Can Mobilization Become Lasting Organization?

The New Yorker writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Charles Duhigg joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss why Republicans have been more successful than Democrats at building durable political coalitions. They talk about the difference between short-term mobilization and long-term organizing, why large-scale protests often fail to translate into lasting power, and how conservative groups have quietly built local infrastructure that may sustain the MAGA movement beyond Donald Trump’s Presidency. They also examine how the left’s efforts are impeded by debates over ideological purity, and whether a renewed focus on community-based organizing and pragmatic coalition-building could reshape progressive politics in the coming years. 

This week’s reading:

• “What MAGA Can Teach Democrats About Organizing—and Infighting,” by Charles Duhigg
• “Witnessing Another Public Killing in Minneapolis,” by Vinson Cunningham
• “Do Federal Officials Really Have ‘Absolute Immunity’?,” by Isaac Chotiner
• “The Battle for Minneapolis,” by Emily Witt
• “The Cruel Conditions of ICE’s Mojave Desert Detention Center,” by Oren Peleg 

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. 

Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.