Today I’m joined by Zaid Jilani , a fellow at New America, proprietor of the excellent Substack newsletter, The American Saga , and one of our sharpest observers of contemporary politics and culture. Zaid and I discuss the puzzle of Democrats’ obsessive use of twenty-dollar words like “oligarchy” and their stout refusal to speak language that normal Americans understand. We then delve into the uselessness of most current Democratic Party strategy including the contributions of she-who-won’t-go-a...
May 23, 2025•46 min
Today I’m joined by Michael Lind , co-founder of New America and the author of Hell to Pay: How the Suppression of Wages is Destroying America . Michael walks us through the last couple decades of globalization, including how both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump came to denounce the TPP. He then argues that Trump 2.0 has done some good things with tariffs—including partial decoupling from China—but much of the administration’s actions have been too haphazard. We also dive into the delicate bala...
May 09, 2025•59 min
This week I welcome Henry Olsen back to the podcast. Henry is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center—and has the distinction of being our first repeat guest on the show. We start our conversation on the continent. How has populism, both left and right, fared in Europe in the 21st century? Will the AfD continue its rise in German politics? What about Marine Le Pen and French populism? After a pitstop in Britain for a discussion of the latest challenges facing the Labour Party, we ...
Apr 25, 2025•54 min
Today I have the privilege of welcoming Marc Dunkelman to the podcast. Marc is a research fellow in International and Public Affairs at Brown University and the author of a new book, Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring it Back . We begin by discussing a key premise of his book: progressivism is, and always has been, split between a Hamiltonian impulse to push power up and a Jeffersonian impulse to push power down. Marc describes how the later impulse took over left-wing movem...
Apr 11, 2025•52 min
This week I’m thrilled to welcome Derek Thompson to the show. Derek is a staff writer at The Atlantic , the host of the Plain English podcast, and, as I’m sure many of you have heard, the author of Abundance with Ezra Klein. Wasting no time, we jump right into Derek’s vision of an abundance agenda. * Why has the center-left been so slow to embrace these ideas? * How can we effectively match priorities with policy? * Can abundance appeal to moderates and conservatives as well as liberals? We cove...
Apr 04, 2025•49 min
This week we welcome a special guest to the podcast: Congressman Ro Khanna of California’s 17th District . First elected in 2016, Rep. Khanna has been a strong advocate for how Democrats can win back working-class voters. We cover his book, Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us , and why the tech industry swung towards Trump last year. We then turn to Trump’s joint address to Congress—are Democrats willing to side with the new administration on anything? How can Democrats effe...
Mar 14, 2025•30 min
Today I sit down with my friend Rick Kahlenberg , an expert on all things affirmative action and the author of the forthcoming book, Class Matters: The Fight to Get Beyond Race Preferences, Reduce Inequality, and Build Real Diversity at America’s Colleges . We kick off with a discussion of DEI trainings, the educational bureaucracy, and Trump’s latest executive orders. We then chat about how both sides of the political spectrum have problems with their approaches to racial diversity. Rick walks ...
Feb 28, 2025•43 min
This week I have the privilege of talking with Peter Moskos —a sociologist, former Baltimore City police officer, and expert on criminal justice and policing. His forthcoming book, Back from the Brink: Inside the NYPD and New York City's Extraordinary 1990s Crime Drop , is a must read when it drops in March. We start off with a discussion of the latest crime statistics. How and where are we getting these numbers? Is this data actually correct? Peter tells us why he’s skeptical before diving into...
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Today I chat with Lisa Selin Davis , the author of Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to Be Different , and Housewife: Why Women Still Do It All and What to Do Instead . We open with a discussion of Trump’s recent executive orders relating to sex and gender. What might the practical impact be? How should Democrats respond? Lisa talks us through the latest on how the left sows division based on biological sex and explains the resistance she faced discussing gender ideolog...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr 16 min
Welcome to another year of The Liberal Patriot Podcast ! We kick off 2025 with Sohrab Ahmari , formerly of Compact and now the U.S. editor of UnHerd . Sohrab fills us in on his grand plans for the new gig and walks us through his most recent book Tyranny, Inc . We chat about the administrative state, American manufacturing, and whether the labor movement can find an institutional home in the Republican Party. We conclude with a discussion of the Democrats’ “anti-normative normality” and Sohrab g...
