Only Remnant listeners fluent in legalese should subject themselves to today’s discussion of Supreme Court jurisprudence, in which fan-favorite classical liberal Ilya Shapiro returns to claim his coveted gold jacket. Jonah and Ilya explore what the court’s conservative majority will mean for future cases and whether the conservative legal movement should adapt its philosophy in the wake of Bostock v. Clayton County. They also touch on some of the most controversial issues raised by recent Supreme Court decisions, including Arizona’s voting laws and free speech in public schools. David and Sarah, eat your heart out! Show Notes: - Ilya’s latest book, Supreme Disorder - The mysterious shadow docket - Fulton v. City of Philadelphia - “After Bostock, We’re All Textualists Now” - Walter Olson in The Dispatch on HIPAA - The Supreme Court upholds Arizona voting restrictions - Ilya: “The Voter Suppression Lie” - Advisory Opinions on the Supreme Court’s cheerleader case - Ilya’s campaign for the Falls Church Schoolboard, shamelessly plugged - Ilya explains why he’s running

Today’s ranty Ruminant features killer whales, hunter-gatherers, and a special appearance by Jonah’s importunate dingo. It also includes as much kvetching about partisan craziness and misunderstood aspects of intellectual history as you’d expect. Jonah begins by discussing the latest Trump tax scandal, the root cause of Tucker Carlson’s apparent insanity, and the GOP brouhaha over the January 6 commission. He then reflects on Donald Rumsfeld’s time in the White House. The show concludes with a mini-commercial for Suicide of the West, gratuitous shots at Rousseau and Marx, and reflections on the Fourth of July. It’s a veritable Goldbergian greatest hits. Show Notes: - Andy McCarthy on Manhattan’s Ahab - Scott Gottleib’s new book, Uncontrolled Spread - Encouraging job news - Kevin McCarthy’s response to the January 6 commission - Paul Gosar and Nick Fuentes, BFFs - Thursday’s Twitter-bashing Remnant with Mo Elleithee - Somebody’s (still) watching me… - Tucker blames the FBI for the Capitol riot - Donald Rumsfeld and (gasp!) Leo Strauss - Ezra Klein’s recent podcast on how good we used to have it

The Hangover has now concluded, and Chris Stirewalt thought it appropriate to provide an epilogue to the series. If the last four years have taught us anything, Chris observes, it’s that “people are terrible at predicting the future.” After the GOP’s victory in 2016, nobody could have guessed that the party would be swept out of power four years later, or that our lives would be upended by a pandemic. Going forward, there’s no way of knowing whether the GOP will overcome its current craziness or completely self-destruct, but the rot within the party reveals as much about America itself as it does Republican politicians. Making our republic healthier and stronger is a job for all of us, and we can accomplish it by engaging with our institutions and communities. This series has been a pleasure to put together, and we at The Dispatch send our thanks not only to all of Chris’ guests, but to all of you for listening.

Fan-favorite political strategist Mo Elleithee returns to The Remnant today for a discussion of Joe Biden’s first six months in office, America’s deepening polarization, and how we should understand the results of the 2020 election. With debates over issues like critical race theory and police reform continuing to intensify, has the Democratic Party really shifted as far to the left as conservatives believe? For that matter, what can Mo’s latest Battleground Poll tell us about the challenges America faces, and why is the political side of Twitter so inexpressibly hideous? It’s a dream come true for lovers of statistics and infrastructure. Show Notes: - Mo’s work at the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service - Mo’s recent appearance on TheDispatch Podcast - Nate Cohn on the statistics behind the 2020 election - Chris Wallace accuses Republicans of defunding the police - The Bill Clinton/Lani Guinier episode - Abigail Spanberger blasts progressive sloganeering - Sean Trende on Conversations with Bill Kristol - The June 2021 Battleground Poll

The Hangover concludes on a unique note, as David Glade, rector of Virginia’s Christ the King Anglican Church, joins Chris Stirewalt to discuss what the future holds for religion in a divided America. Politics, the pair note, can be an especially alluring idol. Today, even shopping at Home Depot is seen as a political act, and the forces of populism and wokery have supplanted real faiths in the lives of many Americans. Committed Christians, meanwhile, increasingly focus on relatively trivial political issues rather than deeper ethical matters. With politics, David observes, “a little more disinterestedness may not be a bad thing” when true religion can offer so much more to human beings. He and Chris also reflect on the evolution of American Christianity and how the relationship between evangelicals and the GOP changed in the age of Trump.   Show Notes: -David’s work at Christ the King -The Falls Church split -The Great Awakening and the American Revolution -Mircea Eliade on what draws humans to the sacred -Timothy Keller: “Can Evangelicalism Survive Donald Trump and Roy Moore?”

Start spreading the news: Esteemed historian Vincent Cannato is back on The Remnant to discuss all things New York City. After digging into the ongoing mayoral election, Curtis Sliwa’s rescue cats, and Rudy Giuliani’s descent into madness, Jonah and Vin explore what the Big Apple’s partisan divisions reveal about America’s broader political shenanigans. From there, they consider how the paranoid style in American politics can explain the right’s embrace of post-liberal Catholic integralism. At the end of it all, one question remains: Who will be the third man in Jonah and Vin’s upcoming production of On the Town?   Show Notes: -The New York Post backs Eric Adams -Brad Lander’s comptroller campaign -Curtis Sliwa’s colorful discussion with Eric Shawn -Vincent: “Same Old, Same Old, Same Old” -Did Fred Trump attend a KKK rally? -“I’m no FDR, but …” -Jonah on the latest infrastructure fracas -Bingo -OAN’s remarkable craziness -Mamma mia! -Somebody’s watching me...

Sleep-deprived following his return from Oklahoma and haunted by visions of Nick, Jonah begins today’s Ruminant with the mother of all rants. Why, when there are so many urgent issues for Americans to be concerned with, is the New York Times more interested in denying objective reality and attacking the concept of motherhood? For that matter, why is the fight over critical race theory only getting crazier, and why is Sheldon Whitehouse seemingly sowing the seeds for a new Tyler Perry script? Tune in to hear these bizarre questions answered, and to learn of Jonah’s vehicular writing habits.   Show Notes: -The Wednesday “news”letter -The New York Times piece that ruined Jonah’s morning -Facebook’s list of many genders -Insane people who think “covfefe” was Arabic code -Birthing people in Biden’s budget -Trigger warnings are now triggering -Jonah on the war over CRT -Gen. Mark Milley defends teaching CRT at West Point -Tucker Carlson’s charming response to Milley’s comments -Madea Goes to Rhode Island -Today’s TMD on Biden’s infrastructure deal -Pence rebukes Trump -Afghanistan in jeopardy -Ban the word “cockpit.” Yes, really

On today’s Remnant, recorded in the wilds of Oklahoma, Jonah once again attempts to fuse the weekend Ruminant format with that of a supplemental episode. He begins by elaborating on his pro-life views and what abortion law would look like if he were made czar for a day. Afterward, a nerdtastic dive into the morass of intellectual history begins, as Jonah uses an extract from The Tyranny of Clichés (which is still available from all good book sellers, hint-hint) to explore what separation of church and state really means in American life. Tune in not just to hear Jonah’s patented progressive-bashing, but to either commend or correct his pronunciation of a certain troublesome name.   Show Notes: -The Wednesday “news”letter -Biden’s Catholic quandary -Moynihan on partial-birth abortion -Locke’s “A Letter Concerning Toleration” -Don’t burn the witch -JFK (or possibly Mayor Quimby) and Catholicism -Mario Cuomo’s Notre Dame speech -Jonah’s deep affection for Richard Ely -Barack Obama, arbiter of sin -Seinfeld on spite

Conservative journalism has changed markedly since John Podhoretz began his career at the Washington Times in the early 1980s. When Matt Drudge broke the Monica Lewinsky story in 1998, it was clear that things would never be the same. On today’s episode of The Hangover, John joins Chris Stirewalt to explore how the changing media ecosystem contributed to Donald Trump’s election in 2016. The pair reflect on the creation of The Weekly Standard, electoral politics in the Clinton and Obama years, and how Trump’s victory affected the conservative movement. Even though Trump is no longer president, will his presence in conservative media continue to be felt for the foreseeable future?   Show Notes: -John’s page at Commentary -John on the history of The Weekly Standard -Bill Clinton’s 1996 State of the Union address -Matt Drudge breaks the Lewinsky scandal -Josh Marshall: “The Digital News Industry Was Built on Lies” -Glenn Beck and Roger Ailes -Obama’s birth certificate coffee mugs -National Review’s “Against Trump” issue -Chris Christie’s takedown of Marco Rubio -16 magazine

