The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Today’s Ruminant finds Jonah on an uncharacteristic high, and no, his good mood can’t be attributed to a certain substance that was recently discovered in the White House. He’s actually in elevated spirits because a recent AEI event prompted him to rediscover the work of Paul Cantor, a late scholar at the University of Virginia who analyzed pop culture through a conservative lens. He begins today’s program with a thorough exploration of Cantor’s work, before delivering similarly overlong rants on the American Founding and the purpose of the Supreme Court. Sometimes, the Remnant can feel like a wonderful drug.Show Notes:-Jonah and friends discuss Paul Cantor-“The Macbeth of Meth”-Vanity Fair: “America Has a Supreme Court Problem”-The Remnant celebrates the Fourth of July Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trapped on the island of Nantucket, a guestless Jonah uses today’s Remnant to provide an impromptu meditation on the Fourth of July. His musings explore the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, whether America is a nation or an idea, and why it’s vital to teach American history. Listen with a hot dog in one hand and a miniature flag in the other to feel like a true patriot.Show Notes:- Henry Fairlie: “The Shot Heard Round the World”- The Gettysburg Address and the meaning of the 4th- Irving Kristol: “The American Revolution as a Successful Revolution”- Calvin Coolidge on the Declaration of Independence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rather than dedicating today’s Ruminant to another interminable rant about the state of the GOP (although if you’re interested in one of those, you might want to read Wednesday's members-only G-File, hint-hint), Jonah focuses his attention on topics less likely to drive him utterly insane. These include some major recent Supreme Court decisions, his shrinking skepticism of horseshoe theory, and our tendency to overlook the meaningful distinctions between friends, family, and strangers. Tune in also to hear Jonah thoroughly dispel all rumors of his anti-Italian bigotry.Show Notes:- The GLoP Culture podcast - The Dispatch Podcast on the end of affirmative action- The Remnant with Bret Devereaux- Guy is released from the pit for a Remnant AMA- Jonah: “Defending Conservatism—From the Right”- Gertrude Himmelfarb’s The Roads to Modernity: the British, French, and American Enlightenments- Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unable to find a guest who’s willing to tolerate his ramblings, an anesthetized Jonah is forced to return to the AMA format on today’s distinctly messy Remnant. Temporarily freed from his pit, Guy, Jonah’s immigrant manservant, offers a fresh batch of listener questions that cover everything from the latest in Supreme Court controversies, to the prospect of a Dispatch blogging section, to the conservative underpinnings of popular movies and TV shows. But although their conversation contains a few nuggets of genuine substance, most of it proves to be so pointlessly indulgent that you may be better served by simply listening to the week’s first episode again.Show Notes:-The Remnant with Bret Devereaux-Advisory Opinions on Alito’s preemptive strike-Justice Alito’s Wall Street Journal op-ed-Jonah: “Stop Pining for the ‘Good Old Days’”- he Daniel J. Boorstin Reader-Jonah discusses Patrick Deneen on the Acton Institute podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah’s unwashed historical nerdery is usually unparalleled, but on today’s Remnant, he may finally have met his match. His guest? Ancient historian Bret Devereaux, who joins to discuss all things Roman. With topics including war and peace, political philosophy, and the cruelty of Spartan society, their conversation is sure to eliminate any misguided nostalgia you may have for the past.Show Notes:- Bret’s pedantic blog- Bret talks Orc battle tactics on that niche legal podcast- Bret on Ancient Greece and Rome- Bret makes a correction on social conservatism- Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined- Azar Gat’s War in Human Civilization  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Saddened by hate mail and addled by a dingo-related health scare, Jonah’s in an exceptionally frazzled state of mind on today’s predictably excessive Ruminant. He begins his ramblings by addressing a crude spat between Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Green in the middle of the House floor before pivoting to some recent Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Then, it’s nerdery all the way down as he revisits last week’s G-File, which inspires a rant on the philosophical origins of liberalism, what defines American culture, and why there really is nothing new under the sun.Show Notes:- The Remnant with Stephanie Slade- The Remnant with Robert Kagan- “Critical Trump Theory” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WARNING: The following episode contains multiple references to a certain American president who shall not be named. Due to the high volume of mentions, The Dispatch production team used discretion in playing the musical cue which normally follows all such mentions. We apologize in advance.On today’s Remnant, Jonah is joined by Robert Kagan—leading scholar of foreign policy and senior fellow at the reviled Brookings Institution, where the sweet taste of candy never gets old—to discuss his new beach read, a 700-page history of America’s role in the world in the first half of the 20th century. Their conversation covers everything from the origins of the League of Nations to the wackiness of Charles Beard, with some fiendishly nerdy musings on isolationism, nativism, and conservatism mixed in for good measure. Predictably, Jonah does not make good on his initial promise to “not get too deep into the weeds.”Show Notes:-Due to the insane amount of "Wilson" name drops in this episode, there will only be one Wilson theme music play-The Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of the World Order, 1900-1941-The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History-American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis-“Challenging the U.S. Is a Historic Mistake” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephanie Slade, senior editor at Reason, joins Jonah Goldberg to criticize Patrick Deneen's post-liberal vision for American society and the political right. They discuss the state of Catholicism, the Dobbs decision, and the divisive topic of immigration. They also analyze the rise of the 'new right' and its lack of intellectual depth, emphasizing the need for attention and action.

Despite the desperate pleas of his wife, his RA, and his psychiatrist, Jonah insists on continuing to record the Ruminant, and his sanity may be steadily slipping away with each mumbled syllable. Today, he largely resists the temptation to discuss the Trump indictment, instead digging into Johns Hopkins’ baffling new classification of lesbians, California’s push to punish “non-affirming parents”, and the sheer lack of decorum we all must now endure. Things conclude on familiar ground with an ol’-fashioned, extra-curmudgeonly rant about the new right’s bizarre nostalgia for the Dark Ages.Show Notes:- The McCarthy Report on Trump’s indictment- Advisory Opinions, also on Trump’s indictment- The “non-men” of Johns Hopkins- Michael Knowles and the 1220s- Politico’s Patrick Deneen profile- Alcohol is woke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In what may be the most focused conversation in the history of this podcast, Jonah is joined by Rick Hess—AEI senior fellow and esteemed education policy wonk—to discuss his new book, The Great School Rethink. During COVID, it became clear that American schools could use an overhaul. But what should reform look like in practice? Rick has answers, and he also has thoughts on hot-button subjects ranging from the education-industrial complex (yes, it’s a thing) to the debate over school choice and standardized tests. Other topics addressed include the use of technology in schools, the role of parents in education, and the nature of choice. As usual, if it’s eggheadery you’re after, the Remnant will never give you up or let you down. Show Notes: -Rick’s new book, The Great School Rethink-Rick: “Schools Are Trying to Do Too Much”-Rick: “Moving from “Reform” to “Rethinking”-James Q. Wilson’s Bureaucracy: What Governments Do and Why They Do It-Arthur Bestor’s Educational Wastelands: The Retreat From Learning in our Public Schools Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices