Podcast details

The Realignment

The Realignment

The United States is in the midst of a dramatic political realignment with shifting views on national security, economics, technology, and the role of government in our lives. Saagar Enjeti and Marshall Kosloff explore this with thinkers, policymakers, and more.

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Books Mentioned in This Podcast

Πολιτικά (Politiká)

Πολιτικά (Politiká)

by Aristotle

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This is something I think a lot of people just get very, very wrong, is it like censorship is political; like human nature is like Aristotle means a political animal.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 44: Joe Lonsdale, Free Speech is Under Attack

How to Be an Antiracist

How to Be an Antiracist

by Ibram X. Kendi, Cristina Lizarbe

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I would say right now, you could raise her taxes by 25% but as long as she could remain in good social standing in PTA, aka not being aligned with Trump, not being anti-Black Lives Matter, she could go to her book club and talk about white fragility and Ibrahim Kendi's anti-racism books.

Episode: Ep. 48: Marshall, Saagar, and Emily Jashinsky Debate the Future Of Social Conservatism and the GOP

How to Be an Antiracist

How to Be an Antiracist

by Ibram X. Kendi, Cristina Lizarbe

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He’s essentially said he desires to be a bridge to the future represented by figures like Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris, both of whom hold ideologies resembling an Ibrahim Kendi approach and will likely lack oversight from moderate voices.

Episode: Ep. 48: Marshall, Saagar, and Emily Jashinsky Debate the Future Of Social Conservatism and the GOP

The war on normal people

The war on normal people

by Andrew Yang

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You wrote your book before you ran for your candidacy, but how many years before that did you kind of see the Fourth Industrial Revolution kind of happening before your eyes?

Episode: Ep. 50: The Realignment x Andrew Yang Crossover

Evicted

Evicted

by Matthew Desmond

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A lot of those who read Matthew Desmond's book, Evicted, think it's about bad landlords in Milwaukee—it’s a great book—but it’s really about Milwaukee. The particular circumstances there incentivize landlords to behave in such a manner.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 54: Matt Yglesias, The Case for 1 Billion Americans

The Strange Death of Europe

The Strange Death of Europe

by Douglas Murray

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He wrote The Strange Death of Europe back in 2017 about immigration.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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I'm very keen that people realize the two things: first of all, I completely agree with you, and it’s very important to state—I stated at the opening of The Madness of Crowds—every single one of the rights issues I'm talking about starts not only in a good place but an exceptionally admirable place.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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Now, here's one way of doing that—I say in The Madness of Crowds, what if we could agree on a certain definition and, indeed, objective?

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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And it's certainly fair to say that elements of the left were more vocal, more involved in each of the rights movements that I'm talking about in The Madness of Crowds than they were on the right.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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And he, in his extraordinary perception on this, is something I pick up and run with in The Madness of Crowds where I say the civil rights fight in the 1960s was a real dragon slaying.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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And one of the oddities of the situation in America in particular is—and I say this in The Madness of Crowds—the extent to which, after these battles are won, the wannabe dragon slayers who would have loved to have been with them with Martin Luther King in the march on Washington, who would have loved to have been the Stonewalling, who would have loved to have been with the Suffragettes, find themselves weirdly arguing more vociferously, unpleasantly than the people who were fighting the real fights.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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I say this in The Madness of Crowds: to read a hugely celebrated black writer today like, like Toni Morrison is to read somebody who writes more angrily about America than James Baldwin did when there were many, many more things to be angry about.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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I would say this, first of all, by the way, I say in the gay chapter and I say in the trans chapter in The Madness of Crowds that the LGBT issue—I said this ahead of Dave Chappelle, I might add by the way—I said the LGBT bit of the alphabet doesn't add together.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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And I explain in The Madness of Crowds why the trans issue is quite unlike all the other bits of LGBT.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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That doesn't mean that we shouldn't treat trans people with respect, but the trans question—and I say this in the last chapter of The Madness of Crowds—is a very little-known question.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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The intersectionalists, who I critique in The Madness of Crowds, have always had a problem with class.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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One of the things that I say at one point in The Madness of Crowds is, if you play the intersectional game, including the representation game, on the terms of the intersectionalists, you actually may get yourself to a situation where all you've done is create a new hierarchy.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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By the way, a very quick example of that, if I may say this in The Madness of Crowds, is why we have the weird thing of people being thrown out of their character group if they think the wrong things.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

The Madness of Crowds

by Douglas Murray

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Madness of Crowds, I recommend everybody go out there and buy the book.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 65: Douglas Murray, The Madness of Crowds

Billion Dollar Loser

Billion Dollar Loser

by Reeves Wiedeman

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So Reeves, you've just authored 'Billion Dollar Loser', the epic rise and spectacular fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork.

Episode: Ep. 69: Reboot 2020 | Reeves Wiedeman, What Adam Neumann’s Rise a& Fall Means for the Future of Tech

Billion Dollar Loser

Billion Dollar Loser

by Reeves Wiedeman

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The book is a narrative book, so I suggest everyone who purchases it just reads through that part.

