Interesting interview, difficult to excerpt. The focus is on comparisons of U.S. policy with those of other countries. For example, Kenworthy says

Unemployment benefit levels are determined by state governments. In many instances, the benefit level is a “replacement rate,” which means the payment is a certain fraction of the unemployed person’s former wage or salary. Because real wages in the bottom half of the distribution have not increased in the past several decades, unemployment benefits for Americans in low-wage jobs have failed to keep up with growth in the economy. Other programs, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (food stamps), Social Security Disability Insurance, and Supplemental Security Income, are indexed to prices. This means they keep up with inflation, but not with economic growth…As a result, government transfers for low-end households have increased less in the US than in many other affluent countries.

Later, he says

Sweden and Denmark often pressure benefit recipients into employment. Because individual circumstances vary so much, this is best done by giving caseworkers considerable discretion to decide which people can be effectively pushed into paid work, when, and with what kind of help. Doing this well requires an investment — in well-trained caseworkers who remain in their jobs and thereby build expertise, in having a sufficient number of caseworkers so that they aren’t overwhelmed with clients, and in ensuring that caseworkers have access to sufficient resources to help their clients enter and remain in the paid workforce (retraining, transportation, temporary housing, treatment for addiction, etc).

That sounds like an argument in favor of Paul Ryan’s latest proposals, although somehow I suspect that Kenworthy would not see it that way.