company The Dispatch. Show Notes: -The Dispatch in Iowa -Jonah on Hugh Hewitt -Joe Biden fact check -The Atlantic profile of The Dispatch -The Dispatch -GetBlueVine.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

AEI's Charles Murray is back on the podcast to discuss his new book, "Human Diversity: The Biology of Gender, Race, and Class." Show Notes: -Human Diversity -The Dispatch -Earnest.com/dingo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For podcast sidekick Jack Butler's last appearance on the Remnant as such, he turns the tables by asking Jonah the questions that he's been meaning to ask for a long time: about drugs and alcohol, punching homeless people, getting punched by Irishmen, and more. Shownotes -The (second) Mike Gallagher episode -Nick Gillespie episode -Buy Suicide of the West (now out in paperback!) -The Dispatch -Are...