A Winter of Discontent

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they begin a new series on left-wing populism, focusing on the modern Progressive Movement in the United States! In this first episode of the series, they trace the origins and rise of the Progressive movement, starting with the 2008 Recession and the election of Barack Obama, and eventually culminating in Bernie Sanders' 2016 primary campaign. While in this episode they focus solely on the economic dimension of the movement, in future episodes they will document the rise of the modern social progressive movement, its merger with economic progressivism, the events of 2020, "wokeness", and many more controversial topics!

Timestamps:

(00:19) Introduction

(01:00) Progressive Movement Before 2008

(03:37) 2008 Presidential Election & Obama

(05:15) Great Recession and Leftward Shift

(07:05) Rise of the Anti-Neoliberal Narrative

(10:35) Obama's Economic Policies

(12:48) Progressive Dissatisfaction with Obama

(15:00) Occupy Movement

(18:30) Sanders 2016 Primary Campaign & Overview/Platform

(25:03) Sanders Populism

(28:13) Sanders Campaign Characteristics/Demographics

(32:02) DNC Email Leak and Sanders Campaign Conclusion

(34:17) Takeaways from the Rise of Progressivism

Sources:

Keynesianism and Resurgence:

https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/cbrwp512.pdf

Anti-Neoliberal Narrative:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/neoliberalism-freedom-markets-hayek/678124/

https://www.socialeurope.eu/the-end-of-neoliberalism-and-the-rebirth-of-history

Occupy Wall Street:

https://calhoun.faculty.asu.edu/sites/g/files/litvpz3321/files/publications/articles/occupywallstreetinperspective.pdf

Sanders Campaign Demographics & Characteristics

https://web.archive.org/web/20160701080503/https://berniesanders.com/?nosplash=true%2F

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/2016-clinton-sanders-black-voters-pick-winner-n1029631

https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/15592-age-and-race-democratic-primary

  https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/young-women-and-non-black-youth-favored-sanders-super-tuesday

Agostinone-Wilson, Faith. “BERNIE BREAKDOWN: Challenges Facing the Left in the Wake of the Sanders Campaign.” Enough Already! A Socialist Feminist Response to the Re-Emergence of Right Wing Populism and Fascism in Media, Brill, 2020, pp. 91–112. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctv1sr6k6d.7. Accessed 19 Sept. 2026.

Image Credit: Charlie Leight/Getty

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they summarize and discuss Francis Fukuyama's famous essay about the end of history!

Sources:

"The End of History?" from the National Interest, 1989

https://www.ekof.bg.ac.rs/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Fukuyama-The-End-of-History.pdf

Join Jackson, Muhammad, and Sam as they explore the various foreign policy perspectives in the American conservative Right!

Timestamps:

Introduction (00:00)

Neoconservatism (01:21)

Jacksonian/Transactionalist/Trumpian (06:42)

Ideological Conservative-- Civilizational (11:49)

Ideological Conservative—The Trad Comintern (16:20)

Isolationism (23:18)

Realism (25:55)

Discussion-  Why has neoconservatismbeen in decline/why the rise of other foreign policy views? (30:20)

Is there a coherent Trump foreign policy? (42:57)

Sources:

Neoconservatism:

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/neoconservatism-and-american-foreign-policy/

https://www.aei.org/commentary/the-neoconservative-persuasion-and-foreign-policy/

https://www.e-ir.info/pdf/1394

https://css.ethz.ch/en/center/CSS-news/2025/12/pax-transactionalis-the-trump-foreign-policy-agenda.html

Ideological Conservative:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf

https://securityconference.org/assets/user_upload/MSC_Speeches_2025_Vol2_Ansicht.pdf (Vance speech at 2025 Munich Security Conference)

https://peacediplomacy.org/2024/10/21/dont-look-now-but-isolationism-is-winning/

Realism:

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/us-foreign-policy-restraint-what-it-what-its-not-191370

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA739-2.html

https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2025/04/the-realists-grand-experiment.html

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ukraine-and-limits-of-foreign-policy-realism-by-joseph-s-nye-2022-02

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism-intl-relations/

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they unpack national conservative socioeconomic grievances and end with a discussion on how merit and fairness are defined in America.

Timestamps:

Introduction (00:00)

National Sovereignty vs "Globalism" (00:59)

Liberal Urban Elites & Administrative State vs the Conservative Rural People (04:10)

Professional Managerial Class (PMC) vs the Working Class & Small Business/Farmers (10:57)

Populist and Anti-Elite Sentiment (13:22)

Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed Arguments (17:50)

Goodwin and Eatwell's National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy Arguments (19:05)

Justification for a State of Emergency (21:03)

Liberal Critiques of Nat Con Socioeconomic Grievances (24:05)

Discussion of American views of Merit and Fairness (26:45)

Our Thoughts on Merit and Fairness (38:12)

Sources:

Why Liberalism Failed, Patrick Deneen

National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy Mathew Goodwin and Roger Eatwell

Flight 93 Essay, Michael Anton

Obama "those who cling to guns and religion" quote https://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2008/04/obama-on-small-town-pa-clinging-to-religion-guns-xenophobia-007737

Covid Lab Leak: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/25/covid-lab-leak-theory-right-conspiracy-science

https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1656

Hunter Biden Laptop Affair:

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/521072-twitter-facebook-clamp-down-on-new-york-post-article-about-hunter-biden/

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they explore national conservative ideological grievances. They will investigate the national conservative stance on post-WW2 liberal hegemony, their ideological critiques of modern liberalism, uncover liberal counter-arguments, and end with a discussion analysis of the merits of those national conservative grievances and the postwar liberal order.

