The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

David French graciously guest-hosts in Jonah’s place on today’s program, wherein he has a long-ranging conversation with a longtime friend , Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. David and Greg discuss some of the silliest and most sinister examples of censorship regimes on college campuses from recent history, the history of the campus free speech movement stretching back to the 1950s, David’s memories of being a conservative at Harvard Law School, and the moment that Greg realized that “the students themselves had become the main proponents of censorship.” By coincidence, it’s our second Remnant in a row that is largely about modern cancel culture and censorship, rounded out by a conversation about the Snyder Cut. The only difference, really, is that David and Greg seriously dig it. Show Notes: - Greg Lukianoff of FIRE - The Coddling of the American Mind, by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt - Herbert Marcuse and campus free speech - Greg: “Speech Codes: The Biggest Scandal on College Campuses Today” - “Inappropriately directed laughter” - “Beirut on the Charles” - Greg’s first book, Unlearning Liberty - Indian River Community College bans The Passion of the Christ - The Eternally Radical Idea - The Ronald Zaccari Memorial Parking Garage - Greg debates Ken White on cancel culture - Greg talks about social justice graduate requirements in the Chronicle of Higher Education - Alexi McCammond fired from Teen Vogue over old tweets - Jonathan Rauch on how to tell if you’re being canceled - The Revolt of the Public, by Martin Gurri - Amazon pulls Ryan T. Anderson’s book on transgender issues Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tevi Troy—presidential historian and all-around smart person—joins the program to talk about the mechanics of cancel culture, and what might be done to prevent it from taking hold in the future. Key to Tevi’s point is that “cancel culture is actually a distinct phenomenon from political correctness, which everyone largely disliked in the ‘90s.” They also talk about the larger culture of censorship in America before moving into the most vitally important topics of our time: Marvel vs. DC, in both their cinematic and comic book forms (Reminder: Sonny Bunch is always right), and the Snyder Cut—including methods for getting through the whole thing without falling asleep. Show Notes: -Tevi’s page at National Affairs -Biden’s July 4 speech -Jonah: “The Treason of the Epidemiologists” -Lindsey J. Leininger and Harold Pollack: “We’re public health experts. We need to do a better job of talking to conservatives.” -Tevi: “Presidents and Public Health Crises” -Jake Sullivan and Anthony Blinken’s China summit -Tevi: “How to Defend Free Speech” -David Brooks: “Freakish Thinking” -Kindly Inquisitors, by Jonathan Rausch -Barbara Jordan’s 1992 DNC speech -Irving Kristol: “Pornography, Obscenity and the Case for Censorship” -Tevi: “The Fanny Hill Phenomenon” -The Coddling of the American Mind, by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff -Bari Weiss interviews Jonathan Haidt -Jonah and Bing West laugh at Tevi -Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump, by Tevi -Sonny Bunch reviews Zack Snyder’s Justice League Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the midst of carving a path to Yosemite, Jonah has graced us with a Ruminant that provides a weekly roundup of his writing – from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to an example from his past that indicates why our radicals should Czech their privilege. He moves into a rumination on subconscious conservative messages embedded within Hollywood entertainment before discussing the unintended consequences of the Senate re-embrace of earmarks as well as the perks of sleeping in Walmart parking lots. It suffices to say that this Ruminant has a positively buckshot-like spread in terms of topics, so have fun with it. Show notes: - The Remnant with Professional Jonah Impersonator Chris Stirewalt - The member’s only Wednesday “news”letter from The Cleve - One of rock’s wildest singers has a permanent Vegas residency - Jonah’s Czech-cellent Adventure - Chekov’s Gun - “We made a person!” - The virtues of The Walking Dead - The weird Remnant with Nick and Guy - Jonah’s column on earmarks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live (well, at the time of recording) from Park City, Utah, Jonah is joined by his AEI handlers, Nick and Guy, for a pop culture-filled conversation with the help of listener-provided questions. Why does Jonah go on trips fit only for Survivorman? Why is Pam Grier so fascinating? Was Angel actually better than Buffy? And, the most important question of all, which one of Jonah’s former coworkers in conservative news media does Guy sound exactly like? Show Notes - Onion: “Markle seen holding Prince Harry’s cadaverous hand for support” - Jonah’s G-File from a snow-wracked Texas - Jack’s defense of Weird Wendy’s - Scott Lincicome asking Jonah the hard questions - “Oh, come on, Gallagher!” - The members-only midweek “news”letter - The Remnant with Cass Sunstein, potential future dog-book co-author - Jasmine, true name unpronounceable by human tongue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pinch-hitting for Jonah today is his vocal double Chris Stirewalt, who talks with his old friend from their shared years at Fox News’ Decision Desk, Daron Shaw. Chris and Daron go on a “mythbusting” expedition, explaining why the conventional wisdom that high-turnout elections benefit Democrats isn’t true (and has never been) as well as why campaign finance efforts have historically failed to attack corruption in favor of simply dismantling the “appearance of corruption.” It’s a punched-up episode that’s sure to complete a few of your Remnant Bingo cards. Show Notes: -Daron Shaw at the University of Texas -Daron and John Petrocik’s book, The Turnout Myth -Voter files -2020 was largest turnout since 1900 -Was Edgar Allan Poe “cooped”? -McConnell speaks about McCain-Feingold -Daron’s