The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Latest Episodes:

Dear Father Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

Rev. Robert Sirico, co-founder and president of the Acton Institute, joins the Remnant to discuss his new book, The Economics of the Parables, which uses Biblical stories to offer economic advice. With many on the right now embracing theocracy, it’s tempting to argue that the Catholic intellectual tradition is inherently at odds with capitalism. But Rev. Sirico disagrees, and he also isn’t convinced by the common left-wing argument that Jesus was a socialist. How can we heal the American heart? Should religion influence politics? And which of Rev. Sirico’s relatives might have Jonah whacked for the end of this podcast?

Show Notes:

- The Economics of the Parables, Rev. Sirico’s new book

- Rev. Sirico’s column

- Jonah on the microcosm and the macrocosm

- Understanding Voegelin

- Arthur Brooks’ Who Really Cares?

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Truth and Consequences Jun 15, 2022

Show notes

Chris Stirewalt, America’s favorite rodeo expert, is back on the Remnant to provide an inside view of the January 6 hearings. He and Jonah explore how the hearings have played out so far and what we can expect the outcome to be, occasionally stopping for a few strange existential digressions. Will the hearings influence the midterms? What happened on election night when Fox decided to call Arizona? And how well does Chris know his Hume from his Haidt?

Show Notes:

- Chris’ page at The Dispatch

- Chris: “The January 6 Committee and Me”

- Chris: “Trump’s Faction of One”

- The Hangover with Steve Kornacki

- Greta Van Awful

- Jonah: “This Was Always the Plan”

- Charles Krauthammer: “Bungled Collusion is Still Collusion”

- The Remnant 500th episode extravaganza

- Jonah: “The Parliamentary-Election Problem”

- Jonah: “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Jan. 6 Committee”

- Tim Miller on team normal

- Earth’s greatest tweet

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Kiss and Tell Jun 11, 2022

Show notes

Weird, overlong, and predictably devoid of substance, the drive-time Remnant format returns for another broadcast. Although today’s program begins with analysis of the January 6 hearings, it swiftly takes a turn for the eclectically surreal, as Jonah describes his obsession with pharmaceutical fine print, Ryan ponders the greatness of American dining halls, and Guy provides an account of his visit to a Kiss convention (yes, really). Oh, and to prevent things from becoming too pointless and indulgent (yeah, right) a few thoughts are also sprinkled in on the weakening of institutions and our fragile culture.

Show Notes:

- The Dispatch breaks down the Jan 6 hearing

- Jonah: “What I Got Wrong About Fascism”

- The New York Times’ Jan 6 reconstruction

- Stanford’s problematic dining halls

- Jonathan Haidt on our uniquely stupid decade

- Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park

- Marvel’s Kiss comic book

- Damnation Alley

- The Remnant with Mike Gallagher

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The Disappearing Act Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

It’s been a while since a recovering Marxist joined the Remnant, but Ruy Teixeira, political demographer and senior fellow at American Progress, is here to fill that void. In predictably wonky fashion, he and Jonah examine the future of the Democratic Party and how the progressive movement has changed in recent years. They also explore racism in American life, wokeism in universities, and Jonah’s renowned distaste for primaries. Whatever happened to the FDR coalition? Is Maoism back in style? And should we still be optimistic about America?

Show Notes:

- Ruy’s newsletter, The Liberal Patriot

- Ruy and John B. Judis’ The Emerging Democratic Majority

- Ruy’s The Optimistic Leftist

- Ruy: “Eyes Wide Shut”

- Ruy: “How to Fix the Democratic Brand”

- The Remnant with Francis Fukuyama

- David Shor and the Democrats

- Jonah: “That Shor Sounds Good”

- Tyler Cowen on the Turing test

- The Remnant with Elaine Kamarck

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The Stuffed Crust Rises Jun 08, 2022

Show notes

Armed with a smorgasbord of booze, Jonah reunites with Rep. Mike Gallagher for another half-baked extravaganza, in which the duo’s efforts to annex Greenland may finally come to fruition. Trap doors beneath escalators, dad-centric dating apps, and various bovine innovations are among the undercooked ideas proposed for your listening enjoyment, as well as a few novel solutions for the domestic crises sweeping our nation. Tune in also for excessive pop culture discussion, ruminations on the existence of extraterrestrials, and a possible new name for the Remnant.

Show Notes:

- Jonah and Rep. Mike’s previous career-ruining encounter

- Leonard E. Read’s “I, Pencil”

- Fully baked

- Jonathan Haidt: “Facebook’s Dangerous Experiment on Teen Girls”

- Yuval Levin on why we’re still governed by baby boomers

- Jonah on capes

- Don’t F- with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer

- Tupac’s hologram

- Is Al Gore an alien?

