This Conservative Thinks America’s Institutions ‘Earned’ Their Distrust
About this episode
Guest host Jane Coaston asks conservative writer Mary Katharine Ham why the American right distrusts institutions — the media, schools, public health — so deeply. Ham argues the distrust was earned: she cites media coverage she considers biased, school closures that kept children home while adults gathered freely, and public-health messaging she says shifted without acknowledgment. Coaston pushes back on several fronts, including whether institutional distrust justifies abandoning institutions and the role of conservative media itself in the dynamic. They also discuss the 2024 Republican primary: Ham is skeptical that Donald Trump can win a general election and is more sympathetic to alternatives like Ron DeSantis, while disagreeing with Coaston about how much of Trump's appeal is about policy versus grievance. The episode is a genuine cross-ideological exchange with substantive disagreement throughout.