Scott Winship, director of poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Jonah to discuss the history of poverty in the United States. The pair begin by digging into a new report from Scott and four of his peers that explores issues of black vs. white inequality, before they turn to examining potential solutions to these disparities. Is the success sequence outdated? Should America be based on bourgeois morality? And will Jonah ever forgive Scott for collaborating with scholars at the hated Brookings Institution?    Show Notes: -“Long Shadows,” Scott’s report on the black-white gap in multigenerational poverty  -Scott joins the candy eaters on the Brookings Cafeteria Podcast -The Moynihan Report -LBJ (Jonah’s second favorite president) on affirmative action -Baby bonds -The success sequence -Nigerians have the highest level of education in the U.S. -Black Identities, by Mary Waters -Scott: “Is it Really too Expensive to Raise a Family?” -Scott’s case against child allowances

Fair warning: Eating styrofoam may prove more constructive than listening to today’s drive-time Remnant, which contains even less substance than your average Seinfeld episode. Jonah (scourge of baggage agents across America), Ryan (softball hero of the think-tank league and true retainer to The Remnant’s legacy), Guy (who contributed nothing to this episode because “Talkin’ Softball” was stuck in his head), and Nick (full-time Renfield to Jonah’s Dracula) reunite to explore the pointlessness of various government departments, kooky conservative reactions to making Juneteenth a federal holiday, and political blogging in the dark ages of the internet. The quartet also has sad news to impart: Beginning next week, Nick will no longer be serving as Jonah’s research assistant. To mark his departure and celebrate his legacy, the guys talk about absolute guff for about an hour, and then retroactively stick some newsy things onto the front of the show. Show Notes: - The enduring strangeness of Jackie Butts (sorry, Jack) - Darkest drilling - The 2001 shoe bombing attempt - Tucker Carlson outcrazies himself - Andrew Egger on the latest January 6 conspiracy - Charlie Kirk confirms his genius

After several years worth of appearances, David Bahnsen (managing partner and chief investment officer at the Bahnsen Group) finally comes on to talk about his main gig: how money works. It only took five whole shows for Jonah to stop asking him about the postmillenial view about how the world’s going to end. But what better time to start asking about the economy than now, as the national conversation turns to taxing the rich, reopening the economy after a year and a half, and whether or not we’re entering an inflationary spiral? Oh, and David’s in the Five-Timer’s Club now. Show Notes: - That time that David Bahnsen started COVID - David sub-hosts for Jonah, talks to David (the other one) - Remember “flattening” the curve? - David recognized a COVID/obesity connection in May 2020 - Jonah on the ProPublica story - David’s somewhat mistimed book on Elizabeth Warren’s campaign - David in Commentary on wealth tax proposals - Larry Summers doesn’t like wealth taxes - “Sticky wages”... gross - Lacey Hunt thinks inflation ends with a whimper, not a bang

While it’s true that Chris Stirewalt came to perform an autopsy on the GOP’s 2020 election strategy and results, it’s worth pointing out that “the GOP” as a rule didn’t do all that badly in 2020 – the real problem was Donald Trump. Given this state of affairs, Chris decided to reverse course momentarily by speaking to Parker Poling, the 2019-2020 executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee and one of the primary architects of the GOP strategy for congressional elections in 2020. Parker helps to give us a better sense of why Republicans entering the party without Trumpian baggage were able to outperform the president in their own state and local elections and what it was like to make such strides in diversifying the GOP cohort to include more women and racial minorities at a time of revanchist populism. Parker even gives us her advice for freshman members of Congress (Hint: Most of them don’t follow it, even though they should).   Show Notes: -Parker’s time in the GOP -Patrick McHenry’s unexpected congressional career -Congressional Republicans outperformed Trump -Florida’s 27th Congressional District had an unpredictable election -Iowa’s 2nd District, and the election with a six-vote margin -A hint of what the NRCC could’ve run on before January 6

