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Trent and Caitlin speak with political science professor Lindsey Cormack about her analysis of the DCInbox database of political communications, focusing especially on the memo from Third Way advising Democrats to avoid certain words that make them sound out of touch, elitist, or insincere. Where did these words come from?
We must rediscover the virtue of ambition: the ambition to get out there and make some real changes—and the courage to face the music after.
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Join Samantha and guest Alan Elrod, president and CEO of the Pulaski Institution, as they talk about how the spectacle of deliberate cruelty—troops on the streets, deportations of firefighters, the public performance of vileness—is not an accident or a distraction, but is a core part of the Trumpian
oppositionreport
A summary of August and early September 2025 in the second Trump term.
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Caitlin and Trent speak with Jacob T. Levy, Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory at McGill University, about the state of democracy in the U.S. How did we get here? What are the tools and motivations of the people working to dismantle the institutions that make us a democratic nation?
The Trump administration is returning NASA to the model that led directly to the Columbia disaster.
neonliberalism
Join Samantha and guest Maia Mindel as they talk about Trump's latest attack on the Federal Reserve, give some historical context for central bank independence, and struggle with the difficult question of how to balance technocratic expertise with democratic accountability. Plus some cats. Neon Liberalism can be heard
Liberal Currents publishes writers of diverse perspectives who share an unflinching commitment to freedom, pluralism, and democracy, in opposition to authoritarianism at home and around the world.
MAGA is not merely rule by the worst but an active assault on virtue wherever it exists.
Trent and Caitlin talk with author, journalist and historian Adam Hochschild about the historical periods that most inform his view of today's disturbing American politics. What tactics and goals does Trump 2.0 have in common with Woodrow Wilson's post-WWI administration? What is different? What inspiration
The big question for liberalism today is not what policies we need, but how to get them to stick in the places they’re needed most.
Mamdani made housing affordability and transit the centerpiece of his campaign. Here's everything he could do as mayor to move the needle.
Trent and Caitlin ask Steven Monacelli about his recent work documenting the history and present of the American anti-vaccination movement. Who is drawn into it? How did we get here? What happens now that representatives of anti-vaccine beliefs now have the power to cut off the funds and regulatory processes
Join Samantha and guest Dara Lind, Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council and former immigration reporter for Vox and ProPublica, as they talk the state of Trump's mass deportation program, the question of its constitutionality, and the bigger question of how immigration in America became such a
It is no longer tenable to pretend that gerontocracy isn’t a real problem. The American people overwhelmingly agree.
Trent and Caitlin chat with James Palmer about China, the current state of America's relationship with China, and what it means for the U.S. to be constantly proposing wild tariff hikes, changing and pausing those hikes, and effectively withdrawing from international trade. Half the Answer can be
Strong labor unions are not at odds with a society that builds.
The future of the world order is more uncertain than it has been since the fall of the Soviet Union—which is to say, up for grabs. Join Samantha and guest Joe Stieb, assistant professor at UNC Chapel Hill and historian of American foreign policy, as they discuss how the
The Biden years were a missed opportunity, but, as Trump’s authoritarian spree shows, Democrats (and democracy) cannot afford another one.
There is no conflict between liberal institutions and liberal partisan politics.