Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in American history, and it isn't close. Between his family's crypto business — designed to enable foreign oligarchs, criminals, and state actors to bribe the administration while enriching Trump and his family — his insider trading and manipulation of the stock market, a tariff regime designed to bind business interests to Trump's personal whims, and the advent of a virtual market for criminal fraudsters to purchase pardons from the president himself, Trump and his family have accrued billions of dollars while hollowing out the rule of law and corroding what's left of our democracy. It is brazen, appalling, and poisonous.

To guide us through this many-circled hell, we're joined by Jacob Silverman, author of Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley, who's been covering the crypto beat and the Trump-family corruption for years. Jacob helps us wrap our heads around the immensity of this problem — and what, if anything, can be done about it. 

Further Reading:

Jacob Silverman, "Teapot Dome. Watergate. They’re Nothing Compared With This." NYTimes, Oct 17, 2025.

— "Zyn and hustling in Las Vegas: Three days at the world's biggest Bitcoin party," Business Insider, Jun 6, 2025. 

— "Binance’s MAGA-Branding Strategy," The Nation, Feb 27, 2026. 

— "He Will Steal As Much As You Let Him," Jacob Silverman Substack, Jul 11, 2025.

Thomas Edsall, "‘A Blatant and Gargantuan Conflict of Interest,'" NYTimes, Aug 18, 2026.

U.S. House of Representatives, Judiciary, Democrats. "Trump, Crypto, and a New Age of Corruption," Nov 24, 2025.

Michael Waldman, "Epic Corruption in Plain Sight," Brennan Center, May 19, 2026.

John Ganz, "Trump's Third-Worldism," Unpopular Front, Aug 24, 2026.

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Listen to the rest of this premium episode by subscribing at patreon.com/knowyourenemy.

We talk to Astra Taylor and Aaron Regunberg about their recent New Republic article about MAGA's embrace of animal rights—which, like RFK Jr. and "Make America Healthy Again," has allowed them to make inroads with constituencies typically associated with the left. What actually is the Trumpist right's vision of animal rights, and how does it differ from the left's? What might the matter reveal about the curious, combustible politics of this moment? And what should the left learn from this, not just when it comes to animal rights but the opportunities they seem to keep giving conservatives to offer compelling alternatives to the left on key issues? We take up these questions and more.

Sources:

Astra Taylor & Aaron Regunberg, "How MAGA Stole Animal Rights from the Left," New Republic, Aug 17, 2026

— "Is Animal Rights the Next MAHA?" The Bemusement Tapes, Aug 17, 2026

Daniel Engber, "MAGA's Animal Nationalism," The Atlantic, Feb 22, 2026

Matthew Scully, Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy (2002)

Jay Caspian Kang, "Why an Agnostic Animal-Rights Activist Went to Seminary," New Yorker, Jan 27, 2026

Pope Francis, Laudato si': On Care for Our Common Home (2015)

Sunaura Taylor, Beasts of Burden , (2017)

Astra Taylor and Sunaura Taylor, “Our Animals, Ourselves,” Lux, Jan 2022.

Out in September: Astra Taylor & Naomi Klein, End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World

In this episode, we're pleased to welcome back historian Kim Phillips-Fein, one of the truly outstanding observers of the right, past and present, working today, for a conversation about her new book, Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight Against Equality in America. It makes for a companion episode of sorts to our recent discussions on Lincoln and the Declaration of Independence, but this time about those who rejected equality: proponents of slavery, biological racists (in various forms), captains of industry, and more, from the American founding through today's tech billionaires like Peter Thiel. 

Listen: Bob Dylan, "My Back Pages"

Listen Again: "The History of the History of the Right (w/ Kim Phillips-Fein)," Know Your Enemy, Jan 18, 2024

Sources:

Kim Phillips-Fein, Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight against Equality in America (2026)

— Fear City: New York’s Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics (2017)

— Invisible Hands: The Businessmen's Crusade Against the New Deal (2009)

Steven Hahn, Illiberal America: A History (2024)

Richard Hofstadter, The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It (1948)

Louis Hartz, The Liberal Tradition in America: An Interpretation of American Political Thought Since the Revolution (1955)

...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!

Listen to the rest of this premium episode by subscribing at patreon.com/knowyourenemy.

What is going on with the right? Why are they so mad at each other? What accounts for their apparent malaise? Why are they arguing about the price of burritos? Is anyone qualified to replace Ross Douthat at the NY Times? How is Reihan Salam's Manhattan Institute gearing up to combat Mayor Zohran Mamdani? Will it work? And why is Chris Rufo suddenly so worried about the far-right fever swamp, which he did so much to cultivate? 

Matt and Sam check in with their favorite enemies — and find them wanting.

This episode was edited and produced by the great Colin Wambsgans (Jesse is on vacation).

