Jonathan Rauch, beloved scholar at the otherwise hated Brookings Institution, returns to the Remnant for some spirited kvetching about primaries, polarization, and the state of democracy. He and Jonah also mix in some ruminations on the Republican Party’s dysfunction, the nature of racism in contemporary American society, and how identity politics radicalizes people. Be ready with your bingo cards.

Show Notes:

- Jonathan’s page at Brookings

- Jonathan’s previous Remnant appearance

- Jonathan’s latest book, The Constitution of Knowledge

- Jonathan and Ray La Raja: “Too Much Democracy Is Bad for Democracy”

- “Toward a More Responsible Two Party System”

- Elaine Kamarck: “Is democracy failing and putting our economic system at risk?”

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Heroic wonksplainer Scott Lincicome is back on the Remnant to discuss his new book, Empowering the American Worker: Market‐​Based Solutions for Today’s Workforce, which examines what effective pro-worker policies should look like in today’s political climate. Predictably, things get nerdy, as the conversation explores education policy, the demands of urban living, and the great vampire-werewolf debate (tune in for clarification). Where is the government going wrong in its approach to the workforce? Can relying on the free market ever create problems? And how bullish should we be about remote work?

Show Notes:

- Scott’s newsletter, Capitolism

- Scott’s new book, Empowering the American Worker

- Scott previews the book in The Dispatch

- The Remnant with Russ Roberts

- Ryan Streeter: “Place and the Pursuit of Happiness, Upward Mobility and the American Dream”

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Finally on the verge of overcoming his lingering COVID symptoms, Jonah approaches today’s rambly Ruminant with renewed verve. After tackling the strangeness of Elon Musk’s Twitter reign and the freakishness of Kanye West, he explores how Trumpification has changed the right and what sane Republicans can do to move forward. From there, things get philosophical, as Jonah examines the nature of ethical universals and what specifically is immoral about authoritarian regimes. Finally, things conclude with some sweet, nourishing dog content.

Show Notes:

- The Wednesday G-File

- Election denial in Cochise County

- Newt Gingrich: “Quit Underestimating President Biden”

- The Economist’s Drum Tower podcast

- The Remnant with Alexandra Horowitz

- Jonah: “Mau-Mauing the Dogcatcher”

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It’s been a while since the Remnant featured a dog expert, but today, Dr. Alexandra Horowitz—a professor at Barnard College of Columbia University—joins the program to fill that void. Some seriously rank cynology ensues, as Jonah and Alexandra explore everything you could ever want to know about canine cognition. Do dogs have a unique friendship with humans, or are they just social parasites? Why do dogs react in different ways to different people? And are dog shows a stain on mankind?

Show Notes:

- Alexandra’s webpage

- Alexandra’s new book, The Year of the Puppy

- Alexandra’s previous books: Inside of a Dog

- Being a Dog

- And Our Dogs, Ourselves

- Alexandra: “What Does it Feel Like to Be a Dog?”

- The Remnant with Michael H. Parsons (rat guy)

- The world’s smartest dog

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Revitalized after his latest struggle with COVID, Jonah invites AEI senior fellow and foreign policy expert Michael Rubin back to the Remnant to discuss how America should respond to challenges posed by China, Russia, and the Middle East. Should the U.S. government embrace regime change? What’s at stake for the West in Taiwan and Ukraine? And should we be optimistic about liberalism in China and Iran?

Show Notes:

- Michael’s page at AEI

- Michael: “Why Is the US Never Prepared for Regime Change?”

- The Chicken Kiev speech

- Paul Kennedy’s The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers

- Lin Wells’ memo to Donald Rumsfeld

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Last year, Remnant regular Matt Ridley published Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19, which explored the theory that the virus leaked from a laboratory. Today, he’s back on the program to discuss how things have changed since the book’s publication with a suitably COVID-addled Jonah. Has the lab-leak theory become more persuasive? Did the pandemic fuel a backslide in vaccinations? And can Britons and Americans ever resolve their linguistic differences?

Show Notes:

- Matt’s latest book, Viral

- Matt’s previous Remnant appearance

- Matt: “COVID origin case reopened: A lab leak is a legitimate question”
- John Barry’s The Great Influenza

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After a long and draining week of speeches, fancy dinners, and finally acknowledging the existence of his intern, Jonah phones in the beginning of today’s Ruminant by simply reading through the stories in Friday’s Morning Dispatch. Luckily, things quickly pick up speed when Jonah turns to a wacky article by the mother of the recently disgraced CEO of FTX on why we should abandon the concept of personal responsibility. A lengthy philosophical discussion follows on the problems inherent in critical analysis, the necessity of pricing signals, and why bad ideas must be taken seriously. Following some thoughts on judicial activism and the future of the Federalist Society, Jonah wraps things up by discussing hope, optimism, and the nature of despair.

Show Notes:

- Barbara H. Fried: “Beyond Blame”
- “A Moment of Truth for the Federalist Society”

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In recovery mode from a hectic period of midterm punditry, Jonah invites his immigrant amanuensis Guy back to the Remnant to spend some time answering listener questions. A strange and broad conversation ensues, as Jonah provides some rank predictions for the 2024 election cycle, reflects on his career in blogging, and indulges in a few fiendishly nerdy asides about Marvel and Star Trek. And of course, he can’t resist interrogating Guy about his recent voyage on a Kiss-themed cruise.

Show Notes:

- Jonah and Guy’s previous AMA extravaganza

- Haley Byrd Wilt: “The Freedom Caucus’ Reform Opportunity”

- “Florida man makes announcement”

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With demand for rank election punditry at historically high levels, Chris Stirewalt captains today’s Remnant voyage through the convoluted current of midterm results. He’s joined by trusted wonk Ruy Teixeira to discuss the 2022 turnout numbers, the nature of “normie” voters, and the inevitable overinterpreting of Democrats’ success in grasping only a small defeat out of the jaws of a much larger one. Demography-galore abounds in the second half of the show, as Chris and Ruy analyze future trends, crackpot electoral theories, and how Democrats should approach the Lovecraftian maw of the 2024 election.

Show Notes:

-Ruy’s page at AEI

-Chris’ page at The Dispatch

-Ruy: “Democrats Can’t Count on Trump in 2024”

-Chris: “The Wave Against Weirdness”

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Trapped in the urban prison popularly referred to as Manhattan, Jonah surrenders to the call of rank punditry and discusses the midterm results on today’s Ruminant. How did the Republicans squander such an obviously winnable election, and what role did Trump play in the disaster? Furthermore, could Biden really win again in 2024? Have Jonah’s views on Ron DeSantis shifted? And should these results inspire hope that conservatism can right itself?

Show Notes:

- The Remnant with Ken Pollack

- Wednesday’s “news”letter

- The Dispatch Podcast provides a midterm postmortem

- Jonah on 2016’s slow-motion Invasion of the Body Snatchers

- George Orwell: “Second Thoughts on James Burnham”

- Charlie Cooke: “Did Republicans Pick the Right Time to Lose?”

- The Remnant with Yuval Levin

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