The American Compass Podcast

On this episode, author and founder of Breakout Capital Ruchir Sharma joins Oren Cass to discuss the consequences when markets fail. The two walk through the history of government intervention in the market, the problems with over-regulation, and how a more populist economics could provide a corrective. For more, check out Sharma's latest book, What Went Wrong with Capitalism .

On this episode, Ethics and Public Policy Center senior fellow Henry Olsen joins Oren Cass to discuss the selection of JD Vance as Donald Trump's vice presidential candidate and what the move means for the future of conservatism. Henry and Oren talk through the history of conservative support for government intervention, how Reagan's legacy was co-opted by libertarians, and how Vance can...

On this episode, host Oren Cass takes the guest seat to discuss his recent Compass Point essay about electric vehicles, “ The Electric Slide .”  Cass and managing editor Drew Holden discuss America’s electric vehicle policy and its limitations, the threat of China dominating the global market, and why conservatives—long critical of the technology—should embrace an alternate approach that could hel...

On this episode of the American Compass Podcast, Oren Cass is joined by Dean W. Ball, research fellow at the Mercatus Center's Artificial Intelligence & Progress Project, to discuss the future of American manufacturing. The two evaluate what AI could mean for domestic manufacturing, the prospect of reindustrialization, and how frontier technologies could allow the U.S. to leapfrog China i...

On this episode of the American Compass Podcast, Newsweek opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon joins Oren Cass for a wide-ranging conversation about the politics of working-class Americans. The two discuss her new book, Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Working Men and Women , and how the political beliefs of working-class Americans have changed in recent years. For more, check out Seco...

On this episode, Wall Street Journal reporter Dana Mattioli joins Oren Cass to discuss her new book about how Amazon has ruthlessly bullied its way to dominating nearly every industry and the implications of its anti-competitive actions on corporate power and regulation, as well as the current Federal Trade Commission case against the company. For more, check out The Everything War , out now.

On a special episode of the American Compass Podcast, progressive Representative Ro Khanna and Republican Chairman of the House Budget Committee Jodey Arrington each join Oren Cass to discuss plausible approaches to the federal deficit and what serious fiscal responsibility would look like given political realities within each of their parties. For more, check out the American Compass Collection o...

On this episode of Talkin’ (Policy) Shop, Oren Cass and Chris Griswold discuss American Compass’s new tax and budget collection, Return of the Fiscal Conservatives . They talk through why fiscal conservatives need to focus on revenue as well as spending, the importance of limited government, and the evolving shift away from the orthodoxy of viewing tax cuts as a cure-all. They also discuss new pol...

On this episode, Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, joins Oren Cass to unpack America’s broken immigration system. They walk through the history, the economics, and how public statements and policies from the Biden administration precipitated and fueled the current crisis. Mark helps demystify the confusing labyrinth of rules and regulations tied to immigrati...

On today’s episode, New York Times senior writer David Leonhardt joins Oren Cass for a discussion of “neopopulism,” the realignment of American politics, and a bit of the history that got us here. For more, read David’s recent NYT piece discussing this push for a more responsive politics. And check out his recent book, Ours Was a Shining Future , about the decisions and missteps that created the m...

On this episode, Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Brody Mullins joins Oren Cass to discuss his new book , coauthored with Politico’s Luke Mullins, about the corrosive influence of corporate power in politics, the evolution of the lobbying industry, and changes that could make Congress more responsive to the will of the voters. For more, check out The Wolves of K Street , out now.

On this episode, Oren is joined by the Marathon Initiative’s Robert Delfeld to discuss how to broaden and strengthen the defense industrial base. They dig into the history and politics of the defense industry, the effects of deindustrialization on the supply chain, and a blueprint for supporting the defense industrial “sub-base.” Read Robert’s new report, Broadening the Base: A Blueprint for Expan...

Ashley Rogers Berner, director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, joins Oren for a discussion of educational pluralism: the key to ensuring choice  and standards in K–12 schools. They survey the international landscape, trends in educational philosophies, and what it would look like to fully embrace a pluralistic model in the United States. For more, check out Ashley's new b...

