Derek Thompson

But for the sake of putting together a readable and finished product, I think we absolutely needed to take those extra months. But every few days, I think to myself, just how differently this book- would have existed inside the news cycle if it came out during, say, a Biden to Harris handoff period versus today, which is an era of just lurid chaos in the Trump administration.

How do you think the timing of this book's new publication date deepens its message or complicates it?

How do you think the timing of this book's new publication date deepens its message or complicates it?

How do you think the timing of this book's new publication date deepens its message or complicates it?

It was going to be published in the summer of 2024. I don't remember exactly the date. I think it was supposed to come out just before.

It was going to be published in the summer of 2024. I don't remember exactly the date. I think it was supposed to come out just before.

It was going to be published in the summer of 2024. I don't remember exactly the date. I think it was supposed to come out just before.

It was supposed to come out just before the DNC convention because we wanted the book to influence the DNC platform.

It was supposed to come out just before the DNC convention because we wanted the book to influence the DNC platform.

It was supposed to come out just before the DNC convention because we wanted the book to influence the DNC platform.

Ezra, our friend Tyler Cowen has this term that I love called a Straussian read. And a Straussian read of a book is an interpretation of the book that is not explicitly inside of the book itself. It's a vibe of the book that you pick up off the page, even if it's not articulated in the letters themselves.

Ezra, our friend Tyler Cowen has this term that I love called a Straussian read. And a Straussian read of a book is an interpretation of the book that is not explicitly inside of the book itself. It's a vibe of the book that you pick up off the page, even if it's not articulated in the letters themselves.

Ezra, our friend Tyler Cowen has this term that I love called a Straussian read. And a Straussian read of a book is an interpretation of the book that is not explicitly inside of the book itself. It's a vibe of the book that you pick up off the page, even if it's not articulated in the letters themselves.

And we were recently on a podcast the other day that made me wonder about a particular Straussian read of this book. The parties, as you know better than anybody, are polarized by education. I wonder what we think of this idea that they're also polarized by personality. In many ways, the character of liberalism that we are trying to shift

And we were recently on a podcast the other day that made me wonder about a particular Straussian read of this book. The parties, as you know better than anybody, are polarized by education. I wonder what we think of this idea that they're also polarized by personality. In many ways, the character of liberalism that we are trying to shift

And we were recently on a podcast the other day that made me wonder about a particular Straussian read of this book. The parties, as you know better than anybody, are polarized by education. I wonder what we think of this idea that they're also polarized by personality. In many ways, the character of liberalism that we are trying to shift

is overly deferential to process, to infinite listening, and not sufficiently committed to action and outcome. That's how you get what Nick Bagley, as quoted in the book, calls the procedural fetish of our side.

is overly deferential to process, to infinite listening, and not sufficiently committed to action and outcome. That's how you get what Nick Bagley, as quoted in the book, calls the procedural fetish of our side.

is overly deferential to process, to infinite listening, and not sufficiently committed to action and outcome. That's how you get what Nick Bagley, as quoted in the book, calls the procedural fetish of our side.

On the other hand, I think a criticism that you and I both share of Donald Trump is that his style assumes a kind of kingly power in the executive branch in a way that assumes something close to absolute power and is inclined to run roughshod over norms and bureaucracies and laws that exist to channel voices to reach a consensus.