The American Compass Podcast

Latest Episodes:

How the Media Lost Its Way with Mark Halperin Apr 25, 2025

Show notes

How has the American media gone from the days of Walter Cronkite to open hostility toward the president and his party?

Mark Halperin, editor-in-chief of 2Way and host of the new program "Next Up" on the Megyn Kelly network, joins guest host and managing editor Drew Holden for a conversation about the state of the U.S. media. They discuss why the media so often gets the story wrong about President Trump, why the press refused to cover former President Biden's decline, and the incentive structure behind mainstream media's institutional descent into a liberal echo chamber. Plus, the two place bets on whether the media has any hope of internal reform.

The Myths Behind Free Trade with Mark DiPlacido Apr 18, 2025

Show notes

If you’ve spent time on social media or watched cable news recently, you’ve almost certainly encountered some of globalization’s staunchest defenders, trotting out their favorite arguments against tariffs.

On today’s episode, Mark DiPlacido, American Compass policy advisor, joins Oren to break down the worst of these arguments and share some handy responses for your next important meeting, debate in the office break room, or cocktail party. After spending the past couple weeks on the media circuit, Mark and Oren run through some of their favorites: Should you need a PhD to discuss economics? Does the trade deficit really not matter? These are only the tip of the bad-take iceberg.

For more, check out our tariffs symposium, "After Liberation Day."

The Global Tariff with Rep. Jared Golden Apr 11, 2025

Show notes

The congressman who introduced the bill to implement President Trump’s 10% global tariff wasn’t a member of his own party, but a conservative Democrat from a Trump-won district in Maine.

Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME), the sponsor of the BUILT USA Act, which would set the 10% global rate, joined Oren to talk about why Congress needs to permanently codify the new trade policy. To spur long-term investment in American industry and lift its workers, Golden and Cass agree, requires a policy with more sticking power than an executive order. Congressman Golden also explains his path to championing this issue, why so many of his constituents in Northern Maine support Trump’s recent move, and whether it’s possible for tariffs to become a bipartisan issue once again.

Our Manhood Crisis with Amber Lapp Apr 04, 2025

Show notes

For decades, American men have been in crisis. Globalization has caused millions of jobs to disappear, divorce rates have increased, life expectancy has decreased, and deaths of despair have skyrocketed in many working-class communities.

Amber Lapp, research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and stay-at-home mom, began talking to her neighbors in her working-class community in southwestern Ohio over a decade ago to try to get to the bottom of it. She joins Oren to share the real stories of America’s missing men, and discuss why she felt called to leave Manhattan and move to Ohio to better understand working-class life in America. The two dive into the value of getting to know your neighbors in an atomized age and what can be done to begin to reverse this crisis.

Further reading:

“America's Missing Men” by Amber Lapp

After the Factories Left with David Autor Mar 28, 2025

Show notes

The “China Shock”—triggered by the country’s entry into the World Trade Organization—devastated America’s heartland, causing a sudden exodus of manufacturing jobs and disrupting the communities that depended on them. Promoters of globalization promised “better” jobs would take their place. Nearly 25 years later, has that happened?

David Autor, professor of economics at MIT and co-author of the famous “China Shock” paper, joins Oren to talk about the effects of free trade on America’s working class. They also examine Autor’s latest paper, which highlights that the new jobs in the hardest-hit communities often don’t provide the pay or stability that the jobs outsourced by globalization did—and, even worse, that many former workers lack access to these jobs altogether. Plus, they explore the rise of automation in manufacturing and the implications of AI for American workers.

Further reading:

"Places versus People: The Ins and Outs of Labor Market Adjustment to Globalization" by David Autor, David Dorn, et al.
"The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade" by David Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon Hanson

Abundance, Left and Right with Ezra Klein Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

The “abundance agenda” has taken the policy world by storm recently, led by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, who advocate for prioritizing the supply side and removing barriers to building our productive capacity.

This week, Ezra joins Oren to make the case for how the theory could be put into practice. In this wide-ranging conversation, the two explore the sclerosis that has held back blue cities like New York and San Francisco, potential political roadblocks to implementing the agenda, and where conservatives can find common cause with it. Plus, they debate whether the Democratic Party can be the flagship of abundance while prioritizing the climate change movement.

A Unitary Executive with Jack Goldsmith Mar 14, 2025

Show notes

As outside groups continuously file lawsuits to slow down the Trump administration’s agenda, many Americans are wondering: how much power does the president rightfully have?

Jack Goldsmith, Harvard Law professor and co-author of the Executive Functions Substack, joins Oren to break down the judicial landscape less than two months into the second Trump administration. They discuss the modern presidency and constitutionalism, limits on executive authority, and everything from impoundment to more aggressive theories of the unitary executive.

The Transatlantic New Right with Michael Gove Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

America isn’t the only place where the political Right is beginning to move in a new direction.

On this episode, Michael Gove, the legendary former Conservative UK MP and cabinet secretary and current editor of the Spectator, joined for a discussion of trade, tariffs, and where conservatism is headed across the Atlantic.

They talked through the challenges faced by the British Right to combat the legacy of free trade, which mirror fights in the American Right today. Following Vice President Vance’s remarks in Munich about our European allies, the two discuss how a nation founded to “get away from continental entanglements” and “ancestral quarrels” should approach foreign policy.

For more, watch Gove and Cass’s dramatic victory in a debate at the recent Alliance for Responsible Citizenship’s conference in London about whether “protectionist policies make us poorer.” (Spoiler alert: they do not.)

What the AI Debate Gets Wrong with Colin Kahl Feb 28, 2025

Show notes

Every app on your phone brags about being “AI-powered.” Policymakers and pundits predict that the technology will soon dominate every aspect of life. But what’s actually happening with AI, and what can America do to “win” the global race to activate the tech’s promise?

On this episode, Colin Kahl, Biden’s former undersecretary of defense for policy and now co-director of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, breaks down where things stand. He and Oren talk through what the AI debate gets wrong, whether “winning” the tech race with China is even a sensible goal, and the policy decisions that confront today’s leaders.

Further reading:

“Is It Interesting to Say That AI Isn’t That Interesting?” by Oren Cass
“Here’s Why Oren Is Wrong About AI,” by Abigail Ball

Averting White House Crises with Karl Zinsmeister Feb 21, 2025

Show notes

Remember when the student loan market melted down during the George W. Bush administration? No? That’s because Karl Zinsmeister, Bush’s chief domestic policy advisor, kept it from happening. Every administration encounters this kind of near-calamity and relies on the steady hands of staff to address them.

On this episode, Zinsmeister joins to tell that story for the first time, and explains how the Trump-Vance administration should think about its popular mandate. He and Oren talk about the ascendant populist wing of the Republican Party, why Zinsmeister believes it isn’t as different from the spirit of Bush 43 as some might think, and what Trump’s return portends for the country and conservatism.

Further reading: