The Vital Center
By The Niskanen Center
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Category: Politics
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Subscribers: 37
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Episodes: 96
Description
Both the Republican and Democratic parties are struggling to defend the political center against illiberal extremes. America must put forward policies that can reverse our political and governmental dysfunction, advance the social welfare of all citizens, combat climate change, and confront the other forces that threaten our common interests.
The podcast focuses on current politics seen in the context of our nation’s history and the personal biographies of the participants. It will highlight the policy initiatives of non-partisan think tanks and institutions, while drawing upon current academic scholarship and political literature from years past — including Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.’s 1949 classic “The Vital Center.”
We welcome your thoughts on this episode and the podcast as a whole. Please send feedback or suggestions to vitalcenter@niskanencenter.org
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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Can Democrats win back the working class, with Joan Williams
|
Jul 06, 2026 |
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Recovering the lost genius of liberalism, with Adrian Wooldridge
|
Apr 13, 2026 |
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Reforming our way to dynamism, with Philip K. Howard
|
Mar 26, 2026 |
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Rethinking feminism and dependence, with Leah Libresco Sargeant
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Feb 25, 2026 |
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From material abundance to mass flourishing, with Brink Lindsey
|
Feb 05, 2026 |
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Reevaluating the New Liberals, with Henry Tonks
|
Jan 21, 2026 |
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Why everyone hates white liberals, with Kevin Schultz
|
Dec 16, 2025 |
|
Germany and the dangers of America abandoning Europe, with Jan Techau
|
Nov 13, 2025 |
|
Reflections on DOGE and the abandonment of the West, with Michael Kimmage
|
Oct 23, 2025 |
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Going local to heal politics and institutions, with Steve Grove
|
Oct 01, 2025 |
|
The Legend of Murray Kempton, with Andrew Holter
|
Sep 10, 2025 |
|
The politics of abundance, with Misha Chellam
|
Aug 06, 2025 |
|
How William Buckley shaped the American right, with Sam Tanenhaus
|
Jul 16, 2025 |
|
The libertarian prophet of the abundance movement, with Virginia Postrel
|
Jul 01, 2025 |
|
Populism and working-class nostalgia for the 1950s, with Alan Ehrenhalt
|
Jun 12, 2025 |
|
Exploring the Secrets of Political Charisma, with Molly Worthen
|
May 29, 2025 |
|
The old, weird history of libertarianism, with Matt Zwolinski
|
Apr 17, 2025 |
|
Understanding the diploma divide, with Matt Grossmann and Dave Hopkins
|
Apr 03, 2025 |
|
Our contentious universities, with Neil L. Rudenstine
|
Mar 20, 2025 |
|
Reevaluating Christianity’s bargain with democracy, with Jonathan Rauch
|
Mar 04, 2025 |
|
Why nothing works, with Marc Dunkelman
|
Feb 20, 2025 |
|
Race, class, education, and the 2024 election, with Steve Bumbaugh
|
Dec 18, 2024 |
|
Why Britain (and the US?) face a governance crisis, with Sam Freedman
|
Dec 03, 2024 |
|
Exploring Norman Holmes Pearson's legacy, with Greg Barnhisel
|
Oct 17, 2024 |
|
Hollow political parties, with Sam Rosenfeld and Daniel Schlozman
|
Sep 24, 2024 |
|
Why the center must hold, with Yair Zivan
|
Sep 10, 2024 |
|
The online misinformation epidemic, with Renée DiResta
|
Jul 31, 2024 |
|
The conservative vision of Edward C. Banfield, with Kevin Kosar
|
Jul 17, 2024 |
|
The Latino century, with Mike Madrid
|
Jun 18, 2024 |
|
America Last: Right-wing admiration for foreign autocracies, with Jacob Heilbrunn
|
Jun 05, 2024 |
|
Slouching and the posture panic, with Beth Linker
|
May 21, 2024 |
|
The case for incremental change, with Greg Berman and Aubrey Fox
|
Apr 11, 2024 |
|
Understanding inequality and rising mortality rates in America, with Angus Deaton
|
Mar 27, 2024 |
|
Conservative voices in 1960s campus activism, with Lauren Lassabe Shepherd
|
Mar 11, 2024 |
|
Illiberal vanguards in Russia and the U.S., with Alexandar Mihailovic
|
Feb 13, 2024 |
|
Is America's past hurting us now? Deep dive with Fergus Bordewich
|
Jan 17, 2024 |
|
Milton Freidman's unexpected legacy, with Jennifer Burns
|
Dec 21, 2023 |
|
Minnesota's progressive Republican tradition, with Lori Sturdevant
|
Dec 06, 2023 |
|
Seth D. Kaplan on how to repair our fragile society, one neighborhood at a time
|
Nov 21, 2023 |
|
The decline of the American Dream, with David Leonhardt
