Know Your Enemy

Matt and Sam talk about MAGA's surprising embrace of animal rights with Astra Taylor and Aaron Regunberg.

Matt and Sam talk to historian Kim Phillips-Fein about her new book, Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight against Equality in America.

Matt and Sam check in with some of their favorite enemies. Why are they so mad at each other?

Matt and Sam talk to Jasper Nathaniel about the role archaeology plays both in Israel's nationalist mythology and in their annexation of Palestinian territory.

We're unpaywalling our excellent conversation with Peter Beinart about Tucker Carlson's newfound anti-Israel politics.

KYE favorite Dorothy Fortenberry joins Matt and Sam to sort through Graham Platner's rise and fall.

Matt and Sam talk to Sam Moyn about his new book, Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About It.

Matt and Sam talk more Lincoln and equality, and then: should the left be patriotic?

Matt and Sam discuss Garry Wills's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America.

Matt and Sam break down the results from last week's Democratic primaries in NYC.

Matt and Sam are joined by Jack Hanson to discuss Pope Leo's first encyclical on human dignity in the time of artificial intelligence.

Peter Beinart joins to discuss Tucker Carlson's newfound anti-Israel politics.

Matt and Sam talk to Matt Dinan about Leo Strauss's 1953 book, Natural Right & History.

For KYE's first ever live show, Matt and Sam were joined by Mike Duncan, host of the Revolutions and History of Rome podcasts, to discuss how the right (and left) talk about American decline.

Matt and Sam talk to Jasper Craven about his new book, God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood.

Matt and Sam answer even more listener questions about Straussianism, esoteric writing, prose style, Steely Dan, and more.

Matt and Sam answer listener questions about post-Trump politics, the meaning of Zohran, the fate of liberalism, and more.

Matt and Sam have a personal, wide-ranging conversation about religious faith in our troubled times.

Matt and Sam discuss Peter Thiel's lectures on the Antichrist and what they reveal about both his politics and this political moment.

Matt and Sam discuss Leo XIV approach to the papacy, President Trump's attacks on the first American pope, just war theory, and more.

Molly Crabapple joins to discuss her new book, "Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund."

Matt interviews Sam about his recent New York magazine article, "The Women Leaving the New Right," and MAGA-style misogyny.

Matt and Sam talk to Bill Kristol about his journey from neoconservative thought leader to anti-Trump "liberal."

Matt and Sam discuss the Christian populism of James Talarico, Presbyterian seminarian and winner of the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Texas.

Matt and Sam talk to Matt Duss, a leading foreign policy expert on the left, about the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.

Matt and Sam talk to John Ganz about rightwing intellectuals yet again being surprised the leopard is eating their face.

Matt and Sam talk to writer Pedro Gonzalez about his break with MAGA and the New Right.

Matt and Sam discuss the 2003 film, Shattered Glass, about disgraced New Republic writer and fabulist Stephen Glass.

Matt and Sam talk to Jason Zengerle about his new book, Hated By All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind.

Matt and Sam talk to Lydia Polgreen about her reporting from Minneapolis.

Matt and Sam discuss Venezuela, Greenland, and the "Donroe Doctrine" with the Progressive International's David Adler and Matt Kirkegaard.

Matt and Sam discuss the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, and the perilous times it exemplifies.

Matt and Sam talk to Robert Draper about his reporting from the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and how the Republican Party "lost its mind" in the months that followed.

Matt and Sam talk to Matt Dinan about teaching, the AI apocalypse, and the state of our souls.

We're unpaywalling our excellent conversation with Kate Wagner (of McMansion Hell) about Trump's White House ballroom project and the politics of architecture.

Matt and Sam look back at the American right in 2025—and offer predictions about the year ahead.

Matt and Sam are joined by KYE's intrepid producer, Jesse Brenneman, to discuss the recent film, One Battle After Another.

Andrew Elrick interviews Matt and Sam about friendship and politics, conservative views of friendship, and how friendship shapes their podcast.

Matt and Sam talk to Laura Field about her new book, Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right.

Matt and Sam talk to McMansion Hell's Kate Wagner about Trump's White House ballroom.

Matt and Sam talk to Peter Beinart about Zohran and Islamophobia, Jews and anti-semitism, the genocide in Gaza, and more.

Matt and Sam are very worried.

Matt and Sam discuss the Young Republican Hitler group chat, Graham Platner, the No Kings rallies, and more.

Matt and Sam read Charles Murray's 2012 book, "Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010."

Matt and Sam indulge in some rank punditry: on Zohran's campaign, Hegseth's pathetic speech to the generals, and ICE authoritarianism on the march.

Matt and Sam discuss the Charlie Kirk memorial service/MAGA rally with Pat Blanchfield.

Matt and Sam discuss the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and where they think we're heading in its wake.

Matt and Sam talk to Osita Nwanevu about his new book, The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding.

Matt and Sam discuss Roman Polanski's 2019 film about the Dreyfus affair, An Officer and a Spy, with John Ganz.

Matt and Sam interview Dan Flynn about his extraordinary new biography of Communist-turned-National Review-editor Frank Meyer.

In light of James Dobson's death this week, we've unlocked Matt's conversation with Talia Lavin about her book, Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America.

