The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">andrewsullivan.substack.com</a><br/><br/><p>Jonah is a journalist, author, and podcaster. He spent two decades at National Review before joining The Dispatch, where he writes the G-File and hosts the Remnant podcast. He’s also a columnist for the LA Times, a commentator for CNN, and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He’s the author of <em>Liberal Fascism</em>, <em>The Tyranny of Clichés</em>, and <em>Suicide of the West</em>.</p><p>For two clips of our convo — on how Oakeshott is needed more than ever, and how dogs make us more human — head to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DailyDishHosting/videos">our YouTube page</a>.</p><p>Other topics: growing up on the UWS; his legendary mom and her role in the Lewinsky saga; his dad who discovered <em>Dilbert</em>; joining the first co-ed class at Goucher; Clinton’s poor character; the Drudge Report; the Starr report; Mike Kinsley starting Slate; launching the G-File as one of the first blogs; the heterogeneity of The Corner; Mickey Kaus; Breitbart; the power of the hyperlink; Twitter killing the blogosphere; why democratizing the parties was a big mistake; the Iraq War; <em>Liberal Fascism</em> and the administrative state; FDR; Vought and DOGE and performative vandalism; the Biden and Boris betrayals on immigration; oikophobia; the Israel lobby and the gay lobby; Netanyahu’s f**k-yous to Obama; the war for oil in Venezuela; Hegseth’s “no quarter”; Trump’s response to Mueller’s death; weaponizing the DOJ; how the Trump and Obama cults differed; Saul Alinsky; David French and free speech; the debt crisis; the religious right; Bill Bennett’s hypocrisy; and how Trump talks about dogs.</p><p>Browse the <a target="_blank" href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/dishcast-archive-70-episodes">Dishcast archive</a> for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Jeffrey Toobin on the pardon power, Derek Thompson on abundance, Tom Holland on the Christian roots of liberalism, Tiffany Jenkins on privacy in a liberal democracy, Adrian Wooldridge on “the lost genius of liberalism,” Greg Lukianoff on free speech, and Tom Junod on his memoir and masculinity. As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to <strong>[email protected]</strong>.</p>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">andrewsullivan.substack.com</a><br/><br/><p>Matt is an author, pollster, campaigner, and policy advisor. He recently ran for Parliament as a Reform candidate and came in second. He’s also a presenter at GB News and a writer on Substack. He’s the author of many books, including <em>National Populism</em> and <em>Values, Voice and Virtue,</em> and his new book is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Nation-Immigration-Islam-Identity/dp/1919401407"><em>Suicide of a Nation</em></a><em>: Immigration, Islam, Identity</em>.</p><p>For two clips of our convo — on the flood of non-white migrants to the UK, and how accusations of racism shape the migration debate — head to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DailyDishHosting/videos">our YouTube page</a>.</p><p>Other topics: born in Hertfordshire to working-class parents who divorced young and worked for the NHS; addiction in the family; his terrible time at an all-boys school; the first in his family to go to college; Burke and Oakeshott; a semester abroad in downtown Detroit; the losers of globalization; being a conservative in academia; thehounding of Kathleen Stock; Douglas Murray; Charles Murray; the falling popularity of liberal democracy; David Cameron; the migration crisis; Brexit; the Red Wall swinging to the right; Nigel Farage and Euroskepticism; plunging fertility rates; Roger Scruton; Lasch and Burnham; the betrayal of Boris on migration; the rapid influx of Muslims to the UK; assimilation in the US; the disappearance of a shared national memory; the illiberalism of Islamic Brits; same-sex marriage; wokeness; anti-speech laws in the UK; the Iraq War; and the new war in Iran.</p><p>Browse the <a target="_blank" href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/dishcast-archive-70-episodes">Dishcast archive</a> for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Jonah Goldberg on the state of conservatism, Jeffrey Toobin on the pardon power, Derek Thompson on abundance, Tom Holland on the Christian roots of liberalism, Tiffany Jenkins on privacy in a liberal democracy, Adrian Wooldridge on “the lost genius of liberalism,” and Tom Junod on his memoir and masculinity. As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to <strong>[email protected]</strong>.</p>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">andrewsullivan.substack.com</a><br/><br/><p>Eli is a journalist and an old friend. He’s a former senior national security correspondent for The Daily Beast and Newsweek, and a former columnist for the Bloomberg View. He’s now a reporter for The Free Press, a contributing editor at Commentary Magazine, and the host of his own podcast, Breaking History. He’s one of the most dogged defenders of Israel in America. Who better to slug it out with?</p><p>For two clips of our convo — on the double standard of US aid to Israel and NATO, and escalation of settlements in the West Bank — head to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DailyDishHosting/videos">our YouTube page</a>.</p><p>Other topics: Eli’s speech at his bar mitzvah on Jewish views of nuclear proliferation; his Zionist sleepaway camp; the Iran-Contra affair; the Oslo Accords; the Second Intifada; Saddam and WMDs; mugged by the reality of the Iraq War; the rise of Hamas in Gaza; the Obama-Netanyahu feud; the Iran nuclear deal; Schumer’s commitment to Israel; the Golden Dome; Israel’s contributions to the US; the horrors of October 7; the Judeo-fascists in Bibi’s cabinet; US bombs sent to the IDF for Gaza; the 12-Day War that “obliterated” Iran’s nuke facilities; the mass slaughter of protesters in Iran; the shifting reasons for the current war; the lack of any public debate or Congressional approval; the farce of Hegseth; Witkoff and Kushner’s “negotiations” with Iran; international law; assassinating the leadership in Iran; Lindsey Graham’s fanaticism; Tucker Carlson; the dead schoolgirls; oil prices; and evangelical support for Israel.