Trump’s Antisocial State
The administration is attempting to incapacitate the redistributive and social protective arms of the state, while exploiting its vast bureaucratic powers to silence, threaten, and deport.
Winter 2026
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Know Your Enemy: Becoming Elon Musk, Part One
In the first of two episodes on Elon Musk, Matt and Sam explore the billionaire’s fraught adolescence and first years in Silicon Valley.
The Abduction of Mahmoud Khalil
If the secretary of state can simply declare a legal permanent resident deportable based on their constitutionally protected activities, the First Amendment no longer applies to noncitizens.
Fissures in Trumpworld?
There will surely be turf wars and palace intrigue within the administration, but there is little reason to think that its core figures will fracture in the pursuit of their basic goal: to break the twentieth-century state.
How Sheriffs Undermine Democracy
An interview with Jessica Pishko, author of The Highest Law in the Land.
The Ideology Behind Trump’s Favorite President
Following the teachings of Murray Rothbard, Javier Milei wants to dismantle the state while also using it to consolidate his power.
Trump and Musk’s War on Workers
Organized labor and its allies can and must do much more to respond to the crisis created by DOGE and the Trump administration.
Know Your Enemy: Pay Attention!
Matt and Sam are joined by MSNBC’s Chris Hayes to discuss his new book The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource.
A New Era of Punitive Social Policy
Red state governors and legislators are parroting Trump’s every move, promising to slash spending, and looking to tear down federal standards or guardrails that get in their way.
“The Worst of the Worst”
Guantánamo represents a place beyond the reach of morality and the law, where America’s most dangerous enemies can be thrown, never to be seen again.
Pride and Prejudice
For Arlie Russell Hochschild, understanding why rural voters favor Trump requires coming to grips with the role of emotion in politics.
A Fragile Ceasefire in Gaza
The chances for durable peace may depend on Trump’s whims.
Know Your Enemy: The Entrepreneurial Ethic
Matt and Sam talk to historian Erik Baker about his new book, Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America.
The Public We Need
It is hard to call people into a political project that is deeply incompatible with their sense of what it means to act morally in the world.
Know Your Enemy: Women vs. the System
Matt and Sam welcome Dorothy Fortenberry back to the podcast to discuss gender, the 2024 election, and whether or not women can run against “the System.”