Jan 10, 2025•42 min
In our final episode of the year, I’m joined by Dustin “Dino” Guastella , the director of operations for Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia and a research associate at the Center for Working-Class Politics . We kick off with a discussion of the Harris campaign’s “democracy” message and why it alienated working-class voters. Why did Democrats ditch economically populist messaging? What should a progressive economic program look like anyway? Dino and I tackle manufacturing, infrastructure, bureau...
Dec 20, 2024•43 min
This week I sit down with Ross Barkan , a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine and expert on the American left who has his own great newsletter, Political Currents . We begin with a review of the legacy media’s performance during the 2024 election—and why you might have been better prepared for the results if you read the right people here on Substack. After extolling the virtues of independent media, Ross, a Brooklyn native, breaks down why Democrats performed so poorly in New Yor...
Dec 06, 2024•59 min
In our first post-election episode, I’m joined by Patrick Ruffini , a co-founder of Echelon Insights and the author of Party of the People: Inside the Multiracial Populist Coalition Remaking the GOP . We dive right into last week’s results, starting with how and why non-white voters shifted so much towards Trump. We cover the “cosmopolitan trap” that Democrats have fallen into—focusing solely on issues that motivate white voters with a college degree—and why the Harris campaign over-indexed on a...
Nov 15, 2024•43 min
Today I'm joined by Tim Shenk , a history professor at George Washington University and the author of Left Adrift: What Happened to Liberal Politics . We start back in 1992 with Bill Clinton's presidential campaign and the emergence of party strategists Stan Greenberg and Doug Schoen. We discuss competing approaches for coalition building—Greenberg's preference for New Deal-esque pocketbook populism and Schoen's for a more complete move to the center on social and cultural issues. Turning toward...
Oct 25, 2024•56 min
As Election Day draws closer, I'm joined by my AEI colleague Sean Trende to break down all things 2024. We discuss swing state polling before moving into who we think might be favored to win the White House. Did Democrats make the wrong VP pick? What's behind Harris's stubborn leads in the Midwestern battlegrounds? Why are some pollsters suddenly weighting on recalled vote? Who's favored to win the House and Senate? Tune in for answers to all that and more! Get full access to The Liberal Patriot...
Oct 11, 2024•46 min
On this week’s podcast, Musa al-Gharbi and I start with a laugh about his journey from a ruby-red county in Arizona to Columbia University before diving into his new book: We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite . How is social justice discourse used to justify and maintain inequality? Why are these problems often most acute in blue cities? In what ways have right-wing politicians capitalized on normie discontent? Tune in for all that and more! Get full access to The ...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 4 min
Today I sit down with my AEI colleague and fellow punditry aficionado Jonah Goldberg . In addition to co-founding The Dispatch , Jonah hosts The Remnant podcast and writes a regular column for the Los Angeles Times . We explore the rise of populism within the GOP, the transformation of the Republican Party under Trump, and the intellectual roots of conservative movements like the so-called "Reformicons." We also get into the challenges facing the Democratic Party, the overproduction of elites, a...
Sep 13, 2024•58 min
On the latest podcast, I sit down with Julius Krein , editor of American Affairs magazine, to discuss the current state of the Republican and Democratic parties. We cover the Democrats' struggle to capitalize on the GOP's Trump-era disarray, the potential for a new centrism within the Democratic Party, and the reality of American industrial policy. Check it out and please subscribe to the TLP Podcast! Get full access to The Liberal Patriot at www.liberalpatriot.com/subscribe...
Aug 23, 2024•42 min
Pollster-extraordinaire Kristen Soltis Anderson joins the podcast for a riveting discussion on the Democrats’ candidate swap and recent surveys showing Kamala and The Donald neck-and-neck. We dive into the shifting voting behavior of Millennials and Gen Z, before a look at the ever-increasing gender gap. Finally, we ponder what a Trump loss might mean for the future of the Republican Party—and Kristen takes us home with a killer Jurassic Park analogy. Get full access to The Liberal Patriot at ww...
