Best William F Buckley Podcasts (2024)

1
Scrutinizing Donald Trump’s first criminal trial with Melissa Murray 54:23

1h ago54:23

54:23

As Donald Trump’s first criminal trial begins, Margaret Hoover sits down with NYU law professor Melissa Murray to discuss the historic proceedings and what prosecuting a former president means for America. Murray, co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, breaks down the charges filed by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, addresses the challenges of selecting…

1
"Write Like a Man" (w/ Ronnie Grinberg) 1:16:40

2d ago1:16:40

1:16:40

Historian Ronnie Grinberg's new book Write Like a Man: Jewish Masculinity and the New York Intellectuals couldn't be better "Know Your Enemy" fodder. (Main characters include: Midge Decter and Norman Podhoretz, Diana and Lionel Trilling, Irving Howe, Alfred Kazin, and Mary McCarthy!) These writers, Grinberg shows, built and sustained a novel, secul…

1
The case for a colorblind America with Coleman Hughes 56:45

6d ago56:45

56:45

Coleman Hughes, author of “The End of Race Politics,” joins Margaret Hoover to lay out his argument against race-based policies and in favor of a colorblind approach. Hughes, host of the Conversations with Coleman podcast, traces the roots of his colorblind philosophy from the Civil War through the civil rights era, making the case that leaders lik…

1
Arguing the World: Howe, Kristol, Glazer, and Bell [Teaser] 3:41

9d ago3:41

3:41

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this premium episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy It was inevitable that Know Your Enemy would eventually discuss Arguing the World, the 1998 documentary about four Jewish intellectuals who emerged from the alcoves and arguments of City College in the 1930s…

1
Futurist Ari Wallach on building a better tomorrow 34:07

13d ago34:07

34:07

Futurist Ari Wallach joins Margaret Hoover to discuss “A Brief History of the Future,” his new PBS series exploring the ideas and technologies that could help humanity build better tomorrows. Wallach reflects on the “intertidal” moment society currently faces and explains why he believes decisions made in the years ahead will have ramifications for…

1
Saving Gen Z from smartphones and social media with Jonathan Haidt 59:35

20d ago59:35

59:35

Margaret Hoover sits down with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt to discuss how social media and smartphones have rewired childhood and put the mental health of a generation of kids at risk. Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation,” argues a surge in anxiety and depression among Gen Z is a consequence of constant smartphone use that has crowded o…

1
Taylor Swift Derangement Syndrome (w/ B.D. McClay) 1:18:42

23d ago1:18:42

1:18:42

Why are Republicans and the right losing their minds over Taylor Swift, the gifted songwriter and globe-bestriding pop star? Why do they think her NFL-playing, Super Bowl-winning boyfriend is secretly gay—precisely because he's dating Taylor Swift? Why is this slice of Americana being portrayed as a deep-state op meant to hand the 2024 election to …

1
Time to abolish the Electoral College? A Firing Line forum 46:15

27d ago46:15

46:15

Margaret Hoover hosts a forum at Hofstra University on whether America should abolish the Electoral College with writers Jesse Wegman and Trent England. Wegman, author of “Let the People Pick the President” and a member of The New York Times editorial board, makes the case that the current system is unfair and undemocratic, empowering a handful of …

1
UNLOCKED: Keeping Up with the Bozells 1:34:15

1M ago1:34:15

1:34:15

What can four generations of men named "L. Brent Bozell" tell us about the trajectory of modern American conservatism? Well, quite a lot. In this classic KYE bonus episode from February 2021, newly unlocked for these last weeks of Lent, Matt and Sam discuss one of the first families of the postwar right, which ends up being a story about faith, fan…

1
Two conservatives debate the impact of Trump 2.0 57:25

1M ago57:25

57:25

In a special Firing Line forum recorded before a student audience at Hofstra University, Margaret Hoover talks to conservatives Amanda Carpenter and Mike Gonzalez about the potential ramifications of another Donald Trump presidency. Carpenter, a writer and editor for Protect Democracy, believes a second Trump term would be far more damaging than th…

1
Why the Right Loves Foreign Dictators (w/ Jacob Heilbrunn) 1:26:21

1M ago1:26:21

1:26:21

The right's romance with odious foreign dictators didn't start with Putin or Viktor Orbán, and their profound contempt for democracy long predates January 6. In his new book, America Last: The Right's Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators, Jacob Heilbrunn traces this tradition on the right—in many ways their most deeply rooted and enduring tr…

1
A Remedy for Envy? René Girard Redux [TEASER] 2:59

2M ago2:59

2:59

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this premium episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy Matt and Sam return to René Girard via Pope Francis—whom Matt personally met at a recent general audience at the Vatican, and whose homily at that audience addressed the problem of envy, and what Christianit…

