The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Today’s refreshingly (or regrettably, depending on your perspective) sober Ruminant finds Jonah surrounded by boxes of books so nerdy that even Goodwill won’t take them. Preoccupied with thoughts on the strange state of the right, and the equally strange state of Joe Biden, he swiftly reaches levels of wonkiness so high that they could cure sleep deprivation. What’s the matter with the Claremont Institute? Will the oft-discussed “Liberal Fascism Revisited” piece ever be completed? And what new euphemism for a mild hangover will soon be sweeping the nation? Show Notes: - Jonah’s pre-coffee reproval of Ryan Williams - The Wednesday G-File - J.D. Vance’s Democrat-esque response to David French - The decline of the Lincoln Fellowship - The week’s first Remnant with Andy Smarick - The week’s second Remnant with Mike Gallagher, which must be heard to be believed - Horseshoe theory - Last Friday’s G-File - Jerry Nadler: “We are not packing the Supreme Court, we are unpacking it.” - The Decadent Society, by Ross Douthat - Biden wears a mask alone in Arlington National Cemetery - Jonah: “Biden Puts Feelings Over Facts in Afghanistan Withdrawal” - The Rectification of Names Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s career-ruining episode, recorded deep within the headquarters of Half-Baked DARPA, Jonah is joined by frequent guest Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Packers) for a jaunt through the land of new and creative ideas that still need some more time in the oven. The show sees the guys return to the idea of annexing Greenland while also bringing new life to half-baked concepts such as spray-painted meteors, an $800 quadrillion infrastructure plan for salvaging the experience of the midpriced American hotel, and the joys of director commentaries when combined with drinking games. Emphasis on the drinking part. Also, find out what masterful modern novel Gallagher thought “sucked.” Show Notes: -Rep. Gallagher’s webpage -Rep. Gallagher’s appearance on the Remnant’s super-spectacular 200th episode -Trump’s hand on the Ohio Senate primary -“We’re gonna have… tryouts” -Jonah shakes his fist in the direction of infrastructure -Jonah: “Greenland Should Be Ours” -Obi-Wan v. Darth Vader, gloriously re-imagined -It’s “I’m Eighteen,” Jonah -The Jewish space lazer conspiracy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Only those in the wonky 1 percent should subject themselves to today’s nerdtastic Remnant, in which Jonah is joined for a third time by the Manhattan Institute’s Andy Smarick. The pair use Andy’s recent Dispatch piece on the folly of never-ending school closures to launch a wide-ranging discussion of the pandemic culture war and divisions among conservatives. Should you be friends with politicians? Why are some Americans desperate for normalcy to never return? And is it wise for so many right-wing whippersnappers to reject the so-called “dead consensus”? Unsurprisingly, Jonah thinks Hayek has the answer to at least one of those questions. Show Notes: -Andy Smarick - the Manhattan Institute -Jim Geraghty on opening with the 10th step of a 10-step argument -Last week’s Remnant with Dan Crenshaw -Jonah: “Giuliani's Sorry Path from Law-and-Order Mayor to Villainous Clown” -Giuliani: “My attitude to my legacy is …” -Andy: “What the Narrative on School Reopenings Has Missed” -Randi Weingarten calls American Jews “part of the ownership class” -The View of the World from 9th Avenue -Joy Reid is too scared to enjoy life after she’s vaccinated -Steven Petrow: “I’m Vaccinated, but I’m Not Really Ready to Leave My Pandemic Cocoon” -Hadley Arkes and peers argue for a “better” originalism -Catholics v. libertarians in the 1960s -Marco Rubio: “Amazon Should Face Unionization Drive Without Republican Support” -Mitt Romney’s child allowance proposal -Jonah is flattered by R.R. Reno’s gushing review of Suicide of the West -YouGov’s recent survey of 2020 Trump voters -Hayek’s “The Use of Knowledge in Society” -David French on nutpicking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this freewheeling Ruminant, Jonah is accompanied by a smaller cast of off-putting onlookers than last time. Still on a high after the week’s earlier discussion of Bigfoot’s messianic powers, he approaches the questions of the day with extra verve. Is recycling a load of garbage? Is President Biden’s rhetoric on race any better? And, of course, has politics supplanted religion? Tune in to find out and, in case you missed it, to learn of the Sasquatch’s alien origins. Show Notes: - The great plastic recycling lie - ”Do you kids want to be like the real UN? Or do you just want to squabble and waste time?” - John Tierny: “Recycling is Garbage” - The week’s second Remnant with Dan Crenshaw - “She just dislikes me so much… it’s irresistible!” - The Suicidal Corporation, by Paul Weaver - Jonah: “No, Georgia’s Election Law is Not ‘Jim Crow 2.0’" - The week’s first Dispatch Podcast - Biden gets four Pinocchios - Minneapolis newspaper owner thinks we haven’t had racial progress in three generations - Biden: “They’re going to put ya’ll back in chains” - Jonah: “WaterGaetz” - Last week’s Remnant with Shadi Hamid - The “Religion of Humanity” - The Revolutions podcast - The week’s first Remnant with Denver Riggleman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah collaborates with Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw on their second Remnant together in an attempt to hash out their differences of opinion regarding why Congress doesn’t work. (Or does it?) Come listen, and discover why members of Congress feel the need to have such robust media teams on staff all the time, why Marjorie Taylor Greene is actually a swamp creature nowadays, and walk through Dan’s “favorite moment of 2021,” which features a shockingly bad instance of Spanglish. Show Notes: -Dan’s podcast, Hold These Truths -Dan’s article on fighting, not performing -Jonathan Rauch: Is Congress broken? -Jonathan Haidt’s political Turing test -Jonah’s article on Antony Blinken and China -Dan’s Conservative Guide to the Culture Wars -Almost nobody uses “Latinx” -“Si, se pwadway!” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Denver Riggleman, former congressman for Virginia’s 5th District and noted Bigfoot enthusiast, joins Jonah on today’s episode for a colorful discussion of Americans’ freedom to believe anything they want. Sometimes, the consequences can be tragic, as in the case of January 6. But they can also be truly spectacular, and for proof, look no further than those who believe Bigfoot is an interdimensional traveler, psychedelic prophet, and alien scout. Before diving headfirst into Sasquatch lore, the pair also explore fine liquor, what it’s really like inside the House Freedom Caucus, and Denver’s experiences running for office. It’s a Remnant André the Giant wouldn’t want you to miss. Show Notes: -Denver’s website -Denver, QAnon, and Bigfoot erotica -"The QAnon Conspiracy: Destroying Families, Dividing Communities, Undermining Democracy" - a report co-authored by Denver -Denver’s new book, Bigfoot… It’s Complicated -The Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film -9/11 truthers -NYT: “One Republican’s Lonely Fight Against a Flood of Misinformation” -Mick Mulvaney on The Dispatch Podcast -Denver and the church parking lot -Silverback Distillery -Is Bigfoot an interdimensional traveler? -The Nashville bomber believed in lizard people -Giuliani’s insane voter fraud claims -Judean People’s Front vs. People’s Front of Judea -The Six Million Dollar Man vs. Bigfoot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s Ruminant features Jonah amid a group of silent watchers, staring at him while on mute in a Zoom meeting as he speaks to himself for an hour in the basement of an undisclosed location. On the docket today: Jonah returns to one of the most interesting political conundrums of our moment. Was our class of political nutjobs always crazy, or did they only get crazy in the last few years? On a completely unrelated note, why is Matt Gaetz the way he is? And, of course, Jonah speaks to the dangers of “thinking about politics like you’re watching a movie.” Show Notes: - The ongoing Matt Gaetz scandal - Politico’s summary of John Boehner’s new book, On the House: A Washington Memoir - Boehner unloads on the GOP’s “crazy caucus” - Jonah: “I’m Not Going to Say I Told You So… But” - Last month’s Remnant with Elaine Kamarck - Steve Bannon and the “Island of Misfit Toys” - Kevin Williamson: “Peter Navarro: Trump’s Nutty Economics Professor” - Peter Navarro believes Fauci created COVID - Memories of bleach - This week’s second Remnant with Shadi Hamid - Chelsea Handler on due process for Derek Chauvin - Jonah: “Why Bipartisanship is a Weapon to Use Against Your Political Foes” - Romney pushes Biden on bipartisanship - The week’s first Remnant with Chris Stirewalt - Triangulation: the dirtiest word in politics - Bill Maher steals Jonah’s joke - Kevin McCarthy reads Green Eggs and Ham Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, first-time guest of The Remnant, Shadi Hamid joins Jonah for a comprehensive discussion on religion, identity, and the bizarre wokespeak favored by Twitter’s blue checkmark crowd. Have wokeism and ethno-nationalism superseded religion on the left and right respectively? Are Islam and classical liberalism compatible? And, crucially, can Jonah contain the annoyance that consumes him at the mere mention of Adrian Vermeule? Show Notes: - Shadi Hamid - Brookings Institution - Shadi: “America Without God” - Shadi’s podcast, Wisdom of Crowds - They’re always eating candy at Brookings… - Jonathan Haidt on moral psychology and religion - Shadi on the “Church of Woke” - Jonah: “The Definition of Dogma” - Trump’s improved Muslim support in 2020 - Just 3% of Hispanics use Latinx - 25% of black Democrats identify as conservative - Shadi’s latest book, Islamic Exceptionalism - Catholics vs. Libertarians in the 1960s - Muslim views on morality - Reopening Muslim Minds, by Mustafa Akyol - Why Liberalism Failed, by Patrick Deneen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, it’s déjà vu all over again as Chris Stirewalt returns - this time in the guest seat. What do Georgia’s new voter laws, Arlen Specter, mandatory voting, The World According to Garp’s infamous “tongue scene,” Henry VIII, and Robin Williams’ illustrious career in drag have to do with one another? Well, the guys talk about all of it and more in this edition, and hopefully it puts you in a mood to believe that the living will not, in fact, envy the dead - “at least at the margins.” Show Notes: -Chris’ page at The Dispatch -Chiller Theater -New voting laws in Georgia -Chris’ recent Remnant with Daron Shaw -Jonah: “Voter Apathy Isn’t a Crime” -Obama: the filibuster is a “Jim Crow relic” -Jonah’s love of Arlen Specter -Was the 1960 election stolen? -Jonah “The Center is a Lonely Place to Be” -Jonah: “We Have Two Moon Parties, No Sun Party” -Patriotic Grace, by Peggy Noonan -Boehner and Obama’s bad bromance -Jonah: Congress is a “parliament of pundits” -Revolutions Podcast - The English Civil War -Divided We Fall, by David French -James Kirchichick: “Why White-Nationalist Thugs Thrill to Trump” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this weekend’s Ruminant, hop into Jonah’s somewhat underwhelming time machine that goes only to the past – because, after all, “the future doesn’t exist.” Why is Jonah driving through the setting of a Mark Twain story? Why do conservatives look to the past for better times (even when the past is largely worse), and why do liberals look to a nonexistent future? Why are both left- and right-wing kids trying to make the entire world like a college campus? And who is Gabriel Kolko, and why does Jonah find him “useful”? Show notes: - Jonah’s desert adventures - The week’s first Remnant with Tevi Troy - The week’s second Remnant, with David French and Greg Lukianoff - Jonah reviews Wendy Shalit’s book - Jonah’s filibuster column - Gabriel Kolko’s bibliography Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices