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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
June 18, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: How Black Mediamakers Are Retelling America’s Story
Author Sarah J. Jackson says that Black writers, filmmakers, and other creators offer a “second sight” on America that pushes the country in the right direction.
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June 16, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
How Opposing Data Centers Can Save Democracy
Author and organizer Astra Taylor explains why Democrats should capitalize on the growing opposition to AI data centers.
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June 16, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: How Opposing Data Centers Can Save Democracy
Writer Astra Taylor argues the growing opposition to data centers is a huge opportunity for the Democratic Party.
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June 10, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Platner Is Testing A New Strategy to Defeat Susan Collins
Maine reporter Billy Kobin says the Maine election will be a test of whether Maine voters want the low-key politics of Susan Collins or the anti-billionaire fervor of Graham Platner.
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June 10, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Graham Platner Is Testing a New Strategy to Defeat Susan Collins
Maine reporter Billy Kobin says the Maine election will be a test of whether Maine voters want the low-key politics of Susan Collins or the anti-billionaire fervor of Graham Platner.
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June 10, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
What Today’s Media Can Learn From the Civil Rights–Era Black Press
Journalism professor Kathy Roberts Forde argues that journalists should lean into values such as promoting democracy instead of hiding between claims of neutrality.
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June 3, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Stacey Abrams: “This Is a National Project ... Not Just the South”
Stacey Abrams says that the erosion of democracy and Black power in the South won’t just stop there.
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June 3, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Stacey Abrams: “Everyone Needs To Be Concerned”
Stacey Abrams says that the erosion of democracy and Black power in the South won’t just stop there.
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June 2, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
How Democrats Can Win the Crime Debate
Vera Institute president Insha Rahman says a “serious about safety” approach is better for Democrats than “tough on crime,” in terms of both politics and policy.
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June 2, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: How Democrats Can Win the Crime Debate
Insha Rahman, the president of the Vera Institute, says a “serious about safety” approach is better for Democrats than “tough on crime,” in terms of both politics and policy.
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May 29, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
This Is How Democrats Should Talk About AI
Groundwork Collaborative’s Alex Jacquez says that voters want to be assured that they will have decent-paying, stable jobs in a world with AI.
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May 27, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: The Scary Thing Trump Might Do on His Birthday
Columbia political scientist Elizabeth Saunders says he wrongly thinks that the U.S. can easily repeat its quick overthrow of Maduro in other countries.
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May 27, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
The Scary Thing Trump Might Do on His Birthday
Columbia political scientist Elizabeth Saunders says that Trump’s threats against Iran, Cuba, and Greenland show a president who wrongly thinks that the U.S. can easily repeat its quick overthrow of Maduro.
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May 22, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Why Trump Is Afraid of Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and The View
Political scientist Meredith Conroy says that late-night shows are still politically relevant even as their audiences shrink.
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May 22, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Why Trump Is Afraid of Colbert, Kimmel, and The View
Political scientist Meredith Conroy says that late-night comedy shows have long played an important role in American politics.
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May 20, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Georgia May Elect America’s First Black Woman Governor
Journalist Tia Mitchell explains why Keisha Lance Bottoms could make history this November in Georgia.
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May 20, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
This Georgian Might Become America’s First Black Woman Governor
Journalist Tia Mitchell says that Keisha Lance Bottoms was surprisingly strong in the Democratic primary for governor, but she still may not win in November.
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May 14, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: How Democrats Can Fix the Government in 2029
Political scientists Lee Drutman and Mark Copelovitch say that the next time Democrats have a trifecta in Washington they must push proportional representation and other major reforms to America’s political system.
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May 14, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
How Democrats Can Fix the Government in 2029
Political scientists Lee Drutman and Mark Copelovitch say that the next time Democrats have a trifecta in Washington they must push proportional representation and other major reforms to America’s political system.
Video is available for this article
May 12, 2026
Right Now With Perry Bacon
Transcript: Trump and the Supreme Court Are Crushing Black Power
Political scientists Hakeem Jefferson and Jake Grumbach say that we are witnessing a massive rollback of Black political power through Supreme Court decisions.
Video is available for this article

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Edith Olmsted
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Monica Potts
Politics & Class
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Hafiz Rashid
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Greg Sargent
Politics & Democracy
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Grace Segers
Congress & Elections
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Alex Shephard
Politics & Media
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Michael Tomasky
Politics & Ideas
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