So much of our politics today is driven by gender, from Graham Platner's rise and fall to Pete Hegseth's testosterone testing to various anti-trans crusades. Samantha and guest Katherine Cross, contributing editor at Liberal Currents, discuss the historical antecedents of modern gender anxieties, how history moves in a corkscrew, and why the right wing is forever driven by a longing for a past that never was.

The American government is an insurance company with an army--so how do our insurance company's finances look? Samantha and guest Stephen Nuñez, Director of Stratification Economics at the Roosevelt Institute, talk about the state of Social Security. No, it's not because the boomers are retiring--but the problems are real and getting closer. What can we do about it?

Samantha and guest Allyson Shortle, professor at the University of Oklahoma, talk about the current state and long history of the movement which forms the hard core of Donald Trump's support: Christian Nationalism. Where did this movement begin? How deep are its roots in American myth? What do they believe, and why have they stuck with Trump even as other groups begin to desert him?

"Neoliberalism" has become a epithet applied to almost everything.  And yet it represented a real political movement, one captured governance in America for decades. 

Join Samantha Hancox-Li and Nick Hanauer, billionaire entrepreneur, civic activist, and co-author of Markets Built for Humans, as they discuss the origins of neoliberalism, how it broke apart under its own contradictions, and why economic growth depends not on trickle-down billionaires but strong wages for the middle class.

Check out Nick's book here: https://www.marketsbuiltforhumans.org

The Supreme Court has never occupied a more central place in American governance.  Republican dominance on that court has enabled them to push through much of their agenda without going through Congress: overturning Roe, repealing the Voting Rights Act, and more. 

Join Samantha Hancox-Li and Madiba Dennie, Deputy Editor and Senior Contributor at Balls and Strikes, and author of The Originalism Trap, as they discuss the rise of the conservative legal movement and what we can do about it.

Samantha Hancox-Li and guest Rey Fuentes, Director at the Roosevelt Institute, discuss the Democratic "ideas primary." Roosevelt's new "Good Life Agenda," a package of governing tools and policy proposals, aims to get beyond the "submerged state" and return to an ideal of active government delivering for the people. Their talk ranges over industrial policy, taxing the rich, and why mass membership organizations are essential for good governance.Liberal Currents' own entrant into the ideas primary, the Reconstruction Papers, is available for pre-order now: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-reconstruction-papers/Also check out our new merch store at https://liberalcurrentsmerch.printful.me/

Samantha and guest Christopher England, author of Land and Liberty, talk the legacy of Henry George and his most famous proposal: the land value tax. They put George in his historical context, alongside Gilded Age oligarchy and radical political movements from socialism to anarchism.

Why did Georgism fade away, why is it experiencing a resurgence now, and what—if anything—would Henry George have to say about AI?

Liberal Currents merch store love now! https://liberalcurrentsmerch.printful.me/

Samantha Hancox-Li and guest Secretary of Defense Rock talk the state of modern war: the proliferation of drones, the endurance of the human factor, Ukraine's successful strategic bombing campaign vs. Trump's unsuccessful one.

What does the democratization of airpower mean for the politics of future wars?

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Join Samantha Hancox-Li and guest Nicholas Grossman, professor of political science at the University of Illinois, as they discuss the damage Trump is doing to the Pax Americana, the prospects for a "Chinese Century," and why the likeliest future is simply multipolar anarchy.

Check out Nick's latest, "Staggering Towards Anarchy," at Liberal Currents: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/staggering-towards-anarchy/

Join Samantha and Robert Tracinski, currently running for Congress in Virginia's fifth district, as they talk about the danger Donald Trump's corruption and lawlessness poses to the country, the continuing importance of the Constitution, and Robert's road from a member of the Tea Party to a staunch liberal.

You can check out Robert's campaign website here: https://www.tracinskiforcongress.com/

*Note that around 12 minutes, I make a mistake about what messaging David Shor's outfit, Blue Rose, has tested. Shor was testing populism vs. abundance messaging, not populism vs. corruption messaging. Apologies!