# Gabfest Reads | Why Liberalism Needs to Reclaim the Center

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-gabfest-500617/gabfest-reads-why-liberalism-needs-to-reclaim-the-center
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-gabfest-500617/gabfest-reads-why-liberalism-needs-to-reclaim-the-center.md
Podcast: [Political Gabfest](https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-gabfest-500617)
Published: 2026-05-16T07:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/political-gabfest/episodes/gabfest-reads-why-liberalism-needs-to-reclaim-the-center
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/696568de9ab39048a63ed7f7/e/6a06065168dc584edad43276/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/political-gabfest-500617/episodes/gabfest-reads-why-liberalism-needs-to-reclaim-the-center
Duration seconds: 2859

## Resource

In this month’s episode of Gabfest Reads, John Dickerson interviews Bloomberg columnist Adrian Wooldridge about his new book The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism . In a moment when American democracy is under assault from authoritarian populists and dogmatic progressives, Wooldridge argues that liberalism itself offers the most resilient framework for pluralistic, self-correcting societies.  Dickerson and Wooldridge discuss what liberalism really is, why both the left and right have become illiberal, and what citizens can do to defend the democratic principles on which the nation was built. Tweet us your questions @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages could be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Nina Porzucki. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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## Transcript

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