Are We Prometheans? "The Permanent Problem," Reviewed
The future requires a vision of gender that is not some reskinned picket-fence fantasy, but a true human ideal.
Samantha Hancox-Li
Samantha Hancox-Li is a writer, editor, and host of the Neon Liberalism podcast.
neonliberalism
Neon Liberalism #57: Why Did the Soviets Fail?
As we stand on the brink of a new Cold War, it's time to look back at the first Cold War and try to understand why America won—and, more importantly, why the USSR lost. Samantha and guest Yakov Feygin, author of Building a Ruin, talk about the
editorschat
The Editors Chat #9
The Liberal Currents Startup Fund, right wing entryism, caveman accents, and more.
neonliberalism
Neon Liberalism #56: The Culture War Eats Foreign Policy
Join Samantha and guest Joe Stieb, assistant professor at UNC Chapel Hill, as they talk about Donald Trump's 2025 National Security Strategy. This strange document treats the European Union as our enemy, Russia as an afterthought, and obsesses over the dangers of "DEI." Stieb argues that
neonliberalism
Neon Liberalism #55: Politics As Culture
Has culture stagnated in the 21st century? Do the last twenty-five years feel like a blur? What can politics learn from the inherent dynamics of cultural change? And is Donald Trump the greatest kitsch artist of our time? Join Samantha Hancox-Li and guest W. David Marx, author of the just-released
neonliberalism
Neon Liberalism #54: An Army Is a Dangerous Thing to Play With
Join Samantha and guest Kori Schake, author of The State and the Soldier, as they discuss the history of civil-military relations in America—and how that relationship is being pushed to the breaking point. National Guard units are deployed in the streets; DHS rappels from Black Hawks onto civilian homes.
editorschat
The Editors Chat #8
Epstein, elections, the shutdown, and more.
neonliberalism
Neon Liberalism #53: Beyond Abundance?
Join Samantha and guest Becky Chao, Director of Policy and Research at the Economic Security Project, as they talk about the never-ending conflict between YIMBYs and anti-YIMBYs—and how we can get beyond it. Broken markets and broken incomes both shape American dysfunction. What can we do about it? Neon
neonliberalism
Neon Liberalism #52: The Furious Minds of the MAGA Right
Join Samantha and guest Laura Field, author of the new book Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right, as they discuss how ideas have driven history, from John Maynard Keynes to Abraham Lincoln to Project 2025. How did highly online right-wing weirdos become "the brain trust and
neonliberalism
Neon Liberalism #51: The Meme Politics of "Hearts of Iron"
Join host Samantha Hancox-Li as she explores the concept of "meme politics," which pervades the current Trump II administration, through the historical grand strategy game Hearts of Iron IV. In reality, society is an obscure, complicated, recalcitrant system. Meme politics asks: what if it wasn't? What
Fight On Everything
"This dictatorship has been asserted but not yet consolidated. We must therefore 'fight on everything,'" according to Rob Tracinski's "Dictator From Day One."
neonliberalism
Neon Liberalism #50: Radical Liberalism?
Join Samantha Hancox-Li and guest Alex Zakaras, author of Freedom for All, as they discuss the idea of liberalism as a radical political project, the differences (if any) between liberalism and (market) socialism, and the "playbook" for radical liberals in the age of Trump II. Neon Liberalism can