Mailbag Episode! Submit your questions...
Added 2022-11-23 14:36:10 +0000 UTCGreetings dearest patrons,
We're planning another mailbag episode to close out November! Please submit your questions for Matt and Sam here, by message on Patreon, or by email at knowyourenemypodcast@gmail.com — and please do so by Monday 11/28.
With love and enduring gratitude,
Sam and Matt
Comments
What is that impulse in political discourse we call conservatism? How is it different than other forms of right wing thought? Lastly, what have you learned or what theories have you found validated or invalidated over the course of doing this podcast about the right? Thanks for all your good work. Cheers to many more great eps of KYE.
Dan
2022-12-01 15:40:54 +0000 UTCWhen are you going to cover Whittaker Chambers?
ERIK
2022-12-01 00:21:29 +0000 UTCCan you discuss how libertarians are being integrated (or not integrated) into the new conservative consensus? In other words, if we're seeing a return to some paleo-con themes from the 1990s (per John Ganz) how does the libertarian streak that's existed among American conservatives get integrated into the more recent trend towards a powerful (possibly theocratic?) conservative state? I assume that the rhetoric conservatives use when they're trying to take power will be different from the ideology they impose once they have it (that will be the real civil war among conservatives), but I'm trying to figure out how they might mesh the rhetoric of a powerful, superficially pro-worker state with libertarianism. Perhaps looking towards sovereign citizens provides some answers - after, people like the Bundys are rabidly "pro-American" and essentially want to see a theocracy, but simultaneously want to be a law unto themselves. Maybe the contradictions don't matter, or are part of the appeal?
Caroline J
2022-11-30 17:39:41 +0000 UTClate! but at some point the people need to hear y'alls thoughts on "the philosophy of modern song." keep up the great work
Jack Wolfe
2022-11-30 12:21:25 +0000 UTC"Thief in the Night" is another good example from around the same time. It's a prototype for "Left Behind." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Thief_in_the_Night_(film_series)
Ben Bryant
2022-11-29 22:12:06 +0000 UTCFirst heard about this movement in this very strange NYT style section article from a few months ago. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/style/david-shor-democrats.html
Sam Greenstein
2022-11-29 13:25:44 +0000 UTCWould love to hear this! As a leftist who's always had one foot in Rationalist/EA internet spaces, I'm always shocked how little the movement gets discussed given its influence among the Silicon Valley elite. It's a fascinating community which has produced a lot of genuinely insightful essays and a lot of VERY worrying ones too. There are some left-wing critiques out there, but save for a few, most are pretty surface level and don't seriously engage with "Rationalist" ideas OR get at what's really troubling about the movement.
Matt Mitchell
2022-11-29 05:04:46 +0000 UTCDo you guys have any plans for an episode on the online "rationalist" community and the adjacent effective altruist movement? I wouldn't characterize rationalists as overtly right-wing, but they're certainly willing to engage with figures from the far right like Curtis Yarvin and Steve Sailer. They've been in the news after the collapse of FTX: Sam Bankman-Fried was a self-proclaimed earn-to-give effective altruist, and the CEO of Alameda Research was fully steeped in the rationalist blogosphere. I think a lot of writers just dismiss the rationalists as cringey nerds, and they've been under-discussed as a result. As cringe as they may be, they're pretty influential among tech types, probably much more influential than Yarvin, who you guys have discussed on the show.
Matthew
2022-11-29 03:34:54 +0000 UTCLiberals and leftists like to point out the apparent hypocrisy of right-wing Christians who subscribe to sink-or-swim social policies (i.e. it doesn't follow the teachings of Jesus) I am curious to hear what Matt thinks he would have made of such arguments when he was still a conservative Christian, and whether he finds it effective in general as a means to "reason" with right-wing Christians on their own terms.
Peter Jensen
2022-11-28 23:14:21 +0000 UTCThere is great Substack exploring the work of Tom Clancy from the perspective of Afghan war veteran Matt Farwell. He discusses Clancy’s impact on shaping the perception of the American military and intelligence community since he emerged during the Reagan era. Farwell would be a great guest on the show. https://thehuntfortomclancy.substack.com/
Evan W
2022-11-28 05:14:28 +0000 UTCAny good books or other deep dives you recommend into the nitty-gritty institutional architecture of the right (cadre development, policy formation, keeping the mass base hitched to the electoral and policy machine), that's useful as a source of concrete ideas for the left?