1
René Girard and the Right (w/ John Ganz) 1:39:44

2M ago1:39:44

1:39:44

The late René Girard, former Stanford professor of literature and mentor to Peter Thiel, is having something of a moment on the right these days—as Sam Kriss recently put it in a Harper's essay, Girard's name is being "dropped on podcasts and shoved into reading lists," and "Girardianism has become a secret doctrine of a strange new frontier in rea…

1
‘Life After Power’ author Jared Cohen on why the post-presidency matters 51:44

2M ago51:44

51:44

Margaret Hoover sits down with Jared Cohen, author of “Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House,” to discuss the unique role of the post-presidency in American democracy. Cohen’s book explores how different ex-presidents have handled being out of power from Thomas Jefferson to George W. Bush. He explain…

1
Thinking the "Far Right" [Teaser] 4:01

2M ago4:01

4:01

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this premium episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy Matt and Sam return to some historiographic questions from our episode with Kim Phillips-Fein — especially how to think the relationship between "right" and "far right" — and then discuss the troubling retur…

1
BET co-founder Sheila Johnson on ‘Walking through Fire’ and the secrets to her success 43:07

2M ago43:07

43:07

Entrepreneur Sheila Johnson–who co-founded BET and went on to become America’s first Black female billionaire–sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss her memoir and the personal and professional obstacles she has overcome to achieve success. Johnson, who recently released “Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph,” reflects on her c…

1
Gen. David Petraeus on deadly drone attack: ‘They can not get away with this’ 36:10

3M ago36:10

36:10

Retired Gen. David Petraeus sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss retaliation for a fatal drone attack on U.S. troops in Jordan, as well as the latest developments in the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Petraeus, co-author of Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine, offers insight into the Biden administration’s deliberations on a res…

1
Project 2025: Building a "Better" Trump Administration 1:26:37

3M ago1:26:37

1:26:37

As listeners might have noticed, 2024 is a presidential election year, and already the prospect of Donald Trump returning to power is looming over the campaign and the media's coverage of it. In a second term, Trump has promised to weaponize the Justice Department to punish his enemies, deconstruct major portions of the administrative state, and mo…

1
U.S. antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt: This is a ‘defining moment’ for western democracies 46:29

3M ago46:29

46:29

Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, joins Margaret Hoover to talk about the surge of hatred against Jews worldwide since October 7th and why she considers it a threat to democracy. Lipstadt, who has studied antisemitism and Holocaust denialism for decades, details the double standard she sees i…

1
[TEASER] The Politics of Seinfeld (w/ Gabe Winant and Jesse Brenneman) 4:12

3M ago4:12

4:12

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this premium episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy Journeyman actor Peter Crombie, who appeared in films such as Seven, Born on the Fourth of July, and Natural Born Killers, died earlier this month, on January 10, 2024, at the age of 71. But his most famous,…

1
NH Gov. Chris Sununu wants Haley over Trump: ‘I’m so tired of losing with this guy’ 51:44

3M ago51:44

51:44

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu sits down with Margaret Hoover in Concord to make his case for Nikki Haley ahead of next week’s pivotal Republican presidential primary. Sununu explains why he believes the former South Carolina governor is well-positioned to take on Donald Trump despite Trump’s decisive victory in Iowa and how his state’s indepe…

1
The History of the History of the Right (w/ Kim Phillips-Fein) 1:06:54

3M ago1:06:54

1:06:54

When did the American conservative movement begin? Who were its chief protagonists? What were their main motivations? Is the conservative movement a social movement, like any other, or is it something different? Should scholars have "sympathy" for their conservative subjects in order to study them? And are there important distinctions to be drawn b…

1
‘There is no end in sight,’ GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales says of the border crisis 52:17

3M ago52:17

52:17

Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales sits down with Margaret Hoover to talk about the record influx of migrants at the southern border and what it will take for Washington to confront the crisis. Gonzales, whose district includes nearly half the U.S.-Mexico border, explains why the surge of migration is happening now, how it is different from previo…

1
Tim Alberta explains Trump’s ‘chokehold’ on the evangelical vote 1:02:56

4M ago1:02:56

1:02:56

Journalist Tim Alberta joins Margaret Hoover to discuss his reporting on the corruption of the evangelical movement by partisan politics and the role of the church in the ascendance of Donald Trump. Alberta, the son of an evangelical preacher and author of “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory,” explains why the church has aligned behind Trump, pr…

1
Tom Wolfe (w/ Osita Nwanevu) [TEASER] 3:06

4M ago3:06

3:06

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this premium episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy Writer Osita Nwanevu joins for a rip-roaring conversation about legendary prose stylist, "new journalist," and novelist Tom Wolfe. Reviewing a new documentary about Wolfe ("Radical Wolfe" on Netflix), Osita …

