The Realignment

Hannah Garden-Monheit, former FTC policy planning director and co-author of a Roosevelt Institute report, breaks down why government often struggles to deliver. She discusses state capacity, balancing quick wins with long-term goals, the power of communication and visible leadership, cutting red tape, and modernizing operations, tech, and rulemaking to make government more effective and responsive.

Henry Tonks, historian of 20th-century American liberalism, traces the Democrats' long post-1970s wander. He explores whether Trump’s 2024 gains are durable, how policy and electoral shifts diverged since the Reagan era, and the rise and retreat of the new liberals who once pushed industrial and tech-forward growth. The conversation centers on strategy, ideology, and rebuilding a broad, cohesive Democratic coalition.

Madeline Hart, co-founder of Palantir First Breakfast and co-author of Mobilize, is a defense-industrial policy thinker focused on institutional reform. She discusses why institutions should tolerate contrarian builders, how peacetime mobilization deters great power war, the harms of post-Cold War consolidation, and ways to reintroduce market dynamics, AI, and reindustrialization into defense procurement.

Michael Laskaway, editor of The States Forum Journal and state-policy advocate, explains why states are becoming the real centers of American politics. He describes the American Promise worldview and how state-level reforms — from tuition freezes to right-to-repair and election administration — reshape national debates. Conversations cover storytelling, coalition-building, and how states fill federal policy gaps.

Saagar Enjeti, political commentator and Breaking Points co-host, weighs in on the Iran conflict and its fallout for the America First movement. He contrasts populist antiwar instincts with establishment interventionism. Short takes cover whether MAGA will resist escalation, historical parallels, domestic costs, Israel’s influence, and the broader geopolitical ripple effects.

A thinker makes the case that liberalism lacks an authentic narrative that connects with voters. He contrasts why rival movements win with simple, adaptable stories and why tactical messaging falls short. Practical steps for assembling a cohesive liberal story are proposed, along with the key cultural and policy questions that any successful narrative must confront.

Ned Resnikoff, Roosevelt Institute fellow and former California YIMBY policy director, offers a concise mini bio. He walks through YIMBY’s roots and tactical evolution, how housing supply ideas expanded into an ‘abundance’ frame across sectors, debates within abundance coalitions, and the mix of regulatory reform and public investment needed to scale supply.

Steve Teles, Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center and political scientist, discusses why moderates struggle in anti‑status‑quo moments. He explores the Captured Economy, how abundance needs credible economics, and lessons from education and housing reform. Short takes on making abundance a practical, consumer‑facing project that builds durable political energy.

Ben Winsor, policy analyst at the Open Markets Institute with campaign and foreign policy experience, and Austin Ahlman, reporter and political analyst focused on corporate power and swing voters, discuss wielding economic populism today. They cover when polling helps, why DC centrism misses real voters, picking visible fights like health care, naming corporate villains, linking democracy to economic fixes, and getting ahead of the AI debate.

Laura Field, author and researcher of conservative intellectual movements, explains how a network of thinkers built the MAGA New Right. She traces Claremont’s influence, the Flight 93 essay’s popularization, post-liberal Catholic strains, and national conservatism. Short, punchy accounts of institution-building, culture-war campaigns, and why ideas and rhetoric translated into political power.