Robert McKay
2022-11-28 01:38:26 +0000 UTCMatt will you be able to strong-arm Sam into having any more Freud episodes?
Marshall Crenshaw
2022-11-28 01:08:21 +0000 UTCHow should the Left interact with the non-profit sector? Sam, you've criticized the way they have and continue to siphon political energy, but you both have acknowledged the role of conservative non-profits in successful movements on the Right. What gives? Thanks! Love your work.
Henry Jorden
2022-11-27 20:32:59 +0000 UTCGiven the prominence of a certain tech billionaire in the news lately, I'm curious about what you think about the influence of apartheid South Africa on the American right, both back then and now. Eve Fairbanks' recent book might be a good jumping off point.
Isaac Smith
2022-11-27 17:09:57 +0000 UTCHave you read Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez? If so, what did you think of it? Her analysis of conservative masculinity helped me make sense of much of the conservative milieu I grew up in (much like your show), and I wonder if she would be a good guest for the pod.
Laura Marshall
2022-11-27 15:00:39 +0000 UTCHis Sam and Matt! As someone who was in elementary school for most of the Bush (DUBYA) years, I am always interested to learn from older leftists about that political era and would love your insight into the political ecosystem of the 2000s . My question pertains to the 9/11 truther conspiracy theorist movement. From my understanding, during this time period 9/11 "inside job" conspiracy theories had a syncretic politics; with conspiracy theories taking hold in people on both the left and the right. To this day, there still seems to be remnants of the truther movement's left-wing presence (for example, one of the leftist bookstores in my city has an "inside job?" poster affixed to its podium and this observation is what spawned me to ask you about this topic). To what extent do you think a direct line can be drawn from the 9/11 truther movement to today's political conspiracy theories, such as Qanon and Pizzagate? Furthermore, what are your thoughts on the left's role/complicity in conspiracy culture of the 2000's? Are there lessons the American left can learn from this era?
Sam Greenstein
2022-11-27 03:16:20 +0000 UTCDo you think there will come a point when the noble purpose of the pod has been completed and realized? Would you ever consider a transition or off-branching into discussions of American leftism?
Julian Frost
2022-11-27 01:30:38 +0000 UTCOn heels of Fetterman win in PA, which included gaining some ground in rural red counties, what do you think are the best progressive policies for rural enclaves and small towns throughout America? With diminishing jobs, decreasing population, closure of hospitals, etc. I’m wondering if ensuring dignity and quality of life as these areas continue to collapse is the best outcome, or if there are viable ways for these areas to flourish.
Jonathan Chambers
2022-11-26 02:02:14 +0000 UTCAfter reading confessionals by Stuart Stevens ('It Was All a Lie') and Tim Miller ('Why We Did It') and listening to Matt talking about his disenchantment with conservatism, my hunch is that ex-Conservatives leave the fold when they finally realize that the Conservative ideas that attracted them to the movement in the first place (those that are the most marketable to naive audience) are not the same ideas that motivate the behavior of most Conservatives (e.g., the bigotry, racism, and pure greed at the heart of its philosophy, which only become glaringly apparent after you spend more time drilling down into the life & writing of someone like William F. Buckley). Am I on the right track here? Maybe the disconnect is more obvious than that, but it takes a while to acknowledge that the people who have been your friends & mentors aren't the people you originally thought they were. It must be kind of like leaving a cult.
Joanne Scutero
2022-11-26 00:51:43 +0000 UTCHi I wanted to know why evangelicals are upset with trump even though and after he grabbed the brass ring for them by setting the stage for the overturning of Roe vs. Wade?
Dana Contini
2022-11-25 22:26:32 +0000 UTCOur hosts have excellent and wide reading habits in nonfiction tomes, but what fiction do they consider their favorites, either overall or recently?
Laïka Leeks
2022-11-25 21:58:49 +0000 UTCI’d like to know how you the Dixiecrats (Wallace, Thurman, and the like) shaped the modern conservative movement. I see them as somewhat distinct from both the National Review set and the Nixon-Reagan.
