Episode Details

Jake is a journalist and a dear old friend, starting in our early days as interns together at TNR. He’s the former longtime editor of Slate and the co-founder of the podcast company Pushkin Industries. He’s also the chairman of The Committee to Protect Journalists and a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books. His new book is called Profiles in Cowardice: A Study of Collaboration in the Trump Era.

A polished transcript is here, including money quotes. Below are timestamps for the main sections of the pod:

* 04:09: Jake’s background that made him especially attuned to corruption and totalitarianism

* 18:45: Contrasting the craven Lindsey Graham with the principled Liz Cheney

* 25:45: How Megyn Kelly — and others demonized by the left — came to support Trump

* 35:15: Liberal lawyers like Brad Karp who needlessly bent the knee

* 45:52: Debating the culpability of colleges targeted by Trump

* 53:36: Jeff Bezos’ 180 and his lifelong obsession with space travel

* 58:43: The abomination of January 6th and McConnell caving over the impeachment

* 102:28: Debating the culpability of John Roberts for Trump’s success

* 117:26: Reminiscing on our early days at TNR and the genius of Mike Kinsley

For two clips of the episode — on why McConnell balked at banning Trump, and how Megyn Kelly became a bully — head to our YouTube page.

Other topics: growing up in Chicago with public servants for parents; his dad taking on the Daley machine; Jake’s talent for takedowns back at TNR; South Park mocking Trump; Stop the Steal and Jan 6; Biden’s clusterfuck campaign; the Cheneys backing Harris; Trump’s retribution; the weakness of Schumer; McCain’s nonconformity; Massie’s cojones; the university deals with Trump; his talent as a bully; higher ed’s dearth of viewpoint diversity; anti-semitism in the Ivy League; Musk and the big subsidies for SpaceX; decimating USAID and PEPFAR; Bezos funding the Melania doc; SCOTUS checking tariffs; the presidential immunity ruling; the post-presidencies of Bush and Obama; and the one magazine piece I would never write.

Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Emily Eakin on the French postmodernists, Sean Illing on the relevance of Camus and Nietzsche, Michael Lewis on the bureaucrats who fought back against Trump, and Evan Barker on how the Democratic Party got hijacked by elite activists. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.