The Seven Year Anniversary Mailbag Episode

May 11, 2026

A wide-ranging mailbag covering the future of the MAGA coalition and possible Republican realignments after Trump. They debate whether Trumpism can recover and why some voters feel disillusioned. Conversation shifts to the limits of mass party politics versus local organizing and the role of competence in democratic branding. They also reflect on graduate school, lifelong reading habits, favorite reading spots, and unexpected novel recommendations.

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insights

INSIGHT

Trump's Exit Will Expose Republican Coalition Fragility

Sam Adler-Bell argues Trump's absence (alive but out of office) will leave a fractious Republican Party lacking a unifying celebrity leader.
He notes current intraparty fights and unpopular policies preview how a post-Trump coalition might fracture without Trump's personal popularity.

insights

INSIGHT

Trump's Turnout Is The Core Republican Problem

Matthew Sitman highlights Trump’s unique talent for turning out low‑frequency, low‑information voters who other Republicans can't mobilize.
That turnout advantage is the core problem for successors: can anyone else hold that diverse coalition together?

insights

INSIGHT

Mass Party Politics Is Gone But Local Revival Is Possible

Both hosts say rebuilding mid‑20th century mass party politics nationwide is unlikely, but local participatory campaigns can recreate meaningful civic life.
They point to Zoran's NYC campaign and DSA's city‑scale organizing as models that scale locally but struggle nationally.

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Checking In: Roxy and Personal Notes

04:03 • 4min

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What Happens to MAGA After Trump?

07:45 • 5min

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Trump's Electoral Hold and GOP Challenges

12:24 • 2min

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Is Trumpism Irredeemably Damaged?

14:17 • 2min

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Trump Voters' Disillusionment

16:31 • 5min

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Can Mass Party Politics Return?

21:33 • 3min

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Local Organizing Versus Nationwide Scale

24:59 • 3min

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Zoran: Social Media Personalism Meets Governance

28:00 • 3min

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Zoran's Competence and Democratic Branding

31:10 • 4min

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Graduate School: Reflections and Regrets

35:27 • 7min

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Building a Sustainable Post-Grad Reading Life

42:00 • 5min

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Where and How We Read

46:50 • 6min

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Unexpected Novel Pleasure Picks

52:30 • 5min

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Speed Round: MacIntyre, Milbank, Scruton

57:41 • 8min

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MacIntyre's Virtue Ethics and Political Uses

01:05:23 • 3min

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Post-Liberalism's Political Homes

Killing for the Telephone Company

Why the Nation-State is Not the Keeper of the Common Good

William T. Kavanaugh

William T. Kavanaugh's piece critiques the modern nation-state from a theological perspective, arguing that the state is not inherently the guardian of the common good and can sanction violence under the guise of public order. He examines historical and theological resources to show how communal goods are undermined by state-centric politics. The essay suggests alternatives rooted in smaller communities and ecclesial structures for sustaining moral life. It explores the ethical implications of state actions and the moral limits of political authority. The piece is often cited in discussions of political theology and critiques of liberal state assumptions.

Gentle Regrets

Roger Scruton

Gentle Regrets gathers Roger Scruton's essays and reflections drawn from a long career in philosophy and public life, offering insights into aesthetics, cultural critique, and conservatism. Scruton reflects on the role of tradition, the value of art, and the responsibilities of citizenship, often blending personal anecdote with philosophical analysis. The book showcases his characteristic defense of the local, the rooted, and the beautiful against modern tendencies toward commodification and nihilism. Throughout, Scruton emphasizes moral seriousness, cultural continuity, and the importance of civil society institutions. The collection is representative of his broader intellectual project to defend conservative cultural values.

#592

• Mentioned in 58 episodes

Varieties of Religious Experience

William James

This book is a collection of lectures delivered by William James at the University of Edinburgh between 1901 and 1902. It focuses on the personal and subjective aspects of religious experiences, rather than on theology or organized religion. James examines various types of religious experiences, including healthy-mindedness, the sick soul, conversion, mysticism, and saintliness. He emphasizes the importance of feeling and personal experience in religion, arguing that these experiences are the primary source of religious beliefs and practices. The book also discusses the psychological and philosophical implications of these experiences, highlighting their complexity and life-altering nature.

