A Complicated Man: William F. Buckley, Jr. (w/ Sam Tanenhaus)

This episode is one that Matt and Sam have been anticipating for years: after two-and-a-half decades of research and writing, Sam Tanehaus's authoritative biography of William F. Buckley, Jr.—youthful booster of America First, enfant terrible at Yale, CIA agent, founder of National Review, best-selling author, brilliant television host, and more—has blessedly arrived. Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America stretches to just under 900 pages of text, before you get to the endnotes and index, an appropriately epic biography of an overstuffed, consequential life, containing far more than could be covered in a single episode. This conversation focuses on the challenges of writing a biography of a man whose archives rivaled those found in presidential libraries; Tanenhaus's discovery of a newspaper the Buckley's owned in South Carolina that essentially was a mouthpiece for the White Citizens' Council, and the Southern roots of Buckley's "northern segregationist" politics; the influence of his oilman father, who fled the revolution in Mexico and instilled anti-communist politics, as well as the Catholic faith, in his children; Buckley's role in forging the post-war conservative movement, through National Review and his frenetic endeavors as a columnist and speaker; the controversies, disappointments, failures, and triumphs of his decades-long career; and more.

Sources:

Sam Tanenhaus, Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America (2025)

— Whittaker Chambers: A Biography (1997)

John Judis, William F. Buckley, Jr.: Patron Saint of the Conservatives (1988)

Sam Adler-Bell, "A Practical Fanatic," The Idea Letters, June 26, 2025

Alexander Chee, "Mr. and Mrs. B.," Longreads, June 18, 2025

Christopher Owen, Heaven Can Indeed Fall: The Life of Willmoore Kendall, (2022)

Listen again to these Know Your Enemy episodes for background on:

Brent Bozell: "Keeping up with the Bozells," Feb 26, 2021

Willmoore Kendall: "The Long Farewell to Majority Rule? (w/ Joshua Tait)," May 17, 2021

Frank Meyer: "Frank Meyer, the Father of Fusionism," Nov 10, 2021

Joan Didion: "Joan Didion, Conservative (w/ Sam Tanenhaus)," Jan 13, 2022

William F. Buckley, Jr.: "Buckley for Mayor (w/ Sam Tanenhaus)," Aug 23, 2021

— "The Conservative and the Convict (w/ Sarah Weinman)," May 9, 2022

— "Consider the Cranks (w/ David Austin Walsh)," May 21, 2024

...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!