Tolkien Against the Grain
The Lord of the Rings is a book obsessed with ruins, bloodlines, and the divine right of aristocrats. Why are so many on the left able to love it?
Winter 2025
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Know Your Enemy: Trump the Dove? Or Trump the Neocon?
Matt and Sam are joined by Curt Mills of the American Conservative to assess Trump’s national security team.
Know Your Enemy: Trump’s Triumph
Matt and Sam talk to reporter Ian Ward about Trump’s victory and the fight for influence in his second term.
Know Your Enemy: What’s Wrong With J.D. Vance?
Matt and Sam revisit J.D. Vance’s 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy to try to understand the Republican vice-presidential nominee.
Inconsistent Populists: Sohrab Ahmari and the Anti-Neoliberal Right
Tyranny, Inc. aims to build a working-class coalition between the left and right. But Ahmari cannot get around the GOP populists’ dismal record on labor.
The Rise of the Elite Anti-Intellectual
For decades, “common sense” has been a convenient framing for conservative ideas. The label hides a more complicated picture.
It Takes a Lot of Money to Look This Cheap
From Dolly Parton to J.D. Vance, rags-to-riches stories obscure as much as they inspire, reinforcing the notion that poverty can be solved by dreams and gumption.
