Opinion | Right Wing Counterculture: Vitality. Masculinity. Transgression.

Ross Douthat: There’s been a lot of talk about a vibe shift since Donald Trump’s election and return to office — a change not just in American politics, but in American culture, a sense that right-wing personalities are suddenly driving cultural discourse, that a progressive consensus is under threat or cracking up.One way I’ve been thinking about this is in terms of a phrase that is traditionally applied to the left: counterculture.I think the best way to understand politics right now is that the United States, for the first time in my lifetime, has a real right-wing counterculture — an edgy, radical-seeming alternative to the status quo.I thought one way to talk about that counterculture was to invite someone who I see — we’ll see if he disagrees — as one of its representatives.

And that’s you, Jonathan Keeperman, welcome to “Interesting Times.”Below is an edited transcript of an episode of “Interesting Times.” It has been lightly edited for length and clarity.We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect.

You can do so using the player above or on the NYT audio app, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.Jonathan Keeperman: Ross, it is great to be here.We’ve known each other for a while online, of course.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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