Ross Douthat on the End of Conservatism

Ross Douthat on the End of Conservatism

From The Argument by Jerusalem Demsas & Matthew Yglesias

February 9, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

Ross Douthat discusses the transformation of the conservative movement and the implications for liberalism and democracy.

Trump didn’t just reshape the GOP—he may have ended what we used to call “the conservative movement.” New York Times columnist Ross Douthat joins host Jerusalem Demsas to map the new right: the collapse of fusionism, the rise of nationalism, and a media ecosystem where influencers matter more than institutions. Then they argue about what liberalism can and can’t solve. Can abundance and faster growth stabilize democracy, or are the deeper crises cultural, spiritual, and demographic in w...

People in this episode

Host: Jerusalem Demsas

Guest: Ross Douthat

Topics covered

  • conservatism
  • GOP
  • nationalism
  • media ecosystem
  • liberalism
  • democracy

Keywords

  • conservatism
  • GOP
  • nationalism
  • media
  • liberalism
  • democracy
  • Trump

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Times

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