Episodes

For the first time in like, 100 years, Jonah Goldberg is bachin’ it up. With no dogs and no wife, The Ruminant is on time and cooking, diving into the Kennedy Center, the Indiana Dunes, Korean War-era debates, Donald Trump as the establishment, the three “M’s” of the midterms, postwar politics, sovereigntism, Canada, John Ratcliffe’s trip to Russia, Vladimir Putin’s designs on Europe, and guilty white liberals. Show Notes: —School of War - “Inside America’s Fight for Drone Dominance” —School of...

There’s a certain ache in the bones—no, more like pain behind the eyes brought on by fatigue with the world—that overtakes a man when he’s gone too long without talking about etymology. We here at The Remnant have been feeling that deeply, and we know you have too. That’s why Jonah Goldberg is sitting down with fellow word nerd Colin Gorrie to talk about everything he’s ever wanted to know about language. Jonah and Colin cover Old English dialects, prescriptive vs. descriptive, the world’s bigge...

After basically pirating Jesse Walker’s ideas for several months now, Jonah Goldberg has decided it would be only fair to have Jesse aboard HMS Remnant to talk shop and swap yarns. In between sips of Captain Morgan and bites of the finest hardtack, Jonah and Jesse delve into the depths of the Remnant bingo card, pontificating on libertarianism, the myth of left and right, intellectual hyperlinks, conspiracy theories, populism, group pluralism, the rhetoric of unity, federalism, and the freedom t...

Dear listener, I must ask you to take a seat. I fear you are not prepared for what I’m going to tell you. Jonah Goldberg appears on the show today… with… written notes. Granted, they contain about five words. But they exist! On paper! Marvel of marvels! And so it is with this boy-scout level of preparedness that Jonah embarks on his weekend ruminations, covering Jon Ossoff, Natalie Harp, savvy political baiting, Jason Arday, Jews and liberalism, race, social justice, group performance, Jacobin t...

General Jonah Goldberg can’t get war off his mind, so instead of losing another round of Battleship, he invites Hal Brands, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and hallmate, to discuss the ongoing war in Iran and whether or not we have an exit strategy, a possibility of a world war, and our commitment to allies. Show Notes: –Hal Brands’s upcoming book: The Landscape of Power: Geography and the Rise and Fall of Nations The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital medi...

You thought it was over. After the Napoleon III Remnant ran nearly two hours, observers and pundits the world over said this had to be the end. How could anyone, even Jonah Goldberg, have an appetite for more? But wait—who’s that dark figure lurking in the wings? Oh no. It’s … Kevin D. Williamson. Apparently Jonah’s chemical addiction to 19th-century French politics stirred something in Kevin’s mind, so much so that the man began writing a book about “the sacrosanct presidency.” And they say de...

After spending four days deep in the Adirondacks, Jonah has emerged like Rousseau’s noble savage: reflective, in touch with nature, and ready to talk for two hours as a disembodied podcast voice. If that seems incongruous to you, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Listen in as disembodied Jonah pontificates on disowning the establishment, J.D. Vance’s prospects for president, the iron law of oligarchy, elites, Locke vs. Rousseau, the general will, Tucker Carlson, the DSA, the Michigan Senate race, th...

It’s time to be honest: Jonah Goldberg can’t remember if he’s ever had a Nobel Prize-winning guest on The Remnant. If that shocks you, calm down. It’s called getting old. After today, however, Jonah can say with certainty that he has, as he is joined by Nobel laureate in economics Daron Acemoglu. Listen in as Jonah and Daron light up the Remnant bingo card like a Hanukkah bush, covering liberal democracy, community, subsidiarity, the welfare state, status, prosperity gaps, AI, automation, China,...

Jonah Goldberg scratches an intellectual itch in this 90-minute interview with British historian Edward Shawcross to discuss the rise and fall of Napoleon III. Is this the start of modern politics? Can we compare Trump to this unlikely political victor? Are elites and foreign powers the favorite boogeymen of populists everywhere? Stay tuned for a brief history lesson and indulgent wonkery. Show Notes: —Edward Shawcross’s book: The People’s Emperor: The Unlikely Rise and Spectacular Fall of Napo...

Jonah Goldberg records this week’s Ruminant days before his excursion to the woods (Bigfoot sighting anyone?), to discuss international law, hubris, whatever the mess is with the Iran war, and “common good” conservatism. And he answers questions from listeners. Show Notes: —How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran —Aaron MacLean Remnant —Aaron MacLean and Mark Montgomery on School of War —The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Western Thought —Yuval Levin Remnant —The Neutrality Myth: Liberty, ...

Bleary-eyed, scrambled, and in need of a second overpriced venti black coffee, Jonah Goldberg speaks with Brendan Simms, a Cambridge Don-guy who wears fancy belts, about his new book, Return of the Great Powers, which discusses how the Russia-Ukraine war sparked how the Russia-Ukraine War prompted the West to act, China’s potential defeat if Russia loses, Trump as a mob boss, and technology as a driver of cultural change. Show Notes: —Brendan Simms: Return of the Great Powers —Brendan Simms: Do...

Detractors frequently accuse Jonah Goldberg of being an irrelevant dinosaur. We at The Remnant are proud to say that only one of those accusations is correct. We are also proud to say that Jonah’s dinosaurness does not prevent him from conversing with young, hip, and cool members of today’s media landscape. “Prove it,” you say? Well, today we bring you a podcast with none other than Jerusalem Demsas, founder of The Argument and one of the coolest center-left pundits. Join Jonah and Jerusalem as ...

