Know Your Enemy (podcast)

Know Your Enemy
Presentation
Hosted byMatt Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell
GenrePolitical
Production
ProductionJesse Brenneman
Theme music composed byWill Epstein
Opening themeBad Touch
Ending themeMoonlight Mind
Publication
Original release2019
Related
Websitehttps://know-your-enemy-1682b684.simplecast.com/

Know Your Enemy is a political podcast about the American conservative movement from a socialist perspective. It is hosted by two freelance writers: Matthew Sitman, a former conservative, and Sam Adler-Bell, a lifelong leftist. Founded in 2019[1] and sponsored by the American Left magazine Dissent,[2] the podcast covers the conservative movement's intellectual foundations and has a bipartisan listenership.[3]

Episodes frequently take the form of "deep dives into conservative intellectual history", but have occasionally featured guest appearances from "enemies" such as New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat, and National Review contributor Nate Hochman. Featured historical subjects have included the life of ex-communist conservative intellectual Frank Meyer, Joan Didion's conservatism, and a three-part series on the right-wing effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.[4][5]

In February 2023, Young America's Foundation filed a trademark infringement complaint against Sitman, Adler-Bell and Dissent over the name of one of the Know Your Enemy podcast's Patreon tiers, "Young Americans for Freedom", complaining that it was "likely to deceive the relevant consuming public into believing, mistakenly, that the Podcast's services originate from, are associated or affiliated with, or otherwise authorized by the Plaintiff." The foundation's complaint was withdrawn without prejudice in July 2023.[6]

  1. ^ Marantz, Andrew (July 26, 2021). "The Post-Dirtbag Left". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "Know Your Enemy: A New Podcast About the Right". Dissent. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  3. ^ Ward, Ian (February 4, 2022). "The Socialists Who Love Talking to Conservatives". Politico. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  4. ^ Schuessler, Jennifer (March 7, 2022). "Two 'Leftist Bros' Dive Into Conservatism to 'Know Your Enemy'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  5. ^ Sitman, Matthew. "How They Did It, Pt. 3: The End of the Beginning". Know Your Enemy Podcast. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Scheussler, Jennifer (July 12, 2023). "Conservative Group Withdraws Lawsuit Against Left-Wing Podcast". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 5, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.