Jesse Brenneman's guest appearances

Jesse Brenneman

Know Your Enemy

Rebecca Traister

Peter Thiel

John Ganz

Jamelle Bouie

Allan Bloom

Sarah Jones

Ross Douthat

Leon Neyfakh

Samuel Goldman

Chris Lehmann

DAVID ADLER

Marshall Steinbaum

Hannah Gais

Shuja Haider

Brandy Jensen

OwlTail

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to this bonus episode, and all of our bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemyMatt and Sam welcome their intrepid producer and great friend Jesse Brenneman back to the third mic to talk about HBO's The Righteous Gemstones. In addition to being a wildly entertaining entry to the Danny McBride cinematic and television universe, the show perceptively explores the culture of American megachurch, evangelical Christianity—and offers your hosts plenty of fodder to discuss where faith ends and cynicism begins, the relationship between evangelicalism and consumer capitalism, cheap grace vs. real grace, whether or not people can change, the pathologies of evangelical purity culture, and much more. Plus: Jesse takes us behind the scenes of his brilliant, very funny podcast Tech Talk and its surprising connections to Elon Musk, Eli Gemstone, and others.Sources:John Jeremiah Sullivan, "Upon This Rock," GQ, January 24, 2004Austin Considine, "Danny McBride Keeps It Righteous," New York Times, June 14, 2023Doreen St. Félix, "The Lost Sheep of Danny McBride's The Righteous Gemstones," New Yorker, January 17, 2022Matthew Sitman, "Speaking of New York: An Interview with Fran Lebowitz," Commonweal, February 7, 2019

Subscribe to Know Your Enemy <a href="https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">on Patreon</a> to listen to this bonus episode, and all of our bonus content: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy</a>Matt and Sam welcome their intrepid producer and great friend Jesse Brenneman back to the third mic to talk about HBO's The Righteous Gemstones. In addition to being a wildly entertaining entry to the Danny McBride cinematic and television universe, the show perceptively explores the culture of American megachurch, evangelical Christianity—and offers your hosts plenty of fodder to discuss where faith ends and cynicism begins, the relationship between evangelicalism and consumer capitalism, cheap grace vs. real grace, whether or not people can change, the pathologies of evangelical purity culture, and much more. Plus: Jesse takes us behind the scenes of his brilliant, very funny podcast <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-talk/id1498677455" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tech Talk</a> and its surprising connections to Elon Musk, Eli Gemstone, and others.Sources:John Jeremiah Sullivan, "<a href="https://www.gq.com/story/rock-music-jesus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Upon This Rock</a>," GQ, January 24, 2004Austin Considine, "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/arts/television/danny-mcbride-the-righteous-gemstones.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Danny McBride Keeps It Righteous</a>," New York Times, June 14, 2023Doreen St. Félix, "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/01/24/the-lost-sheep-of-danny-mcbrides-the-righteous-gemstones" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Lost Sheep of Danny McBride's The Righteous Gemstones</a>," New Yorker, January 17, 2022Matthew Sitman, "<a href="https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/speaking-new-york" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Speaking of New York: An Interview with Fran Lebowitz</a>," Commonweal, February 7, 2019

TEASER: Sin and Salvation in the Righteous Gemstones (w/ Jesse Brenneman)

This episode is a little different. Rather than dissecting an influential conservative book written by long-dead intellectual, Matt and Sam are joined by Know Your Enemy's brilliant producer (and host of the very funny podcast, Tech Talk) to unpack a different kind of "text"—the hit CBS television show from the 1990s, Walker, Texas Ranger, starring the very much still-living Chuck Norris. Set in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Norris stars as Sergeant Cordell Walker, a member of the storied Texas Rangers who takes on drug dealers, Satanists, corrupt cops, and other bad guys, a task aided by his incredible martial-arts skills. The episodes of Walker discussed in this conversation were carefully curated by Jesse, and they provide a great deal of fodder for understanding conservatism (and America) in the 1990s, law and order politics, the American penchant for moral panics, how the Right has changed in the decades since the show aired, and more.Sources:Walker, Texas Ranger on IMDB"Chuck Norris's code of honor," drawn from the Chuck Norris System of martial arts (Chun Kuk Do)Chuck Norris, Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America (2008)Aaron Cantú, The Chaparral Insurgents of South Texas,The New Inquiry, April 2016.  ...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!

This episode is a little different. Rather than dissecting an influential conservative book written by long-dead intellectual, Matt and Sam are joined by Know Your Enemy's brilliant producer (and host of the very funny podcast, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-talk/id1498677455" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tech Talk</a>) to unpack a different kind of "text"—the hit CBS television show from the 1990s, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker,_Texas_Ranger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Walker, Texas Ranger</a>, starring the very much still-living Chuck Norris. Set in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Norris stars as Sergeant Cordell Walker, a member of the storied Texas Rangers who takes on drug dealers, Satanists, corrupt cops, and other bad guys, a task aided by his incredible martial-arts skills. The episodes of Walker discussed in this conversation were carefully curated by Jesse, and they provide a great deal of fodder for understanding conservatism (and America) in the 1990s, law and order politics, the American penchant for moral panics, how the Right has changed in the decades since the show aired, and more.Sources:Walker, Texas Ranger on <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106168/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IMDB</a>"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Norris#Chuck_Norris_System" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chuck Norris's code of honor</a>," drawn from the Chuck Norris System of martial arts (Chun Kuk Do)Chuck Norris, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Black_Belt_Patriotism.html?id=_-WNU7VapFAC" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America</a> (2008)Aaron Cantú, <a href="https://thenewinquiry.com/the-chaparral-insurgents-of-south-texas/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Chaparral Insurgents of South Texas</a>,The New Inquiry, April 2016.  ...and don't forget to subscribe to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Know Your Enemy on Patreon</a> for access to all of our bonus episodes!

The Eyes of the Ranger (w/ Jesse Brenneman)

This episode is something different: the latest installment of the KYE Film Club, an ongoing series in which Matt and Sam's great friend (and the podcast's producer) Jesse Brenneman guides them through the strange world of terrible conservative movies. The selection this time was "Christmas Cars," a confusing attempt at Confederate nostalgia written and directed by former Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider.Watch: Christmas Cars on VimeoPeruse: John Schneider Studios...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon to listen to all of our bonus episodes!

This episode is something different: the latest installment of the KYE Film Club, an ongoing series in which Matt and Sam's great friend (and the podcast's producer) Jesse Brenneman guides them through the strange world of terrible conservative movies. The selection this time was "Christmas Cars," a confusing attempt at Confederate nostalgia written and directed by former Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider.Watch: <a href="https://vimeo.com/ondemand/christmascarsmovie" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Christmas Cars on Vimeo</a>Peruse: <a href="https://johnschneiderstudios.com/js-studio/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John Schneider Studios</a>...and don't forget to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/knowyourenemy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon</a> to listen to all of our bonus episodes!