The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Not since the Marquis de Lafayette’s triumphant 1824 tour of the United States has a return been more welcome than Yuval Levin’s to The Remnant. After greeting our patriot hero with laurels and kisses, Jonah Goldberg sets Yuval up for a philosophical tour de force, covering the president’s war powers, cultural and institutional change, education in republicanism, the effects of new technology on our Constitutional order, the Scottish Enlightenment, rationalism vs. reason, Hayek vs. Burke, and the new right in the post-Trump world.

Show Notes:
—Yuval’s book, American Covenant
—AEI’s First Branch Society...

Few men have earned their return ticket to The Remnant with more grace and power than economist, polymath, and notorious Kuyperian David Bahnsen. David and Jonah cover the two Trump economies, the strategic significance of oil, institutional damage on the right, the fight for the term “conservative,” Christian Zionism, Megyn Kelly and the groypers, and the economics of Fred Hirsch.

Show Notes:
—Jonah’s book: Liberal Fascism
—Russell Moore on The Remnant
— Brian Mattson in The Dispatch: “Is ‘Christian Zionism’ Really Heretical?”
—The Arc of a Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish Peo...

To outside observers, it may appear that Jonah Goldberg is living easy and keeping beach time. Be not deceived! Jonah is as full of intellectual vim as ever, jumping straight into energy markets and the strait of Hormuz, the risks of Trump bailing on the war in Iran, “Jewish” synagogues, the excesses of Epstein demagoguery, the stupidity of idealized class conflict, and—finally—an epic defense of Edmund Burke against his romantiphobic detractors.

Show Notes:
—Jonah’s visit to an oil rig
—WSJ: “Will Trump ‘Fight to Win’ in Iran?”
—Washington Post: “How Ro Khanna turned a sex traffi...

In desperate need of a Remnant guest, Jonah Goldberg puts on his trucker hat, drives out to the sleaziest rural bar you can imagine, and dunks Chris Stirewalt’s head into a horse trough. Listen to Jonah and Chris blow the smoke about irony, gallows humor, Iran, Trump’s fashion failures, ties in restaurants, voter ID, the Ken Paxton-John Cornyn race in Texas, Bill Clinton flirting with Nancy Mace, the stolen 2020 election, and Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

Show Notes:
—Introduction to Ben Sasse’s podcast, Not Dead Yet
—Jedediah Purdy: For Common Things: Irony, Trust, and Commitment...

Historian and friend of The Remnant Allen Guelzo has taken a breather from battling for the soul of the West to argue with Jonah Goldberg about the American founding, Edmund Burke, and—horror of horrors—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.

Join Jonah and Dr. Guelzo as they explore Western civilization, barbarism, tradition, Marxism as romanticism, the Enlightenment, Locke, Lincoln, the great-man theory of history, and the fundamental cause of the Civil War.

Show Notes:
—The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition Vol. 2
—Previous Remnant with Allen Guelzo
—John Courtney Murray: “The Return to Tr...

After one heck of a week, Jonah Goldberg has a lot to unpack. Jonah visits the advantages of having Congress on board for war, the case for attacking Iran sooner rather than later, Marco Rubio’s Israel gaffe, Pete Hegseth’s chest thumping, Kristi Noem’s entrance into the dust bin of history, Trump’s corrupt “industrial policy,” the Anthropic/Pentagon dustup, and primary elections in the Lone Star State.

Note: If you’re in the Baton Rouge area, Jonah will be speaking at LSU on March 20 as part of the John Breaux Symposium. The Symposium is free and open...

With bombs falling, missiles flying, and the Ayatollah six feet under, there’s only one man Remnant listeners want on the show. Ken Pollack joins Jonah Goldberg to talk about the feasibility of regime change from the air; the precedents of Kosovo, Operation Desert Fox, and Libya; Iranian social cohesion; the risk of Balkanization; the threat Turkey poses; President Donald Trump’s fear of blowback; the administration’s reason for attacking now; and what happens from here.

Show Notes:
—Previous Remnant with Ken
—Jonah’s Los Angeles Times column this week
—Rubio’s explanation of the war
—P...

With Captain Jonah Goldberg three sheets to the wind and capsized upon the Caribbean sands, inveterate scallywag Kevin Williamson has seized the helm of HMS Remnant and plotted a course for the far east. Kevin is joined in his journey by Andrew Collier, a Senior Fellow at Harvard's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, wherein they discuss China’s bizarre real-estate situation, Xi Jinping’s economic mindset, Beijing's 2020 crackdown on its tech firms, and what it’s like doing business in the People's Republic.

