The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

As the holiday season reaches its zenith, the gods of punditry have forced one Jonah Goldberg to cover a looming government shutdown at the hands of the de facto president. He predicts Elon Musk’s aims in his congressional meddling, expounds upon the difference between being wrong and being evil, and reminds us all that liberal democratic capitalism will not fill the gaping hole in the soul of man. Plus: Jonah makes a list of his favorite historians—check it twice in the show notes. Show Notes: —Jonah’s intellectual history master list —A controversial Remnant —Wednesday G-File 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s high time to start the postmortem of the latest Great Awokening. Jonah is joined by sociologist and author Musa al-Gharbi to discuss his new book, We Have Never Been Woke. Musa makes the casethat many of the maladies of the woke movement stem from a desire to achieve social justice without individual sacrifice and that wealth redistribution is much more complicated than the Macbook Marxists have been led to believe. Jonah and Musa discuss the capitalist soul of a seemingly altruistic elite, the concept of asymmetric multiculturalism, trustafarians, and the formula behind major social progress movements. Show Notes: —Musa’s book: We Have Never Been Woke —The Credential Society: A Historical Sociology of Education and Stratification 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah Goldberg has been feeling censored by the tyranny of Sarah Isgur lately, so he’s decided to bring in the big guns: Greg Lukianoff, the president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Greg and Jonah discuss the current state of free speech writ large, the legal distinction between defamation and free expression as it relates to artificial intelligence and deepfakes, and what it really means to defend morally reprehensible speech. Plus: a closer investigation into the intellectual history of the destruction of free speech and Greg’s evaluation of Elon’s Twitter takeover. Show Notes: —Greg’s recent piece for The Dispatch —Learn more about FIRE —Greg’s Substack —FIRE’s college free speech rankings 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Friday the 13th, and little rodents are crawling around inside Jonah Goldberg’s brain. What else is new? This week’s Ruminant considers the drones flying over the Garden State, Jonah’s best Tucker impression, a redux of Liberal Fascism featuring Luigi Mangione, and a clapback to those opposed to impeaching Joe Biden. Plus: transport by elephant, a critique of Time magazine, and Trump’s faith in tariffs. Show Notes: —New GLoP —No ifs, ands, or buts about it —Jonah’s G-File: Impeach Joe Biden … Seriously —Trump’s "Person of the Year" interview 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are many pressing questions plaguing the mind of modern man. Where do we go when we die? What is the meaning of life? Was Christopher Columbus Jewish? Razib Khan, the unofficial geneticist of The Remnant, stops by to answer the latter, arguing that cultural identities are very different from genetic identities. Jonah and Razib get into the 23&Me craze, the Dalai Lama’s microaggressions, and genomes from the old world. Plus: what happened to epigenetics, some Nazi myth debunking, and some hard truths for the Hapsburgs and horses. Show Notes: —Razib’s piece in The Dispatch —Razib’s Substack 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid a flurry of calls for Jonah Goldberg’s resignation as flagship podcaster lead by disgruntled Dispatch employee Sarah Isgur, our intrepid host has decided to dive into the question of impeachment power. Jonah is joined by Yale Law School professor Keith Whittington to discuss why the Founders included impeachment in the Constitution, what actually qualifies as high crimes and misdemeanors, and how presidential pardon power ought to be used. Show Notes: —Jonah calls for impeachment —Keith’s writing for The Dispatch —Keith’s latest book: The Impeachment Power: The Law, Politics, and Purpose of an Extraordinary Constitutional Tool 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intra-Dispatch disputes dominate today's Ruminant. But don't worry, Jonah also talks about other things on this Ruminant, including some perennial questions: What is a deep state and how can I join? Why does Pete Hegseth want to be defense secretary? Will Sarah be pardoned by Joe Biden for her egregious crimes against lexicology? Show Notes: —Nick Catoggio on pardons —The history of Horatio Nelson —Vikings and Vivek 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah may have readjusted to Eastern Standard Time, but his mind remains preoccupied with India. In order to get some further clarity, Jonah is joined by his American Enterprise Institute colleague and Wall Street Journal columnist Sadanand Dhume. Jonah picks Sadanand’s brain on the R.S.S. (the Indian right), the principles of conservatism in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the economic progress of the country. Later in the episode, they discuss what happened to Indian liberalism, Japanese Hannity, and the trouble with Canada. Show Notes: —Sadanand’s work —Oh, Canada 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The days are getting shorter, the weather is growing colder, and the Trump cabinet nominees keep getting stranger. Jonah is joined by Free Press columnist Eli Lake to discuss effective intelligence agency reform, what the term “deep state” actually means, and Jonah’s plan to abolish the FBI and negotiate the ransom price for Sarah Isgur with Kash Patel. Plus: ruminations on the Warren Commission, the debunking of the Eyes Wide Shut analogy, and a masterclass in making s—t up. Take out your bingo cards for this one, folks. Show Notes: —Eli's piece on Kash Patel —Eli’s B.S. in BS —The hit list 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For your Thanksgiving entertainment, Jonah rethinks his latest conversation with his non-mentor Yuval Levin and ruminates on how both the left and the right Gesellschaft all the Gemeinschaft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the masses prepare their turkey basters, side dishes, and psyches for Thanksgiving, Jonah is giving thanks to the things he holds most dear: institutions, conservatism, and Yuval Levin. Yuval and Jonah take some time to express their gratitude for the great American miracle, discuss the treason of the clerks phenomenon plaguing modern institutions, and consider how the exhausted majority can finally get what they want. Later in the episode, Jonah brings up politics at the table and forces Yuval to cover the smorgasbord of Trump Cabinet nominees, the ineffectual nature of big promises, and the future of coalitional politics. Show Notes: —The Ezra Klein kerfuffle —Jonah on the authority of experts —The exhausted majority —Yuval: What Trump’s Win Doesn’t Mean 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Move over, Kerouac: Jonah Goldberg is back from India, and he has some tales to tell. Delusional, exhausted, and chock full of new ideas, Jonah pontificates upon the scalable logic of Judeo-Christian frameworks, fermented Tibetan yak cheese, and the ongoing saga of who will be the next U.S. attorney general. His hallucinations grow more intense as the episode devolves into discussions of some in-house controversy, the plight of being caught in the middle, and some dental hygiene advice. Show Notes —Jonah’s POV —Sarah’s hot takes —The new age health guru defense 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this week, Jonah took a visit to a sacred temple in India, where he engaged in several hours of deep meditation that eventually resulted in his ascension to nirvana. Those who have reached the highest plane of enlightenment tend to reject earthly concerns like podcasts, so the helm of The Remnant has been passed to a former theater critic operating under the alias of Kevin D. Williamson. Kevin is joined by Frank Bruni of the New York Times, primarily to discuss The Exorcist, which happens to have a lot of crossover with the current state of American politics. The two dig in to the absence of gratitude and obsession with grievances plaguing political discourse, the roots of mounting resentment between economic classes, and the woes of commercial air travel. Show Notes —Frank’s latest book, The Age of Grievance —Kevin CLEARs things up —Kevin’s case against empathy 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even as he embarks on a grand adventure in India, Jonah is seduced by the siren song of U.S. punditry. After providing a brief recap of the resoundingly successful inaugural Dispatch Summit, he gives in to the uncontrollable urge to pontificate and punditrate. To mitigate his anti-malaria medication hallucinations, Jonah takes a break from the smog and samosas to discuss the deteriorating quality of the Trump cabinet nominations, the gross mischaracterization of neoconservatism, and the increasing corruption of morals and ideas on the right. Show Notes: —Smoggy weather —Nick Catoggio on Matt Gaetz 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twenty-five years ago, Jonah found himself stranded without a passport in a crowded street in Karachi. With nowhere else to turn, he spent the last of his rupees on a rescue call to none other than Commentary editor John Podhoretz. John obliged, and continued to rescue Jonah throughout the course of their friendship by coming on TheRemnant whenever Jonah is down and out for a guest. The two start the show by workshopping some potential design choices for their future podcast studio before diving in to some post-presidential election punditry, discussing the first slew of Cabinet appointments, U.S.-Israel relations, the London underground, and the idiocy of political mandates. Plus: the race to the bottom for speaker of the House and Senate majority leader, Jonah’s pessimism and John’s optimism, and the consequences of the recess appointment system. 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah made one singular endorsement this election season; he cast his presidential ballot for Paul Ryan. To thank Jonah for his lonely, intrepid work on the Ryan ’24 campaign that wasn’t, the former Speaker joins Jonah for a very special live taping of The Remnant from this year’s Dispatch Summit. They discuss the pitfalls and peaks of Trump’s economic plan, why incumbent parties continue to lose (and ways to avoid an infinity of single term majorities), how to solve the debt crisis, and the fame game in Congress—but the party doesn’t stop there. Later in the show, Jonah and Paul debate the durability of American institutions, consider Trump’s proposed cabinet appointments, and determine how Reaganite conservatives can walk the line between supporting good policy and descending into MAGAness. Show Notes —Yuval Levin’s latest Dispatch piece 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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At long last, it’s over. The ever-intrepid Jonah remains trapped in the CNN studios, but was granted an hour to return to the sausage making factory for a quick rundown of what happened on Tuesday night. He discusses the potential self-fulfilling prophecy of alleging threats to democracy, the record minority turnout for Donald Trump (and what it means for the Democratic party), and the lessons to be learned from the era of language policing and the term “Latinx.” Later is the show, Jonah explains the importance of a more nationally oriented campaign strategy, the value in a digestible vocabulary of moralism, and reminds us all that despair is never the answer. Show Notes —A very raunchy G-File —Dispatch Live: Election Night Stream 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Note: Things got a little heated on CNN Friday morning. It’s been a long election year. Nevertheless and always a mensch, Jonah addresses the controversy related to Donald Trump’s recent comments regarding Liz Cheney. Manic, spiritually exhausted, and scarred from attempting to get Pippa into her Halloween costume, Jonah capitulates to a brief period of punditry until he is overwhelmed with nausea and pivots to a scathing critique of the right’s new obsession with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Later in the episode, Jonah gives a lesson on self-determination, indulges in even more Woodrow Wilson bashing, sings the praises of Yuval Levin once again, and dismantles the case for “unity.” Show Notes —Jonah’s statement —Jonah’s RFK Jr. tear —Matthew Scully on RFK Jr. —Jonathan Adler’s response —Jonah’s anti-endorsement endorsement —Wilson-gate —David Frum’s defense of Wilson —Jonah on Mo News 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah and Chris Stirewalt have been conscripted from their respective caves of sequestration and dragged into the American Enterprise Institute studio for one last round of 2024 election outcome punditry. Chris and Jonah cover the sorry state of polling practices, engage in some risky predictions, and bemoan the parties’ new political bases. Later in the episode, they take a crack at amateur demographic delineation and put on their leg warmers to take it back to the ’80s for some rehashing of partisan realignment. Chris can hardly remember who the Democratic nominee is and Jonah is full of jokes, but at the end of the day, some salient points are made for ye loyal listeners. Show Notes —Wednesday’s TMD on the polling industry —Will TV viewers trust Brother Stirewalt? —Seth Masket on The Remnant —Seth Masket’s piece for The Dispatch 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices