Ross Douthat is that strangest of all creatures, a religious conservative with a New York Times column—a perch from which he pronounces on U.S. politics, the Catholic Church, and modern culture with style and intelligence, plus a dash of mordant pessimism. In other words, the perfect choice to be the first "enemy" to come on the show. He joins Matt and Sam to discuss his own conservatism, the American right in the Trump era, and his new book The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success.

Further Reading:

• Ross Douthat, "The Decade of Disillusionment," NYT, Dec 28, 2019
• Ross Douthat, "The Case for Bernie," NYT, Nov 30, 2019
• Ross Douthat, "Trump’s Message: Love It or Leave It, With a Bigoted Edge," NYT, Jul 16, 2019
• Ross Douthat, "What Are Conservatives Actually Debating?" NYT, June 4, 2019
• Rudyard Kipling, "The Gods of the Copybook Headings," Harper's, Oct 26, 1919