As 2022 winds down, Kevin Williamson returns to the Remnant for some wide-ranging sociopolitical nerdery. He and Jonah explore what characterizes effective social policy, why it pays to be skeptical of new ideas, and what makes no sense about the American tax system. They also provide a modicum of more lighthearted punditry on the George Santos debacle and indulge in a lengthy discussion of the gun debate. Tune in for explanation, but stick around for obfuscation.
Show Notes:
- Kevin’s page at The Dispatch
- Kevin: “A Guide to Guns”
- Nick Catoggio: “The Talented Mr. Santos”
- Jonah: “Something Short of Tragic”

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Season’s Groanings

In “The Remnant," Jonah Goldberg enlists a “Cannonball Run”-style cast of stars, has-beens, and never-weres to address the most pressing issues of the day. Is America doomed? Has liberalism failed? And will mankind ever invent something better than ‘90s-era “Simpsons?” Mixing political history, pop culture, rank punditry, and shameless book-plugging, Goldberg and guests will have the kinds of conversations we wish they featured on TV. And the nudity will (almost) always be tasteful. Brace your bingo cards.

News

Politics

Jonah begins by ruminating on the Supreme Court oral arguments for Donald Trump’s immunity case and explains why he doesn’t understand how people could be sympathetic towards the former president. He then turns to the Heritage Foundation’s spat with Erick Erickson before getting to the Columbia protests and Elon Musk’s surprisingly apt observation on the oppressor-oppressed paradigm.
Show Notes:
—Word of South festival
—Advisory Opinions on the oral arguments
—The Collision on the oral argument
—Dispatch Podcast roundtable
—Ukraine: The Latest with Jonah
—Erick Erickson’s article on free markets
—George Packer's piece in The Atlantic
—Elon Musk’s tweet
—Columbia student who said Zionists don’t deserve to live
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Stress the System

Audio doppelgänger Chris Stirewalt joins Jonah on today’s episode of The Remnant to venture through the polluted backwaters of media conglomerates and uncover a whole host of “whataboutism” garbage: the rise of antisemitism on campuses, the media bias in covering these protests, and the terrorist chants coming from the mouths of these students. The two also opine on the faces adorning a far-right fecal Mt. Rushmore, including the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar. They discuss more serious matters as well, such as the current snapshot of poll numbers and whether or not Stormy Daniels is a porn “star” or just an actress.
Show notes:
—What's the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank
—"What's the Matter with Kansas?" by William Allen White
—Chris Stirewalt's Remnant episode with Tyler Austin Harper
—Bloomberg: Biden Trails Trumps
—Chris' piece for The Dispatch on Nevada's poll numbers
—The Hill's election center
—Nikki Haley voters in Pennsylvania
—Gallup: Americans showing average enthusiasm for voting in 2024
—Jonah’s appearance on a CNN panel with Lulu Garcia-Navarro
—Students chant "Go back to Poland!"
—Piece on Mike Johnson in The Atlantic
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Hillbilly Übermensch

Jesse Singal makes his Remnant debut to discuss his piece for The Dispatch on the Cass Review and the problem with the current consensus about gender transition treatments for children. The two debate the question of social contagion and the difficulties in reporting on "The Science."
Show Notes:
—Jesse Singal's piece for The Dispatch
—Hannah Barnes on Blocked and Reported
—Galileo's Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and One Scholar's Search for Justice Middle finger to Galileo
—Tics and TikTok
—Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now
—Coverage on the shooting of Jacob Blake
—Will Saletan's piece for Slate on GMOs
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Trust the Scientism

After fending off the voices coming from inside his walls, Jonah begins today’s Ruminant by discussing the latest entry in the House Speakership saga and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s incoherent foreign policy. He then turns to the recent pro-Palestinian protests and how their facing consequences is a sign of nature healing. Stick around for the usual intellectual history nerdery.
Show Notes:
—Boiling Frogs on Mike Johnson
—Dispatch Politics on Mike Johnson
—Wanderland on MTG’s appeasement and Neville Chamberlain
—Boiling Frogs on Joe Biden’s “Sister Souljah moment”
—Friday’s Dispatch Podcast
—Activist threatening Bakersfield city council
—The Remnant with Nancy French
—Ukraine: The Latest
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Losing Patience With Dumbassery

Eli Lake, The Remnant’s resident bloodthirsty war hawk, returns to the pod to break down the situation with Israel and Iran. The two get into why America has no strategic vision on Iran, the growing alliance of left- and right-wing isolationists, and how Tucker Carlson has become so unhinged.
Show Notes:
—Eli’s profile at The Free Press
—Eli’s piece on Tucker Carlson and Russia
—Eli's piece on the FBI
—The Remnant with Nancy French
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Season’s Groanings

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