Libertarian guru, wisdom-dispenser, and Jonah’s good friend Ron Bailey, science correspondent for Reason magazine, joins us on The Remnant. Ron guides us through the myriad reasons that the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t justify expanding the government and federal bureaucracies to unprecedented levels, before spending the second half of the podcast enticing Jonah to join him in the strange exotic land of the libertarians. If anyone can pull that off, it’s Ron. Show Notes: -Ron’s page at Reason -Ron’s book with Marian Tupy - preorder now -The CDC wasting time on COVID-19 tests -Morgue trucks in NYC -#PrivatizetheSeas2020 -Naomi Klein’s wacky This Changes Everything documentary -Murder Hornets: I’m sure it’s fine -ExpressVPN.com/REMNANT for 3 extra months free

Steve Kornacki, national political correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, joins Jonah to breakdown the state of the 2020 election, and take a trip through the history of political tribalism. It helps that Steve wrote a whole book, The Red and the Blue, on the subject. Come for Steve's keen knowledge of all things politics, stay for the discussion on weak parties. Show Notes: -Steve’s book, The Red and the Blue -Ross Perot’s unique populism -Tip O’Neill’s words getting taken down -Greenwich piece -Clinton’s Sister Souljah moment -The unpopularity of “Latinx” -WaPo’s Washington Redskins poll -ExpressVPN.com/Remnant for 3 extra months free

On this Ruminant, Jonah finds himself hearing the “binary choice” argument all over again, but this time about Trump vs. Biden. In his response, he also deals with the ways in which people are failing to take the Reade allegation seriously, how we have a political class of perpetual underdogs, and how dishonest arguments have snuck into our partisan debates.

Jonah and National Review’s Charles Cooke podcast with one another from the sunny paradise of Florida on this episode of The Remnant. Why is Florida so weird, really? What is to be made of GOP governors riding the Trump Train before promptly hopping back off? And what are people actually angry about regarding the Reade/Biden allegation? Tune in to witness a disagreement that sheds more light than heat. Show Notes: -Charlie’s author page at National Review -Take a wild guess: just how many alligators does Florida have? -What’s history’s biggest mistake? -Why did the FBI need to pin Capone on taxes? -Stealth-edits in NYT’s reporting on Tara Reade -ExpressVPN.com/remnant for an extra three months free

Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin makes a return appearance on this, the 200th episode of The Remnant. To celebrate, Jonah and Mike bring back the ever-popular theme of half-baked ideas, mixing many of their own ideas (that still need a bit more time in the oven) with some of our very own listener-submitted thoughts. They revisit their plan to (peacefully!) annex Greenland, Mike prolongs his beef with Rep. Dan Crenshaw, and our intrepid podcasters discover how to implement mortal combat into parliamentary procedure. Show Notes: -Mike at Heritage Hill Park, which closed shortly after -The highly influential Justinian Code -William Manchester’s bio of Douglas MacArthur -The Federal Thrift Savings Plan -Episode 151: Jawing with Crenshaw -Shameless plug (now out in paperback!) -Xi Jinping looks like Winnie the Pooh -“Annoying” woman denied Swiss citizenship -Taleb’s book, Antifragile -The Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Jonah returns to ruminate on a smorgasbord of things this week: injecting bleach to cure COVID-19 (big if true!), an extended meditation on John Rawls’ "veil of ignorance," how the veil is nonsensical from the pro-life position, and the difference between “social justice” and a “just society.” Show Notes: -Ross’ book on social decadence -Suicide of the West (now out in paperback!) -The veil of ignorance -Pope Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors -A shrubbery!

How does technological innovation actually happen? We were able to speak to Matt Ridley, who has literally written the (upcoming) book on this subject, How Innovation Works. Matt brings up fascinating points, such as whether or not innovation really relies on “great men” miraculously coming up with brilliant ideas, why we are often resistant to new technology, and how we can get out of our current innovation slump, a product of our cultural risk-aversion. And tune in to see where he places on the ranking of Most British People Ever (™). Show Notes: -GLoP Live 2: God save us all Members of The Dispatch are invited to join the GLoP live broadcast on Sunday, April 26th at 6PM ET/5PM CT/3PM PT -How Innovation Works - preorder now -I, Pencil, yet again -Kelly’s What Technology Wants -Harris’ novel, The Second Sleep -Matt’s bat facts -Remnant with Vin Cannato -ExpressVPN.com/REMNANT for 3 free months

This episode goes in The Remnant Hall of Fame for a few reasons: it’s both one of the longest episodes we’ve ever done, with one of the New Yorkiest guests we’ve ever had. Vincent Cannato, professor of history at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, proves his New York credentials not just with stories of mayors from years past, but with the most authentic pronunciation of “Giuliani” you’ll ever hear. Stick around for Jonah and Vin reminiscing about AEI, Irving Kristol, and the least impressive Honda Civic in human history. Show Notes: -Live GLoP 2: Daydrinking Boogaloo - stay tuned for updates -Vin’s book on Mayor John Lindsay, The Ungovernable City -Lindsay’s, uh, “relations” with Florence Henderson -An archive of Lifebuoy Soap’s 1918 ads -Cuomo’s story about “wop” -Dunn and Shields’ book about conservative professors -More Kyle Harper on Gnosticism -Idea-laundering in academia -John Miller’s article on the slow death of military history -Ben Wattenberg’s book on who the average American really was in the 70s -SaneBox.com/DINGO for a $25 credit

Another weekend, another Ruminant - this time with Jonah talking about the intellectual backdrop of conservatism, and what early conservative (and progressive) ideologies might have to say about today’s coronavirus response. Join Jonah in a cloud of cigar smoke inside his own car to talk about the New Deal, Trump’s call to LIBERATE [INSERT STATE HERE], and more.

The vox populi has been heard, so we went with a listener-suggested guest on this episode of The Remnant. Kyle Harper is an incredibly knowledgeable historian of the Roman Empire who specializes in the origins of Christianity, but that doesn’t quite do him justice. As Jonah (or, Jonas Magnus) discovers, he’s effectively a polymath who knows about everything from the gnostics to the history of infectious disease - which is, uh, convenient? Watch out for his Oklahoma nationalism, though; he might be trying to annex the rest of the country. Show Notes: -The deep human history of respiratory viruses -Kyle’s latest book, The Fate of Rome -Hunter-gatherers as the “original affluent society” -Romans were short -Calvin Coolidge’s son -Tacitus: “they make a desert and call it peace.” -Michael Munger on EconTalk, speaking to the ideological history of slavery -Jamelle Bouie’s argument about the Enlightenment and racism -“Climate essentialism” in Hippocrates -Let’s all move to Oklahoma -DoorDash, promo code REMNANT for $5 off, and zero delivery fees for the first month

On the new Remnant, Jonah talks with James Pethokoukis, a fellow at AEI, about how markets are reacting to coronavirus and what the recovery might look like. (V-shaped? U-shaped? Nike swoosh-shaped?) As a result of their isolation-based hallucinations, they also get particularly animated in the rank punditry and pop culture portions - so don’t miss out on their hottest Star Trek takes, or Jim’s shocking defense of the finales of Lost and Battlestar Galactica. Show Notes: -Jim’s podcast, Political Economy -Suicide of the West (now out in paperback!) -AOC’s late-stage capitalism tweet -Trump’s “Opening Our Country Council” -“Assume a can opener” -Bill Bennett saying that coronavirus isn’t a pandemic -Some craziness from Claremont -James’ column: is this really a black swan? -Pale Rider, about the 1918 flu -Star Trek’s transporter is a copy-kill-paste machine -DonorsTrust.org/dingo -Bound by Oath, a podcast by the Institute for Justice

Welcome back to Jonah’s Fortress of Solitude on this latest solo episode of The Remnant. On the docket today are topics like subsidiarity in a crisis, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (which Jonah struggles to pronounce), and listener feedback from The Dispatch comments section. Show Notes: -The Quart of Blood Technique -I, Pencil -A $1,500 chicken sandwich that was “just fine.” -Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads

Steven Teles, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University, joins us on the heels of his newly released book, Never Trump. Stop sharpening your pitchforks, everyone! It’s an objective treatment of the Never Trump movement that doesn’t come down one way or the other on it. It also leads into some classic Remnant wonkery, with tangents into the problems with party strength, mediating institutions, and political history, and how these things relate to the tensions within modern conservatism. Show Notes: -Steve and Rob Saldin’s book, “Never Trump” -Milan Svolik: “Polarization versus Democracy” -The DNC commission that created changes in 1972 -Eddie Izzard: “Cake or Death?” -Gorillas in the Mist Conservatism -Buckley’s function as conservative purgemaster -George Nash’s book on conservative intellectual history -Knightian uncertainty -Invasion of the Body Snatchers -Aldrich’s “Why Parties?” -Remnant 186, with Shoshana Weissmann -Bound by Oath, a podcast by the Institute for Justice

Through the magic of the internet, AEI's Lyman Stone joins The Remnant all the way from Hong Kong to talk all things coronavirus: how we got here, the numbers, China's role in the outbreak, and where we go from here. Show Notes: -Lyman’s work at AEI -Hong Kong’s relative laxity during the pandemic -Problems with getting an accurate coronavirus death count -Siddhartha Sanghi retracts his claim about reduced deaths from social distancing -Chinese doctors disappearing -Jim Geraghty’s reporting on the Wuhan virology lab -Fauci Truthers -NY churches being “converted,” if you will, to field hospitals -Taiwan’s coronavirus travel ban policy -John Barry’s book on the 1918 flu -DrinkHydrant.com, promo code “dingo” at checkout

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. Show Notes: -Self-domestication of dogs -Cass talking about the Russian Fox Experiment -The Tame Bonobo Theory -For Kant nerds: Christine Korsgaard’s deontological argument for animal rights -Cass’ book on “The Cost-Benefit Revolution” -Cass and Thaler’s “Nudge” theory -“Trusting Nudges” -Bound By Oath, the Institute for Justice’s 14th Amendment history podcast

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. Show Notes: -Jim’s newsletter, The Morning Jolt -Latest updates on the lies that China has told -Tom Cotton talks about China re-closing movie theaters -Shortage of chemical reagents required to make COVID tests -Jonah’s column about Booker’s “moral imagination” -“Good luck” -Draft Cuomo 2020 -Yamiche Alcindor/Trump weirdness -DonorsTrust.org/dingo

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. Show Notes: -Shoshana at R Street -Professor Randy Barnett, Shoshana’s inspiration -The wild world of florist licenses in Louisiana -George Will on Jacob Maged, the immigrant dry cleaner punished by the National Recovery Administration -The city of Annapolis’ occupational license for fortune-telling -Shoshana stans Arizona Governor Doug Ducey -Oklahoma’s trying to regulate your Qi -The legendary Snapchat hotdog -Giant prehistoric sloths -The uniquely interesting history of Ethiopian Jews -Date-onomics -Michael Novak: “A neoconservative is a progressive with three teenage children.” -Earnest.com/dingo

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. Show Notes: -Kevin’s latest book, The Smallest Minority -Kevin’s upcoming essay collection, Big White Ghetto -The (massively underrated) Tyranny of Cliches -Suicide of the West (now out in paperback!) -Adhocracy, a favorite term of Jonah and Kevin’s -Kevin’s The End is Near -Kevin’s claim to being an “Eisenhower libertarian” -Douglass North’s impenetrably brilliant Violence and Social Orders -Obama’s second inaugural: “preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.” -The unfortunately-named philosophical paradox, “Buridan’s Ass” -Cleta Mitchell, releasing works for consumption by the populist masses -Kevin’s The Case Against Trump -$25 credit from SaneBox

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. Show Notes: -Michele’s book, Rule Makers, Rule Breakers -The complexity of fractals, for those who actually understand math -Michele’s Tight-Loose Quiz -Mexican teaching jobs are given to… teachers’ kids? -The gum-free land of Singapore -D.E. Brown’s list of universal traits across all human cultures -Jonathan Haidt’s article, which then spawned a book, which then spawned a Remnant episode -Robert Wright, The Moral Animal -John Tooby’s “coalition instinct” -Jonah’s Wednesday “news”letter -Michele’s piece on COVID in the Boston Globe -Michele’s “Honor Dictionary” -The fascinating concept of “pluralistic ignorance” -GetBlueVine.com/dingo

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? Show Notes: -Chris Stirewalt -Stirewalt's politics newsletter -Stirewalt and Dana Perino's podcast -The Morning Dispatch -The Dispatch -UnTuckIt.com code DINGO -DonorsTrust.com/dingo

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. Show Notes: -Ross’ book, The Decadent Society -Daniel Kahneman on thinking fast and slow -The evils of the coronavirus distributors in public bathrooms -The process of recording an audiobook -Peter Thiel and his “almost lifelike” enunciation -Jacques Barzun’s From Dawn to Decadence -Suicide of the West, now out in paperback! -F.J. Turner’s Frontier thesis -Where UN peacekeepers have succeeded, and where they’ve failed -Robert Nisbet’s recounting of the WWI horse problem -Tina Fey on Conan O’Brien’s podcast -Ross’ NYT podcast -DoorDash, promo code REMNANT

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? Show Notes: -David’s (somewhat ill-timed) book -John Podhoretz’s (equally ill-timed) book -Monday’s 2,000-point Dow drop -Saudi Arabia and Russia’s oil price shenanigans -Mohammed bin Salman behaving completely normally, for sure -The role of smoking in COVID-19 vulnerability -Charles Cooke’s great take on MSNBC’s math -“Did we lose a war?”

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. Show Notes: -Stephanie’s piece for Reason on nationalism -Stephanie’s piece on balancing her Catholicism and libertarianism -Stephanie on the Roman Circus podcast -The peak of the French-Ahmari Wars -The Free State Project -Free will in the Catechism -Randolph Bourne on the “Health of the State” -Jonah on Nick Gillespie’s Reason Interview -Bellamy’s Children -Daniel Burns on liberal practice versus liberal theory -Yoram Hazony’s beef with classical liberalism -Trump calling himself a nationalist -Beer: just as important as the Epic of Gilgamesh -Earnest.com/dingo