Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The American Compass Podcast

Even as the U.S. begins decoupling from our Asian rival, the threat of a second “China shock”—one where the country’s economy dominates key resources and minerals—is rapidly emerging.

Brad Setser, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins Oren to dig into how China’s new wave of industrial overcapacity, currency manipulation, and continued cheap exports could ravage America’s economy a second time. They explore how this will impact the global economy, and how the Trump administration could respond with smart industrial policy.

Further reading:

• “The Case that China is Now Actively Resisting Pressure on the Yuan to Appreciate” by Brad Setser
• "We Warned About the First China Shock. The Next One Will Be Worse" by David Autor and Gordon Hanson

Are we all post-liberals now? 

The leading voice in the debate about what comes after liberalism, Notre Dame professor Patrick Deneen, joins the podcast to discuss where American politics is headed now that the push for a globalized society has failed to survive contact with geopolitical reality.

He and Oren unpack the failures of the liberal age, from free trade and open borders to foreign wars of adventure, and how a new conservatism helped deliver its demise. Finally, they make sense of where the waning liberalism of today leaves conservatives, and why young people are at the heart of this shift to something better.

Further reading:

• "We Are All Postliberals Now," by Patrick Deneen

The United States remains wholly dependent upon China for 95% of rare earth elements, 100% reliant on imports for 15 critical minerals, and over 80% reliant for eleven more. These minerals enable everything from batteries to semiconductors—and without domestic access, America’s technological dominance is at risk.

Robert Bryce, a leading energy policy scholar, joins Oren to explore how decades of shortsighted policy let China dominate critical supply chains, what it would take to rebuild them, and whether the West can shake off its complacent belief that “the market will fix it” before it’s too late. Finally, they close with a discussion on the promising future of domestic nuclear power.

Further reading:

• “Restoring Leadership in Critical Minerals” by Dean Ball
• Read Robert Bryce’s Substack

Over the last two weeks, an online battle has broken out among the New Right over the Israel-Iran conflict and the Trump administration's bombing of an Iranian nuclear facility. Regardless of whether the recent ceasefire between Iran and Israel holds, the events so far have drawn clear dividing lines within the coalition. What does "America First" mean for Middle Eastern policy?

Josh Hammer, author of Israel and Civilization, and Sohrab Ahmari, U.S. editor of UnHerd, join Oren to debate the wisdom of Trump's attack, the limits of Jacksonian restrictionist foreign policy, and how to think about the U.S. relationship with Israel. The group unpacks the intricacies of what a post-hegemonic world order actually looks like in the Middle East, and how best to respond to what could come next.

Further reading:

• “Is Israel the Ideal 'America First' Ally?” by Oren Cass

Economists have claimed for years that Americans are prospering more than ever before. So why do so few people feel that way?

Philip Pilkington, author of the forthcoming The Collapse of Global Liberalism, joins Oren to discuss how these economic metrics are obscuring real problems. The two challenge the assumption that consumption is an unalloyed good and discuss the need to think about our nation's economic health in a way that centers human flourishing.

Further reading:

• “The Limits of Consumption Deepening: Why Consuming More Makes Us Poorer” by Philip Pilkington

When news broke that the local paper mill in Chillicothe, OH, was closing its doors and laying off 780 employees, one Ohio senator made it his mission to fight for those workers.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) joins Oren to talk about his efforts to put American workers and their families first. The freshman senator explains how his background led him to Congress and breaks down the forces driving the political realignment he’s helping lead. The two discuss how the Republican Party can better serve its voters on labor, trade, and beyond, as well as the need to fight against private equity firms and other forces seeking to outsource American jobs.

Today’s Republican Party has come a long way from the days of William F. Buckley, Jr., but his legacy continues to be felt across the conservative movement.

Sam Tanenhaus, former editor of the New York Times Book Review and author of the newly released Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, joins Oren to discuss the conservative statesman’s life and work. The two discuss how Buckley viewed himself as a reactionary bent on overthrowing the liberal orthodoxy of his day, his work to realign the party, and what those who aim to do likewise today can learn from his legacy.

