The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

With bombs falling, missiles flying, and the Ayatollah six feet under, there’s only one man Remnant listeners want on the show. Ken Pollack joins Jonah Goldberg to talk about the feasibility of regime change from the air; the precedents of Kosovo, Operation Desert Fox, and Libya; Iranian social cohesion; the risk of Balkanization; the threat Turkey poses; President Donald Trump’s fear of blowback; the administration’s reason for attacking now; and what happens from here. Show Notes:—Previous Remnant with Ken—Jonah’s Los Angeles Times column this week—Rubio’s explanation of the war—Phil Klein at National Review - “No, Marco Rubio Didn’t Claim that Israel Dragged Trump into War with Iran”—Remnant with Eli Lake—George Will on restored American credibility The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Captain Jonah Goldberg three sheets to the wind and capsized upon the Caribbean sands, inveterate scallywag Kevin Williamson has seized the helm of HMS Remnant and plotted a course for the far east. Kevin is joined in his journey by Andrew Collier, a Senior Fellow at Harvard's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, wherein they discuss China’s bizarre real-estate situation, Xi Jinping’s economic mindset, Beijing's 2020 crackdown on its tech firms, and what it’s like doing business in the People's Republic. Show Notes:—Andrew Collier’s bio—China’s Technology War: Why Beijing Took Down Its Tech Giants—Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rum-brained and sunburned, Jonah Goldberg posts up poolside to ruminate on the Caribbean's cruise economy, Woodrow Wilson, how we think about history, Trump’s condo-salesman vanity, the ongoing war in Ukraine, J.D. Vance as the “fraud czar,” and the journalistic ethics of Polymarket. Show Notes:—Wednesday's G-File—AO pod wherein David French acknowledges his intellectual debt to Jonah—Remnant - The Great Cancellation of Woodrow Wilson—Jonah’s book Liberal Fascism— Dan McLaughlin - “The Hater’s Guide to Woodrow Wilson”—Washington Post - “Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency”—Last week’s Remnant—Dr. Oz - “Best State of the Union ever”—Ukraine: The Latest on the four-year anniversary of the war—Friday’s Dispatch Podcast—In Living Color- Hey Mon The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In need of some good ol’ fashioned conservative inside baseball, Jonah Goldberg turns to the only man he can: Richard Reinsch. Jonah and Richard dive deep into GOP history, examining how the Nixon era serves as a prism through which we can view the MAGA moment, before debunking the recent “white-culture” phenomenon and arguing for a conservatism built on the Declaration of Independence’s immortal words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”Shownotes:—Reinsch in Commentary: “Against Grievance Politics”—Richard M. Reinsch II Civitas Institute profile—Whittaker Chambers: The Spirit of a Counterrevolutionary—Ross Douthat’s arguments about the future of conservatism—Jonah’s G-File response to Douthat—Jonah’s G-File on white culture and right-wing identitarianism—Oren Cass in the New York Times—Kevin Williamson for The Dispatch: “The Not-So-Obvious Price of Trump’s Trade Incoherence”—Kesler - Crisis of the Two Constitutions: The Rise, Decline, and Recovery of American Greatness—Huntington - Who Are We? The Challenges to America's National IdentityThe Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, Jonah spoils himself by conversing with historian Sophia Rosenfeld about the history of choice, changes in the meaning of freedom, the significance of the mundane, and the American Revolution’s impact on Europe. Shownotes:—The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life—Jerry Muller: The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Western Thought—Moscow On The Hudson Coffee Coffee Coffee—FDR: Second Bill of Rights—Milton Friedman: Free to Choose: A Personal Statement—Irving Kristol: “The American Revolution as a Successful Revolution”—Jonah: “The American Revolution was a Really Big Deal”—Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin, & the Great Depression The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah Goldberg, about to escape the icy north for some sun-soaked R&R, is feeling boisterous. After reveling in his new favorite art form—Donald Trump’s “Truths” set to music—Jonah piles on Jesse Jackson, Iran, the Justice Department, Napoleon III, and Notre Dame, crescendoing with his critique of “white culture” and right-wing identity politics. Shownotes:—Jonah on CNN’s The Arena talking smack about sleazy democrats—Financial Times—“Why Iran is betting on war”—Nick Catoggio's Boiling Frogs on Trump and Iran—Jonah on the Sam Harris podcast—The Remnant with Ken Pollack—The Remnant with Eli Lake—Jonah’s book Liberal Fascism—Jonah’s “white culture” G-File—Bo Winegard's defense of white culture—Jonah’s takedown of Jamelle Bouie in National Review The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Remnant is proud to bestow its newly formed, not-really-endowed chair of lexicography upon Scrabble legend and word nerd Stefan Fatsis. For his first act as chair, Stefan joins Jonah Goldberg to talk about the role of professional lexicographers, whether dictionaries should be normative or descriptive, how dictionaries handle controversial words, and the threat that the digital age poses not only to the dictionary, but to knowledge itself. Show Notes:—Unabridged The Thrill of and Threat to the Modern Dictionary—Stefan in Slate: “What Does 'Unabridged' Even Mean Anymore?”