Matt and Sam talk with Daniel HoSang about the gains the GOP and Trump are making with racial minorities.

Matt and Sam answer listener questions about Christian Zionism, Roy Cohn, and more.

Matt and Sam answer listener questions about Trump 2.0, Judaism and Catholicism, bourbon, literature, and more.

A number of listeners wanted the KYE take on the Jeffrey Epstein story — here it is.

Mike Duncan (host of the "Revolutions" podcast) joins to discuss the conservative obsession with the fall of Rome — and the real lessons of Roman history.

It's Zohran time! Matt and Sam talk to campaign strategist Waleed Shahid about Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani's decisive victory in NYC's Democratic mayoral primary.

Matt and Sam talk to Sam Tanenhaus about his long-awaited biography of William F. Buckley, Jr.

Matt and Sam are joined by Curt Mills of The American Conservative to discuss the intra-MAGA conflict over Israel's war in Iran.

Journalist Tammy Kim joins the pod to talk about the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles — and the raids that precipitated them.

Matt, Sam, and Jesse watch "Reagan" (2024) — a terrible movie about a(-nother) senile president.

Matt and Sam discuss Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.

Matt and Sam discuss Christopher Caldwell's "The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties," a broadside against the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Sam is joined by anthropologist Manvir Singh to (respectfully) discuss how Trumpism manifests the features of a messianic cult.

Matt and Sam talk to Andrew Marantz about "bro" podcasts and their role in Trump's election victory.

Matt and Sam talk to novelist Brandon Taylor about the 2024 film "Conclave" — and about the real-life papal conclave taking place in Rome.

Matt joins the In Bed with the In Bed with the Right podcast to explore the villainous life of Roy Cohn.

Matt and Sam discuss the passing of Pope Francis and what his papacy meant (to us and to the world), why he scandalized the Catholic right, and why his message feels so necessary and so far away.

Matt and Sam talk to John Ganz about the real reasons behind Trump's trade war.

We're unlocking our conversation about how COVID changed America (five years later) with David Wallace-Wells of the New York Times.

Matt and Sam discuss how the pandemic changed the United States, five years after it began, with David Wallace-Wells.

In the second of two episodes on Elon Musk, Matt and Sam examine key moments in the billionaire's political derangement, purchase of Twitter, and role in Trump's second term.

In the first of two episodes on Elon Musk, Matt and Sam explore the billionaire's fraught adolescence and first years in Silicon Valley.

A listener discovered that we predicted DOGE and the tech right's takeover of the federal government in a bonus episode from August 2022. Cool! Depressing!

Matt and Sam have a depressing conversation about how Trump's second term is going.

Matt and Sam are joined by MSNBC's Chris Hayes to discuss his new book "The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource."

Matt and Sam talk to John Ganz about the first weeks of Trump administration.

Matt and Sam talk to historian Jennifer Burns about the fascinating life, and brutal philosophy, of Ayn Rand.

Matt talks to history podcaster Mike Duncan about the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic—and what it might teach us about American decline.

Matt and Sam talk to historian Erik Baker about his new book, "Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America."

Our latest bonus episode — on resisting backlash politics and responding to "disorder" in Los Angeles w/ Hayes Davenport — is unlocked for the masses.

Conservatives blame progressives for crime and disorder in big cities — generating electoral backlash. In this episode, organizer and writer Hayes Davenport joins to discuss his experience resisting this dynamic in Los Angeles.

Matt and Sam welcome back Dorothy Fortenberry to discuss gender, the 2024 election, and whether or not women can run "against The System."

Matt and Sam talk to the hosts of the 5-4 podcast about how Trump can remake the federal judiciary—and perhaps the broader justice system—during his second term.

Matt and Sam discuss the (awful) 2024 biopic "Reagan" with our intrepid producer Jesse Brenneman.

Matt and Sam talk to Luke Mayville of Reclaim Idaho about progressive organizing in rural and red America.

Matt and Sam are joined by Curt Mills, of The American Conservative, to assess Trump's national security team.

Matt and Sam provide an election post-mortem, and ponder the state of our souls.

Matt and Sam talk to reporter Ian Ward about Trump's victory and the fight for influence in his second term.

Sam is joined by Astra Taylor, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, & Malcolm Harris to discuss the moral and strategic meaning — for the left — of voting in the 2024 election.

Sam is joined by Astra Taylor, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, & Malcolm Harris to discuss the moral and strategic meaning — for the left — of voting in the 2024 election.

Historian and journalist Rick Perlstein joins to explain what Democrats and the media are (still) getting wrong about the threat from Trump and the far right.

Matt talks to journalist Talia Lavin about her new book, Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America.

Matt and Sam talk to historian Timothy Shenk about his new book, Left Adrift: What Happened to Liberal Politics.

Matt and Sam talk to screenwriter Dorothy Fortenberry about families, gender, and the 2024 election.

Matt and Sam answer more listener questions, and hear from more friends, to continue celebrating the show's 100th episode.

Matt and Sam answer listener questions for their 100th episode—and hear from friends of the podcast, new and old.

Matt and Sam break down the first, and possibly only, presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Matt and Sam interview Waleed Shahid and Abbas Alawieh, two organizers of the Uncommitted Movement.