Recorded in anticipation of the change of government that Israel has undergone, Jonah brought back one of his oldest friends Tevi Troy, now a fresh face at the Bipartisan Policy Center. The pair discusses the differences between our chaos-filled presidential system and Israel’s chaos-filled parliamentary system, Bibi Netanyahu’s legacy, and why, in a world filled with limitless technological delights, Hollywood’s blockbuster movies are just so bad.   Show Notes: -Tevi’s new gig -How do different democracies pick their head of state/government? -“Jimmy’s my Jewish friend” -Tevi describes what to expect from a Democratic White House’s relationship with Israel -New coalition government ousts Netanyahu -Recent antisemitic attacks look like images from Europe, not America -Bari Weiss’ book, How to Fight Anti-Semitism -Jonah on structural antisemitism -Tevi’s case for optimism -The Fish of Monte Cristo -Tevi’s book, Shall We Wake the President?

Jonah returns to the classic Ruminant format for the end of the week, which turned out to be a rather newsy, strange sequence of days. From Jeffrey Toobin’s seminal moment (not the one you’re thinking of), to Kamala Harris’ Skeletor-like tactic for dodging questions, all the way to a story about taxation that Jonah thinks has more going on in it than most people think (it may even break “one of the most sacred compacts of government”), this episode brings us reeling back through the mists of time all the way to… last summer, when Jonah was doing this every Friday. Show notes: Jeffrey Toobin continues to help himself on CNN, in spite of our protestations Politico’s Playbook, and their analysis of Kamala’s Guatemala visit “Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman.” The painfully awkward Lester Holt/Kamala Harris interview “Some of his sentences give me the same sensation as falling backward in one of those ‘trust’ exercises, in which you just have to hope things work out.” Texas bans COVID vaccine passports A black-owned bus company helped to fight segregation .The ProPublica tax… thing De Blasio thinks there’s enough money in NYC - it’s just in “the wrong hands” The Remnant with Brian Riedl “The Hop Bird” The Wednesday “news”letter Audrey Fahlberg’s piece on the Maricopa County “audit”

The Remnant gets rank today as Josh Kraushaar, one of Jonah’s favorite party-obsessive pundits, returns to discuss everything electoral. As Jonah has mentioned more than a few times in recent months, America now has two minority parties, both of which seem to be trying to out-crazy the other. In distinctly wonky fashion, Josh explores why this is the case, and what the future holds for a country with two moons and no sun. Will the GOP ever be rid of Trump’s influence? Why do Democrats keep using “Latinx”? And will Jonah finally learn to stop worrying and love primaries? Show Notes: - Josh’s page at National Journal - Josh’s podcast, Against the Grain - North Carolina’s Senate race gets Trumped - Josh Mandel burns a face mask - Trump’s gun control flip-flopping - “Please clap.” - Josh: “Trump is Sabotaging the GOP’s Senate Prospects” - April’s career-ruining Remnant with Mike Gallagher - No one uses Latinx ... - … except Elizabeth Warren - Jonah: “Abolishing Police Departments is Insane” - New York’s impeccable vote-counting - March’s primary-bashing Remnant with Elaine Kamarck

NBC’s Steve Kornacki saw his star shine a little brighter on November 3rd, 2020 and the succeeding weeks as he walked Americans through the results of a long, arduous, and oftentimes confusing election. But Kornacki has been providing that kind of astute analysis for a long time, and he’s bringing it to this episode of The Hangover to discuss how our changing electorate has contributed to the sense of political chaos from the 90s until now. In a political culture where polling seems less and less accurate, and where the weak parties contribute to strong partisanship, how can the GOP claw its way back to a sensible-but-popular agenda?   Show Notes: -Steve Kornacki’s The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism -Republicans were not enthusiastic for Romney -“The Growth and Opportunity Project,” or, the 2012 GOP autopsy -Ohio is much more Republican now than it was four years ago -Wisconsin’s “WOW” counties

In a world increasingly subjected to discussions of Jewish space lasers, fake birth certificates, and luciferian pedophile cabals, the truth could use a spirited defense. Jonathan Rauch, whose work Jonah has cited on countless occasions, finally appears on The Remnant today to offer exactly that. The two discuss Jonathan’s new book, The Constitution of Knowledge, which explores how all Americans can defend free inquiry and objective reality. Are trolling and propaganda as American as apple pie? Do Marxists run a monopoly on disinformation? And should loyal listeners abandon all hope of Jonah ever publishing that “Liberal Fascism Reconsidered” essay?  Show Notes: - Jonathan’s page at Brookings, where they’re always eating candy - The Constitution of Knowledge, Jonathan’s new book - Kindly Inquisitors, Jonathan’s second book and a Jonah favorite - “You didn’t build that.” - Jonathan in defense of free speech - That other time Trump ran for president - Michael Flynn’s call for a Myanmar-style coup - Trump thinks he’ll be “reinstated” as president in August - David French debates Christopher Rufo on critical race theory in public schools - Jonathan on Trump’s firehose of falsehood (not a euphemism) - “The Constitution of Knowledge” - Jonathan’s 2018 essay - Facebook’s new oversight board - Twitter vs. Dave Weigel - Jonah, Saul Alinsky, and the contemporary right - Alice Lloyd’s lengthy profile of Dinesh D’Souza - Woodrow Wilson’s propaganda machine

You wanted the best and you got the best: the hottest FM radio imitation in the world, Friday’s drive-time Ruminant. Feast your ears on the third installment of this curio, as Jonah (unquestioned ruler of the fun side of The Dispatch), Ryan (cicada sous chef and alien aficionado), Guy (unofficial American and classic Simpsons obsessive), and Nick (as good a Straussian as Michael Jordan was a baseball player) join forces to save America from Michael Moore’s invasive telescope. Some serious punditry is mixed in, too, as the quartet explores Donald Trump’s latest antics, memories of Bush-era conservatism, and the possible existence of little green men. As always, please share your feedback on this format, positive, negative, and otherwise. If enough people don’t like these episodes, we can say they were also released during the Chinese lab-leak. Show Notes:  - Ryan and Alec’s early summer feast - Jonah’s eulogy to his dad - Charlie Cooke’s report on Trump’s delusions of reinstatement - Jonah’s cryptic tweet  - Of populism and conspiracies - “He’s history’s greatest monster!” - “...with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln” - The New York Times is in on the alien cover-up - Memeing like it’s 2001 - Bush talks immigration on The Dispatch Podcast - The psychology of the immigration debate - The Hangover with Matt Continetti - The Remnant with Shawn Bushway

In his younger and more vulnerable years, Jonah had a minor obsession with criminology (for no reason in particular, he says). Today, he rekindles that old passion by talking to Shawn Bushway, a scholar at the University at Albany and the RAND Corporation, about the history of crime in America. The pair begins by exploring whether crime is currently on the rise, before launching into a supremely wonky discussion of cities, statistics, and the root causes of criminal behavior. Is the broken windows theory on its way out? Has America made any real progress on race? And why are Democrats still talking about defunding the police?  Show Notes: - Shawn’s page at RAND - Racial disparities in criminal justice - Is racial progress a myth? - Trends and patterns in interracial marriage - Marvin Wolfgang - LBJ’s crime commission - “The Racist Roots of Campus Policing” - Only 25 percent of Americans favor decreased police spending

Chris Stirewalt’s third guest is AEI Fellow and Washington Free Beacon founder Matthew Continetti, who gives voice to the story of the GOP’s ascendant populism from the historical perspective of the American right and the conservative movement. As Matt says, while Trump may have proved the usefulness of populism as a last-ditch electoral strategy, the long-form history of right-wing populism shows that “apocalypticism is a feature, or even the dark side, of populist movements.” By Matt’s lights, conservative politicians in Washington had a vastly different understanding of what “constitutional conservatism” meant compared to the grassroots, but they kept in lockstep regardless. These contradictions simmered under the surface for years, only to explode into the Trump campaign. “For the Tea Partiers, [it meant] that the current government in Washington D.C. was something of an alien, invasive presence. And radical measures were necessary to beat it back.” Additionally, tune in for an analysis of Trump’s “mental jiu-jitsu” and a unique critique of the 2012 GOP autopsy.   Show Notes: -Matt’s book on Sarah Palin -Joe Wurzelbacher becomes ‘Joe the Plumber’ -Rick Santelli starts the Tea Party on live television -“The Two Faces of the Tea Party” -Matt discusses Bush’s immigration reform proposal -Buchanan’s 1992 “Culture War” speech -Obama, a pen, and a phone -David Shor speaks to the importance of “ideological positioning”

