Paul Pierson is the John Gross Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley. LET THEM EAT TWEETS: HOW THE RIGHT RULES IN AN AGE OF EXTREME INEQUALITY is one of several books he has written with Jacob Hacker, who is director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies and a Political Science Professor at Yale University. Their other books include American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us to Forget What Made America Prosper, Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer–and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class; Off Center: The Republican Revolution and The Erosion of American Democracy. Professor Pierson has also written many other books including the prize winning, Dismantling the Welfare State? Reagan, Thatcher and the Politics of Retrenchment.

Some articles referenced or relevant to the interview:

Wisconsin court upholds Republican laws curbing powers of Democratic officials      https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/09/wisconsin-court-upholds-laws-curbing-powers-of-democratic-officials

Julian Zelizer on the rise and fall of Newt Gingrich: The man who was Trump before Trump    https://www.salon.com/2020/07/14/julian-zelizer-on-the-rise-and-fall-of-newt-gingrich-the-man-who-was-trump-before-trump/

Joe Biden Expresses An Openness To Eliminating The Senate Filibuster   https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-filibuster_n_5f0dcfa1c5b648c301eff41e

Democrats Will Be Lost Without the Senate                       https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/senate-democrats-biden/

Grover Norquist’s Anti-Tax Group Took Money From the Paycheck Protection   Program   https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/grover-norquist-ppp-coronavirus.html?via=recirc_engaged

Sanders: “Richest 1 Percent Is Responsible for 70 Percent of All Unpaid Taxes”   https://truthout.org/articles/sanders-richest-1-percent-is-responsible-for-70-percent-of-all-unpaid-taxes/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=a7771b1b-9aeb-4d90-aa38-cec6e4aaf0ef

Dozens of Trump veterans cash out on K St. despite ‘drain the swamp’ vow   https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/08/trump-administration-veteranslobbying-348273

Chief Justice John Roberts Is Carrying Out Corporate America’s Long-Term Plan Perfectly     https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/07/john-roberts-supreme-court-chief-justice-chamber-commerce

How Could Human Nature Have Become This Politicized?    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/opinion/trump-politics-psychology.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

Unpresidented   https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2020/07/23/trump-unpresident-unredeemed-promise/

Trump Has Emergency Powers We Aren’t Allowed to Know About     https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/opinion/trump-coronavirus-emergency-powers.html?searchResultPosition=1

What 11 Republican senators had to say about Trump’s racism     https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/06/silent-republican-lawmakers-are-handmaidens-white-supremacy/

The Day the White Working Class Turned Republican    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/books/review/the-hardhat-riot-david-paul-kuhn.html?action=click&algo=bandit-all-surfaces_desk_filter&block=editors_picks_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=108758887&impression_id=284217827&index=0&pgtype=Article&region=footer&req_id=857707508&surface=home-featured