Podcasts

What the Abortion Pill Case Is Really About

The Great Rewiring of Childhood

Jonathan Haidt makes his long-heralded return to The Remnant to discuss his new book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental IllnessHe and Jonah discuss the unique issues facing Gen Z and the mental health crisis brought on by the proliferation of smartphones and social media. And unlike many other public intellectuals, Haidt has solutions. In regular Remnant fashion, Jonah also steers the conversation into the differences between the French and English Enlightenment, and how understandings of human nature can affect how we parent.

Show Notes:
The Coddling of the American Mind
The Remnant with Rob Henderson
The Remnant with Tim Carney
What the Web Needs: More Gated Communities
New York Magazine on the freedom of sex
Hayek’s Nobel speech
Heterodox Academy website
Let Grow website
The Anxious Generation website

Grandma Was Right

Rob Henderson, a psychologist and author, makes his Remnant debut to discuss his new book Troubled: A Memoir of Family, Foster Care, and Social ClassGrowing up in poverty and moving through multiple foster homes in California, Henderson noticed a disparity between elite beliefs and the actual tools he used to climb the social ladder. The two explore this concept of “luxury beliefs,” our screwed up foster care system, the arguments for mandatory public service, and more.

Show Notes:
Rob’s newsletter
—Rasmussen report on Affirmative Action
The Remnant with Brad Wilcox
The Remnant with Tim Carney
Atomic Habits
Charles Murray’s review of Rob’s book

Judge Cannon’s Clerkship Problem

In this double-guest special, David Lat shares his original reporting on the exodus of Judge Aileen Cannon’s clerks and its implications for Trump’s classified documents case. Judge David Proctor of the Northern District of Alabama then joins to explain the history and function of the federal judiciary and its committees, including the Judicial Conference.

The Agenda:
Do younger clerks just not understand hard work?
—Judge Cannon’s declining reputation
Delays in Trumps documents case
—How the federal judiciary came to be
—Rule-making process for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
—Multi-district litigation and its criticisms

The Blindspots of Partisan Media

Brian Stelter, longtime media critic and author of Network of Lies, joins Jamie on today’s episode of The Dispatch Podcast to discuss the state of newsrooms nationwide in an age of ideological division, debate the blindspots of partisan media, and offer thoughts on the future of journalism.

The Agenda:
Overcorrecting coverage of Trump
—Trump’s influence on ratings
—COVID-19 coverage and school closures
—Reporting on race riots
—Forgetting 2020
—The New York Times’ newsroom culture
—Going independent and successful alternative media platforms
—Stelter’s take on what CNN should do now

Whigged Out

Jonah reaches new heights of self-indulgence on today’s Ruminant, explaining why he’s a soft Whig and why Romanticism is making everything worse. Devoted listeners will be quick to catch a whiff of Suicide of the West as Jonah veers to discuss the origin of identity politics and the structural resilience of liberal democracies. Have your bingo cards and German dictionaries at the ready.

Show Notes:
The Remnant with Allen Guelzo
Jonah: Days of Future Past
Suicide of the West
Orwell’s Notes on Nationalism
Wednesday’s G-File
The Remnant with Tim Carney

The Double-Hater Voter

Sarah, Jonah, Steve, and Mike dive into the latest punditry—Ohio’s primary, Trump’s trials, and the Middle East—before veering off into an Abraham Lincoln and 1619 Project cul-de-sac.

The Agenda:
—Bernie Moreno wipes the floor
—Jonah pushes back on reveries of self-congratulation
—Who are the double-haters in the 2024 election?
—An update on Trump trials
—The worst “win” you can have as a prosecutor
—Sen. Chuck Schumer’s speech on Israel
—Abraham Lincoln, worth our time
—Happy birthday Jonah!

Show Notes:
The Collision on Fani Willis
Original Jurisdiction on Judge Aileen Cannon’s clerks quitting
The Remnant with Allen Guelzo

Lincoln’s second inaugural address

Make More Kids

Having endured years of Jonah’s targeted bullying campaign, AEI senior fellow Tim Carney joins the pod to celebrate the release of his new book Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture is Making it Harder to Raise Happy, Healthy, and Successful Children. The two discuss why millennials aren’t having kids, why being a father in public is stigmatized, and whether feminism is undoing itself.
Show Notes:
-Germany’s birth rates are dropping
Rethinking Sex: A Provocation
Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us
-Michelle Goldberg on Family Friendly in the New York Times

Into the Labyrinth (of Texas Immigration Law)

Sarah and David dive into the battle (one that at times stumps our resident SCOTUS wonks) between the 5th Circuit and the Supreme Court on Texas’ deportation legislation.

