<![CDATA[The Argument: The Argument Podcast]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/s/the-argument-podcasthttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1g_U!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1cde19c5-69bb-4355-92eb-0c94ade6cf6e_1280x1280.pngThe Argument: The Argument Podcasthttps://www.theargumentmag.com/s/the-argument-podcastSubstackSat, 26 Sep 2026 18:20:31 GMT<![CDATA[Ad free podcast for paid subscribers: Chat, are we doomed?]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/ad-free-podcast-for-paid-subscribers-db5https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/ad-free-podcast-for-paid-subscribers-db5Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:03:18 GMTThis page is for podcast feed delivery.

If you’re watching or reading on Substack, please head to “The politics of panic” to watch the episode and join the discussion.

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]]><![CDATA[Ad free podcast for paid subscribers: Are we on the road to serfdom?]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/are-we-on-the-road-to-serfdomhttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/are-we-on-the-road-to-serfdomThu, 17 Sep 2026 10:03:53 GMTThis page is for podcast-feed delivery.

If you’re watching or reading on Substack, please head to “Why the worst people always end up in charge” to watch the episode and join the discussion.

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]]><![CDATA[Ad free podcast for paid subscribers: How 9/11 changed American politics forever]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/ad-free-podcast-for-paid-subscribershttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/ad-free-podcast-for-paid-subscribersThu, 10 Sep 2026 09:50:43 GMTThis page is for podcast-feed delivery.

If you’re watching or reading on Substack, please head to “Liberalism After 9/11” to watch the episode and join the discussion.

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]]><![CDATA[Nate Silver on why the center-left is losing]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/nate-silver-on-why-the-center-left-4a5https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/nate-silver-on-why-the-center-left-4a5Thu, 03 Sep 2026 10:03:28 GMTDoes the center-left need to separate from the establishment?

Nate Silver thinks the center-left might be right about a lot of policy questions, but they're still losing the political argument. He joins Jerusalem Demsas, Matt Yglesias, and special guest Jeremiah Johnson (staff writer at The Argument and host of The New Liberal Podcast) to dive into his r…

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]]><![CDATA[Derek Thompson on the antisocial century]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/derek-thompson-on-the-antisocialhttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/derek-thompson-on-the-antisocialThu, 27 Aug 2026 10:01:43 GMTAmericans are spending more time alone than ever before. Derek Thompson, author of “The Anti-Social Century” and co-author of Abundance, joins Jerusalem Demsas and Matthew Yglesias to argue that this isn’t loneliness in the traditional sense. This new brand of loneliness is a choice, and Derek fears it’s spreading across the world. Jerusalem presses him…

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]]><![CDATA[How do I listen to The Argument podcast without ads in my podcast app?]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/how-do-i-listen-to-the-argument-podcasthttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/how-do-i-listen-to-the-argument-podcastWed, 26 Aug 2026 21:54:33 GMTGo to The Argument podcast tab at the top of theargumentmag.com or visit theargumentmag.com/s/the-argument-podcast. Click RSS Feed (or “more” if you don’t see it) to copy the feed link, then paste it into your podcast app:

  • Apple Podcasts: On The Argument podcast webpage, click the Apple Podcasts tab, then paste the link into the “Podcast URL” bar.

  • Overcast: Click the plus sign, select Add URL, and paste the link.

  • Pocket Casts: Paste the link into the search bar. When the show appears, tap the plus sign to add it.

Tip: In most podcast apps, you can paste the URL into the search bar or an “Add URL” option.

For more help, see Substack’s guide to listening in a podcast app.

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]]><![CDATA[Are elites just whoever you don’t like?]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/are-elites-just-whoever-you-donthttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/are-elites-just-whoever-you-dontWed, 26 Aug 2026 19:51:11 GMTWho actually counts as an elite in America?

The Argument ran its own poll on elite perception, and the results complicate a lot of conventional wisdom. Billionaires and celebrities are the only groups a majority of Americans call elite. College professors, journalists, and people with graduate degrees barely register. Jerusalem Demsas and Matthew Yglesia…

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]]><![CDATA[What's wrong with Bowling Alone?]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/whats-wrong-with-bowling-alonehttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/whats-wrong-with-bowling-aloneWed, 26 Aug 2026 19:49:50 GMTIs there really a loneliness crisis?

Jerusalem Demsas and Matt Yglesias read Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone, the 2000 classic that diagnosed America’s collapse in community life. They argue about how bad the loneliness problem really is today, and whether Putnam’s diagnosis about the loss of associational life actually holds up. They also get into Putnam’…

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]]><![CDATA[#MeToo didn’t go far enough]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/metoo-didnt-go-far-enough-b7dhttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/metoo-didnt-go-far-enough-b7dWed, 26 Aug 2026 19:49:05 GMTMany people say the #MeToo movement went too far. Jerusalem Demsas disagrees: She thinks it didn’t go far enough. Matt Yglesias wants to talk about what the movement actually was, and worries about the risks of a leaderless movement without clear standards. They get into the difference between social and legal standards for misbehavior, why the Aziz Ans…

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]]><![CDATA[You don't actually want to buy a house]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/you-dont-actually-want-to-buy-a-house-ba9https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/you-dont-actually-want-to-buy-a-house-ba9Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:47:30 GMTMost Americans still see buying a home as the ultimate financial goal, but Jerusalem Demsas thinks homeownership is overrated. Matt Yglesias, a proud homeowner, disagrees. They get into why the American Dream might be a bad financial deal, what’s really driving people’s demand for stability, and whether the Singapore model has something to teach us.