#456

• Mentioned in 69 episodes

After Virtue

Alistair McIntyre

Alasdair MacIntyre's "After Virtue" is a highly influential work in moral philosophy that critiques modern ethical theories and proposes a return to virtue ethics. MacIntyre argues that modern moral philosophy has lost its way, leading to a fragmented and incoherent understanding of morality. He traces the historical development of ethical thought, identifying the decline of virtue ethics and the rise of emotivism and other relativistic approaches. MacIntyre proposes a revival of virtue ethics grounded in the Aristotelian tradition, emphasizing the importance of character development and the cultivation of virtuous dispositions. His work has had a profound impact on contemporary ethical debates, inspiring renewed interest in virtue ethics and its application to various social and political issues.

#5096

• Mentioned in 10 episodes

The lost history of liberalism

Helena Rosenblatt

In *The Lost History of Liberalism*, Helena Rosenblatt offers a comprehensive 'word history' of liberalism, examining how the term has been used and understood across centuries. The book delves into the moral core of liberalism, highlighting its engagement with various political and social movements, and challenges common assumptions about its meaning. Rosenblatt emphasizes the importance of understanding liberalism's historical context, particularly its roots in French and German thought, to reconnect with its lost traditions.

#9507

• Mentioned in 6 episodes

Breakfast of Champions

Kurt Vonnegut

Published in 1973, 'Breakfast of Champions' is Kurt Vonnegut’s seventh novel. It is set in the fictional town of Midland City, Ohio, and focuses on two main characters: Dwayne Hoover, a wealthy car dealer on the verge of insanity, and Kilgore Trout, a science fiction writer. The novel is known for its unique style, which includes simple syntax, irony, black humor, and didacticism. Vonnegut himself appears as a narrator, using metafiction to explain and manipulate the narrative. The book critiques various aspects of American society, including war, sex, racism, success, politics, and pollution. It also features drawings by Vonnegut, which illustrate various aspects of life on Earth.

#18650

• Mentioned in 3 episodes

The Hollow Parties

The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics

Daniel Schlozman

Sam Rosenfeld

In 'The Hollow Parties', Daniel Schlozman and Sam Rosenfeld provide a comprehensive history of American political parties, tracing their development from the Jacksonian era through the presidencies of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The book examines how these parties have become hollow shells, locked in a polarized struggle for power and disconnected from their civic roots. It offers insights into how the parties' current state reflects broader democratic discontents and suggests paths for their renewal.

#6464

• Mentioned in 8 episodes

Natural Right and History

Leo Strauss

In this book, Leo Strauss argues that there is a firm foundation in reality for the distinction between right and wrong in ethics and politics. He contrasts classical natural right, as expounded by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas, with modern natural right, which began with Thomas Hobbes and was further developed by thinkers like Locke, Rousseau, and Burke. Strauss critiques modern natural right for leading to historicist relativism and argues that classical natural right is more in line with human nature as political animals. The book is a comprehensive analysis of the intellectual crisis of modernity and the role of philosophy in understanding natural right.

Not only was May 6th the seven-year anniversary of Know Your Enemy, an occasion to celebrate your support of our work, but it's been nearly a year since we last opened the mailbag and answered listener questions. As always, we loved thinking about the topics you so thoughtfully and intelligently asked us to consider, and we take up a number of them in this episode: the future of the MAGA coalition and GOP politics post-Trump, the promise and perils of graduate school, novels we unexpectedly loved, our favorite places to read, how the left should understand liberalism, among others!

* BUY TICKETS FOR KYE x MIKE DUNCAN LIVE IN NYC *

Sources:

Katherine Miller, Margie Omero, & Adrian J. Rivera, "'Disappointed,' 'Surprised,' 'Betrayed': 11 Trump Voters on What Has Gone Wrong," New York Times, April 27, 2026

Christopher Caldwell, "The End of Trumpism," The Spectator, Mar 30, 2026

Helena Rosenblatt, The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century (2018)

Daniel Schlozman & Sam Rosenfeld, The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics (2024)

Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory (1981)

William T. Kavanaugh, "Killing for the Telephone Company: Why the Nation-State is Not the Keeper of the Common Good," Modern Theology, April 2004

Roger Scruton, Gentle Regrets: Thoughts from a Life (2005)

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