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Jonah flies solo once more in a podcast filled with the hottest of takes: Biden’s foot-breaking story is not only totally true – it’s also just kind of lame, weed saved George H.W. Bush’s life, and, most controversially of all, The Walking Dead still has some redeeming qualities. He also discusses why you should take John Bolton’s advice in The Dispatch seriously, and “Eurosclerosis,” the fanciest word of the day.   Show Notes: -This week’s G-File -The origins of Biden-Foot-Trutherism -The week’s first Dispatch Podcast -The Remnant with Jonathan Adler -BREAKING: George H.W. Bush owes his life to hemp! Big If True! -If you want… just … a font of wisdom in response to Jonah’s “I-told-you-so” moment, look no further than his Facebook page -This week’s Remnant with Virginia Postrel; that’s the good nerd stuff, right there -John Bolton’s piece for The Dispatch on the future of conservatism -Jonah: “Too many Republicans just use conservatism as a tool”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have another Remnant first-timer on the show this week, as Jonah is joined by old friend, well-traveled military writer, and Marine veteran Bing West. With a discipline that only a Marine could muster, Bing joins the program to talk about his upcoming novel, The Last Platoon: A Novel of the Afghanistan War, which uses Afghanistan as a backdrop to tell the story of men in combat who “do their duty, even when it becomes clear that there will be no reward.” Jonah also probes Bing’s brain about the overall strategic value of the Afghanistan war, the abiding faith of American soldiers in an era of secularism, how to break up the perverse friendship between the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and most important, how a small, tri-fold shovel is sometimes the most valuable piece of equipment a soldier can have.   Show Notes: -Pre-order The Last Platoon -Afghani tribal groups and opium production -Bing’s book embedded with Marines in Fallujah -Bing in WSJ: “How to save Kabul from Saigon’s fate” -Sebastian Junger’s Tribe -How counterinsurgency (or COIN) really works -The Dispatch addresses Pompeo’s thoughts on the Taliban turning on al-Qaeda -The Pepper DogsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, Jonah is joined by Virginia Postrel – former editor-in-chief of Reason magazine and author of many of the latter-day holy tomes of libertarianism, such as The Future and Its Enemies – to talk about her new book, The Fabric of Civilization. Virginia and Jonah do a deep dive into several moments in which the changes in textile manufacturing created giant, revolutionary, consciousness-shifting ripple effects regarding how civilizations viewed their relationship to markets and the economy. In particular, Virginia addresses how the un-guilded spinners of Europe were like the Luddites before it was cool, why textile-making would be one of the most laborious processes in the world without advanced technologies, and what made cotton fabric from India so special that “the French treated it much the same as the American government treats cocaine.” At least that kind of wild protectionism confirms a long-held American instinct: Never trust the French.   Show Notes: -Virginia’s book, The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World -“Isaiah’s Job” -Our first episode with Matt Ridley (on technical innovation) -Our second episode with Matt Ridley (on more technical innovation) -Virginia at Volokh Conspiracy: The textile industry’s relationship to literacy -The salaries of spinners may be higher than one thinks -The High Sparrow and the Labor Theory of Value -Some bits from “The Bad Polanyi” on ancient Assyria -Virginia talks about Indian cotton printsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode, Jonah is joined by Charles C.W. Cooke of National Review. It’s an eclectic mix today, as the duo gets into a good deal of punditry surrounding the  Trump campaign’s election challenges and then move onto the future of conservatism (or “conservatarianism” in Charlie’s case) as a whole before tying the whole thing up around the Thanksgiving theme of gratitude. As a freshly minted American living through a relatively chaotic period in our politics, what is Cooke grateful for when it comes to the U.S.? During this holiday season, Jonah thinks we might all do well to be grateful for the fact that “we still live in a country where following politics is essentially a hobby … and isn’t a matter of survival.”   Show Notes: -Charlie’s main podcasting gig -Charlie’s, uh, other main podcasting gig -Florida man saves puppy from alligator -National Review and the John Birchers -The Conservatarian Manifesto -Max Boot: America’s A-Team -Randoph Bourne: “The State”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After filing a more-spirited-than-average G-File, Jonah joins us for the weekend Ruminant. Today, he talks about how certain individuals associated with Trump seem determined to end their careers in ignominy, as well as discussing many other phenomena, such as America’s oversaturation of elites, the necessity of reading people with whom you disagree, the inadequacy of applying the left-right spectrum to American politics, what the possible consolidation of fringe-right news stations might look like, and how genuine post-Trump conservatism “is almost, in certain way, the same as [if it was] pre-Trump.” And, of course, the most exciting news in Jonah’s world right now? How a calmer political environment means that he can write about more interesting stuff.   Show Notes: -This week’s G-File -Tucker Carlson almost closes the circle, but doesn’t make it quite there -The entire Dispatch team descends on the Cuomo Emmy news -The “Iron Law of Oligarchy” -The midweek “news”letter -A legendary piece of Goldbergian hagiography – Gargoyles: Guardians of the Gate -The quotable Erik von Kuehnelt-LeddihnSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonah’s return to The Remnant features a guest with “The most important hair in public policy,” Ryan Streeter from AEI. While Ryan’s magnificent mane isn't captured in the final product, his spot-on analysis of the causes of American stagnation (and what we can do to get out of it) certainly are. Why is fulfilling work so hard to find for a great many Americans? Which of the structures meant to stand between the individual and the government do our current policy regimes totally fail to support? Are all politicians really just heartless hacks? And what factors are the advocates of working-class Republicanism forgetting when they envision the future of the party? Lucky for us, Ryan thinks about this kind of thing for a living, and therefore has more revealing answers than you may find anywhere else.   Show Notes: -Ryan’s page at AEI -Imagine Blue Steel from Zoolander, but it’s Ryan’s hair -Longstanding anti-“poaching” measures within fast food companies -AEI’s research into civil society and volunteerism -To Empower People: The Role of Mediating Structures in Public Policy -Rubio and the supposed face-heel turn of “market fundamentalism” -Ryan called some of America’s restlessness back in 2011 -The UCLA loneliness scale -Ben Carson, doing actual interesting things while no one pays attentionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonah the Globetrotter has once again scattered to the four winds, temporarily leaving The Remnant once more in the capable hands of David French. Today, David speaks with his good friend Yascha Mounk, contributor to The Atlantic and founder of Persuasion. Mounk talks us through the current conditions within mainstream media outlets and how those institutions have the opportunity to lower the temperature of American discourse now that Trump is leaving office. David also talks about how a Biden administration might be expected to behave, and Yascha mentions that much of the conventional wisdom about the presidential election results are not only misguided, but that they often “underestimate the intelligence of the American people.”   Show Notes: -David’s newsletter, The French Press -Yascha’s new publication, Persuasion -David Shor’s 2020 postmortem -The earliest mention of “nutpicking” that the Remnant crew could find -Jonathan Haidt’s Heterodox Academy -“Beirut on the Charles”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s Ruminant sees Jonah reach his final form, as he begins with post-election punditry before seamlessly transitioning into a brand of deep-cut, Grade A political-nerd eggheadery the likes of which are rarely seen even on this vaunted podcast. Listen as Jonah effortlessly bounces in a positively pinball-esque manner between Whittaker Chambers, Orwell, AOC, Joe Manchin, James Burham, Cicero, and obscure Italian Communist Party intellectuals, in a display that will both amaze and delight.   Show Notes: -This week’s Wednesday “news”letter -The genuine Friday G-File for this week -“Second Thoughts on James Burnham” -The Beaconsfield Position -This week’s Remnant with Kevin Williamson -Jonah’s column on Joe Manchin -“That bit from Cicero” -Jim Geraghty: “Trump was not stabbed in the back” -The Bureaucratisation of the World by Bruno Rizzi -Charles Murray’s By the People: Rebuilding Liberty Without PermissionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today’s program, Jonah chats with an old friend who will definitely NOT polarize the Remnant audience whatsoever (If we wish hard enough then it has to come true, right?): National Review’s Kevin Williamson. Williamson is out with a new book, Big White Ghetto.  Jonah sets up Kevin for a heaping helping of rank punditry to start things off before moving into some book-talk and some eggheadery. In addition to Jonah’s efforts to make Kevin explicate his self-described political ideology (“anarcho-capitalist Eisenhower libertarian”), the two also discuss the ways in which America’s titular big white ghetto actually, well, became a ghetto, and what the solutions might be for the people who feel trapped in struggling communities. In Kevin’s mind, part of the issue is that no one in politics is comfortable saying something that is obviously true: “Cities and towns disaggregate and disincorporate over time, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. But this is also why I’m not running for office.”   