Joan Didion, Conservative (w/ Sam Tanenhaus)

When Joan Didion died at the age of 87 in December, her early conservatism figured into a number of obituaries and commentaries, but was rarely discussed in detail. Matt and Sam turned to Sam Tanenhaus, William F. Buckley, Jr.'s biographer and knower of all things National Review , to discuss Didion's early writing for the magazine, her roots in California conservatism, and how her politics changed—and didn't—over the course of her long career. Along the way, they discuss why she loved Barry Goldwater and hated Ronald Reagan, why she finally stopped writing for National Review , and how she compares to other writers from that era—from Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe to Gore Vidal and Garry Wills. Sources: Joan Didion: " On Self-Respect ," Vogue , 1961 ‘ I want to go ahead and do it ,' (Review of Mailer), NYTimes, Oct 7, 1979 " The Lion King ," (Review of Dinesh D'Souza), NYRB , Dec 18, 1997 " New York: Sentimental Journeys ," NYRB , Jan 17, 1991. " John Wayne: A Love Song ," Saturday Evening Post , 1965 Slouching Toward Bethlehem (1968) The White Album (1979) Salvador (1983) Political Fictions (2001) Where I Was From (2003) A collection of Didion's National Review Writing Commentary on…