The New Liberal Podcast

For decades, America used a system of race-based affirmative action to ensure that disadvantaged minority groups had a presence at elite universities. Was that the right approach? Richard Kahlenberg joins the podcast to talk about his book 'Class Matters', and make the case that class-based affirmative action is a supe

How can we build a more abundant world without scarcity in housing, energy, and more? Derek Thompson joins the podcast to discuss his and Ezra Klein's new book Abundance. We talk about the policies and the politics involved in abundance, how to spark more innovation in the economy, and why we desperately need the abund

How do we balance the need to de-carbonize our energy grid with the need to lower energy costs for working class people? Elan Sykes is the Director of Energy and Climate Policy at PPI, and he joins the podcast to discuss how we can build out the grid, lower people's bills, and ultimately end up with clean and abundant

Why doesn't anything work? Why does it take so long to build housing, or green energy, or infrastructure? Why is the government so often inefficient and uncapable? Marc Dunkelman joins the podcast to discuss his new book Why Nothing Works. We talk about the history of the progressive movement and how two separate impul

The last two weeks have seen a number of controversies related to DOGE, the Department of Governmental Efficiency that Elon Musk heads in the new Trump administration. Jeremiah talks through what's going on, why DOGE seems to be breaking so many things, and what their real goals are. Also check out our conversation wit

One of the most important trends from the 2024 presidential election was the rightward shift of young people - especially young men. Richard Reeves joins the podcast to talk about why this shift happened, what mistakes Democrats have made in courting male voters, and how they can fix their self-inflicted wounds. To get