Show Notes: -Kevin’s new book, definitely in the running for “Greatest Subtitle Ever” – Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the “Real America” -Karl Rove: This election won’t be overturned -Gangsters don’t have a retirement plan -Conrad Black’s column -Dee Dee Myers appearing generally confused -Jonah’s piece on Republicans and cities -Kevin, reporting from Eastern Kentucky -The most recent Dispatch Podcast -Eisenhower’s response to the prospect of dropping nukes on Dien Bien Phu -The glories of Taco Villa -The Remnant with John McWhorterSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the Before Times, when we’d all walk around bookstores putting our dangerously diseased digits on various tomes without a care in the world, did you notice a recurring phenomenon? It’s been the case for the past few years that the nonfiction sections of any major bookstore are filled with a glut of “Trump era” books – either memoirs from officials, books attempting to psychologize the man himself, or vaguely rant-y polemics that are big on rhetoric but light on substance. What if, hypothetically, you wanted to torture yourself by entering a purgatory-like state in which you read around 150 of those things? That’s what Carlos Lozada – book critic for the Washington Post – did so that you don’t have to. Today, Jonah speaks with Lozada about how he was able to synthesize the “Trump canon” into a set of identifiable narratives about this moment in American politics, eventually resulting in his own new book, What Were We Thinking: A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era. Show Notes: -Carlos’ book, What Were We Thinking -Jonah on The Greening of America: “Stupendously awful” -Miles Taylor, “senior administration official”? -“LODESTAR!” -The largely unread followup to  Fire and Fury -Don McGahn’s crazy 2 years in the administration -Carlos reviews Michael Cohen’s bizarre book -Solzhenitsyn in prisonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this weekend’s Ruminant, Jonah asks why we have to make American politics even more difficult than they already are. Why is it that, in an election that reveals Americans’ contested preferences so obviously, that we have to continue to turn up the heat by piling on additional conspiracy theories about the rigging of the election? Maybe, as Jonah thinks, this simply reveals a series of “deeply unpatriotic commitments” among our political and commentariat classes. He makes his way to greener pastures by talking about our glorious canine companions, and by addressing some of the supposedly highfalutin concerns of those on the right looking to out-think the market in our populist moment. Show Notes: -Get tickets to The Dispatch’s event, “What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond” -Chris Stirewalt, rightfully serene as always -Gingrich: "You Are Watching An Effort To Steal The Presidency Of The United States" - The Remnant with Razib -The Remnant with Jim Geraghty -Hayek’s “The Use of Knowledge in Society”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At a moment where punditry can feel relatively grim – mostly due to the feeling of instability resulting from this endless election – Jonah wanted to have on someone who was capable of a different variety of punditry. Who fits the bill better for a political commentary of “pluckish optimism” than National Review’s Jim Geraghty, who displayed his infinite humility by choosing not to wear his brand new “Remnant 10-Timer” Championship Belt on the Zoom call? Jim gives his analysis regarding many of the questions that will remain for conservatives after the election is decided: Whither goes the GOP? (A “multi-ethnic, working class, populist party?) What is the correct story to tell about Latino voters and Trump? (And why is the mainstream media adopting the most racist interpretation of this situation rather than the most accurate?) And, most importantly, is Mar-a-Lago Trump’s Elba, or his St. Helena? Show Notes: -National ReviewJim’s page at -Josh Hawley’s retweet of Adrian Vermeule -“Two moon parties” -Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row AmericaChris Arnade’s -William Rusher, who often said that politicians will always disappoint you -Wednesday’s “news”letter -McConnell and Biden are, like, basically friends, guysSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this momentous day, in which the very nature of American politics may be defined anew for the foreseeable future, Jonah wanted to have on Razib Khan, director of science at Insitome, to talk about the most relevant, up-to-the-minute, topical subject so that, in this consciousness-shifting moment, we may be able to hold on for dear life and come up with a coherent worldview amidst the chaos. That subject, you ask? Dog genetics. How did Man’s Best Friend become such a highly variegated species – some big, some small, some smart, others dumb, and on and on with countless other variables? Razib fills us in on the state of research into canine development over the last 10,000 years, why the regional variations between lineages of dog are so distinct, and how the new frontiers of this genetic research seek to address “how these animals became what they are, and how they evolved alongside humans in response to environmental pressures.” We also get to hear Razib voice what may be