In Episode 227 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Saagar Enjeti and Marshall Kosloff, the co-hosts of “The Realignment,” an absolutely phenomenal podcast that consistently produces some of the best conversations at the intersection of politics and society that you will find anywhere.
They are both successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders in their own rights—Saagar Enjeti interviewed former president Donald Trump four separate times in his capacity as Chief Whitehouse Correspondent for the Daily Caller and currently co-hosts the immensely popular “Breaking Points” with Krystal Ball. Marshall Kosloff is an executive producer at “On Deck” where he also hosts “The Deep End,” a podcast where he interviews visionary builders, creators, and experts with world-changing ideas related to the futures of commerce, higher education, governance, longevity, art, and more.
Demetri asked them both to come onto the podcast in order to help him better understand the forces driving dysfunction in American politics, along with phenomenon of rising public mistrust of institutions, and a deeping sense of paranoia in the body politic.
Saagar, Marshall, and Demetri spend the first hour of their conversation discussing how we got here, why the so-called “political experts” whose job it is to explain what’s happening have consistently failed to do so, what the new political consensus is that’s forming in American life, and what it is that the majority of Americans want—what in other words, would constitute a popular platform on which to not only run a successful campaign but from which to govern successfully or are these two things fundamentally incompatible in today’s celebrity-driven, fake it till you make it culture that seems to reward the aesthetics over power in place of power itself?
The second hour of their conversation is spent discussing what Kofinas suggests may be a multi-decade breakdown in belief systems driven by a series of recurring failures, covered up by lies, succeeded by more failures like the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2008 financial crisis and its culture of never-ending bailouts, and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic and the confusing directives and open disregard by health authorities of legitimate public concerns around the vaccines, the risks associated with taking them, mandating who should take them, etc. This also opens the door to a conversation about the changing media landscape and the growing power of independent voices like Joe Rogan’s to influence public opinion and force issues into the public square that would otherwise be deemed off-limits by those in positions of public authority.
You can access the second part of this episode, as well as the transcript and rundown to this week’s conversation through the Hidden Forces Supercast Page. All subscribers gain access to our premium feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application. For those interested in gaining early access to the new Hidden Foces subscription platform on Supercast, please email info@hiddenforces.io for a discount link.
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Saagar Enjeti is cohost of Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar and cohost of The Realignment podcast. Previously, he costed Hill TV’s Rising program and served as The Daily Caller’s Chief White House Correspondent. Saagar has interviewed President Donald Trump 4 separate times along with presidential contenders, heads of state, members of congress, Senators, and prominent figures throughout the United States. He earned a masters in U.S. National Security Policy from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a bachelor’s in economics and Political Science from George Washington University. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Marshall Kosloff is the cohost of The Realignment podcast, produced in partnership with Lincoln Network and the Hewlett Foundation’s Economy and Society Initiative. He also is an Executive Producer at On Deck, where he hosts The Deep End, a podcast focused on startups and technology. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Oregon. Marshall lives in New York City.
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Sed finge non solum callidum eum, qui aliquid improbe faciat, verum etiam praepotentem, ut M. Nemo nostrum istius generis asotos iucunde putat vivere. Hic ambiguo ludimur. Habent enim et bene longam et satis litigiosam disputationem. Quae sequuntur igitur? Negat esse eam, inquit, propter se expetendam.
Quid ergo attinet gloriose loqui, nisi constanter loquare? Quis animo aequo videt eum, quem inpure ac flagitiose putet vivere? Sed tamen enitar et, si minus multa mihi occurrent, non fugiam ista popularia. Quod idem cum vestri faciant, non satis magnam tribuunt inventoribus gratiam. Negare non possum. Atqui haec patefactio quasi rerum opertarum, cum quid quidque sit aperitur, definitio est.
Ergo et avarus erit, sed finite, et adulter, verum habebit modum, et luxuriosus eodem modo. Tum Piso: Quoniam igitur aliquid omnes, quid Lucius noster? Inscite autem medicinae et gubernationis ultimum cum ultimo sapientiae comparatur. Hic ego: Pomponius quidem, inquam, noster iocari videtur, et fortasse suo iure. Tu autem negas fortem esse quemquam posse, qui dolorem malum putet. Quod praeceptum quia maius erat, quam ut ab homine videretur, idcirco assignatum est deo.
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Quid iudicant sensus? Aliter enim nosmet ipsos nosse non possumus. An potest cupiditas finiri? Intrandum est igitur in rerum naturam et penitus quid ea postulet pervidendum; Nulla profecto est, quin suam vim retineat a primo ad extremum. Et quidem illud ipsum non nimium probo et tantum patior, philosophum loqui de cupiditatibus finiendis. Ergo ita: non posse honeste vivi, nisi honeste vivatur? An est aliquid, quod te sua sponte delectet? Negat enim summo bono afferre incrementum diem. Nihil opus est exemplis hoc facere longius.
Nonne videmus quanta perturbatio rerum omnium consequatur, quanta confusio? Duo Reges: constructio interrete.
Illud mihi a te nimium festinanter dictum videtur, sapientis omnis esse semper beatos; Num igitur eum postea censes anxio animo aut sollicito fuisse? Itaque sensibus rationem adiunxit et ratione effecta sensus non reliquit. Voluptatem cum summum bonum diceret, primum in eo ipso parum vidit, deinde hoc quoque alienum; Sed quid attinet de rebus tam apertis plura requirere? Ergo ita: non posse honeste vivi, nisi honeste vivatur? Sed residamus, inquit, si placet.
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Scientiam pollicentur, quam non erat mirum sapientiae cupido patria esse cariorem. Quid autem habent admirationis, cum prope accesseris? Hoc dixerit potius Ennius: Nimium boni est, cui nihil est mali. Vos autem cum perspicuis dubia debeatis illustrare, dubiis perspicua conamini tollere. Sin kakan malitiam dixisses, ad aliud nos unum certum vitium consuetudo Latina traduceret.
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Cur igitur, inquam, res tam dissimiles eodem nomine appellas? Nam et complectitur verbis, quod vult, et dicit plane, quod intellegam; Egone non intellego, quid sit don Graece, Latine voluptas? Quod quidem nobis non saepe contingit. Deprehensus omnem poenam contemnet. Te enim iudicem aequum puto, modo quae dicat ille bene noris. At Zeno eum non beatum modo, sed etiam divitem dicere ausus est. Audio equidem philosophi vocem, Epicure, sed quid tibi dicendum sit oblitus es. Non enim, si omnia non sequebatur, idcirco non erat ortus illinc. Sed ad bona praeterita redeamus.