Show Notes:
—Andrew Collier’s bio
—China’s Technology War: Why Beijing Took Down...

Rum-brained and sunburned, Jonah Goldberg posts up poolside to ruminate on the Caribbean's cruise economy, Woodrow Wilson, how we think about history, Trump’s condo-salesman vanity, the ongoing war in Ukraine, J.D. Vance as the “fraud czar,” and the journalistic ethics of Polymarket.

Show Notes:
—Wednesday's G-File
—AO pod wherein David French acknowledges his intellectual debt to Jonah
—Remnant - The Great Cancellation of Woodrow Wilson
—Jonah’s book Liberal Fascism
— Dan McLaughlin - “The Hater’s Guide to Woodrow Wilson”
—Washington Post - “Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergenc...

In need of some good ol’ fashioned conservative inside baseball, Jonah Goldberg turns to the only man he can: Richard Reinsch. Jonah and Richard dive deep into GOP history, examining how the Nixon era serves as a prism through which we can view the MAGA moment, before debunking the recent “white-culture” phenomenon and arguing for a conservatism built on the Declaration of Independence’s immortal words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
Shownotes:
—Reinsch in Commentary: “Against Grievance Politics”
—Richard M. Reinsch II Civitas Institute profile
—Whittaker Chambers: The Spirit of a Counte...

On today’s episode, Jonah spoils himself by conversing with historian Sophia Rosenfeld about the history of choice, changes in the meaning of freedom, the significance of the mundane, and the American Revolution’s impact on Europe.

Shownotes:
—The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life
—Jerry Muller: The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Western Thought
—Moscow On The Hudson Coffee Coffee Coffee
—FDR: Second Bill of Rights
—Milton Friedman: Free to Choose: A Personal Statement
—Irving Kristol: “The American Revolution as a Successful Revolution”
—Jonah: “The American Revolution...

Jonah Goldberg, about to escape the icy north for some sun-soaked R&R, is feeling boisterous. After reveling in his new favorite art form—Donald Trump’s “Truths” set to music—Jonah piles on Jesse Jackson, Iran, the Justice Department, Napoleon III, and Notre Dame, crescendoing with his critique of “white culture” and right-wing identity politics.

Shownotes:
—Jonah on CNN’s The Arena talking smack about sleazy democrats
—Financial Times—“Why Iran is betting on war”
—Nick Catoggio's Boiling Frogs on Trump and Iran
—Jonah on the Sam Harris podcast
—The Remnant with Ken Pollack
—The Remnant...

The Remnant is proud to bestow its newly formed, not-really-endowed chair of lexicography upon Scrabble legend and word nerd Stefan Fatsis. For his first act as chair, Stefan joins Jonah Goldberg to talk about the role of professional lexicographers, whether dictionaries should be normative or descriptive, how dictionaries handle controversial words, and the threat that the digital age poses not only to the dictionary, but to knowledge itself.

Show Notes:
—Unabridged The Thrill of and Threat to the Modern Dictionary
—Stefan in Slate: “What Does 'Unabridged' Even Mean Anymore?”
—John McWhorter’s most recent Remnant appe...

The sun comes up, a new day dawns, and Cass Sunstein publishes another book. Today he joins Jonah Goldberg on The Remnant to discuss the six separations of power that undergird our republic, along with unitary executive theory, democracy, and electoral mandates.
Shownotes:
—Separation of Powers: How to Preserve Liberty in Troubled Times
—Yuval Levin’s book: The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left
—Jonah in National Review: “The Bluto-Burke Connection Revealed!”
—Suicide of the West
The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company cove...

Fresh off of arguing with Steve Hayes about the different places one can keep a ferret, Jonah Goldberg ruminates on cameras in Congress, choosing between party and principle, Apple News’ First Amendment rights, Kristi Noem’s blanket, the Hayekianism of Burke, Yoram Hazony’s foolishness, and RFK Jr.’s crackpottery.

Plus, you should preorder Sarah Isgur’s book.

Shownotes:
—Friday’s Dispatch Podcast
—WSJ piece on Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski, and DHS
—Cass Sunstein’s book on separation of powers
—Wednesday's G-File
—The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and L...