1
Bomb Power (w/ Erik Baker) 1:28:19

4M ago1:28:19

1:28:19

For our final main episode of 2023, we're dipping back into the Wills well to discuss Garry's under-appreciated 2010 book, Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State. Joining us is our great friend Erik Baker, lecturer in the History of Science Department at Harvard University and an editor at The Drift magazine. In Bomb Powe…

1
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt on progressive antisemitism and college campus hypocrisy 1:01:43

4M ago1:01:43

1:01:43

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss the explosion of antisemitism around the world and on college campuses since the October 7th Hamas attack. Greenblatt responds to recent testimony by college presidents on Capitol Hill, accusing schools of hypocrisy in their handl…

1
Exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez says democracy is ‘very fragile’ 55:00

4M ago55:00

55:00

Margaret Hoover sits down with exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez to discuss his efforts to advance democracy in his home country and around the world. Lopez, who spent nearly four years in solitary confinement under Nicolas Maduro’s regime before fleeing the country in 2020, reflects on how life has changed in Venezuela under a rep…

1
Milton Friedman and the Making of Our Times (w/ Jennifer Burns) 1:37:30

5M ago1:37:30

1:37:30

In this episode, Matt and Sam are joined by Stanford historian Jennifer Burns to discuss her new biography of Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist whose influence would reach far beyond the academy when, during his last decades, he became one of the most effective popularizers of libertarian ideas—in books, columns, and even a ten-par…

1
Anarcho-Capitalism in Argentina? (w/ David Adler) [TEASER] 3:01

5M ago3:01

3:01

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this premium episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy Know Your Enemy Latin America correspondent David Adler returns to breakdown the (terrible) election results from Argentina, where Javier Milei, a deranged disciple of Murray Rothbard, Milton Friedman, and A…

1
GA Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger on defying Trump in 2020 and preparing for 2024 58:04

5M ago58:04

58:04

Margaret Hoover sits down with Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, in Atlanta to talk about his defense of the state’s 2020 election and preparations for 2024. Raffensperger, who Donald Trump asked to “find” enough votes to overturn the election, discusses the Republican Party’s embrace of voter fraud conspiracy theories, a…

1
The Kennedy Imprisonment (w/ Jeet Heer) 1:41:30

5M ago1:41:30

1:41:30

In this episode, Matt and Sam welcome the Nation's Jeet Heer to the podcast to continue their journey into the work of Garry Wills—in particular, Wills's under-appreciated 1982 masterpiece, The Kennedy Imprisonment: A Meditation on Power. The book might be thought of as a sequel to his earlier Nixon Agonistes (1970). As Wills puts it in his introdu…

1
Fmr. Amb. to Israel Tom Nides on Israel’s race against the clock 52:55

5M ago52:55

52:55

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides joins Margaret Hoover to discuss Israel’s response to the October 7th Hamas attack and why he believes the next 30 days may be the most important in the country’s history. As Israel draws international scrutiny for its tactics, Nides addresses the challenges Israel faces in Gaza as it attempts to limit …

1
More Questions, More Answers [Teaser] 2:33

6M ago2:33

2:33

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this premium episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy In which we answer more of your excellent questions, including: the right-wing panic over children; how to leave grad school; Tillich, Niebuhr, and Dorothy Day; why 21st century Bob Dylan is the best Bob Dyl…

1
Kimberly Kagan on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza–and Iran’s role in both 55:57

6M ago55:57

55:57

Kimberly Kagan, founder and president of the Institute for the Study of War, talks to Margaret Hoover about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, why they matter, and how they are connected. The military historian who advised U.S. commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan assesses Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza and the potential challenges of waging …

1
Your Questions, Answered 1:35:35

6M ago1:35:35

1:35:35

Once a year Matt and Sam take questions from listeners—and they always prove to be incredibly smart and interesting. This time around was no different, with questions that include such topics as: the crisis in Israel and Palestine, the influence of postliberal thinkers on the right, polarization and our political future, the state of the GOP, Willi…

1
Mitch Daniels warns soaring federal debt will lead to ‘enormous social betrayal’ 1:11:15

6M ago1:11:15

1:11:15

Republican Mitch Daniels, the former governor of Indiana and president of Purdue University, sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss the dangers of rising federal debt, education reform, and fixing America’s broken politics. Daniels, who worked for Ronald Reagan and served as director of President George W. Bush’s Office of Management and Budget,…

1
Terrorism expert Jonathan Schanzer on Israel, Iran, and averting a ‘nightmare scenario’ 1:08:19

6M ago1:08:19

1:08:19

Terrorism expert Jonathan Schanzer joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the latest developments in Gaza and the next phase of Israel’s war against Hamas. Schanzer, a senior vice president at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explains why Israel has delayed its expected ground invasion of Gaza, how the more than 200 hostages held by Hamas compl…