Further reading:

• “William F. Buckley, Jr. and the Politics of Reality" by Michael Lind

Vice President JD Vance joined Oren Cass at American Compass’s five-year anniversary celebration for a wide-ranging discussion of the ongoing political realignment, the importance of conservative economics, and where the movement goes from here.

During their conversation at the New World Gala, Vance and Cass discuss the rapid shift in conservative thinking on issues like trade, industrial policy, and education, as well as the Trump administration’s strategies for prioritizing workers, families, and communities. Finally, Vance offers his advice for young conservatives looking to help build a conservative movement oriented toward the common good.

American conservatism has never been static. Changes in our national political environment have previously shifted what the Republican Party stands for. But how does today’s New Right compare to earlier realignments driven by President Ronald Reagan or William F. Buckley Jr.?

Before the June 3rd release of The New Conservatives, Matthew Continetti, director of domestic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Oren to talk through the history of recent conservative realignments. The two discuss how previous ideological realignments have taken root in various Washington think tanks and institutions, how President Trump's revolution compares to Reagan's, and where the remnants of the Old Right coalition will end up in our new political environment.

Globalization and deindustrialization have brought with them a sense among American workers that the good jobs they could once count on have disappeared. As family-supporting careers evaporate, service jobs with lower pay and unpredictable hours take their place in many communities across the country.

Zeynep Ton, professor of practice at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, joins Oren to discuss what a better future of work could look like. The two talk through what a “good job” means today, in a world where frontline service-sector work dominates U.S. employment. Plus, they unpack why stability, career growth, and supportive pay for the jobs that already exist—rather than a focus on training for the “jobs of the future”—is vital to supporting America’s workers.

Further reading:

• “Building a Strong U.S. Middle Class Requires High-Productivity, High-Dignity Service Jobs,” by Zeynep Ton

The Trump administration’s new trade policy toward China has revealed just how deeply enmeshed major American corporations are with our chief geopolitical rival. Apple’s story is perhaps the most dramatic.

Patrick McGee, author of Apple in China and San Francisco correspondent for the Financial Times, joins Oren to discuss how Apple, like so many other nominally American companies, is constrained by the rules, regulations, and industrial preferences of the Chinese Communist Party. They break down how China dominates its peer competitors, the way multinational corporations sleepwalked into the present crisis, and the possibility of America breaking China’s industrial chokehold.

Further reading:

• Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company by Patrick McGee
• Trade with Communists Should Be Uncertain by Oren Cass
• Disfavored Nation by Mark DiPlacido, Chris Griswold, and Trevor Jones

The second Trump administration has spurred a wave of domestic industrial investment and a recognition that making things in America matters. But what does that look like from the factory floor?

Chris Power, founder and CEO of Hadrian, joins Oren to discuss how his company is helping lead reindustrialization efforts here in the United States. He explains the revolutionary technologies Hadrian uses to compete at scale with foreign firms and highlights just how different the manufacturing jobs of today are compared to what many think of as “factory work.” Finally, he and Oren talk through ways policymakers can support the domestic industrial startups we need to return America to its place as the world’s leading technological and industrial power.

Further reading:

• The Techno-Industrial Policy Playbook, published this week by American Compass, FAI, IFP, and NAIA
• Not By Tariff Alone by Chris Griswold 
• What An Enduring Industrial Policy Requires by Charles Yang 
• Tear Down this Paper Wall by Christopher Koopman and Josh T. Smith 

What should conservatives make of the first 100 days of Trump’s second term? Rachel Bovard, vice president of programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute, joins Oren to discuss how to measure an unconventional administration’s early successes, what to make of DOGE, and where the administration should direct its efforts to capitalize on its public mandate.

Plus, they discuss one major change that all conservatives should celebrate: a better approach to antitrust enforcement, led by Andrew Ferguson and Mark Meador at the FTC and Gail Slater at DOJ.

Further reading:

• “Break ’em Up” by Rachel Bovard
• “Antitrust’s Conservative Future” by FTC Commissioner Mark Meador

How has the American media gone from the days of Walter Cronkite to open hostility toward the president and his party?

Mark Halperin, editor-in-chief of 2Way and host of the new program "Next Up" on the Megyn Kelly network, joins guest host and managing editor Drew Holden for a conversation about the state of the U.S. media. They discuss why the media so often gets the story wrong about President Trump, why the press refused to cover former President Biden's decline, and the incentive structure behind mainstream media's institutional descent into a liberal echo chamber. Plus, the two place bets on whether the media has any hope of internal reform.

If you’ve spent time on social media or watched cable news recently, you’ve almost certainly encountered some of globalization’s staunchest defenders, trotting out their favorite arguments against tariffs.

On today’s episode, Mark DiPlacido, American Compass policy advisor, joins Oren to break down the worst of these arguments and share some handy responses for your next important meeting, debate in the office break room, or cocktail party. After spending the past couple weeks on the media circuit, Mark and Oren run through some of their favorites: Should you need a PhD to discuss economics? Does the trade deficit really not matter? These are only the tip of the bad-take iceberg.

For more, check out our tariffs symposium, "After Liberation Day."

The congressman who introduced the bill to implement President Trump’s 10% global tariff wasn’t a member of his own party, but a conservative Democrat from a Trump-won district in Maine.

Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME), the sponsor of the BUILT USA Act, which would set the 10% global rate, joined Oren to talk about why Congress needs to permanently codify the new trade policy. To spur long-term investment in American industry and lift its workers, Golden and Cass agree, requires a policy with more sticking power than an executive order. Congressman Golden also explains his path to championing this issue, why so many of his constituents in Northern Maine support Trump’s recent move, and whether it’s possible for tariffs to become a bipartisan issue once again.

For decades, American men have been in crisis. Globalization has caused millions of jobs to disappear, divorce rates have increased, life expectancy has decreased, and deaths of despair have skyrocketed in many working-class communities.

Amber Lapp, research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and stay-at-home mom, began talking to her neighbors in her working-class community in southwestern Ohio over a decade ago to try to get to the bottom of it. She joins Oren to share the real stories of America’s missing men, and discuss why she felt called to leave Manhattan and move to Ohio to better understand working-class life in America. The two dive into the value of getting to know your neighbors in an atomized age and what can be done to begin to reverse this crisis.

Further reading:

• “America's Missing Men” by Amber Lapp

The “China Shock”—triggered by the country’s entry into the World Trade Organization—devastated America’s heartland, causing a sudden exodus of manufacturing jobs and disrupting the communities that depended on them. Promoters of globalization promised “better” jobs would take their place. Nearly 25 years later, has that happened?

David Autor, professor of economics at MIT and co-author of the famous “China Shock” paper, joins Oren to talk about the effects of free trade on America’s working class. They also examine Autor’s latest paper, which highlights that the new jobs in the hardest-hit communities often don’t provide the pay or stability that the jobs outsourced by globalization did—and, even worse, that many former workers lack access to these jobs altogether. Plus, they explore the rise of automation in manufacturing and the implications of AI for American workers.

Further reading:

• "Places versus People: The Ins and Outs of Labor Market Adjustment to Globalization" by David Autor, David Dorn, et al. 
• "The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade" by David Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon Hanson

The “abundance agenda” has taken the policy world by storm recently, led by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, who advocate for prioritizing the supply side and removing barriers to building our productive capacity.

This week, Ezra joins Oren to make the case for how the theory could be put into practice. In this wide-ranging conversation, the two explore the sclerosis that has held back blue cities like New York and San Francisco, potential political roadblocks to implementing the agenda, and where conservatives can find common cause with it. Plus, they debate whether the Democratic Party can be the flagship of abundance while prioritizing the climate change movement.

As outside groups continuously file lawsuits to slow down the Trump administration’s agenda, many Americans are wondering: how much power does the president rightfully have?

Jack Goldsmith, Harvard Law professor and co-author of the Executive Functions Substack, joins Oren to break down the judicial landscape less than two months into the second Trump administration. They discuss the modern presidency and constitutionalism, limits on executive authority, and everything from impoundment to more aggressive theories of the unitary executive.

America isn’t the only place where the political Right is beginning to move in a new direction.

On this episode, Michael Gove, the legendary former Conservative UK MP and cabinet secretary and current editor of the Spectator, joined for a discussion of trade, tariffs, and where conservatism is headed across the Atlantic.

They talked through the challenges faced by the British Right to combat the legacy of free trade, which mirror fights in the American Right today. Following Vice President Vance’s remarks in Munich about our European allies, the two discuss how a nation founded to “get away from continental entanglements” and “ancestral quarrels” should approach foreign policy.

For more, watch Gove and Cass’s dramatic victory in a debate at the recent Alliance for Responsible Citizenship’s conference in London about whether “protectionist policies make us poorer.” (Spoiler alert: they do not.)

Every app on your phone brags about being “AI-powered.” Policymakers and pundits predict that the technology will soon dominate every aspect of life. But what’s actually happening with AI, and what can America do to “win” the global race to activate the tech’s promise?

On this episode, Colin Kahl, Biden’s former undersecretary of defense for policy and now co-director of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, breaks down where things stand. He and Oren talk through what the AI debate gets wrong, whether “winning” the tech race with China is even a sensible goal, and the policy decisions that confront today’s leaders.

Further reading:

• “Is It Interesting to Say That AI Isn’t That Interesting?” by Oren Cass 
• “Here’s Why Oren Is Wrong About AI,” by Abigail Ball

Remember when the student loan market melted down during the George W. Bush administration? No? That’s because Karl Zinsmeister, Bush’s chief domestic policy advisor, kept it from happening. Every administration encounters this kind of near-calamity and relies on the steady hands of staff to address them.

On this episode, Zinsmeister joins to tell that story for the first time, and explains how the Trump-Vance administration should think about its popular mandate. He and Oren talk about the ascendant populist wing of the Republican Party, why Zinsmeister believes it isn’t as different from the spirit of Bush 43 as some might think, and what Trump’s return portends for the country and conservatism.

Further reading:

• Backbone: Maverick essays in praise of middle America—Why American Populism Should Be Welcomed, Not Feared by Karl Zinsmeister.

On a special, tax-focused episode of the Talkin’ (Policy) Shop, chief economist Oren Cass and policy director Chris Griswold join guest host Drew Holden to talk about the brewing fight on Capitol Hill about taxes.

The group makes sense of what we learned from the soon-expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the malign legacy of the anti-tax fundamentalism that has animated the Republican Party for decades, and what the American people actually want from the tax code. Finally, they dive into American Compass’s new collection of proposals for fiscally responsible conservative tax reform.

Further reading:

• No Tax Cut Is Free, American Compass
• “The Fringe Cause That Could Derail the Republican Agenda,” by Oren Cass, New York Times

Just in time for the Super Bowl, Jude Russo, managing editor at the American Conservative joins Oren to discuss the proliferation of online sports betting and the harm done by the technology.

The two discuss the damaging consequences—from increased bankruptcies to upticks in domestic violence and beyond—we've seen in states that have allowed the practice and why it shouldn't be treated as just an innocent pastime. Finally, they talk through what can be done to rein in the now-ubiquitous apps undermining fans' enjoyment as we approach sports' biggest night.

Further reading: "It's Not Too Late to Ban Online Sportsbook" by Jude Russo.

On this episode, Leah Sargeant, author of Other Feminisms, joins to debunk claims blaming pro-life state laws for the death of expecting mothers in the wake of the Dobbs decision.

She and Oren Cass discuss the misleading reporting that ignited these false allegations and diagnose the real problem: the often tragically poor quality of maternal health care. The two unpack why the allegations not only side-step the real conversations needed around supporting pregnant women but also endanger all expecting mothers.

And they talk about what a realigned conservative movement should do to support mothers during and, critically, after their babies are born.

Further reading:

• "Pro-Life Laws Didn't Kill These Women" by Leah Sargeant 

On this episode, Ethics and Public Policy Center fellow Patrick T. Brown joins guest host and American Compass managing editor Drew Holden to discuss how COVID's remote-work baptism-by-fire led to a surprising boom in babies born during the pandemic.

The two talk through the lessons that companies should take away from the experience in order to support working parents as well as why these companies, and society more broadly, should be expected to help share the burdens placed on new parents. And as President Trump returns to the White House, they take stock of the GOP's realignment on how best to support families.

Further reading:

• "Remote Work Created a Baby Boom. Can We Keep It Up?" by Patrick T. Brown

Why would any sane parent subject themselves to the high costs and grueling hours of travel sports teams for their kids?

In this episode, Michael Brendan Dougherty, senior writer at National Review, joins to discuss his feature essay on the subject for our just-launched magazine, Commonplace. As a dance and travel baseball dad himself, he explains that these teams are often the only ways kids and parents today can form high-trust communities in an atomized world much different from the one Dougherty grew up in.

He and Oren also talk about the conservative media universe more broadly, and how Commonplace can offer an alternative to the legacy publications resistant to the changing interests and priorities of ordinary Americans on the new right-of-center.

Further Reading:

• "In Defense of Travel Teams" by Michael Brendan Dougherty.

President-elect Trump campaigned on a fresh economic platform prioritizing ordinary Americans, departing considerably from the Old Guard Republican Party that came before him. But how much of that innovative thinking will actually become policy in his second term?

Oren Cass appeared at the American Economic Association’s annual meeting on a panel alongside former Council of Economic Advisors Jason Furman (Obama admin) and Richard Burkhauser (Trump admin) as well as economist Kimberly Clausing, to make sense of what will come next, and the forces that could try to slow down the president-elect’s changes.

This is the second in a two-part series from the discussion, focused on immigration and financial policy. To listen to part one, about trade and industrial policy, click here. And you can read the New York Times story about the panel here: "Economists Are in the Wilderness. Can They Find a Way Back to Influence?"

President-elect Trump campaigned on a fresh economic platform prioritizing ordinary Americans, departing considerably from the Old Guard Republican Party that came before him. But how much of that innovative thinking will actually become policy in his second term?

Oren Cass appeared at the American Economic Association's annual meeting on a panel alongside former Council of Economic Advisors Jason Furman (Obama admin) and Richard Burkhauser (Trump admin) as well as economist Kimberly Clausing, to make sense of what will come next, and the forces that could try to slow down the president-elect's changes. 

This is the first in a two-part series from the discussion, focused on trade and industrial policy. Stay tuned for more soon.

Every political movement needs a home for its ideas. Commonplace is the answer for today’s right-of-center.

On this episode, Helen Andrews, our new features editor, joins Oren to discuss the forthcoming launch of Commonplace—a new magazine from American Compass, making sense of the political, economic, and cultural concerns that shape America today.

Helen unpacks how a conservative media universe dedicated to replaying the hits of the 1980s created the need for a new intellectual home. Looking ahead, she previews some of the pieces readers can look forward to reading later this month and explains how Commonplace will work to get to the heart of what matters in America.

If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to Commonplace for updates, and follow the magazine on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Has the devotion to unbridled free markets in recent decades benefited or harmed the United States? Earlier this month, Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) and Oren Cass sat down for a live, wide-ranging discussion of the unintended consequences of America’s approach to manufacturing, and whether free trade is to blame for changes in our domestic industrial base. They explore how conservatives should think about trade and one potential policy response that’s getting lots of air time lately: tariffs.

Plus: To be the first to hear about the launch of our new magazine in January, subscribe here: commonplace.org.

On this episode, Oren is joined by FTC Chair Lina Khan for a wide-ranging conversation about competition, antitrust, and why the lack of strong enforcement hurts American consumers, small businesses, and our politics.

The two talk through the decline in competition in the U.S. economy and how it has created fragile markets prone to shortages and undermined our economic wellbeing. They explore opportunities for bipartisan cooperation on antitrust enforcement, and what principles should guide competition policy.

Plus: Khan explains what chicken farmers taught her about corporate power and the role of fear in our economy.

On this episode, Institute for Progress senior editor Santi Ruiz joins Oren to talk about government efficiency, state capacity, and what President-elect Trump's focus on revitalizing the way government works could hope to accomplish in the swamp.

The two discuss Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and how the effort can avoid the pitfalls of previous blue-ribbon commissions and other ineffective efforts to rein in the administrative state. And they walk through why optimizing government requires new investment, not just cutting red-tape.

For more, read Ruiz's recent piece on the subject at Statecraft: "How to Fix Defense Procurement."

On this episode, physician, psychologist, and best-selling author Dr. Leonard Sax joins Oren to talk about the disastrous state of modern parenting, and how to pull a generation of young people back from the brink.

The two walk through the how parents have abandoned teaching their kids about right and wrong, the rise of "gentle parenting" in place of traditional ideas of parental authority, and how these strategies set kids up for failure.

And they two discuss how it all intersects with the rise of social media and caustic cultural changes.

For more, check out Dr. Sax's recently re-released book on the subject, The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups.

On this episode, coalition director Duncan Braid joins Oren to discuss American Compass's Back to Work agenda, which provides a comprehensive set of executive actions that the Trump-Vance administration should take to prioritize working families, domestic industry, and national economic strength when they take office.

The two discuss how the president can deliver meaningful, rapid change on issues from the border and immigration to the economy and inflation. And the two talk through one of the most contentious battles on the Right today—the issue of tariffs—and how they can be used to put the wellbeing of the American people at the center of trade policy.

For more, read Duncan's recent essay on The Commons, about where and how the administration can direct their electoral mandate, "'Great Again' is a Promise."

On this episode, Ethics and Public Policy Center senior fellow Henry Olsen joins Oren to unpack the demographic earthquake that led to the re-election of President Donald Trump and why it will force both parties to focus on Americans' real interests.

The two discuss what the victory holds for the future of a Republican Party grounded in the interests of this multi-ethnic working-class coalition, from shutting down illegal immigration to shifting away from a devotion to free trade, as well as the "landmines" in doing so. And they explain why the win is a death knell for conservatives who want to return to the pre-Trump economic and political consensus.

For more, read Olsen's recent piece on The Commons, "Mapping Out the 2024 Stakes."

On this episode, Newsweek opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon joins to explain the multi-ethnic working-class coalition that propelled Donald Trump to an electoral victory, and the types of policies that could support these forgotten Americans in Trump's second term.

The two discuss the issues that animated the swing in nonwhite working-class voters and how Donald Trump can build an America that benefits everyone, economically and culturally. 

For more, read Ungar-Sargon's latest piece on The Commons, "Revolt of the Normies," and pick up her book that anticipated this political realignment, Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America's Working Men and Women.

American Compass Chairman Michael Needham joins Oren Cass to share his reaction to former President Donald Trump's landslide election victory. The two explain why, even after all the claims about the "end of democracy" and Trump's supposed autocratic designs, the results shouldn't surprise anyone.

And they discuss the political realignment—particularly among Hispanic voters, who turned out for Trump across numerous swing states—that made his victory possible, as well as the promise that his second term holds for a revitalized American economy. 

For more, read Oren's and Mike's pieces reacting to Trump's victory.

On this episode, Clare Morell, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, joins Oren to discuss the consequences of a generation of kids addicted to smartphones and iPads. The two talk through how our society got to the point where kids have unlimited access to the internet and the problem with leaving parents to fight back against social media alone, as well as her forthcoming book on the subject. And they explain why conservatives have both the principles and the public policy tools needed to help kids—and society—break the addiction to tech.

For more, read Morell's Compass Point essay on this subject, "America On-the-Line," and check out her newsletter, Preserving our Humanity, and her forthcoming book, The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones.

College has become the dividing line in America, not just economically, but socially, too. Sam Pressler, a practitioner fellow at the University of Virginia and a research affiliate at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program, joins Oren to discuss the crisis this is fueling for young Americans who don't go to college as they navigate the transition to adulthood alone.

The two talk through the history of college as a communal exercise and how it's devolved into the "great sorter" of class in America, as well as the resulting "structural forms of loneliness" for young people who don't pursue a four-year degree and the "extracurricular arms race" for kids trying to get in. And they unpack the embryonic remedies various states have rolled out to address the situation.

For more, read Pressler's recent essay on The Commons, "From the ‘Great Connector’ to the ‘Great Sorter’," and check out his full policy framework, "Connective Tissue," aimed at helping policymakers regenerate communities.

As the election approaches, both parties are trying to position themselves as the better choice for American families. But what is it that parents—particularly parents who stay home to take care of their children—actually want?

Ivana Greco, a former family-law attorney turned homemaker, joins Oren to discuss her recent research on the topic, drawing on interviews with over 1,300 stay-at-home parents about their needs and challenges. She explains what she’s learned from those conversations, as well as how policymakers can support parents regardless of their employment status.

