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Christopher Caldwell's Case Against Civil Rights
Attentive listeners will notice that this episode is about a book but isn't an author interview. That's because it's the first in a new occasional series of episodes that will be dedicated to books by conservative writers that we think are important — whether because a book articulates the right's approach to an issue or problem in an especially revealing way, influenced or galvanized the conservative movement when it was published, or, with the benefit of hindsight, has proven to be prescient about where the right, and perhaps the country, were heading. Many of these books will be from decades past, but our first selection is more recent: Christopher Caldwell's 2020 broadside against the 1964 Civil Rights Act and what it wrought, The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties. Caldwell argues that the apparatus created by civil rights legislation and the federal courts in the 1960s amounted to a new, second constitution that displaced the one Americans had lived under since the founding, one that jettisoned traditional liberties like freedom of association and replaced democratic self-government with rule by bureaucrats, lawyers, and judges. Who has access to these new levers of power? Not the working class whites who are neither a favored racial or ethnic minority — a person of color — nor a member of the progressive elites who preside over the new regime. Much of The Age of Entitlement is dedicated to tracing the effects of civil rights legislation when it comes to the causes that arose in its wake: feminism, immigrant rights, gay marriage, and more. But the book is equally a brutal examination of the legacy of the Baby Boom generation (and, by extension, Ronald Reagan, whose presidency they powered), that most "entitled" of generations, whom Caldwell deplores for wanting to have their cake and eat it, too. Boomers, in Caldwell's telling, refused to straightforwardly reject the second constitution and its distributional demands, while also insisting petulantly, again and again, on having their taxes cut. We explore these topics and more, and end with a discussion of where Caldwell leaves the reader — and where we're at now, in light of the challenge he poses to both conservatives and the left.Sources:Christopher Caldwell, The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties (2020)— Reflections on the Revolution In Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West (2009)Helen Andrews, "The Law That Ate the Constitution," Claremont Review of Books, Winter 2020Timothy Crimmins, "America Since the Sixties: A History without Heroes," American Affairs, Summer 2020Perry Anderson, "Portents of Eurabia," The National, Aug 27, 2009. ...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!
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1:28:24
Trump as Messianic Prophet (w/ Manvir Singh) [TEASER]
Listen to the rest of this premium episode by subscribing at patreon.com/knowyourenemy.In a recent New Yorker essay, our guest, UC Davis anthropologist Manvir Singh, argues, "The Trumpian mystique echoes a dynamic that has occurred for centuries and across cultures. Its core ingredients—an alleged league of pedophiles, a godlike miracle worker, promises of an Edenic restoration—resemble archetypes that have long occupied humanity’s imagination. Trump’s followers may communicate through memes and message boards, but their faith belongs to a much older mythology: the eternal face-off between shaman and witch, prophet and cabal."In this conversation, Manvir, the author of a new book on "Shamanism," compellingly demonstrates how the MAGA movement — especially in its QAnon-inflected guises — manifests archetypal features of the messianic cult, analogues for which can be found across cultures and historical epochs. On KYE, we haven't often indulged in this sort of critique, for (justifiable) fear of eliding the very specific political conditions that gave rise to Trumpism, but for today: we're going for it! And Manvir was an ideal (and suitably careful) guide to this methodology and way of thinking about our political conjecture.Further Reading:Manvir Singh, "The President Who Became a Prophet," The New Yorker, May 17, 2025.— "How Much Does Our Language Shape Our Thinking?" The New Yorker, Dec 23, 2025.— "Don’t Believe What They’re Telling You About Misinformation," The New Yorker, April 15, 2024.— Shamanism: The Timeless Religion, (May 2025)
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2:10
Did Podcasters Make Trump President? (w/ Andrew Marantz)
Among the many factors credited for Donald Trump's victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race was one that, naturally, the hosts of Know Your Enemy took an interest in: podcasts. More specifically, "bro" podcasts—think Joe Rogan or Theo Von—seemed to be one reason why Trump continued, as he did in 2016 and 2020, to perform so well with male voters, especially gaining ground with younger, Black, and Latino men. An episode of one of these podcasts might stretch to three hours long or more, and typically features meandering, casual conversations that put a premium on apparent authenticity, as well as a knack for hanging with the boys. Trump and other Republican candidates and figures on the right (such as Elon Musk, a regular on Rogan's show) made appearing on these podcasts part of their campaign strategy, which allowed them to reach men who tend not to "follow politics" or even vote in every election. To try to understand what's happening with bros, podcasts, Trump, and beyond, there was no better guest than New Yorker staff writer Andrew Marantz, author of an early—and quite perceptive—piece on KYE and, more importantly for this conversation, a recent investigation into the world of bro podcasts and streamers, and what they might mean for both the left and the right at the start of Trump's second term.Sources:Andrew Marantz, "The Battle for the Bros," The New Yorker, Mar 17, 2025— "Is the U.S. Becoming and Autocracy," The New Yorker, April 28, 2025-- "Why We Can’t Stop Arguing About Whether Trump Is a Fascist," The New Yorker, March 27, 2024— "The Post-Dirtbag Left," The New Yorker, July 26, 2021 Jonathan Allen & Amie Parnes, "The inside story of Harris' lost gamble on Joe Rogan, Beyoncé and a late Texas rally," NBC News, Jan 29, 2025Jack Crosbie, "Hasan Piker: A Progressive Mind in a MAGA Body," New York Times, April 27, 2025...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!
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1:22:19
Conclave (2024) (w/ Brandon Taylor) [TEASER]
Listen to the rest of this premium episode by subscribing at patreon.com/knowyourenemy.With the papal conclave convening in Rome to pick Pope Francis's successor, Matt and Sam are joined by novelist Brandon Taylor to discuss the 2024 film Conclave, directed by Edward Berger and starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini. The film, as you might guess, depicts the shabby and conspiratorial inner-workings of a (fictional) College of Cardinals as they go about picking a new pope. Fun movie! Great chat!Furthering Reading:Brandon Taylor, Real Life, (2020)— Filthy Animals, (2021)— The Late Americans, (2023)— "Is it even good? Two Years with Zola," LRB, April 4, 2024.Ben Munster, "Cardinals are watching ‘Conclave’ the movie for guidance on the actual conclave," Politico, May 6, 2025.Dan Walden, "Gender, Sex, and other Nonsense," Commonweal, March 1, 2021.
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3:10
The Life & Crimes of Roy Cohn (w/ In Bed with the Right)
Recently Matt joined Moira Donegan and Adrian Daub of the excellent In Bed with the Right podcast to record what turned out to be two episodes about Roy Cohn—the "lawyer, closet case and ratfucker extraordinaire," as they describe him. These days Cohn is perhaps most infamous for being Donald Trump's lawyer and mentor, but this first episode focuses on Cohn's childhood and family life, his decisive role in the Rosenberg trial (especially their execution), and his time working with Sen. Joe McCarthy at the height of the Red Scare. After you listen, please head over to In Bed with the Right to check out the second episode on Cohn and hear the rest of his story.Sources:Nicholas von Hoffman, Citizen Cohn: The Life and Times of Roy Cohn (1988)Christopher M. Elias, Gossip Men: J. Edgar Hoover, Joe McCarthy, Roy Cohn, and the Politics of Insinuation (2021)Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Epistemology of the Closet (1990)Ivy Meeropol (dir.), Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn (2019)Matt Tyrnauer (dir.), Where's My Roy Cohn? (2019)...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!
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