Hyped up on cold medicine and battling delirium, Jonah Goldberg sets off with Elliott Abrams on a globe-trotting adventure in foreign policy covering Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, India, and more. Along the way they discuss the nature of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, the consequences of American unpredictability, Americans' conceptions of human rights abroad, the utility of the term “neoconservative,” and the lies the U.N. was founded on.
Show Notes:
—Elliott Abrams profile
—"Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System”
—Eli Lake on The Remnant
—Honor Among Nations: I...

Back by popular demand, the great jurist-philosopher and godfather of American conservatism Robby George has returned to The Remnant to set Jonah Goldberg straight about truth, natural law, and the common good. Jonah and Robby talk about the Western tradition, the age of feelings, different kinds of rights, the death penalty, new paganism, and Robby’s desire to fight for the soul of conservatism.

Shownotes:
—Seeking Truth and Speaking Truth: Law and Morality in Our Cultural Moment
—George Varouxakis' The West: The History of an Idea
—Martin Luther King Jr.'s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
—...

The Ruminant is vindicated!!! After years of Steve Hayes and The Fair Jessica griping about Jonah’s peculiar habit of ruminating alone in his basement, new stats have proved their skepticism decidedly misplaced. Tune in to learn all about it, along with Jonah’s thoughts on the terms ‘progressive’ and ‘fascist,’ the Melania movie, Trump’s state-capitalism, The Washington Post, and hypocrisy as a violation of the American creed.

But first, some sad news…

Shownotes:
—Friday’s Dispatch Pod
—Megan McArdle - “There’s a way to stop Trump. First, drop the fascism debate.”
—Jonah’s book...

Every once and a while, The Remnant rewards a faithful listener by bringing him on the show. Well, assuming he’s a national security expert. One such lucky listener is Eli Lake, who joins Jonah Goldberg to talk about the Shah of Iran, the Ayatollah, the current state of play in Islamic Republic, President Trump, and B.S. levels in our politics.

Shownotes:
—Eli’s piece: “Reza Pahlavi: Iran’s Reluctant Prince”
—Eli’s Breaking History podcast
—Remnant with Ken Pollack
—Iranian Commander's Daughter SECRETLY Calls Radio: 'My Father Is A Monster!’
—Part 1 of The Rest Is Hi...

Today on The Remnant, university-reform eggheads Ben and Jenna Storey join Neanderthal-in-remediation Jonah Goldberg to talk about civic education and recent efforts to rejuvenate American higher ed. Jonah and the Storeys cover university governance, the relationship between civics and the liberal arts, the significance of postliberalism, and the reasons for thinking seriously.

Show Notes:
—Center for the Future of the American University
—Ben and Jenna Storey’s book - Why We Are Restless
—Robert Michels - Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchial Tendencies of Modern Democracy
—AAUP’s 1915 Declaration of Principles
—Why Libe...

Jonah Goldberg, haggard and weary, returns from his cross-country blizzard travels grateful to sit once again in his misanthrope’s podcasting den and record a Ruminant. Jonah unpacks his recent conversation with Pete Buttigieg, exposes the number of unfortunate careers launched by John Podhoretz, takes down Yoram Hazony and the NatCons, and analyzes the fallout from the Alex Pretti shooting in Minneapolis.

Shownotes:
—Remnant on Tucker Carlson
—Remnant with Matt Franck
—Steve Hayes in The Dispatch on Jason Zengerle's Tucker book
—Dr. Yoram Hazony's speech at 2nd International Conference on Combating Antisemitism
—Tablet: “Yor...

Jonah Goldberg was proudly perusing his long list of previous Remnant guests when he discovered a crucial omission! Where is Matt Franck??? In today’s episode, Jonah and Matt have a long overdue sit-down to chew over some important problems, including people’s motivations for going MAGA, unitary executive theory, the pardon power, the Senate’s role in preserving federalism, and what constitutional amendments they would support.

Shownotes:
—Matt Franck’s Public Discourse page
—Remnant with Laura Field on her book, Furious Minds
—Morrison v. Olson
—Jonah: “What is the most Burkean line from Animal H...

When Captain Jonah Goldberg goes missing during his icy search for the Northwest Passage, first mate Steve Hayes commandeers The HMS Remnant and steers her into troubled waters. Joined by The Dispatch's John McCormack, Steve invites aboard journalist Jason Zengerle to discuss his new book on the fascinating and unnerving career of Tucker Carlson. Together, the trio cover the creation of The Daily Caller, Tucker’s Trump-fueled comeback at Fox, and his ultimate embrace of Nick Fuentes and the extreme right.

