From the civilizational lynchpin of gratitude to the misplaced obsession with diplomacy to MAGA’s mafia style of governance, today’s Ruminant will be a one deep cut after another for Suicide of the West readers. There will also be one or two I-told-you-so’s.Show Notes:

—Return to the source material and order Suicide of the West

—G-File: “The Democrats Dilemma”

—Vintage Goldberg in National Review: “The European Miracle”

—Infinite Scroll: “MAGA as Master Morality”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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, regular livestreams, and other members-only content—click here. 

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A Ruminant of Homeric length about the distress of the liberal world order will be released tomorrow, but the fallout from the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump today necessitated a rapid emergency rant. Enjoy your bonus episode and the sunsetting of American honor.

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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, regular livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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Christopher Scalia, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, stops by the show to drop some culture on one Jonah Goldberg. The two discuss all things literature and what great books could give the conservative movement.

Plus: George Eliot’s conception of nationalism and Jonah’s thoughts on the new season of Severance.

Show Notes:

—Pre-order: 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven't Read)

—Listen to “The Back of the Book” 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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, regular livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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Jonah Goldberg is joined by American Enterprise Institute fellow and author Michael Rosen to discuss his new book, Silicon and Clay: What Ancient Jewish Wisdom Can Teach Us About AI. Jonah and Michael cover the difference between lunch bucket AI degrowthers vs. Butlerian jihadist doomers before diving into the lore of the mystical figures of the golem and the dybbuk and what they can teach us about our approach to artificial intelligence.

Show Notes:

—Pre-order Like Silicon from Clay: What Ancient Jewish Wisdom Can Teach Us About AI

—Commentary, January 1966: “The Golem of Prague & The Golem of Rehovoth.”

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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, regular livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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Jonah Goldberg has words for the Trump administration signaling its willingness to betray Ukraine and turn allies into vassals all in the name of a faux-realist approach to geopolitics that feels more Corleone than Kissinger.

Plus: an apology to Anthony Scaramucci, ruminations on the Eric Adams case, and the MAGA-induced pressure campaign within the conservative movement.

Show Notes:

—Order Honor Among Nations

—Wednesday G-File: “Realism for a Condo Salesman”

—Friday G-File: “Faded Glory, Growing Dishonor”

—Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for The Telegraph: “Trump’s Embrace of Putin is a Molotov-Ribbentrop Crisis for Europe”

—"The Rest is History" podcast with Anthony Scaramucci

—Advisory Opinions on Eric Adams

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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, regular livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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Pippa and Zoë have chastised Jonah Goldberg for the recent lack of female voices on The Remnant, so Sarah Isgur has staged a Steinem-style takeover of the show alongside Caroline Criado-Perez to discuss one of Sarah’s favorite books, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men.

Sarah and Caroline dig into the glaring gender bias in data science, econometrics, clinical research, and healthcare. Plus: a debate over the potential for a misandrist pendulum swing in the progressive era.

Show Notes:

—Caroline’s book, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, regular livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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New York Times columnist Bret Stephens makes his Remnant debut, joining Jonah Goldberg for a discussion of the first month of the second Trump administration, the Chamberlain-esque negotiations for peace in Ukraine, and the infuriating instances of moral ignominy on college campuses.

Show Notes:

—Bret’s ‘Never Trump” piece in the New York Times

—Jonah’s ‘Never Trump’ piece in National Review

—“The Power of the Powerless,” Vaclav Havel

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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, regular livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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While Jonah Goldberg is usually riding solo on Ruminant episodes, today he is joined by his newly adopted island chicken, Rex. Jonah educates Rex about the relationship between the judicial and the executive branch, what constitutes autocracy, and the grounding of Critical Trump Theory. Plus: further ruminations on American sovereigntists and Pete Hegseth’s early actions as secretary of Defense.

Show Notes:

—Wednesday’s G-File

—On the sovereigntists

—John McCormack on Darren Beattie

—Subscribe to The Dispatch!

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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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Chris Stirewalt remains in control of The Remnant throne whilst Jonah vision quests, and has brought another excellent guest to enlighten ye loyal listeners: William Galston, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and Wall Street Journal columnist. The two discuss the health of the constitutional order, the hardheadedness of the Democratic Party, and how progressives can actually sway public opinion.

Show Notes:

—Galston for the Wall Street Journal: “Trump, USAID, and the Rule of Law”

—John Yoo for National Review: “Trump Has Launched a Necessary Fight Over the President’s Spending Discretion”

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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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Jonah Goldberg has abandoned SS Remnant for greener pastures. Luckily, the inimitable Chris Stirewalt has taken the helm once again. Chris is joined by Kori Schake, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and foreign policy egghead extraordinaire to cover the artificial intelligence arms race, the China question, and Trump’s proposal for peace (?) in Ukraine.Plus: effective deterrence against Iran, an evaluation of Israel’s successes and struggles in Gaza, and potential military reforms for an increasingly unstable world.

Show Notes:

—Kori Schake for The Dispatch: “Has World War III Begun?”

—Kori’s AEI page

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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, regular livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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With the help of a Yuval Levin and a Silly Putty support system, Jonah Goldberg opens this Ruminant with a recommendation not to panic about the Trump administration quite yet. He does, however, bemoan the president’s fantasy about a U.S. sovereign wealth fund before wondering about what the next generation of Democratic leaders might look like.

Show Notes:

—Yuval Levin and Ezra Klein

—Nick Catoggio on the DOGE hoax

—Jonah and Katie Herzog on Mike Pesca's The Gist

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 Jonah’s G-File newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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