- The David Weigel suspension

- Yuval Levin: “The Changing Face of Social Breakdown”

- Jonah: “I Think We’re Turning Japanese”

- Geoffrey Household’s Rogue Male

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High Tension Jun 04, 2022

Show notes

Jonah plunges into the danger zone on today’s Ruminant, covering topics ranging from the somber to the downright bizarre. After offering a few thoughts on Wednesday’s indulgent “news”letter and the nature of writer’s block, he turns to television, republicanism, and superstition, providing exceptionally nerdy disquisitions on each. Does the djinn genie live on his back? How does Jonah really feel about the Second Amendment? And after the success of the 500th Remnant-palooza, could further live events be coming soon?

Show Notes:

- The Wednesday G-File

- Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special

- Justin Fenton’s We Own This City

- The Remnant with Yuval Levin

- The Remnant with Tony Mills

- The Remnant with Francis Fukuyama

- When market failure is government failure

- The Remnant with Stephen Gutowski

- David French on red flag laws

- The Ayn Rand poster saga continues

- The 500th Remnant-palooza

- Have a minute to share The Dispatch?

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Can We Keep It? Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

Tony Mills, a senior fellow at AEI whose work focuses on science policy and political theory, joins the Remnant for an ultra-nerdy exploration of the American political tradition. He and Jonah examine whether liberalism alone can sustain the United States and why our experts have fallen into such low repute. Is free market capitalism corrosive? Why is civic republicanism important? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of bureaucracy?

Show Notes:

- Tony’s page at AEI

- The Remnant with Yuval Levin

- Tony: “Liberalism is Not Enough”

- Tony: “Illiberalism’s True Colors”

- Russell Kirk and Lionel Trilling

- The Remnant with Daniel Hannan

- Daniel Burns: “Liberal Practice vs. Liberal Theory”

- Schumpeter’s Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy

- Daniel Bell’s The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism

- James Burnham’s The Managerial Revolution

- Orwell: “Second Thoughts on James Burnham”

- Jonah on beastly bureaucracy

- Tony: “Unmasking Scientific Expertise”

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The Remnant 500th Episode Spectacular May 31, 2022

Show notes

At long last, the Remnant-palooza celebrating Jonah’s 500th episode is here for your listening pleasure. Recorded live at the American Enterprise Institute before a crowd of Dispatch devotees, the episode features two panel discussions featuring three of the program’s most cherished guests. To begin, Sen. Ben Sasse joins Jonah for an hour of high-minded eggheadery, covering the merits of Bigfoot erotica, the loss of a common American culture, and how we can heal the political wounds caused by populism and negative polarization. Then, Chris Stirewalt and A.B. Stoddard take the stage for rank punditry on the midterm elections and what we can expect from the next presidential election. Finally, Jonah fields questions from the audience, greets a special guest, and offers a few words of appreciation for those who’ve made The Remnant so successful. It’s been a weird and wonderful journey to 500 episodes, and we’re grateful to you all for sharing it with us.

Show Notes:

- The Remnant’s first episode

- Jonah on mandatory voting

- Renaming natural gas

- There he goes again…

- A.B.: “Trump - Maker of Clusters, Not Kings”

- Chris on the prospect of Trump 2024

- Yuval Levin: “Trump Party or Trump Faction?”

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Keeping Them Honest May 28, 2022

Show notes

It’s another very, very early morning Ruminant today, yet somehow Jonah is annoyingly bombarded with texts at the start of the podcast. After figuring out how to stop the interruptions, he delves into what he thinks are the essential books for all conservatives to read. Then, sadly, he shares his thoughts on shootings, guns, body armor, and more. Stick around to hear Jonah’s thoughts on the latest iterations of Star Trek. Finally, a potpourri of topics: Is Jonah actually optimistic about the future of the GOP? Why are we obsessed with “having an honest conversation?”

Show Notes:

- Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek

- The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism by F. A. Hayek

- The Use of Knowledge in Society by F.A. Hayek

- Why I Am Not a Conservative by F. A. Hayek

- Keeping the Tablets: Modern American Conservative Thought by William F. Buckley Jr. (Contributor), Charles R. Kesler (Editor)

- The Portable Conservative Reader by Russell Kirk

- Irving Kristol Essays

- The Remnant with Stephen Gutowski

- Sen. Ted Cruz's “American exceptionalism” interaction with reporter

- GLoP Culture Podcast

- Klon Kitchen on the Heritage Foundation

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Gutowski Talks Guns May 26, 2022

Show notes

Jonah is both excited and sad for today’s Remnant guest because Stephen Gutowski might just be the smartest person in the media today to talk about guns and mass shootings, but that means there was another mass shooting to talk about. Gutowski, founder of The Reload, comes on to talk about guns, gun laws, and the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. What even is an AR-15? Should they be banned? What does the “media” get wrong every time something like this happens? What is a “mass shooting?” What, if anything, can be done to help prevent these events?

Show Notes:

- The Reload: Sober, Serious Firearms Reporting and Analysis

- Sign up for The Reload’s free newsletter

- The Reload Podcast

- The Reload Podcast with David French

- National Institue of Justice study

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