logo
episode-header-image
Jul 3
55m 30s

Why Trump’s Blood-and-Guts Strategy Work...

NEW YORK TIMES OPINION
About this episode

Happy Independence Day! We’ll be back next week with a new episode, but today we’re sharing the episode that started us on the path to “Interesting Times.” Ross Douthat talks to Reihan Salam, the president of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Together they wrote the book “Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream.”

They review their George W. Bush-era prescriptions for the Republican Party to reclaim the working-class vote and the ways they were right (and wrong) about building a new Republican majority.

  • 03:47 George W. Bush era
  • 12:06 Rise and fall of the Tea Party
  • 18:19 Trump’s 2016 “blood and guts” message
  • 28:11 Trump’s effect on the right and left
  • 35:48 Trump’s first term economic agenda
  • 39:30 Elon Musk vs JD Vance
  • 46:50 Imagining an activist, conservative government

(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)

Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com.

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Up next
Jun 26
A Mind-Bending Conversation with Peter Thiel
The billionaire Peter Thiel is unimpressed with our pace of innovation. In this episode, he critiques artificial intelligence, longevity science and space travel — and warns that our lack of progress could lead to catastrophic outcomes, including the emergence of the Antichrist.0 ... Show More
1 h
Jun 19
The Progressive Regulator Winning Over the Populist Right
Is the key to freedom a life without Amazon? This week, Ross talks to Lina Khan, former Chair of the Federal Trade Commission about how unchecked corporate power has limited choice in our day-to-day lives, and how her fight against Big Tech unites left and right.02:41 - What’s wr ... Show More
1 h
Jun 12
Trump’s Future Depends on His Immigration Crackdown
Has immigration become the new litmus test for the Republican Party? In this episode, Ross talks to Matthew Continetti, the author of “The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism,” about the party’s shifting coalition, the defining role of immigration and how today’ ... Show More
43m 16s
Recommended Episodes
May 17
OpenAI whistleblower Daniel Kokotajlo on superintelligence and existential risk of AI
How much could our relationship with technology change by 2027? In the last few years, new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek have transformed how we think about work, creativity, even intelligence itself. But tech experts are ringing alarm bells that powerfu ... Show More
38m 16s
Jun 2023
ChatGPT
What the hell is ChatGPT, and why are these pasty nerds telling us it's going to save the world? Hannah and Maia bring you a special, pre-season episode with a discussion of this new AI technology and what it means for the future of our world. The democratization of this smoo ... Show More
46m 40s
Sep 2024
Yuval Noah Harari: This Election Will Tear The Country Apart! AI Will Control You By 2034! The Dark Truth Behind Meta & X!
Can humanity handle AI or will it be our downfall? Yuval Noah Harari looks back at history to guide us through this uncertain journey ahead. Yuval Noah Harari is a best-selling author, public intellectual and Professor of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the a ... Show More
1h 54m
Apr 11
[BEST OF] Ghosts in the Machines: Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, & Capitalism
ORIGINALLY RELEASED Apr 10, 2024 In this episode, Alyson and Breht wrestle with the possible rise of artificial general intelligence and its implications. Together they discuss the Silicon Valley Techno-Cult and their dark religious search for immortality, their hubristic attempt ... Show More
1h 57m
Jul 2022
Human justice and machine intelligence | Joanna Bryson
Should we be scared of AI?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoanna Bryson discusses how she became interested in the ways different species use intelligence, how the typical tropes in science fiction misunderstand AI and the proble ... Show More
18m 46s
May 6
Season 4, Episode 9: Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Nearer: When We Merge with AI
Send us a textJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and futurist Ray Kurzweil for a compelling conversation on the accelerating pace of technological change and its profound implications for the future of humanity. In his new book, The Singularity Is Nearer, Kurzweil revisits and updates ... Show More
49m 11s
Jan 2025
Superagency: The Bull Case for AI | Reid Hoffman
In this episode of Bankless, Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and author of Super Agency, explores how AI is set to transform humanity and amplify individual potential. We dive into Hoffman’s vision of “super agency,” We examine AI's potential to democratize technology and re ... Show More
1h 7m
May 12
AI AGENTS EMERGENCY DEBATE: These Jobs Won't Exist In 24 Months! Containment Has Failed, We Must Prepare For What's Coming!
Will AI replace God, steal your job, and change your future? Amjad Masad, Bret Weinstein, and Daniel Priestley debate the terrifying warning signs, and why you need to understand them now. Amjad Masad is the founder and CEO of Replit, the world's leading online programming enviro ... Show More
2h 33m
Apr 2024
777: Generative AI in Practice, with Bernard Marr
Generative AI is reshaping our world, and Bernard Marr, world-renowned futurist and best-selling author, joins Jon Krohn to guide us through this transformation. In this episode, Bernard shares his insights on how AI is transforming industries, revolutionizing daily life, and add ... Show More
1h 8m
May 2023
How worried—or excited—should we be about AI?
AI is amazing… or terrifying, depending on who you ask. This is a technology that elicits strong, almost existential reactions. So in the final episode of our special series about AI, we dig into the giant ambitions and enormous concerns people have about the very same tech. Feat ... Show More
53m 53s