On this special Earth Day episode of the podcast, Oren is joined by Thomas Hochman, a research associate at the Foundation for American Innovation. They discuss American energy policy, the promise of nuclear, climate change, regulatory hurdles, and much more. For more from Thomas, check out:   A Nuclear Renaissance? , The New Atlantis It’s Not Just NEPA: Reforming Environmental Permitting , Americ...

On this episode of the American Compass Podcast, Oren is joined by Michael Pettis, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, for an in-depth discussion of the dollar as the global reserve currency: pros, cons, and what it all means for the American economy. Further Reading The High Price of Dollar Dominance (Michael Pettis, Foreign Affairs ) Bad Trade (Michael Pettis, American Compass) Talkin’ (Pol...

On this episode of Talkin’ (Policy) Shop, Oren and Chris dive into American Compass’s latest survey results on American attitudes toward the role and scope of government. Conventional wisdom says Americans are hopelessly polarized over “big government” vs. “small government,” but our new survey reveals a much more complicated picture. Read the full survey: The American Appetite for Government

On this episode, Oren Cass is joined by Scott Gatzemeier, Corporate Vice President of Front End U.S. Expansion at Micron Technology, to discuss the on-the-ground reality of the CHIPS Act rollout. In this fascinating discussion, Scott shares details on Micron’s plans to build new semiconductor fabs in the U.S., enabled by the CHIPS Act. He and Oren dive into the economics of the site selection proc...

This month, Oren Cass delivered the 2024 First Things Lecture in Washington, DC, on the topic, "Constructing Conservatism in the Secular Age." What should conservative politics look like at a time when many Americans are no longer religious?

In this episode of the American Compass Podcast, Oren Cass talks with Patrick Ruffini, founding partner of Echelon Insights, about his book "Party of the People," which examines the Republican Party's transformation in recent years. Ruffini argues that the divide between college-educated and non-college voters has become the defining cleavage in American politics. Ruffini and Cass d...

How can the media better understand the reality of American life outside the Beltway, and what are reporters missing about these shifting economic and political debates? From American Compass's recent symposium on the New Conservative Story, David Leonhardt of the New York Times moderates a discussion with Emily Jashinsky (National Journalism Center and The Federalist) and Idrees Kahloon (The...

What does the right-of-center's economic debate mean for political leaders and how is it being translated into electoral politics in 2024 and beyond? From American Compass's  recent symposium on the New Conservative Story, Jerry Seib of the Wall Street Journal moderates a discussion with Michael Brendan Dougherty (National Review) and Tim Chapman (Advancing American Freedom) about what c...

How is conservative thinking about economic policy and the role of government changing? From our recent symposium on the New Conservative Story, Rana Foroohar of the Financial Times moderates a discussion with Julius Krein (American Affairs) and Michael Strain (American Enterprise Institute) digging into how the American right-of-center is thinking about economic policies from trade to government...

On this episode of the American Compass podcast, Oren Cass is joined by John A. Burtka IV, president and CEO of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and author of the new book of old wisdom on governing, Gateway to Statesmanship. They discuss how to cultivate and educate a better elite, what the “mirrors for princes” tradition has to teach today’s leaders, and, of course, aristo-populism. Click h...

On this episode of Talkin’ (Policy) Shop, Oren and Chris weigh in on the ongoing fight over the Child Tax Credit in Congress and discuss more broadly the question of how conservatives should think about supporting families—without getting mired in 30-year-old fights about welfare. Further Reading: Our new survey: The Family Policy Renaissance, Explained Issues 2024: Family Putting the Money Where...

On this episode of Talkin’ (Policy) Shop, Oren and Chris discuss globalization—how we got here, the problems it has created, and what policymakers should do now. Drawing on our new survey (out today!), they dig into what voters think and how and why economists and policymakers are so disconnected from average Americans on this issue. Specifically, we find that: 47% of Americans say that the nation...