I am a narrative historian, not a theorist or policy maven. But if the left hopes to build a politics that can appeal to most working Americans, I would argue that its thinkers might start by grappling with two critical matters that cry out for understanding and plausible solutions: migration and the future of work in the age of AI. The left has to oppose the… administration’s brutal treatment of noncitizens and the Republican Party’s efforts to allow AI firms to develop free of regulation. But opposition to bad policies alone never leads to better ones. Both of these issues are connected to class discontents, but in ways that require creative and heterodox thinking. It will not be easy for the broad left to convincingly speak to these concerns or to design paths forward, but it is essential to make a commitment to doing so.