I’m pleased to have Hoover Institution research fellow Dan Wang on the podcast this week to discuss one of my favorite books of the year, Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future. Dan walks us through how China became an “engineering state” while the U.S. turned into a “lawyerly society,” and what this shift means for the future of democracy, progress, and national development.

Please listen in on a wonderful discussion and check out Dan’s informative new book!

A transcript of this podcast is available on our website.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.liberalpatriot.com

I’m thrilled to welcome Thomas Chatterton Williams to the podcast this week. Williams is a colleague of mine at AEI, a staff writer at The Atlantic, and the author of the provocative new book, Summer of Our Discontent: The Age of Certainty and the Demise of Discourse, which examines how the year 2020 broke American politics:

Taking aim at the ideology of critical race theory, the rise of an oppressive social media, the fall from Obama to Trump, and the twinned crises of COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd, Williams documents the extent to which this transition has altered media, artistic creativity, education, employment, policing, and, most profoundly, the ambient language and culture we use to make sense of our lives.Williams also decries how liberalism—the very foundation of an open and vibrant society—is in existential crisis, under assault from both the right and the left, especially in our predominantly networked, Internet-driven monoculture.

Please listen in and check out Williams’s new book!

A transcript of this podcast is available on the post page on our website.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.liberalpatriot.com

I’m pleased to welcome Ted Nordhaus to the podcast this week. Ted’s work at The Breakthrough Institute offers an intriguing and important way to think about the intersection of energy policy, society, and politics. Ted explains why he abandoned climate catastrophism, how the “Green Vortex” collapsed, and why Democrats need to unlearn old dogmas if they want to survive as a governing party.

Please listen in and check out Ted and his colleagues’ writings at The Ecomodernist on Substack.

A transcript of this discussion is available on our website.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.liberalpatriot.com

Today, I’m pleased to welcome journalist Emily Jashinsky, the D.C. Correspondent at UnHerd, to discuss the rise of the “New Right,” the split between old-guard conservatives and MAGA-aligned populists, and why Democrats should not underestimate J.D. Vance.

Populism isn’t just a passing phase—it’s reshaping both the Republican Party and American politics for the long haul.

Listen in and please subscribe to the TLP Podcast if you haven’t already!

A transcript of this podcast is available on the post page on our site.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.liberalpatriot.com

Today, I’m pleased to welcome Yascha Mounk to the TLP Podcast. Yascha is an Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and is the author of the excellent 2023 book, The Identity Trap, featured on TLP when it was first published. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the always interesting Persuasion newsletter and writes regularly on his own personal self-titled Substack as well.

Join us for a nuanced discussion about unresolved populism in Western societies, the contradictions of modern free speech politics, and why liberal democracy risks erosion without the emergence of bolder, more heterodox leaders.

A transcript of this podcast is available on the post page on our website.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.liberalpatriot.com

Today, I’m pleased to welcome Christine Emba to The Liberal Patriot Podcast. Christine is a colleague of mine at the American Enterprise Institute and is a columnist and former editorial board member at The Washington Post. She is the author of the great 2022 book, "Rethinking Sex: A Provocation."

We discuss the issues surrounding modern sex and dating, the reasons behind young men's shift to the right, the lack of progress in feminism, and the implications of Gen Z's cultural confusion for the future.

Listen in on the fascinating discussion, and please subscribe to the TLP Podcast!

A transcript of this podcast is available on the post page of our website.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.liberalpatriot.com

This week I’m joined by economist Ian Fletcher to discuss how decades of economic missteps have left the U.S. dangerously dependent on imports and vulnerable to competitors like China. Fletcher is the co-author with Marc Fasteau of an important book entitled Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries. Fletcher breaks down why free trade hasn’t delivered on its promises, how tariffs alone can’t save us, and why America urgently needs a real, comprehensive industrial policy.

Listen in on a great discussion!

A transcript of this podcast is available on the post page on our website.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.liberalpatriot.com

On today’s podcast, I’m pleased to talk with TLP’s newest contributor, Justin Vassallo. As you’ve seen from his recent columns, Justin’s writing focuses mainly on political development, working-class economics, industrial policy, party systems, and related areas. Justin also writes regularly for Compact, an excellent heterodox journal that everyone should read and subscribe to, as well for UnHerd, American Affairs, New Statesman, and other outlets.

We examine why Democrats keep failing the working class, how trade policies left rural America behind, and what “Blue Labour” can teach the left about reconnecting with voters.

Check it out and please welcome Justin to the TLP family!

A transcript of this podcast is available at the post page on our website.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.liberalpatriot.com

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-away, Kamala Harris. Zaid lays out the unfortunate dynamic between the parties that contributes to a politics of extremes and leaves the broad center perpetually dissatisfied. We consider prospects for change and which candidates, if any, from both parties might finally break the deadlock.

Join us for a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion!

A transcript of this podcast is available on the post page on our website.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.liberalpatriot.com

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 balancing act of the “new” and “old” right. Where do they intersect? What do Reaganites think of DOGE? Switching gears, what about the good and bad of Biden’s industrial policy? Can Democrats move past “Trump bad” and define a policy vision for the country? Join us for a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion.

A transcript of this episode is available on the post page on our website.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.liberalpatriot.com