Shownotes:
—Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind...

When Captain Jonah Goldberg goes missing during his icy search for the Northwest Passage, first mate Steve Hayes commandeers The HMS Remnant and steers her into troubled waters. Joined by The Dispatch's John McCormack, Steve invites aboard journalist Jason Zengerle to discuss his new book on the fascinating and unnerving career of Tucker Carlson. Together, the trio cover the creation of The Daily Caller, Tucker’s Trump-fueled comeback at Fox, and his ultimate embrace of Nick Fuentes and the extreme right.

Shownotes:
—Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Cons...

As Jonah Goldberg gears up to brave the coming snowpocalypse, he pauses to consider the times, reflecting on President Donald Trump’s waste of political capital over Greenland, the long-term effects of college protest culture, the creepiness of antisemitic thinking, and—most importantly—his takes on Star Trek and America’s great sitcoms.
Shownotes:
—The most recent Dispatch Pod
—Katie Pavlich interviews Trump for NewsNation
—Last week’s G-File
—NYT post-mortem on Biden immigration policy
—“U. Topia” - Jonah in National Review
—GLoP podcast
—“The 26 best neighbors in TV sitcom history, ranked” - Washington Post
—...

Elliot Williams returns to The Remnant in triumph to discuss his new book, Five Bullets. Jonah Goldberg and Elliot brave technical difficulties to discuss the Bernie Goetz case, the blackout of ‘77, Rupert Murdoch, Trump’s political origins, and the echoes of ‘80s New York today.

Shownotes:
—Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation
—Most recent appearance of Elliot Williams on The Remnant

The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture fr...

Ken Pollack, vice president for policy at the Middle East Institute, joins Jonah Goldberg to discuss the reality of regime change in Iran, what’s next for the Iranian nuclear program, and the politics around taking Greenland.
The Agenda:
–Historical patterns of uprisings in Iran
–Is this different?
–It’s the economy, stupid!
–Potential military strategies
–Understanding the Iranian threat
–Iran’s nuclear program
–The shah’s complex legacy
–Greenland, now what?
Show Notes:
–Monday’s TMD on Iran
–The political theory that explains Trump's global power plays
The Remnant is a prod...

Jonah Goldberg starts this Ruminant off with a bang by defending his take on the ICE shooting, then jumping headfirst into his thoughts on Labor Department posts and Woodrow Wilson’s fascistic America. He also muses on his father’s defense of the Shah, takes on right- and left-wing antisemitism, and tries out a new metaphor for Donald Trump.
Plus, listeners will be treated to ... a confession.

Shownotes:
—Jonah’s take on the Minneapolis ICE shooting on The Dispatch Podcast
—Advisory Opinions on the ICE shooting
—Goldberg slams ‘grotesque and idiotic’ response by some in GOP t...

In her debut appearance at Le Bistro Remnant, Rebecca Newberger-Goldstein serves up a philosophical Smörgåsbord for Jonah Goldberg, including the four forms of mattering, the distinction between humans and other animals, the brilliance and depression of William James, and the principle of entropy, all with a little bit of Spinoza sprinkled in.

Shownotes:
—The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us
—Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity
—36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction
—Steven Pinker’s essay on entropy
—Jonah’s most re...

Jonah Goldberg is joined by Ken Burns, the prolific American filmmaker behind documentaries on the Civil War and American Revolution. The two discuss the importance of historical narratives, why George Washington is so pivotal, and whether Jonah would have been a Loyalist or Patriot.

Show Notes:
—Washington Monthly's review of The American Revolution (2025)
—Jonah's Next 250 essay: "The American Revolution Was a Really Big Deal"

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Jonah Goldberg ruminates on the Trump administration's response to the ICE shooting in Minneapolis, the use of the word "regime," and where nationalism goes wrong.

Show Notes:
—Wednesday's G-File
—Friday's Dispatch Podcast

The Remnant is a production of ⁠⁠The Dispatch⁠⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠⁠click here⁠⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠⁠by clickin...

