The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Back by popular demand, Jonah flies solo as he expands on his thoughts from the week: the necessity of earned success, Adrian Vermeule's essay on originalism, and dogs.

The Remnant returns to its quarantine schedule with long-awaited guest and (possibly) the most-ever cited legal scholar, Cass Sunstein. Cass and Jonah have a longstanding camaraderie that began with a shared love of dogs - a subject they may write a book about - but they also have an uncanny ability to discuss flaws and weaknesses in one another’s political priors that’s rare in modern debate. There’s dog talk, bonobo talk, and some rank nudgery on this episode, so it’s a great pick-me-up episode with a little bit of something for everyone.

In this episode, Jonah continues the great Remnant tradition of allowing senior National Review political correspondent Jim Geraghty to dispense genuinely unique and fascinating observations about current global issues. And what better time could there be for that than right now? During a moment in which even Americans’ feelings about a global health crisis break down along partisan lines rather than facts on the ground, Geraghty’s brand of succinct investigative reporting is a breath of fresh air.

In the words of Gene Wilder, “There’s no earthly way of knowing … in which direction we are going.” That’s the mood on the latest Remnant, which sees Jonah flying solo in a second - and more streamlined - attempt at an audio G-File. Some of this is an expansion on the topics in this week's G-File, but most of it consists of unique, free-flowing observations from Jonah’s mind. Huzzah for keeping sanity during quarantine! Let us know what you think of this format on the @JonahRemnant Twitter, through Jonah at @JonahDispatch, or by email at theremnantpod@gmail.com - we want to know!

Shoshana Weissmann is a Renaissance woman, and only at age 27: she’s the head of digital media at R Street Institute, a policy fellow specializing in occupational licensing, and an institution unto herself on social media. She brings a blessed breath of brevity to this episode of The Remnant, on which there is no coronavirus talk! She and Jonah touch on some hilarious job licensing restrictions (fortune tellers?), talk a little memes, a little charismatic megafauna, a little Judaism, and even a little online dating. It’s a reminder of how life was before “The Event,” so it’s really a can’t-miss.

Kevin Williamson is a man of mystery: he’s an “Eisenhower libertarian,” he’s been accused of being a D.C. insider (he lives in Texas), and (most famously) he’s a former staff writer for The Atlantic even though they only gave him one byline before firing him. Life in Kevin’s Fortress of Solitude has stayed mostly the same - even in the midst of a pandemic. Lucky for us, that means he had time to talk to Jonah about his unique political perspective, the role of government in a crisis, and how his “libertoid” opinions help him solve those mysteries of his.

In order to give you all a break from the talk about the end of the world, this episode has Jonah speaking with psychologist Dr. Michele Gelfand about one of his pet-obsessions: “tight” and “loose” theories of culture. Why do places like Japan and Singapore seem to be in lockstep while the U.S. is so freewheeling? How should we tighten up, culturally, as a response to COVID? And why are Mexican teachers unions so weird? We ask the hard questions here on The Remnant, so don’t miss it.

Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt joins The Remnant to discuss coronavirus and its impact on the 2020 election. Where does Bernie Sanders go from here? Should Joe Biden run a front porch campaign? How do Obama/Trump voters vote this time? 

New York Times columnist and resident French expert Ross Douthat returns once more to talk about his new book, The Decadent Society. He makes the case that decadence is more than just high-calorie desserts and rich Corinthian leather; the phenomenon is more about the space race, the birth dearth, our dumb Hollywood blockbusters, and our painful politics. Oh, and the coronavirus has turned him into a doomsday prepper. But Ross is a Bonhomme if you will, so we’re betting he survives his book tour unscathed.

Elizabeth Warren might be out of the running for the Democratic nomination, but that doesn’t mean that the most harmful parts of her agenda haven’t been assimilated into other Democrats’ platforms. David Bahnsen literally wrote the book on that bad agenda and asserts that the worst parts of it (i.e. an outright unconstitutional wealth tax) might still be coming down through a different nominee. David and Jonah also engage in some rank punditry, and they even ask the question that all the cool kids are asking: what’s the deal with Postmillennial Protestant eschatology?

Does our culture need to become more nationalistic? What about reorienting our society towards “the highest Good,” as defined by your religion of choice? Stephanie Slade, managing editor at Reason, doesn’t think so, but she brings a unique perspective that many other libertarians don’t: she’s also a practicing Catholic. In this episode, Stephanie explains how she balances these two commitments that, on the surface, seem at odds with one another. Jonah also picks a fight with her about drug ads on primetime television.

Is the American Dream dead? How are most Americans actually doing? Will the coronavirus kill us all? And most importantly, is Star Trek: Picard actually good? Repeat guest Michael Strain, author of The American Dream Is Not Dead, has all of these answers and more. Show Notes: -Michael’s book, The American Dream Is Not Dead -Gunga Galunga -Marco Rubio’s father as an American success story -Ezekiel 25:17 -Irving Kristol on the power of ideas -The New York Times on the power of lawns -Josh Hawley at King’s College -Brink Lindsey on U.S. culture after the 50s -The Success Sequence -G7 Coronavirus statement -Oren Cass’ Cost-of-Thriving Index -Gordon Gekko’s brick phone -“Billionaires” -Elaine on stuffed crust pizza -Jeri Ryan is why we live in this timeline -DonorsTrust.org/dingo

Princeton Professor Keith Whittington is so sharp that he gives you paper cuts when you shake his hand. That’s why we had him on - to walk all of us mere mortals through the complex history of judicial review as outlined in his book, Repugnant Laws. Keith brought a mix of history, current events, rank punditry and more to this podcast! Show Notes: -Keith’s book, Repugnant Laws -The history of the “8 glasses of water a day” myth -Keith’s last book, Speak Freely -Oliver Wendell Holmes’ opinion for Buck V. Bell -The scary reality of self-censorship at universities -Temperance-era protests at Berkeley over family serving beer to firefighters, God forbid -Remnant 146 with Adam White -Keith’s WaPo piece on Dershowitz’s impeachment argument -Remnant 174 with Josh Kraushaar

Delicate ears beware - Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng got explicit with us to talk about the inner workings of the Trump administration staff, which is the topic of their new book called Sinking in the Swamp. How much favor do Trump-positive talking heads really get from the White House? Are Trump’s numerous ex-staffers now effectively lobbyists? And can we pronounce Asawin’s name correctly? Show Notes: -Buy Sinking in the Swamp! -Tito Puente -Bannon’s use of the “Island of Misfit Toys” phrase -Stephen Miller’s strange history -The “Singularity of Asininity” -James Adomian’s Gorka impression -Lachlan’s article on Gorka’s park-job -GetBlueVine.com/dingo

In a return to normal Remnant-y quirkiness, we have on “the oldest young person” that Jonah knows, Andrew Egger. There’s rank punditry, far-afield movie references, and an unnerving amount of Midwest-bashing; it has everything! Show Notes: -Andrew Egger -Huey Long: “Enough money to burn a wet mule” -Andrew’s piece on Bloomberg -“Blue Million” -NYT accent identifier -Wag the Dog -Suicide of the West, now in paperback -Minnesota Nice -Midnight Run -Bernie supporting Castro, Sandinistas in 1985 -Andrew’s piece on the wall -Roger Stone gets 40 months -The Dispatch Podcast -The Dispatch -UnTuckIt.com promo code dingo