The New Liberal Podcast

The US has a housing crisis, but how did we get here?  Vox's Jerusalem Demsas joins the show to discuss the politics of housing.  What does the public really think about building more housing? What motivates NIMBYs - economic self interest, fear of change, or something else? How much should we worry about accusations of gentrification when new housing gets built? We cover all this and more. To hea...

How common is pollution in the United States, and what kind of practical impact does it have?  Economist Claudia Persico joins the podcast to discuss her new report for PPI's Innovation Frontier Project, titled "How Exposure To Pollution Quietly Shapes The American Workforce And Economy".  We discuss the ways in which pollution impacts our health, our economy, our children, and more.  We also disc...

Why are so many crucial parts of a good life becoming more and more expensive over time?  And why is "Let's just use the government to pay for it" not a satisfactory response? Sam Hammond and Daniel Takash of the Niskanen Center join the podcast to talk about their new report "Cost Disease Socialism".  We discuss why education, childcare, healthcare and housing are rapidly increasing in cost, as w...

It's the fourth episode of our Liberalism Around the World series, examining the state of liberalism in many countries and regions. This week's episode is all about liberalism in Bangladesh. Our guest is Imran Khan, a policy analyst, climate advocate and lead of the Bangladesh Neoliberals chapter. We talk about Bangladesh's political history, the country's struggles with democracy and corruption,...

With gigantic infrastructure bills making their way through Congress, Jeremiah outlines a vision of what a neoliberal infrastructure package should look like. Which types of 'hard infrastructure' are most valuable?  What about the 'soft infrastructure', or new social welfare spending?  Which parts of these bills deserve even more funding, and should any parts be dropped?  And how should these bill...

What's going on with the infrastructure bills in Congress?  Business Insider's Grace Panetta and PPI's Ben Ritz join the podcast to talk about these giant infrastructure bills.  What's in the bills?  Why are they split in two?  Why are moderates and progressives fighting about the timing of the bills?  What's likely to actually end up in the final versions, and what are the chances these bills act...

The age old question - how do we actually define neoliberalism?  Philosopher Kevin Vallier talks about his new entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy that attempts to set a firm definition of what neoliberalism is.  We discuss the core features that defined the neoliberalism of Hayek, Friedman and Buchanan, the differences between the original neoliberals and modern neoliberals, and the...

How should we think about the recent protests in Cuba?  Author and commentator Antonio Garcia Martinez joins the show to discuss politics in Cuba.  We discuss the fascinating history of the internet in Cuba, how technology led to the recent round of protests, how the state has reacted to this new wave of protests and technology, and what the US should do to help everyday Cubans.   Links: Inside Cu...

Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) joined the Center for New Liberalism for a Twitch livestream to discuss his work in Congress on Cybersecurity and Inequality.  CNL director Colin Mortimer and Rep. Himes discuss how the US should respond to state-sponsored cyber-attacks, how the US can prepare itself for those kinds of attacks, the top drivers of inequality and why inequality is bad in the first place...

How can we reduce the harm from dangerous products like cigarettes and other drugs?  NYU professor Ray Niaura joins the show to talk about harm reduction policies.  We discuss government interventions like sin taxes, warning labels, and advertising restrictions on cigarettes, as well as how we should think about new smoking alternatives like vaping. We also talk about how to best reduce the harm f...

It's the return of Real Neoliberal Hour, with political junkies and comedians Andrea Jones Rooy and Andrew Heaton. The gang discusses bipartisanship, Critical Race Theory, communist microwaves, racist fish, and why podcast listeners are so much smarter than talk radio listeners.   To make sure you hear every episode, join our Patreon at  https://www.patreon.com/neoliberalproject . Patrons get acce...

Jeremiah recaps the best books he's read so far in 2021, including books covering the practice of medicine, artificial intelligence, political organizing, history, economics, and more - 18 books total! Also included are reviews for science fiction and web fiction, and the worst book Jeremiah's read in the last decade. To make sure you hear every episode, join our Patreon at  https://www.patreon.co...

