EP 154: Ross Barkan on the Leaderless Left

Lean Out with Tara Henley

The activist left in America has been very visible in recent years, often dominating the public conversation online and in prominent institutions. But our guest on today’s program says that the modern left is curious in that it is “largely leaderless” — that no one in particular is “speaking directly for it, or to it” — making this “a singular moment” in the country’s history.

Ross Barkan is an American journalist, novelist, and Substacker, and a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine. His recent piece for that magazine is, “The Activist Left Doesn’t Want a Hero. But Does it Need One?”

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com