William B Penley
2022-11-25 21:26:31 +0000 UTCI have two questions in mind: Do you think you might ever do an episode on the history of the Heritage Foundation? And maybe just the general declining influence of think tanks and policy wonks [i.e. Paul Ryan] on the right? Maybe on your next episode on conservative media or pop culture, I would like to suggest the apparantly widely watched cable TV series "Yellowstone". Which is often described as a rural, red-state version of "Succession". What do you think the left can learn from the show's portrayal of rural resentment and its immense popularity with cable audiences while not given much attention by elite TV critics?
Eddy Torres
2022-11-25 17:04:38 +0000 UTC+1
Gene Gualtieri
2022-11-25 16:04:05 +0000 UTCDo you talk about politics with your families at Thanksgiving? How did that go this year?
Carter Mize
2022-11-25 05:25:45 +0000 UTCMatt, I’d be curious to hear you talk about how you think the U.S. “left”—however you define it—should relate to religious believers. For example, I saw a few DSA fellow travelers get mad on social media a few weeks ago when a pastor gave an explicitly Christian invocation to begin a DSA event. Given the role that religious belief historically has played in left social movements—particularly in black freedom struggles—I don’t find it a big deal. Yet, going back to the 18th century the left has always had a lot of nonbelievers among us and been animated by a hostility to institutional religion. I guess I am asking Matt if he feels awkward as a believer on the left? What limits should leftists place on religious morality being used in political struggle? When does the particularity of someone’s religious belief overwhelm the universality that many lefty nonbelievers are working towards?
Jonathan Cope
2022-11-24 22:41:41 +0000 UTCWould you guys ever do an episode about Tom Clancy and what he did to the collective retired/middle aged dad psyche during the cold war and beyond?
R.J Pennypacker
2022-11-24 18:07:39 +0000 UTCAre you going to do any more Christian movies? I enjoyed those. Might I suggest the 1971 "classic" Christian exploitation movie "If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_Footmen_Tire_You,_What_Will_Horses_Do%3F). It's available on YouTube. Also, I would be interested in an episode more broadly on the history of the divergence of evangelical, conservative pop culture from mainstream pop culture. That might not be one subject, as it seems like maybe movies, for example, were pretty secular from the get go, but modern popular music emerged from more explicitly religious genres and performers.
Ben
2022-11-24 17:37:06 +0000 UTCLoved your discussion of Saul Bellow. There was a drive by on John Updike when you talked Christopher Lasch. Would make me happy to hear you chat about your favourite writers and works of fiction.
John Nicholson
2022-11-24 16:32:07 +0000 UTCWhen are you going to do an episode on Russell Kirk's fiction? The world needs to know about Manfred Arcane!
Noah Black
2022-11-24 16:00:09 +0000 UTCWhat was the state of American conservative journalism before National Review? I’m aware of Human Events, but were there other magazines that also were associated with the right before 1955?
Richard Wattenbarger
2022-11-24 13:32:05 +0000 UTCWow! This brings back memories of George Gilder’s _Men and Marriage_ from the mid-1980s, which laid out the position it sounds like Reeves is addressing. For that matter, a show devoted to Gilder himself could be fascinating.
Richard Wattenbarger
2022-11-24 13:24:06 +0000 UTCTo piggyback off this, do you think the digging their heels in in the wake of recent events will further normalize violence against us
Mae Berens
2022-11-24 02:49:47 +0000 UTCDo any of these Matt Walsh/Shapiro/Crowder types ever discuss their desired end state regarding the trans community? Why should anyone think they want something besides their eventual erasure from society?
Daniel
2022-11-24 01:43:16 +0000 UTCA classic more-of-a-comment-than-a-question: you've spoken a couple of times about doing a Nixon episode, and if you do, I hope you'll consider asking the playwright Justin Sherin (mastermind of Twitter's Nixon tribute/parody account) as guest/interlocutee. Thanks for a great podcast!
Bill Sallak
2022-11-23 22:13:46 +0000 UTCWhat do you read as part of your daily/weekly readng? With seemingly endless options, I struggle to develop a good routine between papers/websites/magazines/books/etc, though I picked up Nixon Agonistes and am loving it.
Quinn Brunk
2022-11-23 20:46:27 +0000 UTCWho are some authors (literary or political) that you haven’t talked about yet that you really would like to get to?
