Know Your Enemy

The American Right's Hungary Hearts (w/ Lauren Stokes and John Ganz)

Matt and Sam are joined by historian Lauren Stokes and writer John Ganz to unpack the American Right's ongoing embrace of Viktor Orbán's Hungary, from Rod Dreher's springtime junket there  to Tucker Carlson broadcasting from the country to the adoring attention it receives from an assortment of "postliberal" intellectuals What gives? Your hosts and their esteemed guests break it down, including: what the American Right gets from Orbán, and what he gets from them; the 20th century histo...

God, Death, and the Pandemic (w/ Sarah Jones)

(Posting this main episode over here on the Patreon feed because we forgot to last week! Love you guys! - Team KYE)

Matt is joined by Know Your Enemy favorite Sarah Jones to discuss her recent New York Magazine essay, "An Atheist Reconsiders God in the Pandemic." They discuss their shared religious upbringing and college years among fundamentalist and evangelical Christians, why Sarah became an atheist (and Matt didn't), and the reasons she reopened the question of God's existe...

The Texas Bounty Hunter Bill (w/ 5-4's Rhiannon)

Matt and Sam are joined by a very special guest—the 5-4 podcast's Rhiannon—to discuss the ghastly anti-abortion bill that recently went into affect in Texas after the Supreme Court failed to provide an injunction against it. They discuss the Supreme Court's "shadow docket" (on which Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson was decided), break down what exactly the Texas legislation does and why it is so appalling, and zoom out to put it all in the context of the Right's continued...

Coup, Covid, Congress

In this subscribers-only episode, Matt and Sam discuss the latest revelations about the Trumpist plot to steal the presidency, the madness of anti-vaxx derangement syndrome among conservatives, and the fate of Biden's Build Back Better agenda.

Sources:

DOCUMENT: John Eastman's six-point plan to steal the election (PDF)

John Eastman, "2021-09-25 19:37:20 +0000 UTC View Post

Twenty Years of Terror (w/ Spencer Ackerman)

It's impossible to comprehend the state of conservative politics — or American politics in general — without looking closely at the wars we've been waging for the past two decades. The story we've been telling about American conservatism has been incomplete without a deep-dive on the so-called Global War on Terror. Luckily, Spencer Ackerman has written the perfect book to occasion such a dialogue. In 2021-09-15 19:06:11 +0000 UTC View Post

Living at the End of Our World (w/ Daniel Sherrell & Dorothy Fortenberry)

This is a slightly different kind of Know Your Enemy episode—a conversation about hope and despair as the effects of climate change bear down upon us. At the center of that conversation is a brilliant new book, Daniel Sherrell's Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of the World, that focuses not on the facts of climate change or how to stop it, but what it feels like to im...

Where's the Rest of Him?

Join Matt and Sam as they drink bourbon and talk about Ronald (and Nancy) Reagan. They begin with Matt's history as a young conservative who researched multiple books on Reagan and eventually get to the recent four-part Showtime documentary, The Reagans. Along the way they talk about Reagan's time as an actor, the importance of Nancy Reagan to his political project, and the consequences of a president consumed by fantasies. 

Sources:

2021-08-30 21:34:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Buckley for Mayor (w/ Sam Tanenhaus)

Finally, a deep-dive on William F. Buckley, Jr.! Matt and Sam are joined by Buckley's biographer, Sam Tanenhaus, to talk about WFB's 1965 campaign for mayor of New York City. Topics include: how Buckley's campaign made him the most famous conservative in America; the importance of his candidacy to the conservative movement's rise; the hardline positions he took on policing and his inflammatory views on race; and more. Along the way, Tanenhaus offers countless details that only Buckley's biogr...

Woke Capital

Matt and Sam discuss "Woke Capital," the revival of James Burnham's critique of managerialism, and how right-wing populists learned to stop worrying (about liberty) and love the state. 

Further Reading:

Sam Adler-Bell, "Conservatives and capitalists are getting a divorce — and it's going to get really, ...

How (Not) to Talk About Racism

Matt and Sam are back in the same room — Matt's  study — enjoying brown liquor, each other's company, and a surprisingly coherent discussion of the right's latest fixations: our "rainbow regime" and "critical race theory." 

Listen to find out how Matt's mother feels about his porn-stache, if Sam feels bad about boosting the career of Robin DiAngelo, whether the term "white fragility" has any utility, and why queer community is a metaphysical conundrum for Christian post-li...

Hot and Bothered

Every June it happens: conservatives get all hot and bothered by Pride celebrations, and this year has been no different. Why do banal corporate expressions of support for LGBTQ+ rights drive them so mad? How does religion factor into their opposition to basic protections for LGBTQ+ people? What part do these culture war flareups play in their broader political strategy? In this bonus episode, Matt and Sam offer a survey of hyperbolic rightwing reactions to the start of Pride month and break ...

Jaffa vs. Kendall

What is the status of "equality" in the American political tradition? What place does it have in the inheritance that conservatives are trying to preserve? 

Matt and Sam pick up where they left off in their recent conversation with historian Joshua Tait, this time focusing on Harry Jaffa's devastating review of Willmoore Kendall and ...

Why the New Deal Matters (w/ Eric Rauchway)

In this episode, Matt is joined by historian Eric Rauchway for a deep-dive into his new book, Why the New Deal Matters. It's Rauchway's latest effort to recover Franklin Delano Roosevelt as an anti-fascist political leader who sought to expand the meaning and practice of American democracy—that in a robust democracy, people don't just need enough to live on, but something to l...

Democracy and Its Discontents

In state legislatures across the country, Republicans are unleashing a fierce assault on voting rights. Hundreds of proposals aimed at restricting ballot access are being considered, and in a few states—most notably Georgia—have already become law. These obvious efforts at suppressing turnout have been justified by the deranged lie that Donald Trump had a landslide victory stole from him in November, along with the usual evidence-free worries about election integrity peddled by conservati...

A Royal Mess

Matt and Sam finally take on a controversial subject: the British royal family. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent interview with Oprah set off a firestorm of commentary—not least from aggrieved conservatives who were outraged at the young couple's criticisms of the monarchy. Why was the Right so upset by the interview? Why did the defenders of the American Revolution find themselves siding with our ancient enemy? Then your hosts turn to a documentary that offers an acerbic look at the...

War on Terror, Part Deux (w/ Cole Stangler)

In recent months, French president Emmanuel Macron, once hailed as the savior of mainstream liberalism, has responded to a series of Islamist terror attacks with a sharp right turn—one he hopes will serve him well in a possible run-off election against the nativist/populist Marine Le Pen. KYE Paris correspondent Cole Stangler joins Matt and Sam to explain Macron's increasingly Islamophobic, authoritarian, and anti-leftist policy agenda. Topics include: whether or not his reactionary pivot s...

Keeping Up With the Bozells

What can four generations of men named "L. Brent Bozell" tell us about the trajectory of modern American conservatism? Well, quite a lot. 

From the union-busting, ad-man scion (Brent Sr.), to the fiercely brilliant and troubled National Review editor-turned-Catholic zealot (Brent Jr.), to the insipid media watchdog and Trump apologist (Brent III), and finally, to the ball-cap-wearing January 6 capitol siege participant (Brent IV, aka "Zeeker") — the Bozell epic has all t...

L'Affaire (w/ John Ganz)

Beloved KYE guest John Ganz (Ep. 15: The Year the Clock Broke) returns to discuss the Third Republic, the Dreyfus Affair, and what the hell fin de siècle France has to do with 21st century America. Among other things, we discuss: anti-Semitism and nationalism, Sorel and Gramsci, liberalism, socialism, and (surprise!) fascism. You told us you didn't ...

Midnight in the Garden of American Heroes

Matt and Sam explain West Coast Straussianism, the school of thought behind one of the last acts of the Trump administration: the release of the "1776 Report," the Right's shabby response to the 1619 Project and blueprint for how the American Founding should be understood and taught. Where did this approach to conservatism come from? ...

Storming the Capitol

Matt and Sam respond to a mob of Trump supporters stopping the certification of Electoral College votes by charging into the Senate and House chambers. It was an unprecedented act that struck at the very heart of American democracy, such as it is. Who is to blame? What will its effects be? Will Republicans pay a price for encouraging belief that the presidential election was fraudulent? And what are the role of rightwing intellectuals in this madness? Your hosts break it all down at the end o...

Trump the Dove? (w/ Stephen Wertheim)

Sam speaks with historian Stephen Wertheim, author of Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy,  about Trump's weird foreign policy record, the prospects for left-right unity on non-intervention, and whether Joe Biden's administration augurs a return to the days of 'humanitarian intervention' and America as the Good Bully on the world stage. In the e...

A Working Class GOP? (w/ Aaron Sibarium)

We're joined by new conservative-ish frenemy of the pod, Aaron Sibarium — a bright, young, bushy-tailed editor at the Washington Free Beacon —  for a post-election discussion of everyone's favorite fun topic, realignment (or lack there of)! Together we discuss the prospects for a "multi-racial working class" majority in either party; our thoughts about "wokeness" and bureaucracy; defunding the police; the GOP's union problem; and th...

What Happened? (w/ Eric Levitz and Dan Sherrell)

A 2020 election recap with two brilliant friends of the pod: Eric Levitz, a senior writer at  New York magazine, and Dan Sherrell, the outgoing director of the #VoteTrumpOut campaign (and a wonderful writer, too). We discuss: What do the election results mean? What role did turnout, persuasion, and polarization play? How wrong was Matt? Will the GOP's decision to flatt...

KYE Election Desk 2020

Matt and Sam engage in the most perilous of all punditry—the rankest of rank punditry, even—and discuss what to expect on Election Night. They crunch the numbers, discuss the possible scenarios that could unfold, and give you all that you need to watch the returns as the informed, wise observers you are. Matt even offers a cautious prediction.

Enjoy—and please vote!

Sources Cited:

"2020-11-02 23:24:13 +0000 UTC View Post

Debate Night w/ Matt

Despite Sam's misgivings, Matt managed to convinced us (Sam) to do a quick response to the stupid fucking debate. As it turns out, he had some interesting things to say. Enjoy.

Democracy in Bolivia (w/ David Adler)

This past Sunday, October 18, 2020, the Movement for Socialism (MAS) in Bolivia — the party led by Evo Morales — was returned to power by a landslide victory, after having been deposed by anti-democratic, right-wing forces with the tacit consent of the United States in November 2019. 

It just so happens that friend-of-the-pod David Adler was on the ground in La Paz, Bolivia, observing the election in his c...

Debate Night in America

Well. We watched it. And we recorded an episode of our podcast about it. For you. Because we love you. 

Not So Supreme

Matt and Sam do a deep dive on the proposals being discussed about the ways that Democrats can take on the Supreme Court. Should a Democratic President and Senate pack the Court, or seek to disempower it in other ways? Or can they just ignore the Court altogether? Along the way they reflect on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, answer questions about Amy Coney Barrett, who is on Trump's short list to replace Ginsburg, and lament that Matt is getting old.

Sources Cited:

Linda Gr...