Staggering Towards Anarchy

What will replace U.S. global leadership after the Trump-accelerated American decline is not a rising China, but multipolar chaos.

The Constitutional Crisis Is Here (Neon Liberalism #74, with Robert Tracinski)

Join Samantha and Robert Tracinski, currently running for Congress in Virginia's fifth district, as they talk about the danger Donald Trump's corruption and lawlessness poses to the country, the continuing importance of the Constitution, and Robert's road from member of the Tea Party to

And Should I at Your Harmless Innocence Melt?

The promise of future blessedness can never authorize the murder of innocent human beings and the desacralization of the human form.

Prosecute These Corrupt Bastards!

We can and must prosecute the degenerate officials and corrupt oligarchs and brutal thugs who would destroy our Constitutional system.

How the 120th Congress Can Crush the Gerrymandered Maps

Democrats will have—and in Virginia, do have—the tools to win the redistricting free-for-all.

Rather Than Whining About the Media, We Should Fight to Win

On strategic persuasion in the 21st century.

Democrats Need to Realize What Time It Is: On Conjuncture, Revolution, and the Next American Republic

We are living through a revolutionary moment, whether Democrats want to do their jobs or not.

To What Lengths Should Democrats Go to Save a Liberal Society? (Half the Answer #83, with Jacob Levy)

In a time when the ruling party seems to be totally fine with breaking every law, every rule, and every norm that was holding our country in the general shape and consistency of a democracy, what should the opposition party be willing to do? Are there times when retaliation that

Socialism and Liberalism: A Path Towards Estrangement’s End

Thinkers in both “camps” have not only challenged the underlying idea of the split but created theory that unified both liberal and socialist principles.

The Liberal Currents Merch Shop Is Live

We promised this a few months ago and now, here it is. For now it's a few shirts and some stickers, but we'll keep adding to it. The "Pro-Trans, Pro-Transit" design is also the only one up, and that too, will change. Enjoy, and

Tradwives, Dependas, and the Politics of Degradation

The tradwife aesthetic valorizes submission and then withholds dignity from those who submit.

Respecting Reform Voters Means Telling Them They’re Wrong and Immoral

Understand politics with this one weird trick: just tell the truth about the far right.

neonliberalism

What Is Personalism? (Neon Liberalism #62, with Xavier Márquez)

Samantha and guest Professor Xavier Márquez talk the nature of non-democratic politics, and why the concept of "personalism" is the key to understanding the dynamics and dysfunctions of the second Trump administration. Along the way they discuss the difference between totalitarianism and authoritarianism, the ongoing importance of elections

neonliberalism

The State of the Resistance (Neon Liberalism #61, with Omar Wasow)

Samantha interviews Professor Omar Wasow, challenging him to reflect on the first year of the second Trump administration. What forms of resistance have worked? What forms have been less successful? Why is the regime trying to "recreate 2020," and why are they failing? Professor Wasow tells a story

neonliberalism

Minneapolis Under Siege (Neon Liberalism #60, with Will Stancil)

Samantha and guest Will Stancil talk the murder of Renée Good and the Trump administration's larger assault on Minneapolis. Will is on the front lines of monitoring ICE in Minneapolis, working with his neighborhood rapid reaction group, and remains a vital commentator and activist in this disturbing time.

neonliberalism

Venezuela and the State of American Strategy (Neon Liberalism #59, with Giselle Donnelly)

Join Samantha and Giselle Donnelly, foreign policy analyst and American Enterprise Institute alumna, as they discuss the recent attack on Venezuela. Does this reflect a considered strategy? Or multiple factions "working towards the sleepy Führer"? Can we make predictions about future American foreign policy, or is it all

neonliberalism

We Are Going to Win (Neon Liberalism #58, with Adam Gurri)

Take a step back and recall where you were on election night 2024. Recall the way the future looked in January 2025 at Trump's inauguration. In this episode, Samantha and Adam Gurri, editor-in-chief of Liberal Currents, evaluate the long game against Trump—and argue that the Trump revolution

neonliberalism

Why Did the Soviets Fail? (Neon Liberalism #57, with Yakov Feygin)

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

neonliberalism

The Culture War Eats Foreign Policy (Neon Liberalism #56, with Joe Stieb)

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

Politics As Culture (Neon Liberalism #55, with W. David Marx)

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

An Army Is a Dangerous Thing to Play With (Neon Liberalism #54, with Kori Schake)

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.

neonliberalism

Beyond Abundance? (Neon Liberalism #53, with Becky Chao)

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

The Furious Minds of the MAGA Right (Neon Liberalism #52, with Laura Field)

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