</p><p>Browse the <a target="_blank" href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/dishcast-archive-70-episodes">Dishcast archive</a> for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Matt Goodwin on the political earthquake in the UK, Jeffrey Toobin on the pardon power, Derek Thompson on abundance, Jonah Goldberg on the state of conservatism, Tom Holland on the Christian roots of liberalism, Tiffany Jenkins on privacy in a liberal democracy, and Adrian Wooldridge on “the lost genius of liberalism.” As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to <strong>[email protected]</strong>.</p>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">andrewsullivan.substack.com</a><br/><br/><p>Paige is a scientist and writer. She’s a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she directs the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab and serves as Director of Clinical Training. She’s the author of <em>The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality</em>, and her new book is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Original-Sin-Genetics-Problem-Forgiveness/dp/059344762X"><em>Original Sin</em></a><em>: On the Genetics of Vice, The Problem of Blame, and The Future of Forgiveness</em>. It’s about the eternal question of what sin is; and where it comes from; and whether our guilt is justified. We had a great chat.</p><p>For two clips of our convo — on the proclivity for violence in our genes, and even religion! — head to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DailyDishHosting/videos">our YouTube page</a>.</p><p>Other topics: growing up in a conservative religious household outside Memphis; not knowing any non-evangelicals until college; original sin and Augustine; Aquinas; Calvinism; genetics as predestination; how humans evolved to be more cooperative and non-violent than apes; the genes of violent criminals; the overwhelming disparity of men versus women in prison; accountability vs punishment; free will; God in the gaps; the genetic predisposition for faith; Tourette’s at BAFTA; addiction; how drugs change your brain; AA as Christianity with the theology removed; mental illness; my bipolar and borderline mother; Pascal; philosopher Hanna Pickard; poet Carl Phillips; how genes affect horniness; testosterone and sex; the documentary <em>Seven Up</em>; how identical twins become more similar in middle age; and my initial reactions to the war in Iran.</p><p>Browse the <a target="_blank" href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/dishcast-archive-70-episodes">Dishcast archive</a> for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Matt Goodwin on the political earthquake in the UK, Jeffrey Toobin on the pardon power, Derek Thompson on abundance, Jonah Goldberg on the state of conservatism, Tom Holland on the Christian roots of liberalism, Tiffany Jenkins on privacy in a liberal democracy, and Adrian Wooldridge on “the lost genius of liberalism.” As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to <strong>[email protected]</strong>.</p>

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_7">andrewsullivan.substack.com</a><br/><br/><p>Michael is quite simply one of the best nonfiction writers out the planet: a real role model. He’s been a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine since 1987, and he’s the bestselling author of many books, including <em>How to Change Your Mind</em> — which I <a target="_blank" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/05/andrew-sullivan-why-we-should-say-yes-to-drugs.html">reviewed</a> in 2018 — and its sequel, <em>This Is Your Mind on Plants</em>, which we <a target="_blank" href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/michael-pollan-on-caffeine-opium">discussed</a> on the Dishcast in 2021. This week we covered his new book, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/World-Appears-Journey-into-Consciousness/dp/198488199X"><em>A World Appears</em></a><em>: A Journey Into Consciousness</em>.</p><p>For two clips of our convo — on the magic of spontaneous thoughts, and the consciousness of kids — head to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DailyDishHosting/videos">our YouTube page</a>.</p><p>Other topics: toasters and other things that don’t have consciousness; Thomas Nagel’s bat; panpsychism; Francis Crick trying to solve consciousness; the global neuronal workspace theory; how brains are not like computers; AI and consciousness; Proust; James Joyce; Wordsworth and the Romantics; William James and stream of consciousness; Lucy Ellmann’s <em>Ducks, Newburyport</em>; words on the tip of your tongue; phenomenology; letting your mind wander; Addison’s Walk at Oxford; how smartphones distract from thinking; Trump taking up our headspace; Oakeshott and “the deadliness of doing”; AI and UBI; Allison Gopnik’s lantern vs spotlight consciousness; how a child’s brain resembles an adult’s on psychedelics; ego death; the default mode network; meditation; the flow state of deep reading; the benefits of boredom; habit and ritual; my 10-day silent meditation retreat; the sentience of plants; Buddhism and Matthieu Ricard; the soul; the film <em>Into Great Silence; </em>and the disenchantment of the Enlightenment.</p><p>Browse the <a target="_blank" href="https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/dishcast-archive-70-episodes">Dishcast archive</a> for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Jeffrey Toobin on the pardon power, Derek Thompson on abundance, Matt Goodwin on the earthquake in UK politics, Jonah Goldberg on the state of conservatism, Tom Holland on the Christian roots of liberalism, Tiffany Jenkins on privacy, Adrian Wooldridge on “the lost genius of liberalism,” Tom Junod on his memoir and masculinity, and Kathryn Paige Harden on the genetics of vice and virtue. As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to <strong>[email protected]</strong>.</p>