What Rough Beast

About What Rough Beast

Politics for English majors. virginiaheffernan.substack.com (https://virginiaheffernan.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Virginia Heffernan

Category

news · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Dec 2024

Latest episode

21 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

32 of 49 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   21 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Green Shoots and Red Flags

   In this episode, we invite on Bea Neilson (https://www.tiktok.com/@campaigndispatch), a preternaturally well-read Gen Z political junkie, to talk about where the Democratic Party goes from here. Here's what we covered: * Trump's TikTok strategy and why he never really left the stage * the DSA's steady takeover of the party's energy, with Mamdani as Exhibit A * the Graham Platner fiasco and what it reveals about consultants chasing "authenticity" * why Black voters keep seeing danger signs white liberals miss * the data center protests, the most genuinely grassroots movement either of us can point to right now. And if you yourself are finding green shoots in the ground these days, please share. This is a reader-supported podcast. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe (https://virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

2. 

   30 Apr 2026

   Rescheduled! Live with Virginia Heffernan at 5 pm today!

   Thank you An Mcgreevy (https://substack.com/profile/683464-an-mcgreevy), Jennifer Wells (https://substack.com/profile/2449304-jennifer-wells), E West (https://substack.com/profile/287069104-e-west), Sandra A (https://substack.com/profile/16351824-sandra-a), Karen C-Collector of Books📚🧿♒️ (https://substack.com/profile/861075-karen-c-collector-of-books), and many others for tuning into my live video with Marissa Rothkopf (https://substack.com/profile/2796356-marissa-rothkopf)! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe (https://virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

3. 

   22 Apr 2026

   EXCLUSIVE: New Republic columnist Virginia Heffernan on Epstein and Armageddon in Iran

   Thank you Simon Rosenberg (https://substack.com/profile/65522710-simon-rosenberg), Jerry Stahl (https://substack.com/profile/7855641-jerry-stahl), Tim Riley (https://substack.com/profile/19037-tim-riley), An Mcgreevy (https://substack.com/profile/683464-an-mcgreevy), Sandra Steffen (https://substack.com/profile/251352224-sandra-steffen), and many others for tuning into my live video with Raw America (https://substack.com/profile/233718245-raw-america)! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe (https://virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

Inside a recent episode

Green Shoots and Red Flags

Published 21 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And there were a lot of Trumpites, whether they were dressing up as union or they have a different word than dressing up, not costume, but something like more earnest as union or Confederate, they were pretty much all for Trump. And it occurred to me that the Civil War What's been moving to white families about the Civil War reenactment is that it's about a war between brothers and that brothers were fighting on different sides. And I sometimes think that when we think about the Democratic Party and what's moving about us, we might try to map it onto an ideological split. But really, it's just one side calling the other side racist, but everyone looking like brothers. […]

Who has been a guest on What Rough Beast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Siva Vaidyanathan
• Giorgio Angelini
• Cy Canterel
• Trevor Mitchell
• Jamie Raskin

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

81 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 54 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

75

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

Contact What Rough Beast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about What Rough Beast