At (32:00) Muhammad argues that the first few decades of liberal ascendancy, from 1945 to around 1970-1980 is less liberal and more conservative than commonly understood because of high participation in communal institutions like unions. Participation in unions is rightly not thought of as conservative. What he meant by this is that society was relatively collectivist and conformist-- identity was formed through participation and belonging in common/collective institutions and not through individual self-expression, in that sense being more "conservative."

Timestamps:

Introduction (00:00)

Postwar Liberal Order (01:00)

National Conservative Ideological Critiques/Grievances (03:40)

Liberal Responses to Nat Con Critiques (14:10)

Discussion Analysis of Nat Con Grievances (21:55)

Discussion Analysis of Postwar Liberal Order (28:30)

Discussion Analysis of Liberal Critiques of Nat Cons (34:25)

Sources:

National Conservative Ideological Grievances:

Return of the Strong Gods: Nationalism, Populism, and the Future of the West by R. R. Reno

Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Deneen

Liberal Responses:

https://www.persuasion.community/p/liberalism-and-its-discontent

Liberalism and Its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama

Postwar Liberal Ascendency:

Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt

Return of the Strong Gods, R. R. Reno

The End of Liberal International Order? G. John Ikenberry: https://www.gmfus.org/news/what-liberal-international-order

Interracial Marriage Statistics:

https://news.gallup.com/poll/354638/approval-interracial-marriage-new-high.aspx

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they explore national conservative foreign policy positions and their view on governance, especially liberal democracy. They end with a discussion analysis of national conservatism's break with American pluralism and focus on limiting government power, and what national conservatism's tendency towards illiberal democracy and democratic backsliding means for America.

TIMESTAMPS:

Introduction (00:00)

National Conservative Foreign Policy (01:00)

National Conservative Governance and Illiberal Democracy (10:36)

Discussion of National Conservatism's Statism (16:02)

Discussion of whether Nat Con's Nativism & Identitarianism is compatible with American Pluralism (21:30)

Discussion of what Nat Con's Democratic Backsliding portends for Liberal Democracy (27:30)

Sources:

National Conservative "Civilizational" Foreign Policy:

https://www.politico.eu/article/melonis-western-nationalism/

https://www.governo.it/en/articolo/president-meloni-s-speech-atlantic-council-global-citizen-awards/26632

2025 National Security Strategy speaks of concern for "civilizational erasure" in Europe and sees reversing that as a priority (25-27).

Nationalist Internationalist Foreign Policy:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-dawn-of-international-nationalism/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

https://securityconference.org/assets/user_upload/MSC_Speeches_2025_Vol2_Ansicht.pdf (Vance speech at 2025 Munich Security Conference)

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

(2025 National Security Strategy) Administration calls for "Cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" (27).

National Conservative Transactional, Realist, and/or Isolationist/Western Hemisphere-focused Foreign Policy:

https://rollcall.com/2024/07/17/vances-ascension-solidifies-isolationist-faction-of-gop/

https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-for-securities-studies/pdfs/CSSAnalyse369-EN.pdf

2025 National Security Strategy: Its renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere, its emphasis on non-intervention, the balance of power, and burden sharing, and the minimal attention given to great power competition with Russia and China

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they explore National Conservative political positions! In this episode, they will explore national conservative positions on trade, industry, labor, immigration, antitrust, culture, the family, and natalism.

TIMESTAMPS:

Introduction (00:00)

Trade (02:27)

Industry/Manufacturing (05:35)

Labor (09:22)

Immigration (12:26)

Antitrust (19:35)

Culture and Culture War (23:20)

Family and Natalism (27:15)

Sources:

Nat Cons on labor unions:

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trumps-labor-pick-signals-potential-opening-to-unions-5cea1de8

https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-labor-policy-working-class-voters-923e8861?mod=article_inline

https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-introduces-bipartisan-bicameral-know-your-labor-rights-act/

Vance Childless Cat Ladies (he was not referencing Taylor Swift, Muhammad mispoke)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jd-vance-childless-cat-ladies-comment-backlash/

Hungary spending 5% of GDP on pro-family policies:

https://www.pop.org/hungary-doubles-down-on-pro-family-policy/

Pro-antitrust:

https://www.hawley.senate.gov/senator-hawleys-trust-busting-agenda/

https://www.legaldive.com/news/jd-vances-regulatory-romance-with-the-biden-ftc/723236/

Trump Immigration Crackdown:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8wd8938e8o

https://www.cato.org/blog/trump-has-cut-legal-immigration-more-illegal-immigration

Join Jackson and Muhammad as they begin their dive into National Conservatism! In this episode, they will explore the ideology and worldview of national conservatism and end with a discussion of national conservatism’s practicality in a liberal age and its compatibility with liberal democracy.