Has conservatism always been a grift? Not according to Jonah and today’s guest, the illustrious David French. The pair ascend through various levels of wonkery, beginning with an assessment of critical race theory’s philosophical origins and ending with an exploration of superhero morality. Along the way, they discuss First Amendment jurisprudence, crippling video game addictions, and the ongoing debate over whether Army of the Dead is actually worth watching. To learn if David is secretly a supreme being, however, you’ll have to tune in again next Tuesday …  Show Notes: - David’s French Press - Advisory Opinions, for all of you who speak legalese - David debates Christopher Rufo on critical race theory in public schools - Jonah still disagrees with Joshua Tait - Michael Flynn calls for a Myanmar-style coup in the U.S. Yes, really - Jonah on bridge-and-tunnel populism - Last Friday’s G-File - Jonah’s ancient disagreement with David on the zombie apocalypse

Only those who own ties imprinted with portraits of Burke and Hayek should tune in for today’s Ruminant, which sees Jonah’s philosophical rumination reach dangerous instability. After assessing the increasingly credible COVID-19 lab-leak theory (and remembering the time Trump suggested using “the heat and the light” to cure the virus), Jonah examines what the debate over woke corporations reveals about the state of the conservative movement. He then dives headfirst into the morass of intellectual history, to explore how conservatives really feel about democracy. It’s an episode Albert Jay Nock couldn’t resist. Show Notes:  -   Young Guns, the greatest book ever written -  Jonah: “How the Media Botched the Lab-Leak Story” -  Vindication for Mr. Geraghty -  Memories of disinfectant   -   Matt Gaetz delivers a fresh dose of crazy -  Phil Klein: “Woke Capitalism and its Threat to Fusionism” -   Dullest headline contest -  Jonah: “Pro-Business or Pro-Market” -  If Jonah ran the zoo -   John T. Flynn hated FDR before it was cool -  Hillary defines progressivism -  Rubio goes full unionization -  David Marcus irritates Jonah -   Joshua Tate: “Anit-Democratic Conservatism Isn’t New” -   Liz Cheney backs voter ID -  The Wednesday G-File

With a country split practically down the middle when it comes to politics, it’s a truism that the GOP needs to broaden its base if it wants to win elections. But it’s hard to make progress when the party’s leadership is struggling to make heads or tails of its own voters, let alone outsiders. Republicans could stand to take a few lessons from former Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, who was the House Majority Leader for the 112th Congress. Cantor tells The Dispatch’s Chris Stirewalt that he developed a necessary trait for a Republican coming to political consciousness in a deeply suburbanizing, ever-more purple Virginia: It was “a vision [to] add more people to the armies and champions of liberty,” and he makes the case that this should still be the priority for elected Republicans.   Show Notes: -Richard Obenshain -Virginia’s population boom -Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders -Boehner’s “Dollar-for-dollar” plans -Eric Cantor talks about a refusal to tell the truth in our politics

The Hangover begins with Richard Brookhiser (American historian and longtime editor at National Review) making a statement that is both clear and simple and yet seems like a revolutionary point to be made among Republicans: “Trump had his day, but it passed.” The question remains, why aren’t they acting like it? Furthermore, how did the Republican grassroots go from Tea Partiers tidying up after themselves on the National Mall to rioters breaking into the Capitol in the space of just over a decade? Brookhiser explains this populist overthrow within the tradition of political factionalism stretching all the way back to Madison.   Show Notes: -Founder’s Son by Richard Brookhiser -I Love You, but I Hate Your Politics, by Jeanne Safer -The Tea Party was notoriously clean -Some U.S. cities are semi-permanently wrecked from 20th-century rioting -Democrats have become the party of the rich -The “anti-elitist” Democratic-Republican Party was made up of rich guys -A giant list of Israeli political parties -Brookhiser argues that liberty is the core of American politics