There aren’t many podcasts where each episode says something insightful about US history and politics, and this podcast is a joy to think with and to argue with. Few podcast hosts take the time to do as much research and craft such thoughtful questions for their guests, and even fewer podcasts have such an intrepid producer. The last thing I’ll say is that even though I know this is a podcast on conservatism, I’d love to see y’all interview Robin Marie Averbeck to discuss Liberalism Is Not Enough. Thanks for the great podcast!

Compelling, substantive, humane. Grounded in history. I love spending time with Matt and Sam.

This is my only essential listening show. I skip episodes in other shows, not this one. I recommend it to all my homies.

Appreciate how Matt and Sam offer a measured left perspective and also have the historical knowledge to show how much of the current right is derived from the past.

Ok so I’ve listened to Chris Hayes on multiple different podcasts about his new book about the attention economy and this is why I love these guys. So much more deeply stimulating and still wraps around to politics in an amazing way. Kudos

I have listened to Know Your Enemy since its first episode. The podcast is thoughtful, measured, insightful, and informative like few others. The hosts make the show, but their ability to grapple with history and get the best from their guests is second to none. For anyone interested in the history of conservatism, American political history, and contemporary American politics, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

They spend so much time preparing for each episode. So well researched. I haven’t missed an episode.

Insightful and funny — great way to stay informed and curious

In an era of chaos and despair, Know Your Enemy creates understanding, a pathway for staying present, and reasons to hope. Guests and hosts alike are intelligent and kind. Truly, there is nothing more inspiring than that! Everyone is human. All of us are here. It will take discernment, action, and an open heart to release us from this mess. Know Your Enemy helps us think through and feel it all!

Initially interesting but then the became part of the self hating left, eager to attack those leftists not as pure rather than conservatives. Now that Trump is elected why listen to these irrelevant boobs point fingers at others when they should be looking in the mirror

Great information presented in a straightforward way. Very well done.

Great show with curious and intellectually honest hosts. Really appreciated the recent episodes about the wonderful organizing around Medicaid expansion and homelessness.

Any political podcast that quotes Thomas Merton has my vote.

is being beta tested I. Gaza, Lebanon, et al right now? :-/

I recognize quality even when I disagree with the conclusions. So, thank you for giving me a fascinating and fresh perspective on people I have been reading most of my life. You have a good, if biased podcast and despite the mild cognitive dissonance, I find the show enjoyable and interesting.

The only podcast that gets the right mix of casual and intellectual. Unlike self-proclaimed centrist ghouls propagating their views as that of the majority, Sam and Matt are very clear about their positions and also show an immense respect to the intellectual world of their "enemies." Love this show.

Really insightful analysis of the current Democratic Party’s attitude towards Palestinians and the destruction of Gaza! I hope to hear more!

Thank you

The only political podcast worth subscribing to. The research, preparation, and erudition and unmatched.

I’ve been a bit frustrated because, as a leftist passionate about Palestinian liberation, this program has been silent about the atrocities in Gaza and Palestine more generally. Thank you for finally talking about Palestine—but this discussion should not be for paying followers. Please open it for all listeners.

This really is my favorite podcast. It is smart, but not snarky. And there is a genuine curiosity about different ideas not just some kind of gotcha game of looking for hypocrasy. But... it just is sooo many white guys. Whenever there is a woman or a person of color on as a guest it is a breath of fresh air. (Is the behind the paywall episode with 5-4's Rhiannon the only show out of 50 with a guest that is a woman of color?) While I love the chemistry between Matt and Sam, I think they should split up and host everyother episode and always have someone who isn't a white cis male as the co-host. Still I keep coming back for more. This is my favorite!

Wow!

Terrific episode—and not just because it’s great to feel represented by the APD comrades!

It’s not necessary, but still probably worthwhile, to say first that I don’t agree with the hosts about everything. I’m commenting as a fan, not a devotee. And the comment is just that I’m terrifically grateful for the show. Listening has done me a lot of good. I hope Adler-Bell and Sitman can stay at it for a long time to come.

Insightful, unique, informative

Don’t want to hear my conservative people promote sin.

I was brought here by an editorial by Jamelle Bouie a couple years ago and I haven’t been able to put it down since. I consume a lot of content on here, YouTube, blogs, etc. - many of them that I found through KYE! But this is the only thing I shell out money for. The Patreon is really, really worth it (especially with Dissent in the bargain!). It’s just really rare to find a program with a point of view and integrity. I think these guys are great and I hope they make this program for a long long time.

The history of the American Right has been lost to history. You’re just not going to get more interesting and engaging content about the Birchers, Paleocons, Anti-Jesuits, Milton Friedman, William F Buckley, or really anything tangentially related to the American Right from anywhere else.

Kye has become my favorite podcast informative smart well researched funny let’s you know how we got here with conservatism it amazes me every fear they try today they were doing 60 years ago

Come for the informative and insightful conversations; stay for the theme music

This podcast helps me understand far right conservatism.

As a big fan of the pod, and a regular listener, I am compelled to weigh in on the America Last episode with Jacob Heilbrun. Lots of fascinating insights — and characters I was not familiar with— BUT how do you do an entire show about right wing infatuation with fascist authoritarians in the 1930’s onward without mentioning the simultaneous left wing infatuations with Communist authoritarians throughout the same period (Stalin, Mao, Castro, etc.) Come on guys, you know this history— Lincoln Steffins, the Webbs, Duranty, Herbert Mathews— a long history of white washing, apologizing for and even glorifying dictators whose abuses and repression were as awful as any of the fascists celebrated on the right. Doesnt this suggest that the phenomenon you were exploring is not distinct to right wing ideology but a larger yearning for authoritarianism during times of economic and political chaos that cuts across ideological lines? (Check out, if you need a refresher, Robert Conquest’s book, The Great Purge, about the Soviet show trials of the 30’s— and all the liberals in the west who tried to justify them.)

A must-listen for both political history junkies and anyone who wants to learn more about the American Right

If you want to know why American Conservatives are so insane then look no further.

And still is! I learn something new every time I listen. More than one thing! It’s an excellent podcast

Didn’t know about this podcast and heard about it on Matt Lewis podcast and really liked their conversation

That’s all

I love this show. Mat and Sam walk you through the complex intellectual landscape of the American right. They discuss the historical dynamics and the internal debates shaping its evolution since 1945 as well as its more recent worrisome populist/reactionary turn. Most importantly, they do so with great empathy, trying to understand thinkers on their own terms and historical context. They resist the all too common populist pedigree hunting and the easy vilification of the right that is all too common on the left. This gives their analysis the credibility that makes you all the more worried when they reach into the deeper, more reactionary corners of the conservative movement. It is political philosophy, intellectual history, and journalist all wrapped in one by two buddies who clearly enjoying bantering about ideas. Much to enjoy and to learn here. Join the ride.

This show is fantastic — like being with two really good friends as they follow their hearts through a violent and intriguing land (all the many conservatisisms before and present.) At the end of each episode I always feel I have nearly rounded the curve to see the cause and beginning. Best podcast in a crowded field!

…even a funny one. And the hosts can do a good job when they avoid hysteria & overstatement…._when_. But it can also be maddening when it assumes too much, offers grand generalizations without supporting facts. Listen and you’ll hear.

I love this pod. It is probably the most intelligent pod I subscribe too. Amazing insights. Funny, I think it is has made me more conservative because the hosts treat their subject with such respect. Sometimes when you get to know your enemy, you realize their viewpoint is valid too!

The best podcast cover design ever.

While this is a show in which leftists examine conservative intellectualism, it is not a leftist examination of conservative intellectualism. These hosts, wicked smart and full of panache, are primarily concerned with being taken seriously, which they accomplish by providing leftwing responses to rightwing questions rather than through rejecting the rightwing questions and asking their own. I was rather perplexed when they were talking about 2024 election earlier this year that their only critique of Biden was that he’s too old. But I’m not really the target audience here—these hosts are making their position on the left palatable to a wider audience, be it through emphasizing trade-unionism and condemning Stalin’s atrocities or by writing an article to define “woke” from the “left”, or by tutting over the foibles of certain leftists. This stance genuinely has some positive effects, like letting them be resources for rightwing youths who are unsure about their ideology and want an offramp. That’s great. Even so, I can’t help but feel these hosts have little interest in imagining and beckoning a better world, and would rather tinker with what we have now.

I've been luridly curious about these folks ever since I read George Orwell's great excoriation, "Second Thoughts on James Burnham." What an essay! But I can scarcely bear to read the conservatives' words unfiltered, so I'm grateful to Matt

I discovered this podcast several months ago and find it to be very worthwhile. I’m, I guess, a liberal democrat, strong never tRumper, and familiar with most of what the hosts are discussing, but value greatly the depth and context they bring to the discussion….

If you want to learn about the deep historic context of conservative power, there is no better way. Understanding conservatives is utterly essential if we are to defeat them.

Did you miss out on Harvard? Do you ever wonder what late night bull sessions there among those consequential young people are like? This is the podcast for you. Better yet, now these lads are all grown up and ready to serve up post-varsity cultural and political commentary. My only criticism is they’re not sufficiently skeptical of gender identity ideology, but these days who on the left is?

I love when Matt says something gay like John Mayer is so hot

This is the needle in the haystack.

I love this show! I’ve enjoyed learning about politics all my life and Know Your Enemy is a master class in the history of conservatism and how it impacts us today. Despite the fiery title, the hosts neither dismiss nor belittle the topics of discussion but treat them seriously with a critical eye. Keep up the good work!