TIMESTAMPS:

Introduction (00:00)

Worldview and Ideology of National Conservatism (03:06)

Good Life Conception of Politics (13:24)

Liberal Conception of Politics (21:52)

Nat Con Critique of Liberal Conception of Politics (26:46)

Discussion of Liberal Democracy and Nat Con Compatibility (37:52)

Practicality of National Conservatism Today (43:32)

Sources:

Yoram Hazony, The Virtues of Nationalism

Trump doll quote: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/05/06/trump-dolls-pencils-tariffs-kids/83460867007/

Join Muhammad and Jackson as they interview a libertarian conservative populist and Tea Party supporter, Sam. In this interview they discuss what happened to the Tea Party, the future of libertarian populism, and the view from within the movement.

Sam is a libertarian conservative populist and political science graduate from the University of Washington.

In this episode, Jackson and Muhammad explore our first major right-wing populist faction: the Tea Party and libertarian conservative populism. They discuss the rise of the Tea Party, its influence, and its eclipse by MAGA.

TIMESTAMPS:

Introduction (00:00)

Defining libertarianism (04:21)

Libertarian Narrative of US History (08:04)

Important Libertarian Beliefs (14:00)

Tea Party Contextual Background (19:50)

Origins of the Tea Party (22:43)

Characteristics of the Tea Party Movement (27:19)

The Tea Party and the 2010 Midterms (39:06)

The Tea Party in Power, 2011-2013 (44:05)

The Tea Party and the 2012 Elections (46:49)

The Late Tea Party, 2012-2016 (50:00)

Discussion of why the Tea Party Failed (53:47)

Tea Party Defeated by MAGA, 2016 Primary (01:00:49)

Discussion on why MAGA conquers the Tea Party (01:04:36)

Libertarian Conservatism Under the MAGA GOP (01:12:34)

Modern Libertarian Populism Main Takeaways (01:21:05)

Wrap Up (01:31:14)

Rick Santelli's rant where he coins the term "Tea Party": ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp-Jw-5Kx8k⁠

Tea Party Organizations:

⁠https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/politics-and-government/tea-party-activism-overview⁠

CBS Poll on Birtherist views among Tea Partiers & Americans:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-birther-myth-persists-among-tea-partiers-all-americans/

Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two Party System, by Doug Shoen and Scott Rasmussen

Chapter 2 & 5: Statistics on Tea Party popularity

Statistics on Tea Party Demographics (226-228)

“For the first time in recent history, the majority of Americans qualify as populists” (37)

“80 percent of the electorate now believes that “nothing can be accomplished in Washington” (Chapter 1)

All economic statistics (unemployment and deficits) from FRED

Studies on voting behavior in 2010 midterms: https://sites.duke.edu/hillygus/files/2014/05/AldrichetalPB.pdf

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/did-the-tea-party-help-or-hurt-the-republicans/

Debt Ceiling and Budget Showdown 2011: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-budget-crisis-of-2011-the-view-from-2021/

Tea Party Favorability:

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/10/16/tea-partys-image-turns-more-negative/

Newt Gingrich and the Tea Party:

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/Tea-Party-Tally/2011/1220/How-Newt-Gingrich-won-over-the-tea-party

Tea Party in 2012 Elections: https://theconversation.com/tea-party-goes-cold-as-us-voters-reject-the-far-right-10621

Tea Party and PACS: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/tea-party-pacs-ideas-death-214164/

Tea Party and Betrayl: https://www.businessinsider.com/the-tea-party-betrayed-2012-5

Tea Party Support for Donald Trump: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/05/16/trumps-staunch-gop-supporters-have-roots-in-the-tea-party

Changing Republican Voters' Priorities: https://www.uakron.edu/bliss/docs/State-of-the-Parties-2021/rapoport-crossman-sop21-paper.pdf (19-26)

Tea Party Similarities to Trump & MAGA: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/tea-party-and-trump-presidency

Trump 2024 Election Night Speech on Not Starting Wars:

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-accepting-election-the-47th-president-the-united-states-palm-beach-florida

About the hosts: Muhammad is a recent graduate of American University where he received a BA in Economics and a minor in International Studies. He also interned at the Treasury Department during his undergraduate studies. Jackson is also a recent graduate of American University where he received a BA in International Studies and a minor in Political Science. He interned at the State Department and The Asia Group during his undergraduate studies. Disclaimer: the views expressed by Muhammad and Jackson are not reflective of the views of the organizations they have previously been employed at.