The Realignment

Edward Fishman, author of Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare, joins The Realignment. Edward and Marshall discuss the rise of economic warfare, from the War on Terror to the Obama administration's Iran nuclear deal and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, economic warfare track record when it comes to accomplishing desired political outcomes, the impact of American sanctions on Russia and whether their effects were overstated at the war's outset, the potential deterring effects of economic warfare, their potential use in a U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan, and the greater meaning of the end of the globalization era of the 1990s and 2000s.

Ezra Klein, host of the Ezra Klein Show and co-author of Abundance, joins The Realignment. Ezra and Marshall discuss the Abundance Agenda, the housing crisis, the failure to build infrastructure and clean energy in Blue States, why 21st century liberalism needs an update, abundance's place in the Democratic Party's coalition, and whether wonky ideas can translate into winning political agendas.

Felicia Wong, Principal at the Roosevelt Institute, and Steve Teles, Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center and Johns Hopkins University Professor, return to The Realignment. Felicia, Steve, and Marshall debate and discuss the tensions between the rising "Abundance Agenda" faction and left populists, the role of unions, whether one can focus on increasing the supply of scarce goods and lowering prices while also addressing inequality, how to increase the effectiveness of government, and what a synthesis of different parts of the center to left spectrum could look like in 2028 and beyond.

George P. Bush, former Texas Land Commissioner, joins The Realignment for the first of a multi-month series on Texas and the future of American politics. Marshall and George discuss the lace and role of Texas in America's political realignment, the rise and fall of Blue Texas from the 2010s-2024, the impact of minorities moving to the right, the complexities of Latino identity, how politicians will respond to the rise of podcasts, his interest in AI's impact on elections, and preview upcoming coverage and interviews on Texas politics and policy.

Didi Kuo, author of The Great Retreat: How Political Parties Should Behave and Why They Don't, joins the Niskanen Center's Steve Teles and Marshall on The Realignment. Didi, Steve, and Marshall discuss why political parties have reached record levels of unpopularity in the United States, what "good" political parties could look like, the history of party reform organizations like the Democratic Leadership Council of the 1980s and 1990s, the positive case for political parties as a way of organizing the will of the people, and the differences between the American party system and alternatives across the democratic world.