The newest season of “South Park” premiered with a parody of President Donald Trump and in the second episode, a satirical jab at the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since airing, the show’s lampooning of the current administration has drawn ire from the White House and praise from the President’s critics.
This week, Michelle Goldberg, an opinion columnist for The New York Times, joins Stephen Richer and Archon Fung to discuss these recent episodes and the role political satires, such as “South Park,” play in political discourse.
About this Week’s Guest
Michelle Goldberg is an opinion columnist at The New York Times, where she writes about politics and culture from a left-leaning, feminist point of view, though she tries to seek out stories that challenge her preconceptions. Goldberg is particularly interested in the rise of authoritarianism in both America and around the world, the state of the progressive movement, and the evolution of gender relations.
Before joining The New York Times, Goldberg was a columnist at Slate, and her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Nation, The New Republic, and many other publications. Her first book, “Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism,” was about religious authoritarianism in American politics.
Referenced in this Episode
‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony
Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/opinion/south-park-trump-conservatives.html
Video Credit: South Park, Season 27, Episode 1: “The Sermon on the Mount” (Paramount)
About Terms of Engagement
From rank-choice voting to reconciliation, American democracy is headline news. Let’s talk about it.
Join Harvard Ash Center's Archon Fung and Stephen Richer for a weekly conversation about the latest developments in American politics. Blending perspectives from both the political right and left, Terms of Engagement addresses breaking news, providing insights from research and practice to deliver a unique perspective you won’t hear anywhere else.
Contact Us
Send questions, ideas, and feedback to us at info@ash.harvard.edu.
About the Hosts
Archon Fung is the Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. His research explores policies, practices, and institutional designs that deepen the quality of democratic governance with a focus on public participation, deliberation, and transparency. He has authored five books, four edited collections, and over fifty articles appearing in professional journals. He received two S.B.s — in philosophy and physics — and his Ph.D. in political science from MIT.
Stephen Richer is the former elected Maricopa County Recorder, responsible for voter registration, early voting administration, and public recordings in Maricopa County, Arizona, the fourth largest county in the United States. Prior to being an elected official, Stephen worked at several public policy think tanks and as a business transactions attorney. Stephen received his J.D. and M.A. from The University of Chicago and his B.A. from Tulane University.
Stephen has been broadly recognized for his work in elections and American Democracy. In 2021, the Arizona Republic named Stephen “Arizonan of the Year.” In 2022, the Maricopa Bar Association awarded Stephen “Public Law Attorney of the Year.” In 2023, Stephen won “Leader of the Year” from the Arizona Capitol Times. And in 2024, Time Magazine named Stephen a “Defender of Democracy.”
About the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, a research center at Harvard Kennedy School, is Harvard’s hub for the study, discussion, and analysis of democracy. The Ash Center’s mission is to develop ideas and foster practices for equal and inclusive, multi-racial and multi-ethnic democracy and self-government.
Music Credit: Straight to the Point, Music Media Group
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