Historian David Austin Walsh, who just published a book called Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right, did some bad tweets. But this led to something interesting: a concerted recruitment attempt from the conservative movement, including personal outreach from Chris Rufo, Richard Hanania, James Taranto, and others. We discuss why the tweets were bad and the surrounding context in academia, the pitch from Rufo et al, and the book.

The conversation went long, so tune in next week for part II.