The New Liberal Podcast

The Trump administration is touting a new 28-point peace plan for Ukraine. Does it have any chance to end the fighting? Tamar Jacoby joins the podcast to discuss the state of the war in Ukraine, what Russia and Ukraine are really after, and why Ukraine is crucial for worldwide liberalism. To get bonus episodes, support us at  patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnliberalism.org/become-a-mem...

The New Orleans public school system was one of the worst school systems in the country - and that was before Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city and most of the schools. So how did New Orleans schools end up succeeding just a few years later? David Osborne joins the podcast to discuss his new documentary 'Turnaround', about how New Orleans reinvented their schools.  More info at turnarounddocume...

Today's episode comes from a live event CNL held with Francis Fukuyama during our New Liberal Action Summit in Washington DC. Frank and I discuss whether or not the internet is to blame for the global rise of populism, how worried we should be about right wing control of the media, and what role young liberals have to play in solving these problems. Check out Frank's podcast, Frankly Fukuyama, ove...

New York City is voting on ballot amendments that could unlock more housing - but the city council is opposing them. Alec Schierenbeck is the executive director of the city's Charter Revision Commission, and he joins the podcast to explain how the ballot measures work and what they'll do to unlock more housing. To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnliber...

Why is Congress shut down? Congressman Ritchie Torres joins the podcast to talk about Affordable Care Act subsidies, shutdown strategies, how Republicans in Congress have given up power to help Trump create an imperial presidency, and why now is the time for Democrats to fight. To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnliberalism.org/become-a-member Got ques...

From CBS to Twitter, from CNN to TikTok, right wing, Trump-aligned billionaires are taking over major media outlets. Why is this happening, what's the impact, and how concerned should you be? Matt Gertz joins the podcast to discuss the mainstream media's conservative takeover. To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnliberalism.org/become-a-member Got quest...

It's part two of our conversation with FIRE's Sarah McLaughlin - and we're talking about the threats to free speech under the Trump administration. Should Jimmy Kimmel have been fired? What is jawboning? Can Attorney General Pam Bondi really go after 'hate speech'? We discuss all these topics, the wider anti-speech atmosphere, and more! To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpo...

How does China use its considerable influence to try to stifle criticism in American universities? Sarah McLaughlin of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression joins the podcast to talk about her new book, Authoritarians in the Academy. We discuss how the Chinese government monitors their own citizens abroad, how they pressure universities into cancelling speakers from Tibet or Xinjiang...

Charlie Kirk was assassinated yesterday, and sadly that kind of political violence is no longer unusual in America. The last few years have seen a blitz of assassination attempts, bombings, shootings and more. Why is political violence rising in America? How should liberals respond? And is there anything we can do to stop it? To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or ...

What is the Build America Caucus? Representative Josh Harder joins the podcast to discuss why he founded the Build America Caucus, why he still believes in bipartisanship, and how to implement the best ideas for building more housing, infrastructure and energy. To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnliberalism.org/become-a-member Got questions? Send us a...

What are Democrats and Republicans doing in preparation for 2026? Dave Weigel is a political reporter at Semafor and he joins the podcast to discuss the 2026 midterms - What impact will gerrymandering have? What will the baseline partisan split be? What set of issues does each party want to focus on? To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnliberalism.org/b...

Social Security will be insolvent in seven years, and will face deep across-the-board cuts if no action is taken. Ben Ritz joins the program to discuss the new plan from the Center for Funding America's Future to save Social Security - how we can reduce benefits in a targeted way that doesn't cause much pain, how we can increase revenues in a smart way, and how we can transform the Social Security...

Everyone knows that the US auto industry is in decline... or is it? Adam Ozimek joins the podcast to discuss the real state of America's auto manufacturers, how it responded to challenges from Japan and other countries, how labor unions changed the geography of making cars, and how Trump's tariffs might impact the industry. Read more from Adam and EIG's report - https://eig.org/myths-and-lessons-f...

This episode is a joint episode with Andrew Heaton and The Political Orphanage podcast, where Andrew and I discuss the Federal Reserve. Why is it important to manage interest rates and the amount of money flowing through the economy? What would a different monetary system without the Fed look like? And why should the Fed remain independent? We discuss all this and more! To get bonus episodes, supp...

How are social media algorithms changing the way we communicate? Adam Aleksic is the author of the new book Algospeak, and he joins the podcast to discuss how social media users invent new words to get around algorithmic censorship, how social media changes our tone of voices, the rhythms of our speech, and ultimately changes how we understand one another. To get bonus episodes, support us at  pat...

What would it mean for America's schools to focus on excellence? Jack Despain Zhou is the founder of the Center for Educational Progress, a new think tank focused on promoting academic excellence. He joins the show to talk about whether we've gone too far in the pursuit of equity goals in education, how we can support and challenge students at every ability level, whether or not tracking is a good...

The big Republican bill to explode the deficit and cut healthcare has passed Congress and been signed by President Trump. But it's not just bad in the obvious ways - it's also terrible on energy policy. PPI's Director of Energy and Climate Policy Elan Sykes joins the podcast to discuss how Trump's bill will lead to more expensive and more polluting energy. Check out our previous discussion of the...

What's happening with Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill? Jason Furman and Ben Ritz join the podcast to discuss the long run impact the bill would have, why Republicans are so comfortable blowing up the deficit, and whether the Biden administration's mistakes are linked to the moment we're in now. To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnliberalism.org/be...

In the wake of Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein's book Abundance, there's been a significant amount of fighting amongst Democrats about the book and the broader Abundance movement. Jeremiah walks through the various camps involved in the fight, why some Democrats seem to hate the ideas of Abundance, and what this dispute is ultimately all about. Check out our episode with the author of Abundance, Der...

How does Russian propaganda work? Not the propaganda they aim at the West - but the propaganda they aim at their own citizens. Ian Garner studies Russian propaganda and he's the author of 'Z Generation: Into the Heart of Russia's Fascist Youth'. He joins the podcast to talk about Putin's control of the media, how social media influencers in Russia promote the war in Ukraine, and how Russia is crea...

Should we compensate living kidney donors for donating their kidneys? Elaine Perlman joins the show to discuss the End Kidney Deaths Act and the ethics of paying for organ donations. To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnliberalism.org/become-a-member Got questions? Send us a note at  mailbag@cnliberalism.org . Follow us at: https://twitter.com/CNLiberal...

Immigration is increasingly unpopular around the world. How can we build a system of immigration that benefits immigrants and natives while also maintaining political support? Alexander Kustov joins the podcast to discuss his new book, 'In Our Interest', which tackles that question. To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnliberalism.org/become-a-member Got...

Sports betting is now legal in most states in America. It's hard to attend a game or watch sports on TV without being inundated with gambling ads. Should we do something about it? Isaac Rose Berman is a fellow studying gambling policy at AIBM and he joins the podcast to talk about the rise of sports betting. How did we get to this point? Has gambling had negative consequences for vulnerable popula...

What's going on in Canada? J.J. McCullough joins to show to break down why Justin Trudeau suddenly left politics, what kind of legacy he leaves behind, how Mark Carney has turned things around for the Canadian Liberals, and why Trump might single-handedly swing the Canadian elections. To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnliberalism.org/become-a-member G...

Trump's tariffs are sinking the American economy and have sent markets spiraling downwards. What is Trump's supposed master plan? Why is the right now so obsessed with tariffs now, and what impact is this going to have on regular families and workers? Jeremiah breaks down what's happening and where we go from here. To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast  or  https://cnl...