Know Your Enemy

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In this episode we talk to our friend John Ganz about the nature and function of conservative intellectuals—or "intellectuals," whichever you prefer—past and present. In particular, the Trump era has been a kind of real-time experiment in seeing how rightwing writers and second-hand dealers in ideas degrade, contort, and reinvent themselves. From there we consider what intellectuals, right and left, actually do and what influence, if any, they (we?) have, and how that's changed from the halcyon days of midcentury generalists to our fragmented and mind-numbing "media landscape" today. It'll be a fun one, for some of you!
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Sources:
John Ganz, Unpopular Front:
— "America is Mine, and it Owes Me a Living," Oct 5, 2026
— "From Shitpost to Bullshit: The Function of Conservative Intellectuals," Sept 30, 2026
— "Better Late Than Never? The Right Wakes Up to Fascism...Kinda," Sept 22, 2026
A.J.A. Woods, The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy: Why the Right Blames the Frankfurt School for the Decline of the West (2026)
Stephen Skowronek, The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton (1993)
— Presidential Leadership in Political Time: Reprise and Reappraisal (2020)
George Scialabba, What Are Intellectuals Good For? (2009)

Dave Weigel is a longtime favorite political reporter of ours—someone we've both read for years, and find unusually unblinkered by partisan loyalties—so we couldn't think of a better guide to the 2026 midterms elections than him. What everyone knows is that, right now, polls show a possible Democratic wave in the offing; we try to understand why, and the ways both parties are responding to a genuinely new phenomenon of the Trump Era: the economy struggling, and voters blaming Trump directly. We discuss the flop of a GOP convention in Texas; how Republicans seem to be re-running outdated campaigns—in part because they've already achieved so many of their policy goals on "hot-button cultural issues"; the Democratic strategy of conceding on such cultural issues to seem "normal" and focus on the economy; and more.
Register to see Matt and Sam live and in person at Jewish Currents Live on Sunday Oct 11 here.
Sources:
Read all of Dave's reporting and columns at Semafor here.
David Weigel, "Researchers Probe How Democrats Could Win Working-Class Voters," Semafor, Sept 14, 2026
— "Candidates Contend with the Rise of 'Resurfaced' Old Clips," Semafor, Sept 9, 2026
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Listen to the rest of this premium episode by subscribing at patreon.com/knowyourenemy.
A sundowning, octogenarian president radically out of step with the country's mood, surrounded by Yes Men (and Women), cowards, and idiots, whose administration and party are plunging in popularity as war rages on: it's deja vu all over again, this time expressed through the pathological personage that is Donald Trump. As his second term fails and his attacks on the very foundations of effective government becoming ever-more apparent, the morbid symptoms are piling up—Trump's fantastical retreat into building projects, his posting through the A.I. revolution, ongoing obsession with JFK and the Kennedys, and more—we take stock and discuss the perils of this moment, as people who believe in nothing surround a president who knows nothing, and the situation gets desperate.
Listen again: "The Kennedy Imprisonment" (w/ Jeet Heer), Nov 17, 2023
Sources:
"Trump Renames A.I. and Threatens to 'Annihilate' Iran in U.N. Speech," ABC News, Sept 22, 2026
Ryan J. Foley, "AP Exclusive: ICE Hides Locations of Thousands of Detainees with Final Removal Orders," Associated Press, Sept 21, 2026
Greg Jaffe, Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper, & Adam Entous, "Hegseth’s Purge of Top Generals Leaves the Army Rudderless," New York Times, Aug 25, 2026
Christine Hauser, "U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Sailor Says Father Was Arrested by Border Patrol," New York Times, Aug 24, 2026
Gina Ragusa, "Trump's White House Event Fails as Audio Cuts Out During Helipad Unveiling," Yahoo News, Sept 21, 2026
Miranda Jeyaretnam, "DOGE Initiative Resulted in Federal Employees Getting Paid Billions to Not Work, New Government Report Finds," Sept 15, 2026
John Ismay, Helene Cooper, & Eric Schmitt, "Concerns Grow Over Conditions on Navy Carrier," New York Times, Aug 13, 2026
Michael S. Rosenwald, "David George Gordon, Apostle for Bugs on the Dinner Plate, Dies at 76," New York Times, Sept 21, 2026
Leo Strauss, Thoughts on Machiavelli (1958)

This episode is a free-wheeling conversation with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor about their superb (and superbly written) new book, End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World. Both terms in its title—"end times" and "fascism"—are ones we've discussed at length in previous episodes, but what insights are gained from exploring their dynamic relationship, now? What is new about this combination? How does it help explain the rightwing coalition—religious fanatics, tech billionaires, and ethno-nationalists—now in power in the United States, and not only here? And what can we do to fight back and fight for the living world? We take up all these questions and more.
Listen again: "The Prayers and Prophecies of Pat Robertson," June 17, 2023
Sam's Brooklyn Book Fest Event
Sources:
Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor, End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World (2026)
Marilynne Robinson, Gilead (2004)
...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!

Listen to the rest of this premium episode by subscribing at patreon.com/knowyourenemy.
In this conversation, Matt and Sam range widely, beginning with Sam's recent NYT review of a book explaining how Hitler "dismantled a democracy in 53 days" then discussing the late, great conservative historian John Lukacs's Hitler of History, a survey of the many biographies written of the Nazi dictator. What makes for a useful historical analogy, especially in our age of the "fascism debate"? What about the past can we truly understand? And what should induce us to humility? From there, your co-hosts press on to more contemporary matters: Charlie Kirk's assassination, one year later, and how its consequences seem so different now than in the days after his death; how to know what truly matters now, to say nothing of hindsight; the slopification and inundation of our political consciences; and more!
Sources:
Sam Adler-Bell, "What the Third Reich Can Teach Us About America Today," New York Times, Sept 1, 2026
Timothy W. Ryback, 53 Days: How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy (2026)
— "How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days," The Atlantic, Jan 8, 2025
John Lukacs, The Hitler of History (1997)
— The Last European War: September 1939–December 1941 (1976)
— Historical Consciousness: The Remembered Past (1968)
Adam Tooze, The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy (2006)