Thomas Bedenbaugh
2022-11-23 19:57:07 +0000 UTCDo you have any interest in doing a Mormon conservatism episode? From “never trump” Romney to “based” mike lee, from the John Birch society to Glenn Beck, I think we’ve influenced the right as they’ve influenced us. Our involvement in Prop 8 alone was and is insane. I already have a perfect episode thumbnail suggestion: just google “Barry Goldwater at the Mormon tabernacle”. It’s a very spooky photo.
Derek Hart
2022-11-23 19:18:00 +0000 UTCWhen are you going to review the Kevin Sorbo classic God's not dead?
Bob
2022-11-23 17:51:17 +0000 UTCWhy does it seem like there's a noticeable, yet non-hostile, Catholic/Evangelical divide on the right? It seems like the conservative intellectual movement has had a strong Catholic leaning; possibly starting with the National Review and continuing until now to the Federalist Society and the justices they crammed into the SCOTUS. However, the base of American conservatism has always been much more evangelical protestant. Even though there were strong anti-Catholic sentiments on the reactionary right all the way up until the JFK presidency, it seems like there's now an alliance between the two groups, even though they seem to still keep separate.
JohnMichael Bell
2022-11-23 17:45:59 +0000 UTCI often think back to your “Gunpower” episode which is unfortunately perpetually relevant in this country. The further we go down this seemingly endless slog of crisis in America, the less satisfied I am with “gun control” as a solution to mass murder. Could you speak to your thoughts on this, I.e. structural or material conditions feeding the cycle of mass shootings from majority young white men? I know that we can also point towards identity/cultural issues (white supremacy, homophobia) which I certainly don’t want to downplay, but I don’t know. It feels like something unraveling in the collective fabric of this population and I honestly am at more of a loss than ever at how to combat it. Thanks for everything, truly love the show and look forward to it weekly.
WER
2022-11-23 17:41:01 +0000 UTCI've been reading about the three matriarchs of Libertarianism, Ayn Rand, Isabel Paterson and Rose Wilder Lane. All railed against government, charity and philanthropy but they all had questionable backgrounds and scholarship. Why are/were they taken seriously?
Liz Gibbons
2022-11-23 17:32:04 +0000 UTCOne thing I love about your show is its exploration of the intersection between faith and politics on the right that isn't reflexively hostile toward religion. I was raised in a secular household, which left me with a persistent curiosity about religion. What advice would you give to a leftist, like me, who is interested in religion but doesn't know many other leftists who express religious faith? And what potential, if any, do you see in religion as a source of inspiration for and platform for building social movements in the US right now?
Colin Gillis
2022-11-23 17:24:40 +0000 UTCI'd like to hear you folks do a show on the Manhattan Declaration and its context,
Lee Cokorinos
2022-11-23 16:49:37 +0000 UTCI'd love to hear your thoughts or an interview about specific states or regions that have experienced a structural/permanent red tide, or a loss of left movements. Wisconsin from Scott Walker to 2022 springs to mind, but so does the death of genuine working and agricultural class populism in Kansas and other places.
SPS
2022-11-23 16:38:15 +0000 UTCHave you guys seen/read anything about Richard Reeves' new book Of Boys and Men? His book has been getting a big hearing in conservative intellectual circles, which I find fascinating, because he is pretty direct in saying their fixation on marriage is a dead end non-answer to the problems men (very crudely generalized) face today in relationships and fatherhood. It prompted a lot of thoughts for me about what role the ideal of marriage plays in the social conservative psyche, how they often elide between weak and strong definitions of marriage when it suits them, etc. If you guys read it or picked up on any of the discussion in conservative circles, it would be very interesting to hear your thoughts.
Hannah
2022-11-23 15:42:20 +0000 UTCAlso, if anyone has been reading his columns in Foreign Affairs recently, Francis Fukuyama's latest campaign to advocate for a liberal nationalism. Feels very 1780s civic republican virtue to me, but interested in the Know Your Enemy take on that argument.
John Ford
2022-11-23 14:56:51 +0000 UTCI'd like to hear your thoughts on Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man then and now. Most people forget about the Last Man part. Or Fukuyama in general. Thanks!
David Schaap
2022-11-23 14:52:57 +0000 UTC