Episode: Ep. 69: Reboot 2020 | Reeves Wiedeman, What Adam Neumann’s Rise a& Fall Means for the Future of Tech

Zero to One

Zero to One

by Peter A. Thiel, Blake Masters

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I've been inspired by Peter Thiel's vision that we have too much innovation in the world of bits but not enough in the world of atoms, in 'rust out' that refers to this age of decadence. It seems that one of the reasons many boomers and others struggle to think critically about today’s politics is that we haven't lived in a moment similar to this since what? 1912, 13?

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 70: Dr. Eric Weinstein, The Real Stakes of 2020

Aeneis

Aeneis

by Publius Vergilius Maro

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Yeah, I think that's one that I absolutely is important, and this kind of brings us to our final section here, which is that one of the most important books I think for Marshall and I was Michael Lind's 'New Class War,' which we've talked a lot about here on the podcast, and he makes a point you know, in terms of the cultural politics that there really is no winning.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 72: Julius Krein, What’s Next for the Realignment?

The Decadent Society

The Decadent Society

by Ross Gregory Douthat

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Yeah, Ross, the last time we had you on, it was to discuss your book. It was, I mean, obviously the Deccan Society, it's an incredible book.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 73: Ross Douthat, Lessons for the Right and Left After 2020

The Decadent Society

The Decadent Society

by Ross Gregory Douthat

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Yeah, Ross, the last time we had you on, it was to discuss your book. It was, I mean, obviously the Deccan Society, it's an incredible book.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 73: Ross Douthat, Lessons for the Right and Left After 2020

The Decadent Society

The Decadent Society

by Ross Gregory Douthat

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Oh, if everybody checks out Ross's book, The Decadent Society, and his podcast, The Argument, where Jane will soon be joining him, it's absolutely excellent and will continue to be so. Thank you, guys; have a good one.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 73: Ross Douthat, Lessons for the Right and Left After 2020

The Culture of Narcissism

The Culture of Narcissism

by Christopher Lasch

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The political denomination or orientation is liberal, the psychological type as Lash talks about, it is narcissist.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 75: Anna Khachiyan Stares Into the Abyss

Post Corona

Post Corona

by Scott Galloway

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Before we get into your book, Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity, which I really enjoyed, by the way, I want to mention that this was one of the books I read before the show—something that doesn't happen always, but it's a real testament to your work.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 77: Scott Galloway, Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity

Post Corona

Post Corona

by Scott Galloway

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Thank you both; Marshall and I are big fans, so thank you very much, and everyone should go check out the book Post Corona. Thanks for having me, Tommy.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 77: Scott Galloway, Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity

Scoop Evelyn Waugh

Scoop Evelyn Waugh

by Evelyn Waugh

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Which is the building that Evelyn Waugh describes in 'Scoop' with Lord Copper.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 78: Andrew Sullivan, the Best and Worst Case Joe Biden Scenarios

Up All Night

Up All Night

by Lisa Napoli

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So we are here to talk about your book, Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24-Hour News. But a good place to start would be your thoughts on the future.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 80: Lisa Napoli on CNN, Ted Turner, and the Future of Cable News

Ray & Joan

Ray & Joan

by Lisa Napoli

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Look, I wrote a book before this book about the creation of McDonald's. Well, it wasn't really about the creation of McDonald's, but it wound up being a lot about the creation of McDonald's.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 80: Lisa Napoli on CNN, Ted Turner, and the Future of Cable News

Ray & Joan

Ray & Joan

by Lisa Napoli

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This book was called 'Ray and Joan: The Man Who Made the McDonald's Fortune and the Woman Who Gave It All Away.' I couldn't sell the book when it was just about Joan because nobody, you know, as much as everybody loves women and women are so great, nobody would buy the book when it was just about Joan Kroc, who was the greatest under-recognized and most interesting philanthropist of her time.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 80: Lisa Napoli on CNN, Ted Turner, and the Future of Cable News

Up All Night

Up All Night

by Lisa Napoli

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It almost didn't happen, which is a big part of the story that I write in the book, that it almost didn't happen. So many things went wrong; finally, it got up.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 80: Lisa Napoli on CNN, Ted Turner, and the Future of Cable News

Up All Night

Up All Night

by Lisa Napoli

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Lisa, this has been such an incredible episode; I want to make sure that people know about the book 'Up All Night.' They can find it on Amazon.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 80: Lisa Napoli on CNN, Ted Turner, and the Future of Cable News

The wise men: Six friends and the world they made

The wise men: Six friends and the world they made

by Walter Isaacson, Evan Thomas

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He was smart enough to understand this is the guy I have to talk to, and not only did he talk to him during the day, but Walter Isaacson described in The Wise Men how at the end of every day, Truman would make his staff get in the car and drive over to Vandenberg’s townhouse and brief him on everything they had done that day.

Episode: The Realignment Ep. 81: Joe Scarborough on Saving Freedom After WWII & Grappling w/ the Realignment

Why We're Polarized

Why We're Polarized

by Ezra Klein

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Um, you know, uh, so like, uh, Ezra Klein's book, I don't know if you've seen why we're polarized, you might have read it. Yeah, you know, the one thing he emphasizes every actor in the system is sort of acting rationally.

Episode: The Realignment Season Finale: Richard Hanania on the Working-Class Realignment Myth