Authors

Daniel J. Flynn

Daniel J. Flynn, a senior editor of The American Spectator, serves as a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution for the 2024-2025 academic year. His books include Cult City: Harvey Milk, Jim Jones, and 10 Days That Shook San Francisco (ISI Books, 2018), Blue Collar Intellectuals: When the Enlightened and the Everyman Elevated America (ISI Books, 2011), A Conservative History of the American Left (Crown Forum, 2008), and Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for Stupid Ideas (Crown Forum, 2004). In 2025, he releases his magnum opus, The Man Who Invented Conservatism: The Unlikely Life of Frank S. Meyer. He splits time between city Massachusetts and cabin Vermont.

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Spectator A.M.

Americans Would Care If the NFL Shut Down. This?

by Daniel J. Flynn | Oct 1, 2025

The federal fiscal year started out with a bang or a whimper, depending upon one’s perspective. The government, for the…

Flynn Files

D4vd, the Dead Girl in His Trunk, and the Glamour of Evil

by Daniel J. Flynn | Sep 25, 2025

When contemplating life imitating art, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” seems like an ideal musical selection. The latest instance of this occurring…

Flynn Files

Unapologetic Jimmy Kimmel Still Delivering Politics Instead of Punchlines

by Daniel J. Flynn | Sep 24, 2025

Rosanne Barr returned to ABC’s airwaves last night after a seven-year exile. Just kidding. Jimmy Kimmel returned to ABC’s airwaves…

Flynn Files

The Trigger on Charlie Kirk’s Slow-Motion Assassination Was Pulled Before His Birth

by Daniel J. Flynn | Sep 16, 2025

One could see the murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University from 31 years away. In the mid-1990s, leftists…

Flynn Files

Charlie Kirk Was a Winner, His Murderer Was a Loser

by Daniel J. Flynn | Sep 11, 2025

The words scribbled on the shell casings, bullets, and rifle tell us the motive as much as obfuscate it. We…

Flynn Files

The Part That the Obits Left Out About SF Power Broker John Burton

by Daniel J. Flynn | Sep 10, 2025

That former congressman John Burton lived until 92 instead of dying at 45 came about through an act of political…

Flynn Files

‘SNL’ Hires the Next Eddie Murphy for Its New Cast

by Daniel J. Flynn | Sep 4, 2025

Lorne Michaels announced a major cast shakeup for the 51st season of Saturday Night Live. Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, Heidi…

Spectator A.M.

A Lefty Reviews The Man Who Invented Conservatism

by Daniel J. Flynn | Aug 27, 2025

Joshua Tait, who reviewed my book at the Bulwark, describes my research for The Man Who Invented Conservatism: The Unlikely Life…

Spectator A.M.

John Bolton’s Epiphany

by Daniel J. Flynn | Aug 27, 2025

I have no idea if the FBI raid on former Trump national security advisor John Bolton owes to upholding the law or…

Flynn Files

Marc Maron, Chief of the Joke Police

by Daniel J. Flynn | Aug 26, 2025

Why do some comedians hall monitor the jokes of other comedians? Marc Maron criticizes Netflix for airing Dave Chappelle’s comedy…