Episode description

The author of several excellent books about the history of American conservatism, including The Invisible Bridge, Nixonland, and Reaganland, Rick Perlstein makes his triumphant return to Know Your Enemy. Drawing on Rick's wealth of historical knowledge, as well as his American Prospect column — entitled "The Infernal Triangle" — we explore the failures of American media elites and the Democratic Party to reckon with Donald Trump and his antecedents on the far right. What are the habits and genres of American journalism that inhibit an adequate accounting of Trump's rise and influence? Why do Democrats tend to adopt "conservatism lite," when faced with a far right opponent? How has Rick's perspective on studying the right changed since he began his work in the 1990s?  And how will future historians make sense of these times? Listen to find out! 

Further Reading

Rick Perlstein, Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus, (2009)

— "I Thought I Understood the American Right. Trump Proved Me Wrong." New York Times, Apr 11, 2017. 

— "The Polling Imperilment," American Prospect, Sept 25, 2024.

— "The Election Story Nobody Wants to Talk About," American Prospect, Aug 28, 2024.

— "Project 2025 … and 1921, and 1973, and 1981," American Prospect, Jul 10, 2024. 

W. Joseph Campbell, Lost in a Gallup: Polling Failure in U.S. Presidential Elections, (2020)

Isaac Arnsdorf, Finish What We Started: The MAGA Movement’s Ground War to End Democracy, (2023)

Phoebe Petrovic, "Right-Wing Activists Pushed False Claims About Election Fraud. Now They’re Recruiting Poll Workers in Swing States." ProPublica / Wisconsin Watch, Oct 16, 2024.

Clare Malone, "The Face of Donald Trump’s Deceptively Savvy Media Strategy," New Yorker, Mar 25, 2024.

Matthew Sitman, "Will Be Wild: Reading the January 6th Committee Report," Dissent, Apr 18, 2023.

Listen Again: 

"On the Road to Reaganland" (w/ Rick Perlstein and Leon Neyfakh), Oct 21, 2020 

"The History of the History of the Right" (w/ Kim Phillips-Fein), Jan 17, 2024

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