|
Nov 08, 2023 |
|
The political reform that might matter most, with Katherine Gehl
|
Oct 25, 2023 |
|
The two-parent privilege, with Melissa Kearney
|
Oct 06, 2023 |
|
The contested meaning of American freedom, with Jefferson Cowie
|
Sep 27, 2023 |
|
Joe Biden as "The Last Politician," with Franklin Foer
|
Sep 13, 2023 |
|
The century-long war for American conservatism, with Matthew Continetti
|
Aug 29, 2023 |
|
Slouching towards Utopia, with Brad DeLong
|
Aug 03, 2023 |
|
How elites use zoning and NIMBYism to keep the working class out, with Richard Kahlenberg
|
Jul 13, 2023 |
|
Why Congress needs to be revitalized, with Philip Wallach
|
Jul 06, 2023 |
|
How government can succeed in the digital age, with Jennifer Pahlka
|
Jun 07, 2023 |
|
A long-term success strategy for Democrats, with Ruy Teixeira
|
May 30, 2023 |
|
An economic agenda for a divided nation, with Isabel Sawhill
|
May 10, 2023 |
|
How Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War
|
Apr 27, 2023 |
|
How the John Birch Society radicalized the American Right, with Matthew Dallek
|
Apr 04, 2023 |
|
Los Angeles in 1974 and the politics of culture, with Ronald Brownstein
|
Mar 29, 2023 |
|
Tackling immigration reform in a divided Washington, with Kristie De Peña
|
Mar 01, 2023 |
|
The GOP’s Faustian bargain with far-right extremism, with David Corn
|
Feb 01, 2023 |
|
Imagining a better future for American democracy, with Suzette Brooks Masters
|
Jan 04, 2023 |
|
The paradoxical life of J. Edgar Hoover, with Beverly Gage
|
Dec 13, 2022 |
|
Larry Hogan’s GOP Alternative, with Mileah Kromer
|
Dec 01, 2022 |
|
Reclaiming Libertarianism with Andrew Koppelman
|
Nov 09, 2022 |
|
America’s unfinished civil war, with Jeremi Suri
|
Oct 28, 2022 |
|
The 1990s origins of today’s Trumpian politics, with Nicole Hemmer
|
Oct 12, 2022 |
|
Why men and boys are falling behind, with Richard V. Reeves
|
Sep 28, 2022 |
|
Homophobia in the mid-20th century, with James Kirchick
|
Aug 31, 2022 |
|
Rising political violence in the U.S. and the threat to U.S. democracy, with Rachel Kleinfeld
|
Aug 17, 2022 |
|
Michael Mazarr on American decline and possible revival
|
Aug 03, 2022 |
|
The rise of the Ripon Society and moderate Republicanism, with Emil Frankel
|
Jul 20, 2022 |
|
Reckoning with the deep structural problems in our democracy, with Greg Sargent
|
Jul 06, 2022 |
|
Will the American conservative movement ever value liberty and virtue again? (with Stephanie Slade)
|
Jun 08, 2022 |
|
Can conservatism ever become sensible again? (with Joshua Tait)
|
May 16, 2022 |
|
The leading challengers to liberalism and moderation come from the West, with Aurelian Craiutu
|
Apr 29, 2022 |
|
Abraham Lincoln as a Pragmatist and Peacemaker, with John Avlon
|
Apr 04, 2022 |
|
Re-Centering the Democratic Party, with Elaine Kamarck
|
Mar 17, 2022 |
|
Vital Center: Looking at America from up high and on the ground, with Jim Fallows
|
Mar 07, 2022 |
|
A Veteran Administrator’s Perspective on Higher Education, with Sam Chauncey
|
Feb 02, 2022 |
|
What’s a principled conservative to do about Trump? (with Mona Charen)
|
Jan 06, 2022 |
|
Why the U.S. Government Can't Seem to Get Anything Done Anymore, with Brink Lindsey
|
Dec 15, 2021 |
|
How America Can Become a "Can Do" Country Again, with Philip Zelikow
|
Dec 02, 2021 |
|
The Influence of Gingrich, the Triumph of Trump, the Legacy of Conservative Court Appointments, with Jackie Calmes
|
Nov 10, 2021 |
|
The Last Liberal Republican President, with John R. Price
|
Oct 27, 2021 |
|
Dark Days in Washington, with A.B. Stoddard
|
Oct 13, 2021 |
|
How to confront the growing threat to American democracy, with Tom Nichols
|
Sep 29, 2021 |
|
How to Bridge Our Divides and Find Our Shared American Identity, with Phillipa Hughes
|
Sep 15, 2021 |
|
Can America Untangle Itself from Red Tape? (With Philip K. Howard)
|
Sep 01, 2021 |
|
The Role of the Corporate Elite in Politics, with Mark Mizruchi
|
Aug 18, 2021 |
|
The Roots of Reactionary Conservatism, with Laura K. Field
|
Aug 04, 2021 |
|
What's behind the illiberal attacks on our institutions and how to fight back, with Jonathan Rauch
|
Jul 22, 2021 |
|
Moderate Conservatism as a Way to Protect Pre-modern Institutions, with R.R. Reno
|
Jun 09, 2021 |
|
The Case for a Moderate Third Party, with Chris Vance
|
May 26, 2021 |
|
How to Fix Our Political Parties, with Rob Saldin
|
May 12, 2021 |
|
How Democrats Lost the Working Class, with Matt Karp
|
Apr 28, 2021 |
|
The Rise of the "Establishment," and Its Impact Today, with Aaron M. Renn
|
Apr 14, 2021 |
|
Could Women Save the GOP by Running for Office? (With Kodiak and Ariel Hill-Davis)
|
Mar 31, 2021 |
|
The Man Behind the Modern Conservative Movement, with Sam Tanenhaus
|
Mar 17, 2021 |
|
Why I Left the GOP, with Linda Chavez
|
Mar 03, 2021 |
|
The Forces Behind the Radical Right
|
Feb 17, 2021 |