the most controversial statement of our political era: “Wolves are smarter than dogs.” Tune in to hear Razib defend this heretical stance. Show Notes: -Razib’s freshly-minted newsletter -Get tickets for The Dispatch’s event, “What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond” -Razib in Quillette: “The Evolutionary History of Man’s Best Friend” -The Remnant with Cass Sunstein -Eusocial animals -The Invaders: How Humans and Their Dogs Drove the Neanderthals to Extinction -Przewalski’s Horse -Origins and genetic legacy of prehistoric dogs -NYT Science writeup of the magazine article -Ancestry’s German-turned-Irish guy -Border Collie intelligenceSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seeing that there’s literally one story in the news right now (AN ELECTION IS HAPPENING SOON), Jonah decided to use his time on this weekend’s Ruminant to touch on some topics adjacent to the election, but also to incorporate some more evergreen topics into the mix. For example, there’s a discussion of the eternal return of the “get money out of politics” argument – and why Jonah thinks the argument is pointless in a world where the biggest benefit a candidate can get is a hysterical cycle of earned media – an unpopular defense of the slow, ungraceful politics of Mitch McConnell, equally unpopular opinions (at least in some quarters of the right) on the Biden scandal, and most importantly, why “your meatloaf is, like, 5,000 years old.” Show Notes: -Get tickets to The Dispatch’s post-election event, “What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond” -This week’s G-File -The Chronicles of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg -Charles Cook: Don’t expect a contested election -The Wednesday “news”letter from this week -“I’m not a witch, I’m you!” -McConnell’s 1998 opinion on campaign finance reform -How Innovation Works, by Matt Ridley -It’s a mistake for Republicans to leave cities out of their coalition -A forum of Europeans talking about how their ghettos are in the suburbs -Ten Global TrendsJonah’s column, inspired by -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant to get 3 months free off a year-long plan -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty to listen to Andrew McCarthy on the latest episode of We the PeopleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today two-thirds of the GLoP Culture podcast are together (a veritable biumvirate, one could say) to keep you up to date with some pre-election punditry while also distracting you just enough with pop culture news to prevent a sense of total crushing morosity. John Podhoretz of Commentary magazine joins Jonah to discuss the realities of Jewish political life in America, and to level with us about how realistic the chances of an upset are in the coming election. Then, John – with his It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia-style cork board at hand, interconnected strings and all – walks a perplexed Jonah through the evermore-confusing details of the Hunter Biden scandal, who seems to have done what, and what parts of the whole mess you should even care about. Then, in addition to a lightning round of pop culture questions, the guys also discuss their NYC-nostalgia, and their oddly specific memories for local television commercials from their childhood. While all of those lines seem cheesy now, John points out that “Maybe there’s something to be said for them, as it’s been nearly 60 years and I remember every word.” Show Notes: - Get your tickets to The Dispatch’s post-election event, “What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond” - Commentary, the 75-year old monthly of intellectual analysis and political probity… you know the rest - John on the possibility of Jewish conservatism - The surge of American anti-Semitic violence - “Timmy’s my Jewish friend” - “Don’t cross the street in the middle of the block” -The oddly sensual Carvel ice cream commercial -New Yorker The giant excerpt of Obama’s memoir - CommentaryIrving Kristol on McCarthyism in -Tucker loses his mailSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could Bigfoot Erotica influence the election? Fan-favorite Chris Stirewalt of Fox News says, “It’s a possibility.” (BIG IF TRUE) No, but really, Jonah wanted to have Chris back on The Remnant to cut through the vast amount of statistical noise being generated in the run-up to the election. With some polls suggesting a Biden landslide, other polls predicting a closer-than-expected outcome, and yet still more organizations suggesting a legion of silent-assassin-Republicans, waiting in the wings to shock the pollsters once again, Stirewalt clarifies these contradictory auguries with a brevity and hilarity rarely found in the mucky world of punditry. While the haruspicy might make for a very unhygienic office space, Stirewalt gets the job done, and that’s why we trust his expertise. Show Notes: -Get tickets to The Dispatch’s post-election event, “What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond” -Follow Chris’s work at Fox News -Vote SMOD 2020 -Muhlenberg College’s state polling for PA -John Zogby -Paul, proud octopus and FIFA Diviner -Ron Johnson’s business background -The Partisan Vote Index -Perino & Stirewalt: I’ll Tell You What -Harrys.com/DINGO to receive a Harry’s Trial Set -TommyJohn.com/REMNANT to save 15% on your first orderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of an especially busy week in pundit-world, Jonah sits down with us all to ruminate on some of the more noteworthy topics that may have flown by too quickly to actually wrap one’s brain around them. On the docket: The final debate, some useful counter-programming on the Biden email hullabaloo, getting (erm…) a “grip” on Jeffrey Toobin, and much more. Plus, Jonah has some more evergreen thoughts on the gradual defining down of conservatism, and what the G-File has meant to him after all these years. Show Notes: -Get tickets to The Dispatch’s post-election event – What’s Next: Election 2020 and Beyond -The Dispatch’s final debate wrap-up -Star Trek: “Patterns of Force” -This week’s G-File -The “MacronLeaks” -The Editors podcast talking about the Biden email scandal -The members-only (so to speak) Midweek Epistle -Lucy.co, use promo code DINGO to get 20% off of all products -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant for 3 months free with a 1-year plan -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty to subscribe to We the PeopleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last time Tim Alberta, Politico’s chief political correspondent, was on the program, life in America was crazy, but in a typical, everyday, post-2016 kind of way. We figured that it was time to have him back now that we’re in the process of rushing towards a new form of crazy at Spaceballs-levels of ludicrous speed (“They’ve gone plaid!”). Tim takes us through some of the issues that voters in purple states actually seem to care about (Hint: The Hunter Biden drama isn’t one of them) while also touching on the confusing lack of a substantive foreign policy debate in this election cycle, the simpler times of the Christmas Tree tax and the Dubai ports deal, and the shocking value-add provided to one’s life by the purchase of an Arby’s gyro. Show Notes: -Get tickets for The Dispatch’s “What’s Next” event -PoliticoTim’s page at -American CarnageTim’s most recent book, -Matt Glassman talks about the lack of a foreign policy discussion -The Christmas Tree tax -Jonah on the 2006 Dubai ports deal -Congress slowly spending more time on memes -Matt Gaetz’s raiding party -KittyPooClub.com, enter promo code DINGO for 20% off your first order -Bradleyfdn.org/Liberty to watch the latest episode of We The People with Justin DanhofSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Co-founder of Echelon Insights, Golden Retriever companion, and professional Tea Leaf-Reader Kristen Soltis Anderson breaks a long hiatus from Remnant appearances by returning to the show today. As conventional wisdom on the right settles into the idea that “the polls were wrong in 2016,” Kristen gives us a bit of a reality check on why the conditions in 2020 aren’t that simple. She also talks about her newest research on the attitudes of young voters, with some surprising results. For one, young people aren’t nearly as pessimistic as you may have been led to believe: “Two-thirds of Gen Z and Millenials believe that they can achieve the American Dream … through their own actions.” Show Notes: -Sign up for The Dispatch’s “What’s Next” event -Kristen’s latest research for the Walton Family Foundation - KSA’s Twitter thread on how emotion continues to infiltrate election analysis -FiveThirtyEight’s politics podcast -Pew: Younger people remained far less likely to [view the Vietnam War as a mistake] than those age 50 and older. -Grand New Party, by Reihan Salam and Ross Douthat -Try ZipRecruiter for free at ZipRecruiter.com/Dingo -DonorsTrust.org/Dingo to receive a free copy of “6 Reasons to Use a Donor-Advised Fund”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This weekend’s Ruminant sees Jonah starting off in some classic Remnant Bingo™, but peppered in with a healthy dose of interesting new information on those topics – in this case, anti-Enlightenment nationalism, and the establishment of fair rules under classically liberal societies. This comes along in addition to a rundown of the ham-fisted efforts by many outlets to pretend that “originalism” is actually something much more radical and antediluvian than it really is. Then, Jonah moves on to a topic that our culture could desperately use some clarification on: “Justice” and “social justice” are two different things – and “bending the will of every institution towards social justice … is how you end up with a kind of soft totalitarianism.” And, in this particularly relaxed-fit episode, we even get some rank punditry on the tail end on subjects like the censored New York Post story and much more. Show Notes: -The Dispatch’s “What’s Next”Get your tickets now to event -The most recent G-File -Against Empathy by Paul Bloom -Mazie Hirono being weird -Making fun of originalism to own the cons -Live Not by LiesRod Dreher’s new book, -Morning Joe Rod responds to his appearance -Post The story in question -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant to get three months free off of a year-long planSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.