Jonah’s rank wonkishness reaches a new extreme on today’s rantin’, ravin’, ramblin’ Ruminant. After beginning with a diatribe on the Dominion voting lawsuit, he redirects his ire toward cancel culture and the irritating endurance of both-sidesism. Without regard for time (or the suffering of his RA), he closes with some nerdtastic thoughts on the nature of liberalism, the irresponsibility of student loan relief, and the terrifying world of estate law.

Show Notes:

- Jonah: “Donald Trump’s Megaphone”

- Jonah’s Goucher reunion on CNN

- The “truth” about Trump’s support for cancel culture

- Wednesday’s G-File

- Justice Thomas’ dissent in Hudson v. McMillian

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Live from Tel Aviv, author Oren Kessler joins the Remnant to discuss his new book, Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict. The result is a deep dish slice of eggheady conversation, which mixes rank punditry with historical nerdery and a negligible amount of technical glitches. Things kick off with a history of the Arab-Israeli conflict from the 1930s to the present. Afterward, Jonah and Oren explore some pressing questions surrounding the conflict today. How should we regard the ongoing judicial reforms in Israel? Where does nationalism fit into Arab and Israeli intellectual history? And does Israel need to develop a written constitution?

Show Notes:

-Oren’s new book, Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict

-Oren’s webpage

-Oren's book preview on Military History Now

-George Antonius’ The Arab Awakening

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Back from the Caribbean with a radiant glow, Jonah is joined by Stephen Eide—senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute—for an outrageously wonky discussion of homelessness in America. The two kick things off by exploring the history of transient labor and the categorical distinctions between hobos, tramps, and bums, before turning to the root causes of the growing homeless populations in big cities. They also explore the relationship between homelessness and changes to psychiatric health care, the loss of affordable housing in big cities, and the idea that homelessness is a natural outgrowth of late-stage capitalism.

Show Notes:

-Stephen’s page at the Manhattan Institute

-Stephen’s recent book, Homelessness in America: The History and Tragedy of an Intractable Social Problem

-Stephen: “Housing First’s Imperial Overreach”

-Stephen: “The Adams Homeless Deluge”

-Madness in the Streets: How Psychiatry and the Law Abandoned the Mentally Ill

-Sebastian Junger’s Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging

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As Jonah continues his search for Spanish gold, Sarah Isgur assumes control of the Remnant once again for some predictably eclectic conversation. She’s joined by former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, who’s also a security expert and national park enthusiast. After briefly discussing the ravages of age, they turn to America’s immense beauty, the terrors of AI, the challenges of immigration reform, and everything in between. Are we in a new Cold War? Could Will be preparing for a shocking announcement? And most importantly, where in San Antonio should you get your taco fix?

Show Notes:

- Sign up for The Brief

- Will: “Would China & Russia Attack Hawaii?”

- Will’s questionable national park tier list…

- The nēnē

- Eric S. Raymond’s The Cathedral and the Bazaar

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While Jonah shirks his podcasting duties to star in a one-man production of Pirates of the Caribbean, Chris Stirewalt takes his place at the helm of the Remnant for a characteristically wonky discussion of the coming presidential primary. He’s joined by Harry Enten, senior data reporter at CNN and host of the Margins of Error podcast, for a conversation that touches on all of the most pressing questions of the day. Is the GOP unifying behind Ron DeSantis? When is the best time for a candidate to jump into the race? And should we declare Harry the chief diet soft drink expert in the United States?

Show Notes:

- CNN’s Margins of Error Podcast

- Harry: “Why it’s better to start a presidential campaign early”

- Harry: “Why Biden shouldn't dismiss his negative poll numbers”

- Harry: “Why a historically small presidential primary field is possible in 2024”

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As Jonah prepares to drop off the grid for a week, he brings Guy, his immigrant majordomo, back on the Remnant to ask an eclectic selection of listener questions. Predictably, things start innocently enough with some hyper-rank punditry on 2024 and a brief canine update, but afterward, they quickly get weird. From talk of ChatGPT and zombies overthrowing the established world order to musings on scotch, wrestling, and pretentious foreign movies, the second half of this episode is a unique ride. By the end, Jonah’s perception of Guy may have been permanently altered.

Show Notes:

- Tuesday’s Ruminant

- David Drucker breaks down Nikki Haley’s announcement

- The Dispatch Podcast on Haley, Harris, and helium

- Kurt Schlichter: “No to Nikki Harris”

- The Bing chatbot’s freakouts

- The Remnant with Jim Pethokoukis

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Back from his sojourn in the Land of Lincoln, Jonah invites Coleman Hughes–host of the Conversations with Coleman podcast–onto the Remnant for a lively discussion of race and religion (everyone’s favorite topics). What’s the relationship between authenticity and identity? Is it possible to completely root out racism in American society? And what danger does audience capture pose to responsible journalism?

Show Notes:

- Coleman’s webpage

- Conversations with Coleman

- The Panic in Needle Park

- Coleman: “Actually, Color-Blindness Isn’t Racist”

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Stranded without a guest in beautiful Springfield, Illinois, Jonah is forced to record another Ruminant, and the result finds his mind drifting from place to place like a wayward spy balloon. After a brief foray into dirigible-based punditry, he quickly turns to protectionism and Biden’s “Buy American” mantra, providing some extended thoughts on why both are so annoying. From there, his ramblings fall into an uncontrolled tailspin, covering everything from NIMBianism to René Girard and, finally, the incomparable Cronut.

Show Notes:

- Real life Up

- Dominic Pino: “Biden Promises to Spend Your Money Poorly”

- Phil Klein: “The Story Construction Tells About America’s Economy Is Disturbing”

- George McGovern: “A Politician's Dream Is a Businessman's Nightmare”

- Neal Stephenson’s 

-The Diamond Age

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On today’s Ruminant, Jonah once again finds himself agitated by a veritable cornucopia of asininities. From the idea that every problem in San Francisco can be blamed on COVID to our embarrassing balloon response, no topic is safe from his ire. Can every problem be blamed on late-stage capitalism? What is the difference between good politics and good policy? And how should the Remnant advertise itself to the outside world?

Show Notes:

- The Daily’s episode on San Francisco

- Anastasia Tsioulcasa: “An artist's 'Healing Project,' focused on incarceration and violence, wins $1 million”

- The Commentary Podcast

- What the heck is F Troop?

- “It is balloon”

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In the wake of 2023’s raucous State of the Union address, Jonah invites Noah Rothman back to the Remnant for some obscenely rank punditry on a host of hot topics. They begin by exploring what we should make of Biden’s speech, and whether the rowdy atmosphere that accompanied it was actually a good thing, before turning to issues foreign and domestic. How does Biden look as a 2024 candidate given his age? Does the GOP have anything to offer the electorate? Why did it take so long to pop China’s pesky balloon? And could that floating middle finger be the Sputnik moment America needs?

Show Notes:

- Noah’s page at Commentary

- Noah’s latest book, The Rise of the New Puritans

- Noah’s previous book, Unjust

- Noah’s previous Remnant appearance

- Kevin Williamson: “Joe Biden as Priest-King”

- Jonah: “Advice for Biden: Be Like Ike”

-  A deflated Commentary Podcast

- The Remnant with Dalibor Rohac

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