—John McWhorter’s most recent Remnant appearance—Fatsis’ book on competitive Scrabble—Mencken - The American Language: An Inquiry Into the Development of English in the United States The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The sun comes up, a new day dawns, and Cass Sunstein publishes another book. Today he joins Jonah Goldberg on The Remnant to discuss the six separations of power that undergird our republic, along with unitary executive theory, democracy, and electoral mandates.Shownotes:—Separation of Powers: How to Preserve Liberty in Troubled Times—Yuval Levin’s book: The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left—Jonah in National Review: “The Bluto-Burke Connection Revealed!”—Suicide of the WestThe Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fresh off of arguing with Steve Hayes about the different places one can keep a ferret, Jonah Goldberg ruminates on cameras in Congress, choosing between party and principle, Apple News’ First Amendment rights, Kristi Noem’s blanket, the Hayekianism of Burke, Yoram Hazony’s foolishness, and RFK Jr.’s crackpottery. Plus, you should preorder Sarah Isgur’s book. Shownotes:—Friday’s Dispatch Podcast—WSJ piece on Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski, and DHS—Cass Sunstein’s book on separation of powers—Wednesday's G-File—The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left—Suicide of the West—Burke: “Birds of Prey” speech—Ruminant touching on Yoram Hazony—James Kirchick in Commentary - “The Chutzpah of Yoram Hazony”—Michael A. Woronoff in Commentary: “Trump the Corporatist” The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hyped up on cold medicine and battling delirium, Jonah Goldberg sets off with Elliott Abrams on a globe-trotting adventure in foreign policy covering Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, India, and more. Along the way they discuss the nature of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, the consequences of American unpredictability, Americans' conceptions of human rights abroad, the utility of the term “neoconservative,” and the lies the U.N. was founded on.Show Notes: —Elliott Abrams profile—"Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System”—Eli Lake on The Remnant—Honor Among Nations: Intangible Interests and Foreign PolicyThe Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back by popular demand, the great jurist-philosopher and godfather of American conservatism Robby George has returned to The Remnant to set Jonah Goldberg straight about truth, natural law, and the common good. Jonah and Robby talk about the Western tradition, the age of feelings, different kinds of rights, the death penalty, new paganism, and Robby’s desire to fight for the soul of conservatism. Shownotes:—Seeking Truth and Speaking Truth: Law and Morality in Our Cultural Moment—George Varouxakis' The West: The History of an Idea—Martin Luther King Jr.'s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”—What Is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A Defense—Jonah’s first book—Patrick Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed—“The Flight 93 Election”—Populism and Elitism: Politics in the Age of Equality The Remnant is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ruminant is vindicated!!! After years of Steve Hayes and The Fair Jessica griping about Jonah’s peculiar habit of ruminating alone in his basement, new stats have proved their skepticism decidedly misplaced. Tune in to learn all about it, along with Jonah’s thoughts on the terms ‘progressive’ and ‘fascist,’ the Melania movie, Trump’s state-capitalism, The Washington Post, and hypocrisy as a violation of the American creed. But first, some sad news… Shownotes:—Friday’s Dispatch Pod—Megan McArdle - “There’s a way to stop Trump. First, drop the fascism debate.”—Jonah’s book Liberal Fascism—Jonah in The Free Press: “The January 6th Republicans”—Clinton In 2007: I Prefer Calling Myself “Progressive” To “Liberal”—Orwell - “Politics and the English Language”—NYT - “Small Businesses Wither Under Trump’s Tariffs: ‘It’s Hard to Breathe’”—AO Pod on nationalizing elections—Slate - “I Wrote a Book in Support of Nationalizing Elections. Trump Changed My Mind.”—Commentary Podcast on The Washington Post—Jonah’s LA Times column—Alex Demas’s Dispatch piece on Trump’s corruption The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every once and a while, The Remnant rewards a faithful listener by bringing him on the show. Well, assuming he’s a national security expert. One such lucky listener is Eli Lake, who joins Jonah Goldberg to talk about the Shah of Iran, the Ayatollah, the current state of play in Islamic Republic, President Trump, and B.S. levels in our politics. Shownotes:—Eli’s piece: “Reza Pahlavi: Iran’s Reluctant Prince”—Eli’s Breaking History podcast—Remnant with Ken Pollack—Iranian Commander's Daughter SECRETLY Calls Radio: 'My Father Is A Monster!’