The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Latest Episodes:

Close to the Edge Nov 11, 2023

Show notes

The close of another week brings another indulgent Ruminant, in which Jonah dedicates an inordinately long rant to the one subject he’s unquestionably an expert on: his own beliefs. Today’s topics include the latest Republican presidential debate, Joe Biden’s prospects for 2024, the ongoing conflict in Israel, and David Brooks’ recent suggestion that Jonah belongs on the “right edge of the left,” all of which raises important questions: How likely is it that someone other than Biden will be the Democratic nominee? Is there really a distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism? Why will Jonah never consider himself a leftist? And will the Fair Jessica’s efforts to end the solo podcast ever prove successful?

Show Notes:

- The Dispatch Podcast, recorded live from New York, on the latest GOP debate

- An audience Q&A with Jonah and Steve, available exclusively for Dispatch subscribers

- Jonah: “How Anti-Zionism Shrugs Off Antisemitism”

- The Remnant with David Brooks

- Jonah’s review of Yuval Levin’s The Great Debate

- Bid to win a lunch with Jonah in D.C.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To Senor, with Love Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

On today’s Remnant, Jonah welcomes Dan Senor, a prolific pundit, political adviser, and author of the new book, The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World. As tragic as the unfolding situation in Israel may be, Dan joins the program to bring a welcome degree of optimism to our discourse on the subject. Israel, it turns out, has become one of the happiest societies in the world in recent years. But simultaneously, levels of fulfillment have plummeted in the United States. Dan’s book explores why this is the case, and what lessons Americans should take from Israel to strengthen our social fabric and build communities that emphasize the importance of each individual. Tune in for all of the uplifting details.Show Notes:

- Dan’s new book, The Genius of Israel

- Sebastian Junger’s Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging

- The Remnant with Russ Roberts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Can't We Be Friends? Nov 08, 2023

Show notes

For the first time in far too long, New York Times columnist David Brooks is on the Remnant to dispense some of the hottest political wisdom you’ll find this side of Lake Michigan. Lately, David’s been concerned with a serious challenge to America’s social fabric: It seems like most of us can’t really get to know other people. Our country is full of people who feel unseen or misunderstood, and this is fueling our loneliness epidemic and the broader collapse of community. In his new book, How to Know a Person, David offers some solutions to this crisis that largely begin on an interpersonal level. But what does it really mean for people to be seen? What common mistakes do we make in our interactions with others? And will those punk kids ever get off Jonah’s lawn?

Show Notes:

-Watch this episode on YouTube

-David’s page at the New York Times

-David’s page at The Atlantic

-David’s new book, How to Know a Person

-Richard Weaver’s Ideas Have Consequences

-The Remnant with Jean Twenge

-Enter to win a lunch with Jonah in D.C.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kids Aren’t Alright Nov 04, 2023

Show notes

Jonah seldom discloses his fears, but on today’s Ruminant, he’s forced to reveal his greatest weakness: the common cold. Despite the large amount of travel he’s undertaken in recent weeks—which he begins the episode by describing in needless detail—he’s managed to avoid getting sick, but germs are closing in on him. If there’s one thing Jonah hates more than man flu, however, it’s young people (or, at least, society’s misguided worship of young people). Today’s episode is all about youthful opposition to Israel in America: what’s driving it, what it says about our culture, and why it seems to prove that the experiment with “safetyism” on college campuses has failed. Stick around until the end for a few thoughts on Donald Trump’s strange relationship with the law.

Show Notes:

- Jonah: “Settle This One for Me”

- The Coddling of the American Mind

- “Hip hip hooray” is fascist?

- The Remnant with Jean Twenge

- The Dispatch Podcast introduces Jamie Weinstein

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let Me Be Frank Nov 02, 2023

Show notes

Is Joe Biden a secret genius? Today’s Remnant guest—Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer—wouldn’t quite go that far, but he does believe that the president is much more politically adept than you might think. Foer developed a newfound respect for the commander in chief while writing his new book, The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future, and he joins Jonah to explain why. Listeners are also encouraged to tune in to hear Jonah and Frank yearnfully reflect on their misspent youth and the joys of cross-partisan lunches.

Show Notes:

- Frank’s page at The Atlantic

- Frank’s new book, The Last Politician

-Jonah: “Advice for Biden: Be Like Ike”

-Nate Cohn: “Why Less Engaged Voters Are Biden’s Biggest Problem”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cancel This! Nov 01, 2023

Show notes

Jonah’s finally back from Europe after plotting world domination there for the last few months, and he’s ready to get the Remnant party started. Today’s episode features the overdue return of Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. He’s written a new book, The Canceling of the American Mind, which digs into the rise of cancel culture in American life and what we can do to reverse it. But how should cancel culture be defined in the first place? Why does Greg see it as a crisis of historic proportions? How can colleges be fixed? And is Jonah the ultimate grifter?

Show Notes:

- Greg’s webpage

- Greg’s new book, The Canceling of the American Mind

- The Coddling of the American Mind

- “Steven Salaita, the Media, and the Struggle for Academic Freedom”

- Carole Hooven’s T: The Story of Testosterone

- Greg is profiled in Politico

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You Say You Want a Revolution Oct 28, 2023

Show notes

Jonah's never-ending vacation brings him to Prague on today’s worldly Ruminant, but fleeing deeper into Europe can’t help him escape his mid-life crisis. After a few brief musings on such intellectually stimulating subjects as toilet paper and Indonesian cuisine, he dives into less significant issues like the House speakership debacle, the ideological origins of left-wing opposition to Israel, and the ongoing dumbification of the GOP. Get your Che Guevara shirts ready for an interesting ride.

Show Notes:

- Eli Lake on Frantz Fanon

- Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth

- Edmund Burke on the East India Company

- Orwell on Gandhi

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I Got You Dave Oct 26, 2023

Show notes

Jonah’s Italian vision quest has nearly concluded, but he still has a few corners of his subconscious left to search. That leaves the Remnant in need of a guest host, and who better to captain the ship once again than Chris Stirewalt, America’s favorite country pundit? Chris has worn his egghead hat for his last few episodes, but today, he embraces his true nature as a political dirtbag driven solely by the pursuit of rank punditry. To that end, his guest is The Dispatch’s own David Drucker, who joins to discuss the 2024 election in all of its endless stupidity. Do any of the GOP candidates not named Donald Trump actually have a chance? How’s Biden been doing lately? And is going “all in on Iowa” a political death knell for Tim Scott and Ron DeSantis?

Show Notes:

- David’s page at The Dispatch

- Chris’ Remnant with Amity Shlaes

- Chris’ Roman Remnant with Mike Duncan

- David’s Dispatch interview with Chris Christie

- David: “Ron DeSantis Endorsements Keep Coming”

- Ben Terris: “The Make-Believe Republican Primary”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My Fair Lincoln Oct 25, 2023

Show notes

The Remnant further affirms itself as America’s leading podcast in book promotion today, as journalist and NPR host Steve Inskeep brings his velvety tones to the program to discuss his new book, Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America. Though studies of Honest Abe aren’t exactly in short supply, Steve’s has a unique hook: It tells Lincoln’s life story by examining sixteen of his encounters with prominent figures, each of whom disagreed with him in some way. The questions raised are significant: Why is there an abiding fascination with Lincoln in the American consciousness? How did Lincoln become a Republican? And could a novel about Lincoln fighting Nazis with a pet poodle in tow become an all-time bestseller?

Show Notes:

-Watch this interview on YouTube

- Steve’s page at NPR

- Steve’s new book, Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Italian Job Oct 21, 2023

Show notes

After yet another week of chaotic travel, Jonah can’t resist recording a Ruminant to settle his addled mind. Coming to you from the seas of Southern Italy, today’s offering is marginally less excessive than usual, as Jonah focuses his ornery energy on the Israel-Gaza war and how America’s political parties are reacting to it. Other, equally grim topics include the limits of the United Nations, the state of the Ukraine conflict, and Russian collaboration with Iran.

Show Notes:

- The Wall Street Journal on potential Iran support for Hamas

- The Trotskyite origins of postcolonial theory

- President Biden's Oval Office address on Ukraine and Israel

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices