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Right Now With Perry Bacon

Right Now With Perry Bacon is a twice-weekly show about national politics with a focus on the radicalism of the Trump administration and tactics to combat it. The program, hosted by New Republic staff writer Perry Bacon on Substack, features in-depth discussions with experts and politicians. It goes beyond the daily headlines to explain why things are happening and put them in a broader context.

All Episodes
August 11, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Why the Democrats’ Primaries This Week Are So Critical
The contests in Minnesota and Wisconsin this week are among the last major fights this year between the Democratic Party’s progressives and centrists.
Video is available for this article
August 11, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Why the Democrats’ Final Primaries This Week Are So Critical
The contests in Minnesota and Wisconsin this week are among the last major fights this year between the Democratic Party’s progressives and centrists.
Video is available for this article
August 5, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: What El-Sayed’s Narrow Win Tells Us About the Democrats
Political scientists Seth Masket and Julia Azari say the super-close contest between El-Sayed and Stevens shows a party where neither faction is dominant.
Video is available for this article
August 5, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Why Abdul El-Sayed Is the Favorite in November
Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow win in the primary may not portend much for the general election, particularly if the entire Democratic Party unifies around him.
Video is available for this article
August 4, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Why Insurgent Candidates Are Thriving in the Midwest
Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed and Wisconsin’s Francesca Hong are showing that innovative campaign tactics help candidates outside of progressive strongholds too.
Video is available for this article
August 4, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Why Insurgent Candidates Are Thriving in the Midwest
The political skills that have helped Abdul El-Sayed and Francesca Hong surge in Democratic primaries suggest that they will be solid general election candidates too.
Video is available for this article
July 29, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Inside AOC’s Foreign Policy Vision
Writer Jonathan Guyer says that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is presenting a different foreign policy vision than previous Democrats who have ran for president.
July 29, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Inside AOC’s Foreign Policy Vision
Writer Jonathan Guyer says that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is presenting a different foreign policy vision than previous Democrats who have run for president.
Video is available for this article
July 28, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Can This Well-Known Florida Democrat Survive the Progressive Surge?
Progressive Elijah Manley says that South Florida needs a bolder representative than longtime Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
July 17, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: What’s Really Driving the Progressive Surge
Political scientists Julia Azari and Seth Masket say a more organized progressive faction is one of the reasons leftist candidates are increasingly winning Dem primaries .
Video is available for this article
July 17, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
What’s Really Driving the Left’s Wins In Democratic Primaries?
Political scientists Julia Azari and Seth Masket say that a myriad of factors are powering recent progressive wins in Dem primaries.
Video is available for this article
July 16, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Do the Democrats Really Need More “Working-Class” Male Candidates?
Two experts on gender and politics say that much of the discourse in the Democratic Party is really about masculinity and appealing to male voters.
Video is available for this article
July 16, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Do Democrats Need More “Working Class” Male Candidates?
Two experts on gender and politics say that gender and masculinity are at the center of Trump-era politics.
Video is available for this article
July 14, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Trump’s Authoritarianism Has Failed in One Critical Way
Political scientist Donald Moynihan argues that Trump has consolidated power on many fronts but has largely failed in his efforts to take control of the U.S. election process.
Video is available for this article
July 14, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Trump’s Authoritarianism Has Failed in One Critical Way
Political scientist Donald Moynihan argues that Trump has consolidated power on many fronts, but has largely failed in his efforts to take control of the U.S. election process.
Video is available for this article
July 1, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Democrats Need a Reconstruction Agenda—Not an Affordability One
Liberal Currents publisher Adam Gurri calls for a sweeping “Reconstruction” agenda for Democrats if they win the presidency in 2028.
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July 1, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Democrats Need a Reconstruction Agenda
Adam Gurri of Liberal Currents explains why Democrats need a “reconstruction” agenda if they win the presidency in 2028.
Video is available for this article
June 30, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: The British Paper That Americans Are Rushing to Read
Guardian US managing editor Steve Sachs explains the paper’s three core values: free, global, and independent.
Video is available for this article
June 29, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
The British Paper That Americans Are Rushing to Read
Guardian US managing director Steve Sachs says the paper’s audience has grown vastly in the United States because it is free, independent, and global.
Video is available for this article
June 26, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
How Colleges Can Defend Themselves From MAGA
Education policy experts John Warner and Charlie Eaton say they should position themselves as assets for the entire public, not only for an exclusive group of students and professors.
Video is available for this article

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Politics & Media
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Michael Tomasky
Politics & Ideas
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