Know Your Enemy

Matthew Sitman

A leftist's guide to the conservative movement, one podcast episode at a time, with co-hosts Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell.

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278 episodes
Updated Monday
Explicit

Episodes278

Newest first

Feb 26, 2024 · 1 hr 39 min
René Girard and the Right (w/ John Ganz)
Matt and Sam welcome back John Ganz to discuss René Girard, the Stanford polymath whose theory of "mimetic desire," violence, and the meaning of secular modernity has inspired a devoted following—including Peter Thiel, Girard's former student.
Feb 11, 2024 · 4 min
Thinking the "Far Right" [Teaser]
What is the relationship between the "right" and the "far right?" Matt and Sam return to questions of historiography. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest.
Jan 30, 2024 · 1 hr 26 min
Project 2025: Building a "Better" Trump Administration
Matt and Sam explore how movement conservatives — and their think tanks — are preparing for a second Trump administration.
Jan 26, 2024 · 4 min
[TEASER] The Politics of Seinfeld (w/ Gabe Winant and Jesse Brenneman)
Matt is joined by historian Gabe Winant and Know Your Enemy producer Jesse Brenneman to discuss the politics of Seinfeld.
Jan 17, 2024 · 1 hr 6 min
The History of the History of the Right (w/ Kim Phillips-Fein)
Matt and Sam are joined by historian Kim Phillips-Fein to discuss the "state of the field" of historical studies of American conservatism. How has the study of the right changed since 2016? And how should it orient itself to 2024?
Jan 1, 2024 · 3 min
Tom Wolfe (w/ Osita Nwanevu) [TEASER]
Writer Osita Nwanevu joins to discuss the life and work of novelist and "new journalist" Tom Wolfe.
Dec 19, 2023 · 1 hr 28 min
Bomb Power (w/ Erik Baker)
Matt and Sam welcome historian Erik Baker onto the podcast to discuss Garry Wills's blistering critique of the national security state and unaccountable presidential power in his 2010 book, Bomb Power.
Dec 3, 2023 · 1 hr 37 min
Milton Friedman and the Making of Our Times (w/ Jennifer Burns)
Matt and Sam interview historian Jennifer Burns about her new biography of Nobel Prize-winning economist and libertarian intellectual Milton Friedman.
Nov 22, 2023 · 3 min
Anarcho-Capitalism in Argentina? (w/ David Adler) [TEASER]
KYE Latin America correspondent David Adler returns to breakdown the (terrible) election results from Argentina.
Nov 17, 2023 · 1 hr 41 min
The Kennedy Imprisonment (w/ Jeet Heer)
Matt and Sam discuss Garry Wills's 1982 book, The Kennedy Imprisonment, with the Nation's Jeet Heer.
Nov 4, 2023 · 2 min
More Questions, More Answers [Teaser]
Some more answers to listener mail! Subscribe on Patreon.com/knowyourenemy to hear the rest.
Oct 28, 2023 · 1 hr 35 min
Your Questions, Answered
Matt and Sam answer listener questions—about topics ranging from the influence of post-liberal intellectuals on the right to their favorite Willie Nelson albums—in the podcast's annual mailbag episode.
Oct 13, 2023 · 1 hr 12 min
In Search of Anti-Semitism (w/ John Ganz)
John Ganz returns to discuss William F. Buckley's 1992 book "In Search of Anti-Semitism."
Oct 7, 2023 · 2 min
House of Pain (w/ Eric Levitz) [Teaser]
Eric Levitz of New York Magazine joins to discuss the fate of Kevin McCarthy and the GOP meltdown in Congress. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest.
Sep 30, 2023 · 2 min
The Debate, the Donald, and the Strike [Teaser]
Matt and Sam suffer through the second GOP debate — and Trump's deceptive counter-programing. Sign up on Patreon to hear the rest!
Sep 26, 2023 · 1 hr 5 min
Elon Musk, the Jews, and the ADL (w/ Mari Cohen, Alex Kane, & Peter Beinart)
We discuss the contradictory history of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) — and how to make sense of its recent showdown with Elon Musk — with Mari Cohen, Alex Kane, and Peter Beinart of Jewish Currents.
Sep 19, 2023 · 2 min
Reading the Trump Indictments [Teaser]
Matt and Sam read the Trump indictments and weigh the risks and rewards of criminally charging a former president. (Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest!)
Sep 5, 2023 · 1 hr 11 min
What the Cold War Did to Liberalism (w/ Samuel Moyn)
Matt and Sam welcome Yale professor Samuel Moyn back to the podcast to discuss his new book, Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times.
Aug 24, 2023 · 2 min
The First 2024 GOP Presidential Debate [TEASER]
Matt and Sam breakdown the first GOP presidential debate of 2024. Subscribe on Patreon to hear the rest of this episode!
Aug 21, 2023 · 1 hr 18 min
The Hochman Affair
Matt and Sam discuss former KYE guest and disgraced DeSantis speechwriter Nate Hochman — fired for sharing a neo-nazi meme. What is going on with young conservatives?