Burt Cohen
31 episodes listed below
PRESS PLAY
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Burt Cohen uses interviews on history, political thought and public institutions to trace the forces shaping Trump-era democracy.
Keeping Democracy Alive treats current politics as the latest chapter in a much longer argument about power, justice and republican government.
A question from Plato turns your latest Trump argument into one about why anyone should act justly.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A history-minded look at evangelical loyalty to Trump, why it has held, and why some support may be fading.
This episode takes up a straightforward civic question: why evangelical Christians have been such steady support for Donald Trump, and why some of that backing may be fraying now.
A sober history lesson on how Republican moderation gave way to Trump-era loyalty.
This episode traces a steady line from Rockefeller-era Republican moderation to Trumpism, showing how the party's center of gravity moved over time.
A sober look at immigration as a political issue, not just a policy one.
The episode frames immigration less as a policy dispute than as a political force, and it is most persuasive when it ties present-day rhetoric to older habits of fear.
History gives the episode its force, and Richardson keeps the present legible without flattening its dangers.
Richardson and Cohen keep the focus on history as a practical warning, not a lecture. They move from Gaza, Palestine, and the West Bank to Trumpism and show how authoritarian politics grows out of older habits, especially the link between race and economic grievance in American…
A blunt history lesson on how wartime panic helped normalize democratic abuse.
This episode grounds its argument in the World War I era instead of treating Trumpist politics as some sudden break. The Espionage Act and the Bisbee deportations give the point real texture, and the link between wartime panic, worker suppression, and pressure on the domestic…
A sober defense of history as a democratic safeguard.
Burt Cohen opens with a blunt, useful question: why do dictators fear history so much, and what happens when political power starts narrowing what schools are allowed to teach? David W.
A sharp look at how class pressures keep shaping Democrats' path back to working-class voters.
Burt Cohen and Joan Williams take on a blunt question: why Democrats lost ground with the working class, and what it would take to get those voters back.
Mental health is framed here as part of a broader democratic crisis, not a private burden.
Burt Cohen treats mental health as part of a wider democratic stress test, linking fear and emotional strain under Trump to cruelty, intimidation, and the pressure on public life. The discussion works best when it moves past alarm and into shared experience.
Sharp political debate with policy detail and real disagreement.
Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson debate Canadian politics, from Alberta separatism to Ottawa's bureaucracy.
Robert Evans, Katie Stoll, and Cody Johnston build fake conspiracies and mock right-wing media.
Steve Hayes and Dispatch panelists argue through the week's Iran, DOJ, and Supreme Court news.
Jonah Goldberg's solo political rants and author interviews on conservatism, courts, and current events.
John Donvan moderates two-sided debates on AI, bioethics, feminism, and film's future.
Author Randy Fertel discusses his book 'Winging It,' exploring how improvisation influences politics, culture, and art, with a focus on Donald Trump's use of spontaneous rhetoric.
Author Adam Hochschild discusses his book 'American Midnight,' exploring the 1917-1921 period as a precursor to modern Trumpism, marked by severe civil liberties suppression, state-sanctioned vigilantism, and parallels to contemporary issues like immigration fear and book banning.
Burt Cohen frames a sharp question about whether Democrats can win back the working class after years of drift.
Burt Cohen opens with a direct question about whether Nelson Rockefeller would recognize the Republican Party today.
May is Mental Health Month.
Bert Cohen opens with a sharp question about why immigration, or people’s perceptions of it, became such a major force in the recent election.
Bert Cohen interviews Melissa Lane about her book on Plato's political philosophy, exploring how ancient ideas of rule, office, and virtue apply to modern issues like Trump's presidency, Supreme Court ethics, and democratic backsliding.
Burt Cohen opens by asking why history makes dictators so uneasy.
Bert Cohen opens with the puzzle of evangelical loyalty to Donald Trump.
History is the place to start.