Zooming In at The UnPopulist

Immigration policy has long been a battlefield for ideological disputes. But what we’re witnessing during Trump’s second term isn't just a debate over border security or visa policy. It’s an attempt to reconfigure the U.S. immigration system into a tool for authoritarian governance—an assault not only on due process, but on the foundational belief that laws must constrain power.Joining Shikha Dalmia is immigration expert and senior fellow at the American Immigration Council Dara Lind. Together, they explore how Trump’s second term has differed from his first in his weaponization of obscure legal tools and administrative procedures—many of them relics from the Cold War and even the John Adams era—to strip people of legal status, bypass the courts, and normalize practices once considered unthinkable.Tune in for an informative but chilling discussion.© The UnPopulist, 2025Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net

In a piece for our new project Executive Watch, Walter Olson, senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, clarified the dangers of a recent presidential memo from the Trump administration, which accuses prominent law firms of “grossly unethical misconduct” and threatens them with severe penalties—such as revoking security clearances and cutting off federal contractsSpeaking with the director of Executive Watch, Rob Tracinski, Olson explains how, under the guise of promoting “accountability” for “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation,” this move threatens the current means of accountability relied on by judges and undermines the independence of the entire legal profession.We hope you enjoy.© The UnPopulist, 2025Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net

For much of American history, Christianity has played a crucial role in shaping the nation’s moral framework. But as political and religious identities become more entangled, has the church strayed from its traditional role as a moral anchor? And can it find its way back?To explore these pressing questions, Berny Belvedere sits down with Jonathan Rauch, author of the new book, Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy. Together, they examine how the historic relationship between Christianity and America’s liberal democracy has fractured—and what that means for the future of both.We hope you enjoy.© The UnPopulist, 2025Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net

For years, traditional media—newspapers, cable news, and radio—dominated the political conversation. These were the institutions that shaped public discourse, set the agenda, and determined which ideas gained traction. But as the digital ecosystem evolved, a parallel and sometimes overlapping infrastructure emerged—one where influencers, niche content creators, and algorithmically curated feeds have redefined how people engage with information.To understand this evolution, host Aaron Ross Powell sits down with Renee DiResta, an Associate Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown and author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality. Together they unpack how this shift has upended not just how news spreads but also how political identities are formed, narratives take hold, and, ultimately, how power operates.We hope you enjoy.© The UnPopulist, 2025Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net

We have entered another Trump term, and the political landscape has shifted in ways that challenge the very foundations of our liberal democracy. With unprecedented executive power and a growing ecosystem of loyalists surrounding the president, we must ask: What happens when political institutions are no longer able to constrain a populist authoritarian president’s ambitions? And how do institutions, the media, and civil society respond?Today, The UnPopulist’s editor-in-chief Shikha Dalmia is joined by senior editor Berny Belvedere and contributor Andy Craig. They explore the risks of an unchecked executive, the breakdown of institutional safeguards, the chilling effect on dissent in both politics and culture, —and whether libertarians, who put checking abusive state authority at the heart of their political project, will stand up to Trump in his second term, which is already shaping up to be far worse than his first.We hope you find the discussion interesting, if depressing.© The UnPopulist, 2025Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net

Does Christianity, or the Christian Bible, endorse a particular social configuration? What happens when faith communities tie their identity to political power? And can liberalism, with its emphasis on individual liberty and mutual respect, offer a path forward in a time of heightened polarization?Today, Berny Belvedere, The UnPopulist’s senior editor, is joined by Russell Moore, who is editor-in-chief at Christianity Today, to discuss all of this and more.Whether you’re a believer, a skeptic about matters of faith, or simply curious about the interplay between religion and politics, this episode raises questions that resonate far beyond any single election cycle.We hope you enjoy.***© The UnPopulist, 2024Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net

What happens when the ideals of democracy are used to justify its own erosion? Can liberal democracy endure in an era where its strongest proponents appear to embrace the very authoritarianism they once opposed?In this episode, The UnPopulist’s editor-in-chief Shikha Dalmia is joined by Zack Beauchamp, senior writer at Vox.They discuss why authoritarian leaders often present themselves as champions of democracy and how they use democratic language to consolidate power, and delve into topics such as the resilience of liberal democracy in the face of these challenges. What causes democratic societies to turn against their own principles? How do cultural and economic anxieties fuel the reactionary movements seen around the world? And is it still possible to reverse this trend in countries where authoritarian practices have taken root?© The UnPopulist, 2024 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net

Today, our senior editor Berny Belvedere is joined by Shikha Dalmia, Editor-in-Chief of The UnPopulist, and columnist Andy Craig, as they dive into the reactions and political dynamics of a pivotal election. Following Trump's decisive comeback, they confront the profound societal and electoral shifts that made it possible, exploring everything from the anti-incumbent sentiment driving voter behavior to the challenges the Democratic Party faces in effectively messaging to a skeptical electorate.Together, they dissect how populism, economic grievances, and cultural divides intersect to influence American politics today. They question whether recent results signify genuine support for Trump or are simply a symptom of frustration with the status quo. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net

Today, we’re excited to welcome back The UnPopulist’s editor-at-large, Tom Shull. The last time we spoke with Tom was back in January, when he shared insights from the groundbreaking survey he developed for the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, the publisher of The UnPopulist, focused on populist attitudes and beliefs in the electorate. Now, nine months later, Tom is going to walk us through the results of a new, even more comprehensive survey. His essay summarizing some of the survey’s main finding for Trump supporters was just published at The UnPopulist, and more findings will be released there in the coming weeks.So what’s changed since the last survey? What are the key insights? And how has our understanding of populist sentiment evolved? We’ll cover all of this and more in today’s conversation. We hope you enjoy.© The UnPopulist, 2024 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net

Today on Zooming In at The UnPopulist, we’re diving into one of the most pressing issues of our time: free speech. Our host Aaron Ross Powell is joined by a special guest, Ken White—better known online as Popehat—a First Amendment expert, seasoned criminal defense attorney, civil litigator, and cohost of the Serious Trouble podcast. Together, they’ll explore some of the most pressing questions in free speech discourse today: Have we become too quick to label some speech as offensive? Are we idealizing a past where free expression was supposedly more open? And, most importantly, how can we foster richer, more nuanced conversations in an increasingly polarized world?Stay tuned as Aaron and Ken skillfully navigate these difficult waters. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net