—Part 1 of The Rest Is History podcast on Iran—Kermit Roosevelt’s memoir—Ross Douthat’s article on conservatism—Jonah’s response to Ross’ article The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Remnant, university-reform eggheads Ben and Jenna Storey join Neanderthal-in-remediation Jonah Goldberg to talk about civic education and recent efforts to rejuvenate American higher ed. Jonah and the Storeys cover university governance, the relationship between civics and the liberal arts, the significance of postliberalism, and the reasons for thinking seriously. Show Notes:—Center for the Future of the American University—Ben and Jenna Storey’s book - Why We Are Restless—Robert Michels - Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchial Tendencies of Modern Democracy—AAUP’s 1915 Declaration of Principles—Why Liberalism Failed—Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future—Remnant episode with Will Inboden on higher ed reform The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah Goldberg, haggard and weary, returns from his cross-country blizzard travels grateful to sit once again in his misanthrope’s podcasting den and record a Ruminant. Jonah unpacks his recent conversation with Pete Buttigieg, exposes the number of unfortunate careers launched by John Podhoretz, takes down Yoram Hazony and the NatCons, and analyzes the fallout from the Alex Pretti shooting in Minneapolis. Shownotes:—Remnant on Tucker Carlson—Remnant with Matt Franck—Steve Hayes in The Dispatch on Jason Zengerle's Tucker book—Dr. Yoram Hazony's speech at 2nd International Conference on Combating Antisemitism—Tablet: “Yoram Hazony’s 15 Minutes”—Last Friday’s G-File—The Editor’s Podcast: The Greenland Stand Down—Michael Arthur Ledeen: Universal Fascism—Jonah for The Dispatch: “Trump, Vance, and the Greenland Effect” The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah Goldberg was proudly perusing his long list of previous Remnant guests when he discovered a crucial omission! Where is Matt Franck??? In today’s episode, Jonah and Matt have a long overdue sit-down to chew over some important problems, including people’s motivations for going MAGA, unitary executive theory, the pardon power, the Senate’s role in preserving federalism, and what constitutional amendments they would support. Shownotes:—Matt Franck’s Public Discourse page—Remnant with Laura Field on her book, Furious Minds—Morrison v. Olson—Jonah: “What is the most Burkean line from Animal House?”—New York Post on Denmark and the Virgin Islands—G-File: “Impeach Joe Biden … Seriously”—Yuval Levin: American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—and Could Again—Last week’s Dispatch Podcast The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Captain Jonah Goldberg goes missing during his icy search for the Northwest Passage, first mate Steve Hayes commandeers The HMS Remnant and steers her into troubled waters. Joined by The Dispatch's John McCormack, Steve invites aboard journalist Jason Zengerle to discuss his new book on the fascinating and unnerving career of Tucker Carlson. Together, the trio cover the creation of The Daily Caller, Tucker’s Trump-fueled comeback at Fox, and his ultimate embrace of Nick Fuentes and the extreme right. Shownotes:—Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind—John McCormack for The Dispatch: “What Happened to Tucker Carlson?”—Steve’s review of Hated by All the Right People—CPAC: Tucker Carlson Tries to Defend the New York Times, Gets Booed—Tucker talking to the firefighters—Patriot Purge—Steve’s book: Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Jonah Goldberg gears up to brave the coming snowpocalypse, he pauses to consider the times, reflecting on President Donald Trump’s waste of political capital over Greenland, the long-term effects of college protest culture, the creepiness of antisemitic thinking, and—most importantly—his takes on Star Trek and America’s great sitcoms.Shownotes:—The most recent Dispatch Pod—Katie Pavlich interviews Trump for NewsNation—Last week’s G-File—NYT post-mortem on Biden immigration policy—“U. Topia” - Jonah in National Review—GLoP podcast—“The 26 best neighbors in TV sitcom history, ranked” - Washington Post—Wednesday’s G-File—Douthat’s NYT piece—G-File on Nixon—Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elliot Williams returns to The Remnant in triumph to discuss his new book, Five Bullets. Jonah Goldberg and Elliot brave technical difficulties to discuss the Bernie Goetz case, the blackout of ‘77, Rupert Murdoch, Trump’s political origins, and the echoes of ‘80s New York today. Shownotes:—Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation—Most recent appearance of Elliot Williams on The Remnant The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ken Pollack, vice president for policy at the Middle East Institute, joins Jonah Goldberg to discuss the reality of regime change in Iran, what’s next for the Iranian nuclear program, and the politics around taking Greenland.The Agenda:–Historical patterns of uprisings in Iran–Is this different?–It’s the economy, stupid!–Potential military strategies–Understanding the Iranian threat–Iran’s nuclear program–The shah’s complex legacy–Greenland, now what?Show Notes:–Monday’s TMD on Iran–The political theory that explains Trump's global power playsThe Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices