Jack and Alec Dent take the occasion of Fathers’ Day to discuss Top Gun: Maverick, the movie described by Deadline Hollywood as “the ultimate movie to take your dad to.” Topics hashed out include whether Top Gun is a good movie (no), why the sequel is so much better, whether Hollywood will learn important lessons from Top Gun: Maverick‘s success, and whether Maverick is dead for basically the whole movie (no).
Yes, obviously. So why is its institutional apparatus promoting the views of pro-abortion faculty? Once and future Notre Dame graduate Sean Tehan (’22 undergrad, ’25 law), a former staff member of The Irish Rover, attempts to explain these and other penumbras and emanations of Notre Dame’s Catholic identity on this episode of Young Americans.
Last week in Nebraska, Charles Herbster became the first Trump endorsee to lose a Republican primary in 2022. Jim Pillen, a figure little-known to a national audience, prevailed. To explain why this happened, to examine other mysteries of Nebraska, and to push back against Beltway misconceptions about the state, Jack invites Nebraska talk-radio show host Ian Swanson on to the show for some good old fashion Nebraska-splaining. So grab some corn and get ready to learn some Nebraska facts.
(Find Ian’s radio show host listenable as a podcast here.)
The National Council of Teachers of English apparently believes that reading books and writing essays is overrated, and that students should learn about memes and selfies instead. English teacher (though not an NCTE member) Daniel Buck returns to the show to rebut this foolish notion . . . and to challenge Jack to a duel?
Jack brings on University of Virginia jun–er, third-year Ian Schwartz to discuss various controversies–a speech by Mike Pence, the Thomas Jefferson legacy at UVA, free speech in general–that have dominated discusson on the camp–er, grounds of Charlottesville’s famous institution of higher education.
Holy reboot, Batman! To debate the merits of the latest incarnation of Batman, this time with Matt Reeves directing Robert Pattinson in The Batman, Jack brings Young Americans stalwart Alec Dent, who writes about culture and checks facts for The Dispatch, back to the show. Jack was not a fan; Alec was (after a second viewing). Tune in for the exciting clash of opinions, along with broader thoughts on the enduring appeal of Batman as a character.
Kenny Xu, author of An Inconvenient Minority: The Attack on Asian American Excellence and the Fight for Meritocracy and the president of Color Us United, joins the podcast to discuss whether Harvard discriminates against Asian applicants in its admissions process (a case about which will soon be considered before the Supreme Court). They also cover related issues about race in America.
Ten-day isolation for students who test positive for Covid? No eating or drinking anywhere indoors? No in-person class or Mass? These are but a few of the ridiculous Covid restrictions that have been in place at Georgetown University, where Jacob Adams is currently a junior. On this episode, Jacob relates the full extent of the ridiculousness, and attempts with Jack to figure out why college students have on the whole been so compliant with Covid restrictions.
Jack starts out the new year in appropriate Janus fashion, employing the aid of budding foreign-policy guru Jimmy Quinn to look back on the year that was in China news concering three areas (Uyghur genocide, Winter Olympics, Taiwan) and to take a guess at what this year might bring in each one.
To mark the release of the new Dune movie (which he has not yet seen), Jack flies solo to answer some of your questions about how he turned into the world’s most annoying Dune fan, what he likes about the series, what his favorite moments and characters from the books are, and more. There’s also a photoshop request, if anyone’s willing . . .