As DSA and postliberal pirates storm the decks of the HMS Remnant, Captain Jonah Goldberg would seem to be in dire straits. Nonetheless, Captain Jonah—with an eerie air of calm—draws his cutlass, sets down his cigar, and smiles. Prepare, gentle listener, for a bloodbath. Today Jonah deftly handles every controversy on the docket, including Hasan Piker, Ukraine as Israel, the Michigan Senate race, Anthony Fauci, Covid in retrospective, rap music, Napoleon III, J.D. Vance, the common good, subsidi...

Every once in a while, The Remnant staff need to remind Jonah Goldberg that we’re running a business here, and that he can’t just putz around with Pod, Chris, or Sarah on every episode. Sometimes, you need someone respectable; sometimes, you need an expert. Today’s guest—the expert to rule them all—is Ken Pollack, here to tell us all about the war in Iran. Join Jonah and Ken as they discuss pain thresholds, public opinion inside Iran, the fallout of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death, the ideology o...

Here at The Remnant, our hate list is rather long: Woodrow Wilson, electoral primaries, German romanticism … the list goes on and on. But if there’s one we hate that doesn’t get enough air time, it’s Chinese communism. We hate Chinese communism. That’s why we’ve recruited from the ranks of America’s foremost anti-CCP institution—that’s the American Enterprise Institute, for those of you who live under rocks—to bring you the latest on Chinese grand strategy. AEI’s Audrye Wong joins Jonah Goldberg...

First mate Steve Hayes strides across the deck, grinning maniacally at the cowering crew. “Mine” he crows to himself. “Mine! The HMS Remnant is finally mine! Muahahaha!” The crew, downcast, is near despair. Then suddenly, all eyes turn to the gangplank. Haggard, sunburned, stricken, and emaciated, Jonah Goldberg stumbles onto the deck, takes Hayes by the collar, and gasps, “Sand. Nothing but sand.” After recovering down below, Captain Goldberg is back at the helm and ready to dive into the Gran...

What does it mean to be an American? What is government for? What reforms will fix our political system? Join Jonah Goldberg, Yuval Levin, and 100 little policy gnomes at the American Enterprise Institute to find out! Jonah and Yuval cover America at 250 and reflect on the Bicentennial. They also discuss Graham Platner versus Ken Paxton, what it means to hold office, America’s 50/50 problem, unitary executive theory, the administrative state, civic virtue, election reform, Nixonian propaganda, a...

Jonah Goldberg has been chewing over how to reduce the number of gray hairs in Congress for some time now. Unfortunately, the best that he and The Remnant team have come up with is shaving the heads of all the senior senators, which, seeming somewhat impractical, led Jonah to call in an expert. Science correspondent and longtime friend of the show Ronald Bailey joins the merry band today to set us all straight on RFK Jr., vaccines, MAHA, DOGE, libertarianism, bad analogies for government, transh...

It’s summer, and in honor of the backyard cookouts and pool parties that make our country great, Jonah Goldberg and Dispatch multimedia producer Victoria Holmes have served up a smorgasbord of listener questions to help people get through the heat (and smog … thanks, Canada). Listen in to hear about how Jonah changed his mind about writing another book, the life of a pundit, reading habits, camper vans, jobs Jonah could’ve had, public speaking, Ares vs. Mars, what voting says about you, annexing...

Longtime listeners of The Remnant know well Jonah Goldberg’s hatred of the extremist, oligarchic, necromantic political conclaves holding our nation hostage, otherwise known as primaries. Nonetheless, listeners are left with many questions unanswered: How did populists seize the GOP in 2016? What should replace primaries for candidate selection? What will go down in 2028? Will Yuval Levin be on the ticket? Here to put an end to all speculation is political scientist Seth Masket, who joins Jonah...

We’ve decided to go on a bit of a foreign policy spree here at The Remnant. And why not? Everyone needs a hobby. Today Rebeccah Heinrichs joins Jonah Goldberg to go deep on Iran, NATO, allies, Operation Epic Fury, realism in Ukraine, MAGA, isolationist failure, J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio, Israel, national conservatism, antisemitism, and America’s posture in the world. Show Notes: —Aaron MacLean Remnant —Francis Dearnley Remnant —Heinrichs in National Review: “Strengthen NATO, Don’t Wreck It” —Bren...

Jonah Goldberg knows his time is nearly up. In a few days, his body will be baking in the Arizona sun, washed up on the rocks at some bend in the Colorado River, just the next casualty of mandatory fun time. Time to go out with a bang. Join Jonah as he steers the HMS Remnant into position for a ripping, boneshattering broadside into the Red Fleet of the Democratic Socialists of America. Along the way, listen as the doomed Captain Jonah ruminates on new liberal friends, policing one’s own side, I...

Here at The Remnant, we strive to cover pressing issues that matter. Not content with copying and pasting other folk’s reporting, we go straight to the sources ourselves to bring their words to your ears. Today, we’re taking a deep dive into one of the topics that matters most to our nation, and to the world: the Annapolis Cup Croquet Match. You think we’re kidding, but we’re not. But don’t worry—if bombs, bullets, and dead ayatollahs are more your thing, we’ve got you covered too. School of Wa...

June was a long month, and Jonah Goldberg is feeling entitled to a little bit of self-indulgence. Instead of turning to the bottle, however, he has opted for a rollicking, frolicsome ramble through the deep history of conspiracy theory. Jonah is joined by Andrew McKenzie-McHarg, author of the definitive volume on the topic, to discuss conspiracy theory (singular), etymology, secularization, 19th-century social science, the paranoid style, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Argentina, magic and...