Sources:

Ezra Klein interview with Chris Rufo, New York Times, June 30, 2026

Rufo & Lomez, "Trump Won...Now the Online Right Is Falling Apart," BlazeTV, Jul 28, 2026

Eliza Shapiro & Nicholas Fandos, "Can This Man Stop the Mamdani Agenda? Reihan Salam Loves New York. He Loves the Free Market. And He’s Very Worried," New York Times, July 29, 2026

Sohrab Ahmari, "Trump Was the Never the One," UnHerd, Mar 19, 2026.

Natalie Allison & Isaac Arnsdorf, "Trump Privately Tells Donors to Back Vance While Publicly Keeping 2028 Open," Washington Post, Aug 6, 2026

Dan Adler, "Tucker Carlson Threw Down the Post-MAGA Gauntlet. Can He Actually Build a Movement?" Vanity Fair, Aug 6, 2026

Amos Barshad, "Tucker Carlson: 'I'll I Have Is the Power to Talk and Be Heard,’" Columbia Journalism Review, July 1, 2026

Brendan Rascius, "MTG and Tucker Carlson Announce New ‘Movement’ in Photo Packed with MAGA Renegades," The Independent, Aug 1, 2026

Russ Buettner, "Trump Crypto Took $100 Million From a Businessman With Red Flags," NYTimes, Aug 9, 2026

Christopher Hitchens & Christopher Caldwell, eds., Left Hooks, Right Crosses: A Decade of Political Writing (2002)

Reihan Salam & Ross Douthat, Grand New Party: How Republicans can Win the Working Class and Save The American Dream (2008)

This episode begins by noting the proximity of two of the most significant events of the twentieth century, one archaeological, the other political: the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 and the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948. What do they have to do with each other? A lot, it turns out, at least when it comes to archaeology's role in Israeli nationalism, from justifying their claim to "Judea and Samaria" to using the legal and bureaucratic aspects of protecting "heritage sites" as a way to seize territory to the draw for Christian Zionists of Israel's supposed stewardship of "the Holy Land." Throughout the conversation, we draw on our guest Jasper Nathaniel's years of reporting on these matters, and especially his heroic work documenting the brutality of Israeli settlers — and their enablers— in the West Bank.

Support Jasper's essential work by subscribing to Infinite Jaz.

Listen: Johnny Cash, The Holy Land (1968)

Sources:

Jasper Nathaniel, "In Ruins​: Archaeological Warfare in the West Bank," The Drift, Dec 16, 2024

— "Israel's Archaeological Apartheid: An Update," Dec 19, 2025

Rachel Poser, "Common Ground: The Politics of Archaeology in Jerusalem," Harper's, Sept 2019

Bezalel Smotrich, "Israel's Decisive Plan," 2017

James Genn, "'Grandpa, Look What We Found': Huckabee Family Uncovers Ancient Coins in West Bank Caves," The Jerusalem Post, Jan 6, 2026

Gary Rendsburg, "The Dead Sea Scrolls," Great Courses lecture series, July 2013

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This episode originally aired June 15, 2026 on Patreon — we're unlocking it for the rest of you. 

Author and Jewish Currents editor-at-large Peter Beinart returns to "Know Your Enemy" to discuss Tucker Carlson's newfound anti-Israel politics, their connection to his broader nationalist project, and how the left should think about right-wing anti-zionism.

Sources:

Peter Beinart, "What Tucker Carlson Means When He Talks About Israel," New York Times, April 28, 2026

— "Progressives Must Not Give Tucker Carlson a Pass," The Beinart Notebook, May 11, 2026

— Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, (2025)

Daniel G. Hummel, The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism (2023)

"Tyler Oliveira: Exposing Somali Welfare Abuse, Republican Hypocrisy & the Group You Can’t Criticize," The Tucker Carlson Show, May 8, 2026

Will Alden, "The Many Equivocations of Curt Mills," Jewish Currents, April 16, 2026.

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Matt and Sam are joined by their great friend Dorothy Fortenberry to discuss the debacle of Graham Platner: the Maine Democratic Senate nominee who was forced to drop out amid allegations of rape. We compare notes about our evolving estimations of Platner, his appeal, and his scandals; uncover the gendered fantasies involved in his rise and fall; and game out what lessons can be learned from this experience — for the left and for the Democratic Party.

Dorothy is an essayist, playwright, and TV writer/producer, including four seasons on “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In previous appearances, she's discussed #Resistance moms, art and climate change, and Trump's women-hating cabinet. A new show she worked on, “Nocturne,” is coming out on Apple TV in October.

This episode was edited and produced by Colin Wambsgans (Jesse is on vacation).

Further reading:

Jessica Piper & Adam Wren, "Woman who dated Graham Platner says he sexually assaulted her," Politico, July 6, 2026.

Katie Gluck & Lisa Lerer, "Several Women Who Dated Graham Platner Recall 'Unsettling' Behavior," NYTimes, June 4, 2026.

Lisa Lerer, Katie Gluck, & Michael Kruse, "‘A Slow-Rolling Disaster’: Inside the Implosion of the Platner Campaign," NYTimes, Jul 8, 2026.

Will Steakin & Chris Sommerfeldt, "‘Professional malpractice’: The Platner fallout engulfs the operatives who made him," Politico, July 7, 2026.

Dorothy Fortenberry, "Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore," Commonweal, Nov 5, 2020.

— "One of Those Serious Women," Commonweal, Apr 29, 2019.

Moira Donegan, "Why was the pundit class so quick do defend Graham Platner," The Guardian, Jul 10, 2026.

Rebecca Traister, "What Women Saw in Graham Platner," New York Magazine, July 9, 2026.

Lindsey Graham's death last week at 71 was as remarkable for the senator's relative "youth" as its possible political and electoral consequences, so much so that it actually prompted conspiracy theories about the precise nature of his passing. Meanwhile, 84-year old Mitch McConnell's status as among the living remains shrouded in mystery, and former president 83-year old former president Joe Biden announced that his memoir would be published in November via his cadaver-esque presence in a promotional video. In short, everywhere we look the signs of our decline into a sclerotic gerontocracy are present, and perhaps no one has approached this problem as comprehensively as Samuel Moyn in his new book, Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It. In this episode we talk with Sam about the historical precedents for our gerontocracy; the nature, extent, and causes of it; why his book is not an attack on the elderly; and possibilities for creatively rewriting our society's intergenerational contract; and more.

Sources:

Samuel Moyn, Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It (2026)

Thomas Jefferson, Letter to James Madison, Sept 6, 1789

James Madison, Federalist 49, Feb 5, 1788

James Ceaser, "The Constitution: Sweet as Honey," First Things, Sept 20, 2009

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835)

...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!

Listen to the rest of this premium episode by subscribing at patreon.com/knowyourenemy.

This conversation is something of a follow-up to our last episode on Garry Wills's Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America. We begin by "providing receipts" for the views of prominent midcentury conservative intellectuals (Willmoore Kendall, Russell Kirk, and Mel Bradford, to name a few) about the Declaration, equality, and Lincoln, then take a step back to discuss what their quarrel with Lincoln, Harry Jaffa, Garry Wills, and other partisans of equality might reveal about the nature of the American founding and the shape of our country's history. After all that—and more—we consider NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's July 3 speech celebrating America's 250th anniversary and the promise and perils of leftwing patriotism.

Listen again: "Lincoln at Gettysburg," Know Your Enemy, July 6, 2026

Sources:

Zohran Mamdani, "Remarks as Prepared: Mayor Mamdani Delivers Address Marking America’s 250th Birthday," July 3, 2026

Garry Wills, Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America (1992)

Abraham Lincoln, "Letter to Joshua Speed," Aug 24, 1855

— Speech at Chicago, Illinois, July 10, 1858

— Message to Congress, July 4, 1861

Alexander H. Stephens, "Corner Stone Speech," March 21, 1861

James Madison, "Federalist no. 39," Jan 16, 1788

Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Roger Weightman, June 24, 1826

Willmoore Kendall & George W. Carey, The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition (1970)

George W. Carey, In Defense of the Constitution (1997)

Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order (1974)

— John Randolph of Roanoke: A Study in American Politics (1951)

Harry V. Jaffa, A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War (2000)

George W. Bush, Second Inaugural Address, Jan 20, 2005

We're ringing in the 250th anniversary of the United States with an episode on Garry Wills's superb, Pulitzer Prize-winning 1992 book, Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade the America. It's central argument is that Abraham Lincoln succeeded in revolutionizing how Americans thought of the founding of their country, especially the Declaration of Independence, with the Gettysburg Address—a revolution not just in "thought" but in "style," one that placed the Declaration's assertion of equality at the very center of our political tradition. The book is one that only Garry Wills could have written, with his PhD in Classics allowing him to compare Lincoln's "funeral oration" to that of Pericles, with his long meditation on the American presidency and leadership preparing him to grasp the enormity of the task Lincoln set himself, and with his time at National Review in his youth helping him understand why the American right never forgave Lincoln for succeeding. We discuss all this and more in our conversation about one of our favorite writer's very best books.

Tickets for Sam's events: Tuesday with Tad Devine / Thursday with Dan Denvir. 

Previous KYE episodes on Garry Wills:

Nixon Agonistes

The Kennedy Imprisonment (w/ Jeet Heer)

Bomb Power (w/ Madeleine Baker)

Sources:

Garry Wills, Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America (1992)

— Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State (2010)

— "Martin Luther King Is Still on the Case!" Esquire, Aug 1, 1968

— "The Blind Teach Us to See," Boston Globe, Aug 20, 1970

Abraham Lincoln, "Letter to Joshua Speed," Aug 24, 1855

Harry V. Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided: An Interpretation of the Issues in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1959)

Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order (1974)

Willmoore Kendall and George W. Carey, The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition (1970)

...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!