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Welcome Back to The Realignment
Hey everyone, thanks for checking in during the holiday break before the new year begins. This was a huge year for the show, and we’re pumped to start 2022 off strong and make this the best podcast it can be.
Since we’re still in the holidays, this issue’s gonna be a bit of scattered thoughts/requests. Check back next Thursday for our first issue of 2022, which’ll continue to feature additional original content.
First, a genuine question for everyone: how did you find 2021? Did it meet your expectations? What narratives/themes/ideas did you focus on, and how are they shaping your approach to 2022?
From my (Marshall) perspective, I was ready for 2021 to be the roaring 20s 2.0. There’s still eight years left in the decade, so maybe we’ll get there, but I’m not feeling confident. From where I’m at, a lot of hope and optimism’s going to have to shift to the 2030s.What were your favorite episodes this year? Tomorrow, I (Marshall) am putting out a thread of our best episodes this year, and I’d like to feature audience responses. Leave a comment below, reply to this email, or email realignmentpod@gmail.com to offer your submission.
As per usual, we really appreciate audience feedback. For example, thanks to a review on Apple Podcasts, we’re working to tighten up the intros to save everyone time/get to the meat of our conversation. Let us know if you have any other thoughts.
On a relatedly superficial note, I really, really appreciated the person who critiqued our rambling intros actually still giving us five-stars along with the criticism. It’s already hard to take criticism, but when it’s attached to a 2-star over something we’d like to fix, it’s a genuine bummer. So here’s to the reviewer and nice behavior online.
This (and last) Week’s Episodes
Episode 187: Roy Bahat: How Can We Build a Win-Win Society?
(Audio)
Episode 186: Greg Lukianoff: The Second Great Age of Political Correctness
Episode 185: Anne Helen Petersen and Charlie Warzel: The Problem and Promise of WFH
The Realignment Bookshop
The Realignment’s Books of the Year 2021
Here’s a brief selection of some of our favorite books.
The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915
Alpha: Eddie Gallagher and the War for the Soul of the Navy Seals
Rock Me on the Water: 1974 - The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television and Politics
The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914
Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War
As a reminder, we’ve created a Realignment Bookshop affiliate store showcasing books by guests, what we’re actively reading this year, and deeper dives into the featured topic of an episode.
If you purchase a book using our link, the show gets a 10% commission, a local, independent bookseller gets support, and you get an awesome book!
We’re reorganizing our book lists over the next few weeks, so for now, check out our primary one:
Books by Realignment Guests
Let us know what you think about this or any other week’s episodes. Please share The Realignment with anyone who’d enjoy the podcast.
Not sure if it was my favorite Realignment podcast of the year, but it was the only one I listened to more than once - #164 Eliana Johnson and Chris Stirewalt. BTW, I recommend Chris for a substitute co host.
All the best for 2022 to everyone!
2021 exceeded my expectations. I finished my first year of law school, landed my first paid legal gig, and proposed to my girlfriend of five years. It certainly wasn't an easy year, but those successes made all the hardship worth it.
My approach to 2022, outside of the monster that is wedding planning, is going to be shaped by this question: how can I use my legal education and experience to benefit the most people in my home-city during this increasingly difficult time? I begin working for a judge in a federal court to kick off the new year and I hope that experience will begin to guide me to an answer.
Of the 2021 episodes, I thoroughly enjoyed hearing your conversations with Frank Distefano, Jeff Shesol, Vivek Ramaswamy, Amy Chua, Peter Bergen, Andrew Yang, and Jeremy Dauber. (although everyone was fantastic!)