The New Liberal Podcast What is the center left? ft. Nate Silver, Jerusalem Demsas and Matt Yglesias
Sep 3, 2026
Matt Yglesias, journalist and Slow Boring writer, and Nate Silver, statistician and founder of FiveThirtyEight, join Jerusalem Demsas and Jeremiah Johnson for a lively roundtable. They debate whether the center left means moderation or liberalism, why Democrats struggle with an angry electorate, and how abundance, globalization, generational distrust, and shifting coalitions are reshaping American politics.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Liberalism Is More Than Tactical Moderation
- Liberalism is an ideology, while centrism is often a tactical way to win policy fights through moderation and compromise.
- Jerusalem Demsas uses YIMBYism to show that a politically moderate message can pursue a radical remaking of housing and urban development.
The Center Left Is A Coalition Of Liberal Strains
- The center left contains competing liberal traditions, including faith in effective government, technocracy, limited power, and skepticism of institutional groupthink.
- Nate Silver argues that these disagreements share connective tissue without making centrists and liberals identical.
Voters Are Contradictory But Often Quite Reasonable
- Voters often hold contradictory positions but still make sophisticated distinctions, so liberals should not assume the public is merely misled.
- Silver contrasts reasonable public instincts with elites who blame media, immigration, or opponents whenever outcomes challenge their worldview.