1
Bret Stephens on Israel’s heartbreak and rage after the Hamas attack 48:58

6M ago48:58

48:58

New York Times columnist Bret Stephens joins Margaret Hoover to talk about the recent Hamas attack in Israel, the global response, and what it means for the future of the region. Stephens, a former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, discusses how Israelis are processing the horror and why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be held account…

1
In Search of Anti-Semitism (w/ John Ganz) 1:12:44

6M ago1:12:44

1:12:44

In a 1991, William F. Buckley, Jr. dedicated almost an entire issue of National Review to an essay entitled "In Search of Anti-Semitism." In its pages, Buckley attempted to adjudicate a conflict that was then roiling America's right wing intelligentsia — over whether two of its leading lights, Pat Buchanan and Joseph Sobran, were guilty of antisemi…

1
House of Pain (w/ Eric Levitz) [Teaser] 2:54

7M ago2:54

2:54

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this premium episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy Republican congressman Kevin McCarthy always wanted to make history—and he did when, earlier this week, he became the first Speaker of the House to be ousted from the job after eight Republicans joined Democ…

1
Escaping ‘The Identity Trap’ with political scientist Yascha Mounk 55:46

7M ago55:46

55:46

Political scientist Yascha Mounk joins Margaret Hoover to discuss his latest book, “The Identity Trap,” and rising threats to democracy on the right and left. Mounk–a professor at Johns Hopkins University and contributing writer for The Atlantic–explains how the identity-focused politics of the left have become a “trap” that he fears is likely to p…

1
The Debate, the Donald, and the Strike [Teaser] 2:58

7M ago2:58

2:58

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this premium episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy Matt and Sam suffer through the second GOP debate—a pathetic display from a gaggle of generally uninteresting reactionaries with no chance of defeating Trump in the primary—and then turn to an extended conve…

1
Inside Elon Musk’s universe: Biographer Walter Isaacson on what drives and haunts him 54:25

7M ago54:25

54:25

Biographer Walter Isaacson joins Margaret Hoover to discuss his new bestselling biography of Elon Musk and what he learned from two years of observing the world’s richest man. Isaacson explains how Musk’s turbulent childhood in South Africa left him with a love of science fiction and adventure that drives his innovations and aspirations, as well as…

1
Elon Musk, the Jews, and the ADL (w/ Mari Cohen, Alex Kane, & Peter Beinart) 1:05:40

7M ago1:05:40

1:05:40

A few weeks ago, the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, eagerly joined in a campaign, originating on the far right, to demonize the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a century-old Jewish civil rights organization whose leaders have criticized Musk for allowing anti-semitic and white supremacist hate speech to proliferate on Twitter/X. To many progres…

1
Actor Liev Schreiber on why helping Ukraine matters and why Russia will lose 39:51

7M ago39:51

39:51

Actor Liev Schreiber joins Margaret Hoover to talk about the war in Ukraine and his efforts to provide humanitarian aid through the organization he co-founded, BlueCheck Ukraine. Schreiber discusses his Ukrainian roots and why he was inspired to help Ukraine after Russia’s invasion began. He explains how BlueCheck identifies and vets frontline reli…

1
Reading the Trump Indictments [Teaser] 2:37

7M ago2:37

2:37

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this premium episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy Former president Donald Trump is currently facing 91 criminal charges in four different jurisdictions — Georgia, Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia. Two of these indictments — Special Prosecutor…

1
‘America Outdoors’ host Baratunde Thurston’s ‘better story of us’ 51:26

7M ago51:26

51:26

Writer, activist and comedian Baratunde Thurston sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss the second season of “America Outdoors” on PBS and how the show attempts to “tell a better story of us” through nature. Thurston reflects on moments in the new season that confront America’s history of racial violence, differing attitudes toward guns, and the…

1
Gov. Doug Burgum’s GOP presidential pitch to the ‘exhausted majority’ 49:34

8M ago49:34

49:34

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum joins Margaret Hoover from Iowa, where he is campaigning for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, to discuss his strategy and his agenda. Burgum, a successful CEO who entered politics in 2016, explains why he is now running for president and why he thinks he can win despite frontrunner Donald Trump’s massiv…

1
What the Cold War Did to Liberalism (w/ Samuel Moyn) 1:11:00

8M ago1:11:00

1:11:00

In his provocative new book, Liberalism Against Itself, historian Samuel Moyn revisits the work of five key Cold War thinkers—Judith Shklar, Isaiah Berlin, Karl Popper, Gertrude Himmelfarb, and Lionel Trilling—to explain the deformation of liberalism in the middle of the twentieth century, a time when, in his telling, liberals abandoned their commi…

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William F Buckley Podcasts

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