The Past, Present & Future of the Democratic Party - Ep. 43 - Michael Kazin - Public Research with Daniel Schwartz

Today on Public Research, Georgetown University historian Michael Kazin joins to discuss the past and future of the Democratic Party—why its bold, New Deal legacy gave way to a politics of timidity, how Kamala Harris’s campaign collapsed under caution, and what Democrats must do to reconnect with working-class voters in an age of AI, automation, and alienation. Kazin examines the pitfalls of empty slogans like “opportunity economy,”, trans surgeries and the urgent need for a compelling, concrete economic vision. We also talk about Bernie Sanders, immigration backlash, Hasan Piker, antisemitism, the DSA and whether Democrats can once again become the party that “gives people stuff”—and wins doing it.

Kazin is the author of What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party and serves as co-editor emeritus of Dissent magazine.