Shifting Terrain Podcast Returns for New Season, Amplifying the Working-Class Issues Driving Political Outcomes
The acclaimed independent podcast Shifting Terrain is set to launch its second season on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, promising to expose the forces both capturing and dividing the working class.
Hosted by Rachel Rybaczuk, the podcast moves beyond simplistic news stereotypes to amplify the cultural, political, and economic issues facing America’s working class today Building on the foundation of its first season, Season 2 is an intervention for listeners burned out by partisan news cycles and overly academic political commentary.
The new season is for anyone seeking a more accessible, culturally-focused dialogue. ”Shifting Terrain focused on working-class voters well before Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential race,” says Rachel Rybacuzk, Executive Producer and Host. “It spotlights Democrats’ shortcomings and provides a roadmap for how they can reshape the Democratic party and build a multiracial, cross-class democracy.
Season two takes this a step further by digging into the issues capturing and dividing the working-class” This series provides a much needed approach to politics and culture. By foregrounding a working-class perspective that doesn’t dumb down the details, Shifting Terrain sets itself apart from other politics and culture podcasts. Amanda Cowper, Co-Executive Producer of Shifting Terrain, says, “Rachel’s dynamic experience enables her to code-switch across contexts. She is a compelling conversationalist who makes complex ideas accessible and relatable to general audiences.”
The show has crossover appeal beyond the typical audience. The second season kicks off with a lively discussion between a progressive, weightlifting social media star and Fox News expert that illuminates the media’s role in shaping political narratives and election outcomes. Future episodes will continue to highlight diverse voices and explore timely topics, including the role of Christian nationalism in politics, if unions are actually the way to build power, and the realities of immigration policy.
Each episode combines on the ground perspectives of everyday people with experts studying the national landscape. Season one of Shifting Terrain is a template for how the Democratic Party should rebuild to win in 2026. Featured experts, including working-class voters, outlined the missteps of recent years that led to Trump’s victory.
Rachel Rybaczuk also guides each conversation to strategies to win working class voters. Unlike most politically oriented podcasts, Shifting Terrain highlights the path forward while synthesizing big-picture patterns playing out in the lives of everyday people. Along the way listeners get fresh perspectives on long-standing issues. Alan Minsky, the Executive Director of Progressive Democrats For America, says, “it’s hard to imagine another media project that meets this historical moment as well as Shifting Terrain. It gives voice to the American working-class - as so few media projects honestly do.
At a moment when America’s democracy is in crisis because the traditionally more progressive party in our two-party system has become increasingly estranged from the largest segment of the American population.”
Shifting Terrain is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and wherever podcasts are found. You can also follow the podcast on Instagram.
About the podcast:
Shifting Terrain is back for a new season to explore the forces both capturing and dividing the working class. Hosted by sociologist Rachel Rybaczuk, she’ll talk with experts and everyday people about everything from the alarming reach of Christian nationalism to the inescapable influence of the manosphere, whether unions are actually the way to build power and if immigrants are really taking your job. Shifting Terrain moves beyond simplistic stereotypes to amplify the cultural, political, and economic issues facing America’s working class today.
About Rachel Rybacuzk
Rachel Rybacuzk is the Executive Producer and Host of Shifting Terrain. Rachel is a public sociologist, award-winning educator, consultant, strategist, and organizer whose work is informed by growing up working-poor in a city with an immigrant single-parent. She has taught at private and public colleges and universities, directed national political campaigns, and been a leader in the nonprofit sector. Her mixed methods research crosses disciplines and topics including class culture, commodification of identity, and the power of branding in communication strategy.. Rachel’s social science rigor informs consulting in the private and public sectors.
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