What's Wrong With Men?

Ross Douthat is that strangest of all creatures, a religious conservative with a New York Times column—a perch from which he pronounces on U.S. politics, the Catholic Church, and modern culture with style and intelligence, plus a dash of mordant pessimism. In other words, the perfect choice to be the first "enemy" to come on the show. He joins Matt and Sam to discuss his own conservatism, the American right in the Trump era, and his new book The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success. Further Reading:Ross Douthat, "The Decade of Disillusionment," NYT, Dec 28, 2019Ross Douthat, "The Case for Bernie," NYT, Nov 30, 2019Ross Douthat, "Trump’s Message: Love It or Leave It, With a Bigoted Edge," NYT, Jul 16, 2019Ross Douthat, "What Are Conservatives Actually Debating?" NYT, June 4, 2019Rudyard Kipling, "The Gods of the Copybook Headings," Harper's, Oct 26, 1919

5 Feb 20201h 26min

Making It is Norman Podhoretz's 1967 memoir about his journey from the working-class neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn to his heady ascent in the New York literary scene of 1950s and '60s. It's also a fascinating psychological study of a man on the cusp of converting from Cold War liberalism to what came to be known as neoconservatism—a shift driven, at least in part, by the cool reception of this book. Making It proves a fascinating text through which to understand not just one conservative mind, but multiple generations of New York intellectuals, the neoconservative movement, and the politics of grievance, self-pity, and narcissism that have come to define much of conservatism in the Trump era.Sources Cited:David Klion, "The Making and Unmaking of the Podhoretz Dynasty," Jewish Currents, Dec 19, 2017Norman Podhoretz, "My Negro Problem — And Ours," Commentary, Feb 1963Janet Malcolm, "‘I Should Have Made Him for a Dentist'" New York Review of Books, Mar 22, 2018Louis Menand, "The Book That Scandalized the New York Intellectuals," The New Yorker, Apr 24, 2017Benjamin Moser, "My Podhoretz Problem — And Ours," Jewish Quarterly, Dec 5, 2018Lee Smith, "Making It," Tablet, Jan 16, 2019

15 Jan 20201h 44min

Matt and Sam talk to Rebecca Traister of New York magazine about sexism and electoral politics. How has patriarchy conditioned the political careers of politicians like Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren? How does the right mobilize anti-feminism to win? And how do conservative women like Sarah Palin use traditional womanhood and femininity to their advantage? Listen to find out! Traister is the author of Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger.Further Reading:Rebecca Traister, "Elizabeth Warren's Classroom Strategy," The Cut, Aug 6, 2019Rebecca Traister, "Leader of the Persistence," New York Magazine, July 23, 2019Elaine Blaire, "The Power of Enraged Women," New York Times, Sept 27, 2018Liesl Schillinger "Book Review: Big Girls Don't Cry," New York Times, Sept 16, 2010

28 Nov 20191h 29min

Will Arbery's play "Heroes of the Fourth Turning"—about four conservative Catholic friends arguing under a night sky in Wyoming—feels like it was written to be discussed on Know Your Enemy. An ominous meditation on faith, conservatism, empathy, cruelty, and power, "Heroes" has ignited debate and garnered praise across the political spectrum—from First Things to the (failing) New York Times to Rod Dreher's blog at the American Conservative. Arbery was raised by conservative Catholic professors and grew up imbibing the ideas of the right and the teachings of the Church. He writes from a place of deep love and withering scrutiny. Lucky for us (and you!) Will displays all the sensitivity, intellectually curiosity, and love in this conversation that he does in his remarkable play. Enjoy!You can buy tickets to see "Heroes" here, which is playing in NYC until November 17. Watch a preview here.Further Reading:The New York Times profile of Will, "A Play about God and Trump, from a Writer Raised on the Right"Vinson Cunningham, "A Play About the Nuances of Conservatism in the Trump Era," The New Yorker, October 14, 2019B.D. McClay, "Heroes of the Fourth Turning’ is a haunted play about religious conservatives," The Outline, November 5, 2019Rod Dreher, "Will Arbery’s Heroes," The American Conservative, October 2, 2019C.C. Pecknold, "An extraordinary play that challenges progressives and conservatives alike," Catholic Herald, October 1, 2019

11 Nov 20192h 8min

Sarah Jones joins Matt and Sam to discuss the myth of "Trump Country" and the pitfalls of reporting on rural America, and to address the most important question of all: is Donald Trump the Antichrist? (Answer: Probably not.) Sarah's essay, "Scapegoat Country," appears in this month's special issue of Dissent on "Left Paths in Rural America."Sarah is a staff writer for New York Magazine, where she covers inequality and national politics. Follow her on Twitter: @OneSarahJonesSources Cited:Sarah Jones, "Scapegoat Country," Dissent, Fall 2019Sarah Jones, "What Brett Kavanaugh Means to Conservatives," New York Mag, Sept 30, 2019Sarah Jones, "Here’s How We’d Really Know That Trump Is the Antichrist," New York Mag, Aug 21, 2019Mollie Hemingway, "I wasn’t a Trump supporter. I am now." Washington Post, Jan 19, 2018

29 Okt 20191h 40min

UNPAYWALLED:Sam interviews journalist Hannah Gais about (1) the far right's ongoing efforts to infiltrate conservative media and (2) the self-victimizing grift of Quillette anti-anti-fascist Andy Ngo.Discussed:Hannah Gais, Leaked Emails Show How White Nationalists Have Infiltrated Conservative Media, SplinterHannah Gais, The Making of Andy Ngo, Jewish Currents

23 Okt 201944min

Matt and Sam talk to Max Alvarez—writer, editor, and host of Working People, an excellent podcast—about growing up working-class and conservative in a mixed race household.Matt and Max compare experiences as we try to answer some basic but tough questions: what attracts some members of the working class to conservative politics? How do the cultural and economic aspects of conservatism interact for working class conservatives? And what can the left learn from working-class conservatism's appeal?Support Max's Patreon here!Further Reading:Max Alvarez, "Can the Working Class Speak?" Current Affairs (2018)Stuart Hall "The Toad in the Garden: Thatcherism Among the Theorists," (1988)Charlie Post's two-part essay from the early aughts in Against the Current (and Sebastian Lamb's response)Bethany Moreton, To Serve God and WalmartThomas Frank, What's the Matter with Kansas? (2005)Larry Bartels' review of Frank.John Jost, "Working Class Conservatism: A System Justification Perspective," (2017)Oh and please support our Patreon!

7 Okt 20191h 24min

With the help of Jane Mayer's essential 2016 book, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, your hosts explore the world of right-wing philanthropy and the institutions—from centers at universities to think tanks in Washington, DC—it has funded. What emerges is a startling history of how a small group of incredibly rich families used novel techniques to shelter their wealth from taxation and fund a right-wing takeover of American politics. Other sources cited and consulted: Theda Skocpol, "Who Owns the GOP?" (a critical review of Mayer in Dissent) Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism Amanda Hollis-Brusky and Calvin Terbeek, "The Federalist Society Says It’s Not an Advocacy Organization. These Documents Show Otherwise." Politico Mark Schmidt "The Legend of the Powell Memo," The American Prospect Honoré de Balzac, Eugénie Grandet (1833)

9 Sep 20191h 32min