Jonah Goldberg is joined by returning guest Matt Ridley, author of Birds, Sex and Beauty: The Extraordinary Implications of Charles Darwin's Strangest Idea. The two discuss the beauty of birds and the distinction between natural selection and sexual selection, how species evolve to adapt to city life, and the origins of the COVID-19 virus.
Show Notes:
—Matt's previous appearance on The Remnant

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In the second installment of The Remnant’s unofficial presidential-biographers series, Jonah Goldberg powwows with Lindsay Chervinsky about John Adams, the Alien and Sedition Acts, unwritten laws, the pardon power, and the centrality of the Continental Army to the development of American identity.

Plus, Jonah asks Lindsay about his favorite libertarian urban myth.

Shownotes:
—Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic
—List of vice presidents of the United States
—Remnant on Martin Van Buren
—George Washington’s cover letter
—Jeffrey Rosen - The Pursuit of Liberty: How Hami...

Jonah Goldberg ruminates on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's inauguration speech and the mayor's strange appeal to the "warmth of collectivism." He then reviews Paul Thomas Anderson's film One Battle After Another and explains how the Minnesota fraud story is discrediting some mainstream journalists.

Show Notes:
—The Remnant with Chris Stirewalt

The Remnant is a production of ⁠⁠The Dispatch⁠⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠⁠clic...

Jonah Goldberg invites Nuke LaLoosh LARPer Chris Stirewalt to discuss the biggest political gaffes of 2025, debate whether House Speaker Mike Johnson is a human in a lizard suit or a lizard in a human suit, and name the most punchable faces from the past year.

Show Notes:
—Jonah's interview with Rahm Emmanuel

The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of Jonah’s G-File newsletters—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all...

Caving to popular demand for more talk about Straussians, Jonah Goldberg sits down with Laura Field to discuss the ideas driving the New Right. Follow Laura and Jonah as they fall down rabbit holes and explore digressions in the complicated story of 20th-century conservatism, the rise of MAGA, and the intellects behind Trumpism.

Shownotes:
—Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right
—Remnant on Straussians
—Project 2025
—“The Flight 93 Election”
—Michael Anton: “Harry V. Jaffa: An Appreciation”
—1776 Commission Report
—Yoram Hazony: The Virtue of Nationalism
—Herbert Croly: The Promise Of American Life
—Charles...

Having a bad end of the year? You’re not alone. Listen to Jonah take on those who say there’s a war on Christmas, meander through some economic punditry (no, he is not an expert), and cheer on Ben Shapiro from the very lonely sidelines.

Plus: We’re rooting for you, Ben Sasse.

Show Notes:
—A Pilgrim's Calling
—Democrats Are Thrilled That Trump Will Hit the Midterms Trail

The Remnant is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access...

With antisemites coming out of the woodwork and everyone all a-muddle about ‘Christian Zionism,’ there’s only one thing to do: break the glass and get Russell Moore. Join Rus and Jonah Goldberg as they wrestle with the baffling dynamics of our time, including Evangelical fads, far-right ascendence, groyper catering, religious revival, and the possibility of a new anti-tech party.

Shownotes:
—Heritage Foundation President Addresses Staff After Video Refusal to Cancel Tucker Carlson
—Rod Dreher - “What I Saw And Heard In Washington”
—Jonah G-File on the youth
—Hillary Clinton - It Takes a Village
—Julien...

She’s back folks! Amid unprecedented fanfare, Megan McArdle returns to The Remnant to discuss our economic situation, perceptions of generational inequity, free-range kids, civil rights, and what we owe the dead.

Shownotes:
—Megan’s last appearance on The Remnant
—President Trump addresses the nation
—NYT Sierra Club piece
—Megan’s piece about her brother
—Dispatch Pod on Megan’s article
—Megan on nostalgia
—Matt Walsh tweet
—Compact: “The Lost Generation”

The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservativ...

At the end of a long day, Jonah Goldberg lights a Montecristo and reflects on the passing of Norman Podhoretz, Megan McArdle’s weighty abortion article, the limits of ideas, originalism and Burkeanism, Trump’s egomania, and his pride in The Dispatch.

Shownotes:
—Tevi Troy on Norman Podhoretz
—GLoP Culture Pod
—“My Negro Problem—And Ours”
—Friday’s Dispatch Pod
—Megan McArdle’s article
—Tuesday’s Dispatch Pod on Megan’s article
—Suicide of the West
—Jonah - “The Specter of McDonald’s”
—Jonah - “Cocaine Is Not Mustard Gas”
—MillionPodcasts.com
—Furious...