Shutdown Politics, Filibuster Fights, and the "Abundance Bros"
City Journal Audio
Manhattan Institute
4.7 • 657 Ratings
🗓️ 2 October 2025
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Is the Democratic Party being pulled too far left—or is moderation making a comeback? Jesse Arm, Charles Fain Lehman, and Rafael Mangual discuss the recent government shutdown and the role of the filibuster in shaping legislative outcomes. They analyze tensions in the Democratic Party between radical grassroots movements and centrist pragmatism. And they examine the rise of the "abundance bros" and what this techno-optimist movement says about our current politics.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to another episode of the City Journal podcast. |
| 0:12.4 | My name is Rafael Mangual. |
| 0:13.9 | I'll be your host for today. |
| 0:15.0 | And I am joined by two of my brilliant colleagues, Jesse Arm and Charles Fain Lehman, both of whom are at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. |
| 0:24.8 | Gentlemen, welcome to the show. |
| 0:26.6 | Just once I want you to be like one of my brilliant colleagues, Jesse, and then this idiot, Charles, who is on the show. |
| 0:31.8 | Nobody knows why. |
| 0:33.5 | Realistically, it would be the opposite. |
| 0:35.4 | Also, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, rarely do I hear the... |
| 0:39.1 | I use that all the time. |
| 0:39.9 | I use that all the time. That's right. That's right. Actually, you know, way back in the day, |
| 0:47.8 | MI, which is now just known as MI, used to be MIPR. That was the full acronym. And that was |
| 0:54.0 | kind of the shorthand for a long time. |
| 0:57.0 | And somewhere along the lines that died before I started. |
| 1:00.3 | But there were still some MIPR folks here when I got to MI back in 2015. |
| 1:08.3 | So let's get right into the crux. |
| 1:11.1 | Your sounds like our Puerto Rico branch. |
| 1:13.6 | That's right. |
| 1:16.1 | That or like, you know, our... |
| 1:17.7 | It's set up if anybody... |
| 1:20.5 | I'm all for it. |
| 1:21.4 | Listening and wants to give that the green light. |
... |
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