John Podhoretz makes his triumphant return to the Remnant for a characteristically freewheeling discussion covering everything from Israeli politics to the classified document scandals. Who isn’t hoarding a classified document or two nowadays? What’s going on with Israel’s judiciary? How is the GOP doing? Will Joe Biden run in 2024? And is it ever appropriate to sing the Felix the Cat theme song? Be prepared to have it lodged in your brain. 

Show Notes:

- GLoP, the pop culture podcast America deserves

- John’s author page at Commentary

- FBI search of Biden’s beach house

- The Felix the Cat theme song

- The Remnant with A.B. Stoddard

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In an attempt to overcome the trauma that developed after his recent visit to Portland, Jonah invites the prolific author and journalist Nancy Rommelmann onto the Remnant for the first time to explore how the city descended into something resembling Escape from New York. They discuss when Portland’s decline began, whether it can fairly be compared to the New York of the 1970s and ‘80s, and whether these problems will be fixed anytime soon. And shockingly enough, no references to The Warriors are included.

Show Notes:

- Nancy’s Substack, Make More Pie

- Nancy’s page at Reason

- Nancy’s podcast, Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em

- Jonah: “A Pox Upon Portland”

- Nancy: “The Dream of the ‘90s Died in Portland”

- Nancy: “Is Portland the new Neverland?”

- Nancy: “A Murder in Portland”

- Nancy: “You’re Not Allowed to Film”

- Tom Wolfe: “The Great Relearning”

- An exhibitionistic GLoP

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Jonah’s eggheadery reaches a new extreme on today’s rambly Ruminant, which may leave you dreaming of the end times. After beginning with some brief thoughts on Biden’s document escapade and when it’s appropriate for the government to declassify information, he turns to a melange of nerdishly complicated questions. Is it the end of the world as we know it? How did the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists blind us with science? Do Irving Kristol’s objections to capitalism have merit? And are Cheez-Its the ultimate snack food?

Show Notes:

- Jonah “moderates” the Dispatch Podcast

- The Economist’s The Intelligence podcast

- Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s Secrecy

- The Remnant with Bruce Caldwell

- Irving Kristol: “When Virtue Loses All Her Loveliness”

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Jonah makes an unexpected return to the AEI studio for another in-person Remnant, this time featuring Keith Whittington, beloved egghead and Princeton political scientist. A deep dive ensues into America’s unique preoccupation with free speech and the nature of academic freedom, which raises a number of pertinent questions. How concerned should we be about the state of free speech on college campuses? What are some common misconceptions about academic freedom? And what should we make of Ron DeSantis’ approach to these issues? Those feeling free and expressive are particularly encouraged to tune in.

Show Notes:

- Keith’s page at Princeton

- Keith: “Hamline Takes Quashing Academic Freedom to a Whole New Level”

- Keith: “Academic Freedom for Whom?”

- Nathan Glazer: “What Happened at Berkeley”

- From the New College of Florida to DeSantis U?

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In what may be one of the most brazenly nerdy Remnant episodes ever recorded (which is really saying a lot) Duke University’s Bruce Caldwell joins the program to discuss the life and work of Friedrich Hayek. Dr. Caldwell, the pope of Hayekian geekdom, recently published the first installment of a two volume biography of the famed economist. Guided by Jonah’s gleeful prompting, he explores how Hayek rose to international prominence, what he was like as a man, and how we should view his great works today. If you woke up feeling all Austrian this morning, it’s a must listen.

Show Notes:

- Dr. Caldwell’s page at Duke

- Dr. Caldwell’s new book, Hayek: A Life, 1899–1950 

- Dr. Caldwell’s intellectual biography of Hayek, Hayek’s Challenge

- Hayek: “The Intellectuals and Socialism”

- Hayek: “The Use of Knowledge in Society”

- Dr. Caldwell on 

-Political Economy with Jim Pethokoukis

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Today’s annoyingly whispered Ruminant comes to you live from Portland, where Jonah’s on a clandestine mission with his wife. Unfortunately, the city doesn’t seem to be doing so well, which prompts him to begin with a lengthy diatribe on urban decay, the crisis of homelessness in America’s cities, and what’s specifically wrong with Portland. Stick around afterward for some thoughts on Davos and the economic elite, and a rambling digression about the enduring relevance of Liberal Fascism.

Show Notes:

- Jonah: “One, Maybe Two, Cheers for Partisanship”

- The LA Times on Portland’s homeless problem

- The Remnant with Jim Pethokoukis

- Philip Coupland: “H.G. Wells's 'Liberal Fascism'”

- Jonah: “Bellamy’s Children”

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Brian Riedl, also known as the “balanced budget good government guy,” is back on the Remnant to answer a pertinent question: Should we believe that the GOP suddenly cares about fiscal responsibility? He and Jonah also provide some wonkified commentary on a whole host of other economic issues. What’s to be done about the national debt? How should conservatives approach the IRS? And is it possible to reform the tax system?

Show Notes:

- Jonah: “The GOP’s Spending Fight Is More About Fighting Than Spending”

- Brian Riedl: “How Republicans Can Get Serious on Spending”

- The Remnant with A.B. Stoddard

- Byron Donalds spars with Joy Reid

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The Remnant gets back to basics today, as A.B. Stoddard returns to the show for some deeply rank punditry on (what else?) the dysfunctional state of our parties and the prospect of a second term for Biden. With insurgents rising among both Republicans and Democrats, how long will it take for the parties to get healthy again? For that matter, how concerned should Democrats be about the loss of black and Hispanic voters? Will the GOP actually raise the debt limit? And is there any way of excusing Biden’s document blunder?

Show Notes:

- A.B.’s page at RealClearPolitics

- Jonah: “GOP’s deficit reduction is a cynical performative gesture”

- A.B.: “Kevin McCarthy Is Already a Gift to Democrats”

- Jonah: “McCarthy’s Misery”

- A.B.: “Yes, He Will Burn It All Down”

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Today’s Ruminant, a self-described “rambling, weird, incoherent hot mess,” can perhaps be taken as a reflection of Jonah’s addled brain. With his wife and daughter on a road trip, his mind has regressed into bachelor mode, and he’s begun to subsist on chicken eaten over the kitchen sink. Thankfully, he still has opinions on the biggest stories of the day, including the Biden administration’s potential ban of gas stoves, how Biden’s classified document scandal compares with Trump’s, and technological developments that could counteract climate change. Come for the punditry, but stay for the strange digression about the mating habits of deer. 

Show Notes:

- The Dispatch breaks down the battle over gas stoves

- NPR: “We need to talk about your gas stove, your health and climate change”

- Jonah: “The Hypocritic Oath”

- The Dispatch Podcast on Biden’s classified document scandal

- Wall Street Journal: “Climate Startup Removes Carbon From Open Air in Industry First”

- The Remnant with Jim Pethokoukis

- Jonah: “Two Cheers for Techno-Marxism”

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Cass Sunstein, the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard and Jonah’s fellow disciple of the dingo, makes an overdue return to the Remnant to discuss his recent book, Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment. Noise, the book argues, is a deadly flaw in human judgment that clouds many of our decisions and produces errors in fields such as medicine, law, and public health. Dr. Sunstein and Jonah examine how noise should be defined, what separates it from bias, and what we can do to fight it. They also explore whether the phenomenon varies across the world, and how terrifying changes in AI and algorithms may affect it.

Show Notes:

- Dr. Sunstein’s recent book, Noise

- Dr. Sunstein’s other recent book, Sludge

- Dr. Sunstein: “Governing by Algorithm? No Noise and (Potentially) Less Bias”

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