Plus…

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]]><![CDATA[Why AI might not replace us after all]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/why-ai-might-not-replace-us-after-277https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/why-ai-might-not-replace-us-after-277Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:46:38 GMTMost Americans fear that AI is about to cause widespread job losses, so Matt Yglesias and Jerusalem Demsas brought in their first-ever guest, Timothy B. Lee of the Understanding AI newsletter, to break it all down. Matt thinks a white-collar wipeout is coming. Jerusalem and Tim think we’ve got enough time to adapt.

Plus, a peer review on a new paper abou…

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]]><![CDATA[What AOC and Bernie Sanders get wrong about the oligarchy]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/what-aoc-and-bernie-sanders-get-wronghttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/what-aoc-and-bernie-sanders-get-wrongWed, 26 Aug 2026 19:45:59 GMTBernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been packing arenas on their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, but Matt Yglesias doesn’t think the oligarchy is real. Jerusalem Demsas is more sympathetic: donors really do get access that regular people can’t, and the discomfort with that is about democracy, not policy outcomes. But the discourse frustrates her…

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]]><![CDATA[Was Jane Jacobs the first NIMBY?]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/was-jane-jacobs-the-first-nimby-b79https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/was-jane-jacobs-the-first-nimby-b79Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:45:12 GMTFor this month’s book club, Jerusalem Demsas and Matt Yglesias read The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the 1961 classic that changed how everyone thinks about neighborhoods. Rereading it as YIMBYs, they find a book that’s right about what makes a street feel alive and wrong about almost everything that followed: Jacobs’s push to devolve power …

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]]><![CDATA[Is assimilation racist?]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/is-assimilation-racisthttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/is-assimilation-racistWed, 26 Aug 2026 19:44:26 GMTShould immigrants have to assimilate? Jerusalem Demsas and Matt Yglesias take on the growing idea that immigrants shouldn’t have to assimilate to belong in America. Jerusalem, the daughter of immigrants, disagrees, and makes the case that assimilation is not only good for the country but that immigrants largely self-select for liking America. The conver…

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]]><![CDATA[The Biden legacy: A ranking of failures]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/the-biden-legacy-a-ranking-of-failureshttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/the-biden-legacy-a-ranking-of-failuresWed, 26 Aug 2026 19:41:09 GMTThe Bidens are back in the news, thanks to Jill Biden’s new book and Joe’s apparent difficulties raising money for his presidential library. So Jerusalem Demsas and Matthew Yglesias do the thing the party keeps avoiding: they rank the worst parts of Joe Biden’s presidency, from the economy and inflation to immigration, Israel and Gaza, the Kamala Harris…

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]]><![CDATA[Andrew Tate, Dan Bilzerian, and the death of romance]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/andrew-tate-dan-bilzerian-and-thehttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/andrew-tate-dan-bilzerian-and-theWed, 26 Aug 2026 19:39:39 GMTIs online dating advice actually making it harder to find love?

This week, Jerusalem Demsas and Matthew Yglesias wade into the world of online dating advice, from the manosphere influencers coaching men to treat women as opponents to the female-coded content teaching women to read every date as a minefield. Jerusalem and Matt find themselves split on wha…

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]]><![CDATA[How environmentalists lost the plot]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/how-environmentalists-lost-the-plothttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/how-environmentalists-lost-the-plotWed, 26 Aug 2026 19:19:36 GMTIs modern environmentalism anti-progress?

This week, Jerusalem Demsas and Matthew Yglesias read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring — the book that launched the modern environmental movement. Jerusalem and Matt find themselves surprised by what’s actually in it. Is it a visionary scientific critique or a romantic backlash against modernity? And did Carson’s le…

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]]><![CDATA[Do we need to build God to cure cancer?]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/do-we-need-to-build-god-to-cure-cancer-644https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/do-we-need-to-build-god-to-cure-cancer-644Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:16:56 GMTAI companies keep promising it will cure cancer. But what does that actually mean — and would an AI capable of doing it be one we’d want to live alongside? Jerusalem Demsas and Kelsey Piper debated the question live in San Francisco, in front of a crowd of researchers, investors, and skeptics who had plenty to say about it. One of them is going to be ve…

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]]><![CDATA[Why is crime falling everywhere?]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/why-is-crime-falling-everywhere-e71https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/why-is-crime-falling-everywhere-e71Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:13:59 GMTAmerica is on track for its lowest homicide year since 1900, but nobody seems to be celebrating. Matt Yglesias and Jerusalem Demsas debate why crime has dropped so dramatically and what caused the pandemic-era highs in the first place. Were the George Floyd and BLM protests to blame for the increase in crime? Were cops holding back because they felt dis…

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]]><![CDATA[Why Democrats and Republicans want you to pay $50,000 for a car]]>https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/why-democrats-and-republicans-want-c5dhttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/why-democrats-and-republicans-want-c5dWed, 26 Aug 2026 19:12:23 GMTThis week on The Argument, Jerusalem Demsas and Matthew Yglesias debate the tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. Jerusalem argues that Americans should have access to cheaper, climate-friendly cars, while Matt says industrial policy requires a more cautious approach.

They dive into the failure of Trump’s tariffs, what serious industrial policy looks lik…

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