The Agenda:
Texas’ SB4, explained
—Important legal glossary
—The issue with administrative stays
—Why the delay at the Fifth Circuit?
Opinion in chambers from Justice Roberts
FBI No-Fly List Case
First Amendment and Government Coercion
NRA free speech battle
—Listener feedback

Our Ancient Faith

Jonah invites prolific historian, scholar, and author Allen C. Guelzo, to discuss his new book, Our Ancient Faith: Lincoln, Democracy, and the American Experiment, and has plenty of questions: What does Abraham Lincoln tell us about democracy? Why did Lincoln call himself a conservative? What went wrong with the revolutions of the 1840s?  What does Lincoln tell us about the rise of post-liberalism? Stay tuned for the usual highfalutin discussions on conservative intellectual history.

Show Notes:
Our Ancient Faith: Lincoln, Democracy, and the American Experiment
Guelzo’s website
Christopher DeMuth: Why America Needs National Conservatism

Can State Officials Block Me on Social Media?

Sarah and David discuss Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s opinion in Lindke v. Freed—released last week by the Supreme Court—and the test for state action on social media. Is there a constitutional right to commenting on state officials’ accounts?

The Agenda:
-Predicting SCOTUS votes for Net Choice
-Slime in the ice machine
-Justice Elena Kagan’s compelling reasoning for saying “and” means “or”
-Terrorism distortion and special needs exceptions to the Fourth Amendment
-The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is overwhelmed
-An emergency petition on the Texas A&M drag show case
-Don’t say ‘Don’t Say Gay’ when referring to this lawsuit
-Justice Stephen Breyer and choosing pragmatism and not textualism

Should the U.S. Defend Taiwan?

Former Trump administration official Dan Negrea and national security strategist Matt Kroenig join Jamie to discuss their book We Win, They Lose. Jamie challenges their thesis that a Trump-Regan foreign policy fusion is possible.

The Agenda:
-The current international landscape
-China’s aggressive military operations and Taiwan
-Can Americans stomach backing Taiwan in war?
-Trump’s switch on a TikTok ban
-The Biden administration’s failure to deter Russia
-Is there really a Trump-Reagan policy fusion?

Welcoming the Stranger

Mark Seitz, a Catholic bishop from the Diocese of El Paso, joins Victoria to discuss his approach to immigration and response to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against a migrant house under his diocese.

The Agenda:

—Annunciation House and Paxton’s immigration lawsuit

—Policy solutions

—Addressing crime and fear of immigrations

—Is the Church for open borders?

—Biden and Trump’s recent border visits

Show Notes:

-Watch this episode on YouTube

-Bishop Mark Seitz: Statement in Support of Annunciation House

-GOP lawmakers once praised Catholic Charities. Now they want to defund the group

-Report: The mythical tie between immigration and crime

-CNN: I asked criminologists about immigration and crime in the US. Their answers may surprise you

War Pigs

Jonah overcomes his flu-induced hallucinations and ruminates on the current attempt by Congress to force a sale of TikTok and Trump’s suspicious flip-flop on the issue. The hallucinations reappearing, Jonah begins to complain about the bots on Twitter making dumb arguments for isolationism and ending Ukraine aid. With whatever sanity he has left he argues against Chuck Schumer’s call for new elections in Israel and explains the importance of commitment to allies.

Show Notes:
The Dispatch editorial
Boiling Frogs on TikTok divestment
ISW: The Kremlin’s Occupation Playbook
Jonah’s LA Times article on the use of “genocide”
Sen. Schumer calls for new elections in Israel

That’s What Xi Said

Sarah, Steve, and Jonah discuss TikTok’s influence over the youth (See: Kids call Congress threatening suicide over TikTok ban).

The Agenda:
-TikTok’s Chinese ownership raises national security concerns
-Klon Kitchen being cool on 60 minutes
-Robert Hur’s testimony and partisan political narratives
-Did anyone watch the Oscars?
-Kate Middleton conspiracy theories

Show Notes:
-Jonah’s Gfile: I’m With Hur

Blood Libel at MIT

Sarah and David react to Robert Hur’s congressional testimony, but first Sarah responds to a recent article that claimed she was assisting Hur in his testimony (and thanks the loyal listeners who came to her defense).

The Agenda:
—David’s thoughts on the Hur hearings
—Lessons in media training
—Differences between the Trump and Biden documents cases
—Partisanship making people awful
Complaint by Jewish students at MIT
—Blood libel at MIT
—Free speech or no speech on campus?
Positive racial discrimination?
—The end of judge shopping

Show Notes:
President Reagan, Mastermind – SNL
UC Berkeley Jewish students successfully march without confrontation