Know Your Enemy

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.

Matt and Sam talk to Abbas Alawieh and Waleed Shahid about their efforts to shift the Democratic Party's incoherent & immoral position on the war in Gaza.

Matt and Sam talk to Vinson Cunningham about his debut novel, "Great Expectations," political theater, and Barack Obama.

Matt and Sam give their impressions of the DNC and the Harris-Walz ticket.

Matt and Sam interview Daniel Schlozman and Sam Rosenfeld about their new book, "The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics."

Matt and Sam revisit Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance's 2016 memoir, to try to understand the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee.

Sam joins Slate's Mary Harris to discuss the rise and fall of the Heritage Foundation's Trump transition initiative — Project 2025.

Trump got shot, Vance got the spotlight, and Biden dropped out. We are unburdened by what has been. We are living in the context. It's coconut time.

Matt and Sam are joined by historian Suzanne Schneider to discuss how Israeli illiberalism is inspiring the global right.

Josh “Ettingermentum” Cohen joins Matt and Sam as they try to solve a problem like Joe Biden.

Writer Osita Nwanevu joins to discuss the life and work of novelist and "new journalist" Tom Wolfe.

Matt and Sam watch and respond to the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign.

David Broder and David Adler joined to explain the European parliament elections — is the far right taking over?

Matt and Sam interview John Ganz about his new book, "When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s."

Matt and Sam are joined by Neil J. Young to discuss his new book, "Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right."

Trump is a convicted felon. The right is losing its mind. What now? Matt and Sam break it down.

Tim Barker and Ben Mabie join to tell the story of American labor militancy in the 1930s — and how the right responded.

Matt and Sam talk to historian David Austin Walsh about his new book, "Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right."

Matt and Sam discuss the new PBS documentary about William F. Buckley, Jr., "The Incomparable Mr. Buckley."

Matt and Sam talk to the poet Christian Wiman about his recent book, Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair.

Matt and Sam are joined by historian Ronnie Grinberg to discuss her book "Write Like a Man: Jewish Masculinity and the New York Intellectuals."

Matt and Sam watch the wonderful 1998 documentary "Arguing the World" — and go deep on Irving Howe, Irving Kristol, Daniel Bell, and Nathan Glazer.

Matt and Sam talk to B.D. McClay about the right's deranged freakout over Taylor Swift — and what she can tell us about American fame, fortune, and fear.

Matt and Sam discuss a conservative family saga for the ages — the Bozells — in a classic KYE episode unlocked from the Patreon.

Matt and Sam talk to Jacob Heilbrunn about his new book, America Last: The Right's Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators.

Matt and Sam return to René Girard via Pope Francis—whom Matt personally met at a recent general audience at the Vatican! Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam welcome back John Ganz to discuss René Girard, the Stanford polymath whose theory of "mimetic desire," violence, and the meaning of secular modernity has inspired a devoted following—including Peter Thiel, Girard's former student.

What is the relationship between the "right" and the "far right?" Matt and Sam return to questions of historiography. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam explore how movement conservatives — and their think tanks — are preparing for a second Trump administration.

Matt is joined by historian Gabe Winant and Know Your Enemy producer Jesse Brenneman to discuss the politics of Seinfeld.

Matt and Sam are joined by historian Kim Phillips-Fein to discuss the "state of the field" of historical studies of American conservatism. How has the study of the right changed since 2016? And how should it orient itself to 2024?

Writer Osita Nwanevu joins to discuss the life and work of novelist and "new journalist" Tom Wolfe.

Matt and Sam welcome historian Erik Baker onto the podcast to discuss Garry Wills's blistering critique of the national security state and unaccountable presidential power in his 2010 book, Bomb Power.

Matt and Sam interview historian Jennifer Burns about her new biography of Nobel Prize-winning economist and libertarian intellectual Milton Friedman.

KYE Latin America correspondent David Adler returns to breakdown the (terrible) election results from Argentina.

Matt and Sam discuss Garry Wills's 1982 book, The Kennedy Imprisonment, with the Nation's Jeet Heer.

Some more answers to listener mail! Subscribe on Patreon.com/knowyourenemy to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam answer listener questions—about topics ranging from the influence of post-liberal intellectuals on the right to their favorite Willie Nelson albums—in the podcast's annual mailbag episode.

John Ganz returns to discuss William F. Buckley's 1992 book "In Search of Anti-Semitism."

Eric Levitz of New York Magazine joins to discuss the fate of Kevin McCarthy and the GOP meltdown in Congress. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam suffer through the second GOP debate — and Trump's deceptive counter-programing. Sign up on Patreon to hear the rest!

We discuss the contradictory history of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) — and how to make sense of its recent showdown with Elon Musk — with Mari Cohen, Alex Kane, and Peter Beinart of Jewish Currents.

Matt and Sam read the Trump indictments and weigh the risks and rewards of criminally charging a former president. (Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest!)

Matt and Sam welcome Yale professor Samuel Moyn back to the podcast to discuss his new book, Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times.

Matt and Sam breakdown the first GOP presidential debate of 2024. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest of this episode!

Matt and Sam discuss former KYE guest and disgraced DeSantis speechwriter Nate Hochman — fired for sharing a neo-nazi meme. What is going on with young conservatives?

Matt and Sam are joined by writer/editor Sophie Haigney to discuss why (some) conservatives love the Grateful Dead — and why we do too. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest!

Matt and Sam join Moira Donegan and Adrian Daub to discuss the life and work of the late Midge Decter, a neoconservative icon and anti-feminist.

Matt and Sam discuss HBO's The Righteous Gemstones with Know Your Enemy producer Jesse Brenneman. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest!

Matt and Sam finally get to talk about the lawsuit that's been hanging over the podcast; then we turn to analyze three devastating SCOTUS rulings from last month.

Sam joins Patrick Blanchfield and Abby Kluchin for a lengthy discussion of psychoanalysis, conservative minds, and Janet Malcolm — on their excellent new podcast, "Ordinary Unhappiness."

Matt and Sam are joined by writer Phil Christman to discuss the limits of "manhood" as a lens for thinking about how to be a good person. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest!

Matt and Sam talk Pat Robertson (RIP), James G. Watt (RIP), and how they shaped the Christian right. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam explore the "crisis of masculinity" in America — reading books on the subject by Senator Josh Hawley and Harvard political theorist Harvey Mansfield.

Matt and Sam sit down for some rank punditry about the state of the 2024 presidential race. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam talk to two television writers, Will Arbery of "Succession" and Dorothy Fortenberry of "Extrapolations," about how they approach political topics and themes on their shows, and close out the conversation with a discussion of the WGA strike.

Matt and Sam discuss Matt's recent Dissent essay on the January 6th Committee report. Sign up on Patreon.com/knowyourenemy to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam are joined by the ACLU's Gillian Branstetter to discuss the ignominious career of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The great Sam Tanenhaus, biographer of Whittaker Chambers and William F. Buckley Jr., returns to the podcast. Sign up on Patreon.com/knowyourenemy to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam are joined by songwriter and composer Will Epstein to talk about Bob Dylan's recent book, "The Philosophy of Modern Song."

Matt talks to University of Virginia theologian Dr. Nichole M. Flores about her book, The Aesthetics of Solidarity: Our Lady of Guadalupe and American Democracy.

Matt talks to Catholic theologian and Emory University professor Dr. Susan Bigelow Reynolds about her new book, People Get Ready: Ritual, Solidarity, and Lived Ecclesiology in Catholic Roxbury.

Matt and Sam discuss the life and times of Whittaker Chambers, the Communist spy who became a conservative hero.

Tim Shenk joins to discuss his book "Realigners: Partisan Hacks, Political Visionaries, and the Struggle to Rule American Democracy."

Sam is joined by Jamelle Bouie and John Ganz to discuss the Cold War espionage thrillers of John le Carre and the 1984 film "The Little Drummer Girl." Sign up on Patreon to hear the rest.

Hannah Zeavin and Alex Colston join to discuss Philip Rieff, his book "The Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith After Freud," and the conservative side of psychoanalysis.

In this bonus episode, Timothy Shenk joins Matt and Sam to discuss his book on American political "realignments" and the men and women who made them.

Matt and Sam are joined by KYE producer Jesse Brenneman to discuss “Walker, Texas Ranger,” Chuck Norris's hit CBS crime/action show — treating it as an ur-text of 1990s Americana & conservative values.

Matt is joined by America Magazine's national correspondent, Michael O'Loughlin, for a conversation about the late Pope Benedict XVI. Listen to the entire conversation by subscribing to Know Your Enemy on Patreon!

Matt and Sam talk Bob Dylan, the late 1970s, and Christianity with Ian and Evan of the Jokermen podcast.

Matt and Sam talk to historian Beverly Gage about her new biography of J. Edgar Hoover.

Some more from the mailbag!!!

Matt and Sam answer listener questions about religion and the left, literature, white Christian nationalism, conspiracy theories, and more.

Matt and Sam talk with Joe Calvello, Director of Communications for John Fetterman's victorious Senate campaign in Pennsylvania.

Matt and Sam analyze the 2022 midterms. What the hell just happened?

Matt and Sam discuss Garry Wills's 1970 masterpiece of political reporting and analysis, "Nixon Agonistes."

Sam talked to Aaron Kleinman of The States Project about the battle to defend American democracy at the state level. Subscribe on patreon.com/knowyourenemy to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam talk to David Roth about baseball, why conservatives love it, and why we do too.

Sam is joined by David Broder to discuss the recent victory of neo-fascist Giorgia Meloni in Italian general elections. Subscribe on patreon.com/knowyourenemy to hear the rest.

John Ganz joins Matt and Sam for a characteristically spirited discussion of The Claremont Institute's fellowship for county sheriffs. Subscribe on patreon.com/knowyourenemy to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam talk to Damon Linker about the George W. Bush administration and the conservative religious publication First Things, his own Straussian-tinged skeptical politics, and how today's Right became so deranged.

Matt and Sam are joined by writer Alex Press and historian Gabe Winant to discuss the life and legacy of socialist feminist icon Barbara Ehrenreich.

Matt and Sam talk to Nicole Hemmer about her new book, Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s.

Matt and Sam bring you the latest from the “caesarist” wing of the conservative movement: including a new piece on the Claremont Institute and Sam's profile of Blake Masters. Subscribe on patreon.com/knowyourenemy to hear the rest.

Matt and Sam are joined by writer and editor Chris Lehmann to discuss the life and work of Christopher Lasch.

Matt is joined by John Huntington, author of "Far-Right Vanguard: The Radical Roots of Modern Conservatism." Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest!

Matt answers questions about his intellectual, political, and spiritual journey on the Plastic Pills podcast.

Matt and Sam conclude their in-depth exploration of the overturning Roe v. Wade, this time focusing on the way conservative intellectuals helped bridge the gap between the religious right and the institutional GOP.

Matt and Sam are interviewed by Daniel Denvir of The Dig — a Jacobin magazine podcast — about the state of the American Right.

Matt and Sam dig into the origins of the Christian right, their eventual embrace of anti-abortion politics, and how they joined forces with the GOP.