Why are there so many proposals to break up Big Tech, and what impact would that have?  PPI's Director of Technology Policy Alec Stapp joins the podcast to discuss the recent antitrust bills in Congress aimed at the biggest tech companies in the US.  We discuss which bills make sense and which don't, what members of congress don't seem to get about platforms, how these bills would impact foreign p...

The Neoliberal Project is proud to announce our first ever Week of Action.  We're hosting 35+ events in 7 countries as our local chapters come back with a bang in the new post-COVID world. We're also having our first ever membership drive, encouraging all our neoliberal supporters to become official members of the Neoliberal Project. Your memberships and donations help us do the work of building o...

It's the two year anniversary of Jeremiah's kidney donation, and in this episode he makes the argument that you, the listener, should also consider donating.  Jeremiah discusses why kidney disease is such a large problem, how much good a donated kidney can do, and why the risks of donation are minimal.  He also answers commonly asked questions about the logistics of giving up a kidney, and argues...

This episode is a joint episode - I sit down with Richard Reeves, Brookings Institute Senior Fellow, Author of 'Dream Hoarders' and host of the new podcast Dialogues with Richard Reeves.  We compare modern liberalism with previous generations of liberalism, discuss the importance of pluralism in a liberal society, and talk about the future of liberalism in the US over the next decade.   Recommende...

Virginia Postrel, author of The Fabric of Civilization, joins the show for a wide ranging conversation.  We discuss the history of cloths, textiles, and fabrics as detailed in her recent book, and why the history of fabrics is often the same thing as the history of technology.  We also discuss dynamic vs static attitudes toward the economy and society, the relationship between textiles and economi...

How is Substack changing online media, and are those changes making our discourse better or worse?  Substack CEO Chris Best joins the show to discuss all things Substack.  We talk about Substack's origins and mission, the various ways in which Substack differs from traditional media outlets, some of the recent controversies around content on Substack, and the role that companies like Substack play...

It's a mailbag episode!  Jeremiah takes listener questions on voting methods, whether debt is dangerous, land value taxes, future guests, interviewing techniques, the NYC mayor's race, and much more! Want to hear your question on the next mailbag episode?  Send it to mailbag@neoliberalproject.org. To make sure you hear every episode, join our Patreon at  https://www.patreon.com/neoliberalproject ....

Is openness beneficial or harmful to societies, past and present? Swedish author Johan Norberg joins the show to discuss his book Open: The Story of Human Progress and talk about openness throughout history.  We discuss how open exchange, free movement, and openness to new cultures and new ideas have been key to building some of the biggest empires throughout history - and how those same values ca...

Why do people bitterly defend their beliefs no matter what, instead of just searching for what is true?  Julia Galef joins the podcast to discuss her new book The Scout Mindset.  We discuss the differences between Scout Mindset and Soldier Mindset, what makes it so hard to change our minds, how to improve at being less biased, and the intersection between identity and belief. Recommended Reading:...

How did right wing media reach the sorry state it's in today?  Media Matters senior fellow Matt Gertz joins the podcast to talk about Fox News and the rest of the right wing media.  How did the conservative media ecosystem develop over time?  Why isn't there a comparable left wing media?  Is Fox News taking cues from the GOP, or is the GOP taking cues from Fox News.  We discuss all this and more a...

The third episode of our Liberalism Around the World series, examining the state of liberalism in many countries and regions.  Our guests this week are Angelica Oung and Kwangyin Liu, two reporters living in Taipei, to talk about the state of politics in Taiwan. We talk about Taiwan's political history, the unusual political divide in Taiwan, the complicated interplay between Taiwan, China and the...

What is political hobbyism, and why is it a bad thing for our politics and our country?  Political Science professor Eitan Hersh joins the show to talk about his book Politics Is For Power.  We discuss why most people who talk about politics aren't doing anything useful, how actual political power is wielded at a local level, and how the Neoliberal Project can transition from being an online group...

How can Joe Biden's upcoming bills help territories like the Virgin Islands?  US House Representative Stacey Plaskett joins a joint episode of the Neoliberal Podcast and Radically Pragmatic, PPI's new podcast.  We discuss the history of the Virgin Islands, how Rep. Plaskett exerts influence despite being a non-voting member of Congress, and what's important for Virgin Islanders in the upcoming inf...