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!

It’s just been strange recently. Particularly on gender topics. I don’t want to hear about masturbating with children.

As happened for me with other thinking-together podcasts(see Slate’s Gabfests), I’ve come to admire and like the hosts as much as the subject. Matthew and Sam are smart, honest, fair, thoughtful, deeply informed, kind and politically engaged. A terrific dose of critical thinking about the American right-wing and its past—and other interesting topics as well.

This is one of, if not the, best podcast out right now. The hosts are thought-provoking, brilliant, and engaging in a way that seems hard to find elsewhere. They take the episodes and discussions seriously but not stuffily -and filling it with humanity & kindness too. It also sounds very good! The production quality is superb. And it’s very clear the hosts care about not wasting the audiences time - some podcasts seemingly just start BSing about the news off the cuff (which sure, there’s a place for that) but Know Your Enemy actually prepares - and it shows! The discussion is so much more interesting as a result, getting to hear the surprises they learned while researching. If you’re left leaning at all or right leaning and want to hear someone take the muck of conservatism seriously (as well as a delightful mix of other topics) listen to this podcast.

See title. Great show if you want the American subcohort gossip, perhaps less satisfying if you want the show to be something else. Affable hosts do their research. I love this show, in general, but wonder if the hosts are beginning to fall a little too in love with their bigger platform and guests. Agree with previous commenters that the show doesn’t talk enough about race, and really agree that these ancillary/spin-off episodes dilute the original concept and brand. But I do crack up when the historian Rick Perlstein fact-checks the show in the Patreon comments. A lot of the subjects of this show teach us that you can’t please everyone, but I think the show is not getting close enough to the bone about the someone’s in this movement who literally want to kill their political opponents! But as the Simpsons said, “it’s a helluva toboggan ride!”

I greatly enjoy this thoughtful, intellectually rigorous podcast. Ignore the slight dismissals from conservative trolls - if anything the hosts are rather too respectful to the enemy (and it’s their podcast, after all). A personal request would be an episode on Francis Schaeffer and his influence - and more generally on religion, gender/sexuality, and (particularly) race, which are far more important preoccupations in modern conservative/fascist circles. And yes, the show is not about demagoguery, but the demagoguery has its roots (and “intellectual” defenders). I really appreciated the episode with Gillian Branstetter due to the immediate, urgent relevance.

Regardless of the topic, the kindness is what I enjoy

I never get tired of listening to these guys — and never stop learning from them. Episodes are so engaging and funny, but also densely packed with insight and set a high bar for what it means to situate contemporary conflicts in theoretical and historical context.

They often make honest attempts at grappling with perspectives from the opposite side of the political spectrum but too often reassure themselves and their listeners of the ultimate inferiority of these views to their own with a lack of serious reflection. I too have little sympathy for many of the show’s “enemies” but am often left unsatisfied by the host’s all too facile dismissals. The episodes on Didion and Wills are particularly good, in large part because they can’t help but admire the source material, and, in the former case, because the guest is fantastic. In-group guests, like Ganz an Colson, tend to exacerbate the show’s flaws. Edit: the Chambers episode was so good that I raise my rating one notch. If you guys keep it up…

I can’t recall if it was Matt and Sam themselves or someone else who once described a scene in the 2022 film Triangle of Sadness, in which a Marxist yacht captain and a Russian capitalist take turns Googling and quoting Lenin and Chomsky at each other over a sinking ship’s loudspeaker, as “two guys start the worst political podcast ever,” but this is the opposite of that. Know Your Enemy is a well-informed, fun, and sometimes even slightly (just slightly) sympathetic look at the U.S. conservative intellectual and political movement’s past and present. The result is a portrait of the right that its advocates will recognize and its enemies can study, a rare feat pulled off by trusting its guests’ and listeners’ intelligence, if not always their commitments.

Wonderful podcast with hosts intimately familiar with right wing politics. I would like to request episodes on Ferdinand Marcos, Netanyahu, Joseph Smith/LDS, radtrad Catholics, and ultranationalist movements and groups.

They barely hide their contempt for people who actually have to work for a living.

But now it is not.