Jd Vance

Vance went from anti-Trump opinion writer to Senator to Vice President in seven years. That's not a normal trajectory. If you want to understand the actual ideas under the polling, here's where to read.

Start with the memoir

Hillbilly Elegy is the obvious first stop and worth reading even if you hate the politics — it's the document everyone is reacting to when they talk about Vance. The paperback edition is around $15 and reads in a single sitting. Skip the Netflix adaptation — it strips out everything interesting about the politics.

The book Vance published in 2024, focused more on Catholic social teaching and economic policy, is a clearer guide to his actual policy framework. It's been in and out of print but the Vance political writing collections give you the gist.

The intellectual background

If you want to understand the post-liberal/national-conservative movement Vance came up in, the foundational text is Patrick Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed. About $18, dense but short. Vance has cited it in multiple interviews.

Sohrab Ahmari's Tyranny, Inc. is the economic-populism version of the same argument — and it's the one piece of the Vance package most observers undercount. The right-wing critique of corporate power is real and underexplored in coverage.

For the critical view, the Franklin Foer Last Politician covers the Biden-era Democratic side and gives you the context Vance is reacting to.

Listen, don't just read

The most informative Vance content isn't in articles — it's in his long-form podcast interviews. The Ezra Klein interview is the most rigorous critical conversation. The Bari Weiss one is the friendliest. Both are free.

For listening on the go, a pair of Anker Soundcore A40 earbuds at $80 do most of what AirPods do for a third of the price.

Ohio and Appalachia context

Vance's politics make more sense if you understand Appalachia. The two books that pair well with Hillbilly Elegy from the other direction: Ramp Hollow by Steven Stoll (economic history of the region, $18) and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (the fictional answer-back to Elegy, also worth reading on its own).

What to ignore

The cable-news segments. The tweets. The viral 30-second clips. They're optimized for engagement, not understanding. If you want to evaluate Vance as a political figure, you have to deal with him at his most articulate, not his most clippable.

Read the books. Listen to the long interviews. Form your own view. Most pundits writing about Vance haven't done any of this.