Aug 09, 2024•55 min
This week we take a break from horse race coverage and welcome cultural commentator Kat Rosenfield to the podcast. Now doing great work at The Free Press, Kat is the author of five novels and hosts the Feminine Chaos podcast. We dive into how identitarian politics came to dominate our culture and try to explain how the left won the culture wars, but still pretends not to have any power. We compare notes on our changing views of the left, before Kat explains if there’s any hope for a more heterod...
Jul 26, 2024•51 min
Today I sit down with my friend Henry Olsen , one of the best political analysts out there. We start off with a recap of the French elections and ponder whether the new coalition will actually get anything done. We then travel across the Channel and discuss the massive new Labour majority in the UK. Do the results indicate love for Labour—or just contempt for the Tories? Finally, we head stateside and wrap up with the latest on President Biden and preview what a second Trump term might look like...
Jul 12, 2024•58 min
This week I welcome Coleman Hughes to the pod for a discussion of race and politics. Coleman, who hosts his own excellent podcast Conversations with Coleman , is the author of The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America . We talk about ideological capture on college campuses before looking back at leftist re-packaging of the civil rights movement and the rise of “sacred” identity politics. We wrap up with a discussion of whether any elected Democrat will come along and break fro...
Jun 28, 2024•44 min
This week I'm joined by my good friend, Josh Kraushaar . He’s one of America's keenest political minds and a long-time journalist who is currently the Editor in Chief of Jewish Insider . We discuss developments in the presidential campaign, the ongoing brand challenges of Biden on the economy and energy policy, and explore the impact of recent anti-Israel protests and emerging divisions within the Democratic Party on the Israel-Hamas war. Get full access to The Liberal Patriot at www.liberalpatr...
Jun 14, 2024•40 min
Today I sit down with John Avlon , a Democrat running to represent New York’s First Congressional District. A veteran political analyst and former editor-in-chief of the Daily Beast, John hopes to unseat first-term Republican Nick LaLota. He walks us through his fascinating career and gives us a detailed breakdown of why NY-01 is a swing district. We discuss the need for comprehensive immigration reform and whether Biden should use his executive authority at the border. We wrap up with a discuss...
May 31, 2024•49 min
Is Donald Trump a 90s-era Democrat? This week’s guest, the estimable Batya Ungar-Sargon, argues that he might be just that. She joins the podcast for a fascinating conversation about her new book: Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Working Men and Women . Based on her in-depth conversations with working-class Americans across the country, we explore the plundering of the middle class, elite paternalism, and why the working class isn’t getting behind Biden. Stick around as Batya make...
May 10, 2024•48 min
Sheri Berman , professor of political science at Barnard, joins the podcast for a deep dive into the origins of social democracy in the United States and Europe. We cover her excellent book The Primacy of Politics before moving into a discussion of where the 20th century left went wrong. Come for the analysis of 1960s progressivism and stay for a look at the rise of right-wing populism in Europe. We wrap up with some thoughts on the chaos at Columbia and a preview of the upcoming European parlia...
Apr 26, 2024•47 min
Chris Stirewalt , newsman extraordinaire and host of The Hill Sunday , sits down for a detailed, if somewhat pessimistic, conversation about the health of journalism. We cover partisan silos and the decline of local papers before turning to one of my favorite topics: the need for a normie voter party—and why both parties are failing at just that these days. Lest we forget, we conclude with a healthy dose of punditry: Has Trump hit his polling ceiling? What types of voters does Biden need to pers...
Apr 12, 2024•59 min
This week I’m joined by Oren Cass , executive director of American Compass and author of The Once and Future Worker . We discuss a rebuild of American capitalism, the future of industrial policy, and how the GOP can once again become a winning party. If that’s not enticing enough, we take an exclusive look at some juicy new polling on the American appetite for government and the realignment of “socially liberal, fiscally conservative” voters. Get full access to The Liberal Patriot at www.liberal...
Mar 29, 2024•49 min
Welcome to The Liberal Patriot Podcast with Ruy Teixeira . The new podcast promises to deliver the best in heterodox conversation and analysis. For our inaugural episode, I’m joined by the inimitable David Leonhardt of The New York Times in a wide-ranging conversation on the evolution of the American left, Biden’s polling woes, and restoring progressive patriotism. Get full access to The Liberal Patriot at www.liberalpatriot.com/subscribe...
Mar 15, 2024•54 min