For more, read the just-published report, Invisible Labor, Visible Needs: Making Family Policy Work for Stay-At-Home (And All) Parents.

On this episode, Oren is joined by journalist and best-selling author Sarah Smarsh to make sense of the ongoing political realignment in America's Heartland.

Smarsh, who hails from rural Kansas, draws from her own upbringing to explain the forces pushing rural working-class voters away from the Democratic Party, often after decades of voting for it.

She and Oren also discuss her new book, Bone of the Bone, which focuses on this shift and other aspects of life in rural America, and the two unpack how it all intersects with the rise of former President Donald Trump and changes in the Republican Party.

For more, check out Smarsh's latest book, Bone of the Bone: Essays on America by a Daughter of the Working Class.

This episode is a deep dive into what policymakers should do to overhaul U.S. trade with China to support American workers, industries, and national security. It features policy advisor Mark DiPlacido, lead author of a new report, "Disfavored Nation," that provides a roadmap for rescinding China's Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status.

He joins Oren to talk through the history of our trade relations with China, the colossal harm done to American workers and industries by the status quo of "free" trade over the last two decades, and what it would require to disentangle the two largest economies in the world.

For more, read the report: "Disfavored Nation."

On this episode, Oren is joined by not one but two leading scholars on U.S. industrial policy, Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher, both of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. The episode opens with a conversation about the pair’s forthcoming book, which Oren describes as “the authoritative tome on industrial policy past, present, and future.”

They dig into why the government should be involved in domestic industry in the first place, the innovations—from the internet to commercial air travel—that wouldn’t exist without such involvement, and what the future of American industrial policy should be.

For more, check out their forthcoming book, Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries.

In this episode, Joshua Kleinfeld, professor of law and philosophy at the Scalia School of Law at George Mason University, joins Oren for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of the conservative legal movement. 

Professor Kleinfeld, a leading legal voice helping drive the conversation at the Federalist Society and beyond, connects the dots about the threat to individual liberty from not just government but private power, and questions whether "the ideals of democracy are recognized in practice" in America today. The two conclude with a fascinating debate about voting, and whether parents should be allowed to vote as proxies for their kids.

For more, read Professor Kleinfeld's paper about criminal justice, mentioned in the episode: "By the People: Restoring Democracy in Criminal Justice."

In this episode, Oren Cass is joined by Dr. Matthew Mehan, associate dean of Hillsdale College’s Graduate School of Government, to discuss conservatism in our secular age, based on Oren’s First Things lecture earlier this year.

The two go long on conservative morality, from the role of religion in conservatism to the wisdom of the Roman philosopher Cicero and the “most pernicious doctrine” of advancing an immoral argument for its political utility. And they unpack how it all intersects with America’s declining religiosity and modern politics, from economics, to tech, and more.

For more, read in First Things, “Constructing Conservatism."

On this episode, Nick Timothy, Conservative member of Parliament, takes a look at conservative populism from a British perspective. Timothy has had a front-row seat to the U.K.’s political realignment, and shares his observations and comparisons to the American experience. He and Oren talk through how he survived a Conservative wipeout in the recent parliamentary general elections, and the challenges and opportunities confronting conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic.

For more on that path forward, read Timothy's recent piece in the Telegraph on the subject: "We don’t need to veer Left or Right – we just need to be Conservative."

On this episode, author and American Reformer senior fellow Aaron Renn joins Oren Cass to discuss urbanism and how conservatives should approach cities. In the wide-ranging conversation, they discuss the history of American urban governance, where conservatives should focus their policy efforts, and how urban policy can improve the lives of everyday Americans.

For more, read Renn's latest on The Commons, which explores how to implement such an approach, "Conservatives Need a Positive Governing Vision."

On this episode, Oren Cass is joined by Harry Marino, founder and president of Sports Solidarity, who led the successful effort last year to unionize Minor League Baseball. The two discuss how Marino's time in the minors made him realize a union was needed, his successful campaign to win recognition for that union from Major League Baseball, and how the lessons he learned can be applied beyond sports.

To learn more about Marino's effort, read this profile of him from the University of Virginia Law School, his alma mater.