The Realignment

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Last week, Marshall interviewed Abundance co-author Derek Thompson and Representative Jake Auchincloss at WelcomeFest 2025. Marshall, Derek, and Jake's panel focused on the abundance agenda's place in debates about the future of the Democratic Party, the center-left's lack of a defining vision in contrast to the populist left and right's clarity, their reaction to polls indicating populism polls stronger than abundance, the importance of "telling stories" vs. articulating plans for the country, and the need to expand the abundance agenda debate beyond housing to the role of technology and progress in America.

Steve Teles in Ezra Klein's NYT column: Opinion | The Abundance Agenda Has Its Own Theory of Power - The New York Times

Josh Barro on Unions and Abundance: In Blue Cities, Abundance Will Require Fighting Labor Unions

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Abundance vs. Populism Polling: Poll: Democratic voters prefer "populism" over "abundance"

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Steve Teles, Johns Hopkins University Professor and Niskanen Center Senior Fellow, returns to The Realignment. Steve and Marshall discuss new polling that that indicates voters, especially Democrats, prepare populist economic messaging to the "bottlenecks"-focused abundance agenda, why abundance and populism are complimentary, not oppositional, the dangers of over-focusing on polls (whether you're pro or anti abundance), and how the abundance agenda could address higher education challenges.

Post-Neoliberalism Conference: Beyond Neoliberalism

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Historians Gary Gerstle and Noam Maggor, organizers of the Beyond Neoliberalism conference, join The Realignment. Marshall, Noam, and Gary discuss the origins and aims of their conference, why conversations about post-neoliberalism aren't just about wonky, academic jargon, the rise and fall of the New Deal and Neoliberal political orders, why 1990s neoliberal thinking no longer helps us think through today's challenges, the false starts and stops of the post-2016 realignment era, and what a post-neoliberal political order could look like. 

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Ian Fletcher, co-author of Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries, joins The Realignment. Marshall and Ian discuss what industrial policy actually means and why it includes trade policy, the rise and fall of free trade orthodoxy, what went right and wrong with Trump and Biden's industrial policy strategies, why "Liberation Day" isn't enough to reindustrialize America, and which industries and technologies the U.S. should focus its attention on. 

REALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/

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Steve Teles, Niskanen Center Senior Fellow and Johns Hopkins University professor, returns to The Realignment. Marshall and Steve discuss the abundance agenda's future prospects, takeaways from the book tour, the left populist response to abundance, the differences between Steve's "captured economy" thesis and left concerns that abundance is too disinterested in corporate power and big money, and the prospects for right-wing, "dark abundance," during and after the Trump administration.

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John Cassidy, New Yorker Staff Writer and author of Capitalism and Its Critics: A History from the Industrial Revolution to AI, joins The Realignment. Marshall and John discuss the rise of anti-capitalist sentiment on the left and right, from President Trump's economic nationalism to the democratic socialism of Senator Bernie Sanders, the missed opportunities of the globalization era, the failures of trade policy, the coming AI disruption, and tensions between tech and democracy.

Three Visions of Where Democrats Went Wrong | The Ezra Klein Show - Zephyr Teachout and Saikat Chakrabarti

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Elizabeth Wilkins, President and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute and alumn of the White House and Lina Khan's Federal Trade Commission, joins The Realignment. Marshall and Elizabeth discuss why the left has reacted critically to the abundance agenda, her agreement with Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's emphasis on enhancing state capacity, and how to restore faith in government. They explore the tension between technocratic fixes and populist demands, the need for effective political storytelling, and why "small," tangible wins like banning junk fees and non-competes matter as much as big legislative wins.

Note: During the episode, Marshall discussed Mississippi's disadvantages in K-12 education. It must be noted that according to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results, Mississippi achieved nation-leading gains in reading and math scores.

https://governorreeves.ms.gov/governor-reeves-statement-on-mississippis-nation-leading-naep-gains-record-achievement/

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John B. King, former Secretary of Education and author of Teacher By Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives, joins The Realignment. Marshall and John discuss President Trump's plan to abolish the Department of Education, balancing the role of states and the federal government's role in K-12 schooling, why the education debates of the 2000s and 2010s (charters, reform, NCLB) stalled, the case for and against accountability, and the post-COVID education cultural wars.