On April 2, 2025, Donald Trump announced "Liberation Day" tariffs which, according to him, would fix the trade deficit and bring American manufacturing roaring back.

One year on, Samantha and economic analyst Joey Politano dig in to what actually happened. Manufacturing is down, the deficit is barely changed, fake "deals" have been signed--and, according to Joey, the heads of many of America's largest and most influential corporations have exposed themselves to criminal liability for bribes, corruption, and insider trading.

Join us as we explain the tariff chaos, why it didn't cause an economic apocalypse, and what is really going on behind the scenes.

Last month, Donald Trump started a war—or perhaps a special military operation—with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Join Samantha and military historian Bret Devereaux as they discuss the "uncomfortable frontier arrangement" that previously existed with Iran, why Donald Trump blew it up, and what—maybe—the future holds (spoiler: a mess).

According to all current polling, Graham Platner will be Maine's next senator--despite a Nazi tattoo, a history of "controversial" social media posts, and an almost-total lack of political experience. To try and understand what this tells us about the direction of the Democratic Party, Chance Phillips recently traveled to Maine to speak with Platner's supporters. Chance and Samantha Hancox-Li discuss his findings on this episode of Neon Liberalism. Democratic elites may want moderation and conciliation--but the Democratic base has different opinions. You can read Chance's full essay here: https://www.liberalcurrents.com/platners-supporters-in-their-own-words/