book on Buckley v. Valeo, The Appearance of Corruption -P.J. O’Rourke’s Don’t Vote Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weekend’s Ruminant, Jonah has a lot rattling around in his mind, and now you're gonna hear about it. Why are elites inevitable? What explains the transformation of the Democratic Party into an ideological party? Stay for Jonah's thoughts on Covid relief, and President Biden's first prime-time White House address. Show Notes: -The Friday G-File -The members-only midweek “news”letter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Hayward enters the ranks of the three-timers on today’s Remnant, as he and Jonah engage in a discussion of the American right that manages to be both wide and deep. Jonah and Steve get the “dark clouds out of the way” (such as a pervasive illiberal cancel culture and the reappearance of especially nasty tribalism) first to make room for Steve’s heartening optimism. Such greener pastures involve an investigation into what remains of the old fusionist mindset among conservatives, why the right should not adopt basically left wing policies simply to conform with the “motivated reasoning” of certain activist conservatives, and how the right can do its part to stop the exporting of campus values into the general culture. Show Notes: -Steven F. Hayward - The Claremont Institute -Steven’s first book, Churchill on Leadership -Steven’s second book, The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, 1964-1980 -Amazon removes Clarence Thomas documentary -Cancel Pepe Le Pew -Macron more American than an American now -Rich Lowry: “Don’t Rewrite Mark Twain” -Ebay removes listings for canceled Dr. Seuss books -Jonah: “America Has Two Minority Parties” -James Clyburn: “Defund the police” cost Democrats seats -The Great Debate, by Yuval Levin -Steven’s latest book, M. Stanton Evans: Conservative Wit, Apostle of Freedom -Oren Cass: “America Should Adopt an Industrial Policy” -Oren Cass on The Dispatch Podcast -Jonah: “Does Anyone Really Believe Free Market Fundamentalists Are ‘Running the Show’?” -Christopher J. Walker: “The Federalist Society’s Chevron Deference Dilemma” -Stephanie Slade: “Is There a Future for Fusionism?” -Stephanie Slade’s latest Remnant appearance -Daniel E. Burns: “Liberal Practice v. Liberal Theory” -Blacklisted by History, by M. Stanton Evans -Robert J. Zimmer stands up for free speech at UChicago -Charles Murray attacked at Middlebury -The Port Huron Statement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s show, Jonah speaks to Manhattan Institute fellow and CCNY professor Daniel DiSalvo (an expert on public-sector unions and their history) to find out how the sausage really gets made in the intra-organizational politics of these public-sector unions, and how their influence is often the result of “the breakdown of machine politics – especially within the Democratic Party – in big cities.” Show Notes: - Dan’s page at the Manhattan Institute - “The Trouble with Police Unions” - Dan’s latest book, Government Against Itself - The first work on the “New Class,” by Milovan Djilas - Maya Wiley back by the SEIU in NYC - DeBlasio was also endorsed by SEIU - Terry Moe’s book on teachers unions - New York teachers’ all-expenses-paid “rubber rooms” - The OG happy warrior Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend’s edition of the Ruminant is a little bit like Christopher Hitchens’ D.C. apartment: a little bit of one thing right next to a little bit of the complete opposite thing. There’s a lot of ground covered in this, a practically record-breaking long episode of the podcast in which Jonah discusses his dad’s work for the wonderfully-acronymed NANA (North American Newspaper Alliance), dynamic scoring (a system in which this episode gets an A+), the necessity of telling the truth at a time in which even committed conservatives have a legitimate temptation to abandon their principles, the request from a listener for Goldberg Story Time, and much, much more. Show Notes: - Tim Russert interviews Bob Kerrey - John Edwards’ bizarre stem cell comments - CDC director “speaking in her personal capacity” - TX Gov. Abbott lifts mask mandate - Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - “Rationalia” - Jay Nordlinger’s Q&A - Memogate/Rathergate - “Slackjawed troglodytes” - Voir dire, or, as Advisory Opinions likes to say, “Vwahr Dahr” - “I don’t like the… stumps” - Mit-Voche Epistle - The Remnant with Steve Hayward and Charles Murray - Kathryn Jean Lopez’ page at National Review - Matt Lewis speaks to Bill Kristol Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elaine Kamarck of the Brookings Institution joins us for the first time. She and Jonah stray from pure rank punditry to instead discuss intra-party politics of primaries, the Democratic Party, and Elaine’s innate skepticism of the Electoral College. Jonah pushes back by saying that “When you start to dig under the surface, most people who oppose the Electoral College are really just saying that they don’t like the Senate,” to which Elaine has a great, balanced response (probably the best answer we’ve heard on this program from someone that dislikes the Electoral College). Join the program to see more light than heat on this episode. Show Notes: -Elaine Kamarck, the Brookings Institution -Elaine’s latest book, Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates -Elaine: “The urgent need for peer review in the presidential nominating process” -The McGovern-Fraser Commission Report -"I opened up the doors of the Democratic Party, and 20 million people walked out." -81 percent of black Americans don't want less police presence -NYT: “Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police” -Lessons from Mike Bloomberg’s attempt to buy the 2020 election -Why Presidents Fail and How They Can Succeed Again -The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact -Elaine and John Hudak: “How to get rid of the Electoral College” -Elaine with Jon Ward on The Long Game podcast -The latest GLoP podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices