The U.S. has observed a week of mourning since Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, in addition to partisan warfare regarding her replacement. Senate Republicans have decided they will move to confirm President Trump's nominee ahead of the general election. His announcement is expected Saturday. President Trump has said that the election could be decided by the Supreme Court and has implied that a justice appointed by him would be loyal in any case involving the election. NBC News ...
Sep 25, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 117
After serving 27 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday from complications associated with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Justice Ginsburg was the second woman to be appointed to the highest court in the land. Early in her career as a lawyer, she was a champion for gender equality and in the time since has been elevated to a feminist icon. Clara Spera, Ginsburg's granddaughter said her grandmother dictated the following statement before her death: "My most fervent ...
Sep 19, 2020•25 min•Ep. 116
Arizona has been a reliably Republican state at the presidential level in every election since 1952 — except when Bill Clinton won in 1996. But a rapidly growing population has chipped away at the Republican advantage. In 2020, Arizona is rated a toss-up. The state has had no-excuse absentee voting since 1991 and the numbers of voters who use this method continue to grow. As the president continues to malign the U.S. Postal Service and absentee ballots and question the integrity of the upcoming ...
Sep 18, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 115
While the bedrock of democracy is free and fair elections, the President has been sowing seeds of distrust throughout the course of the campaign. He's used his platform to spread conspiracy theories about the integrity of absentee ballots to his millions of followers. The consequences of those lies can be seen in a recent Monmouth University poll that found almost 40 percent of Americans don’t believe that the elections will be conducted fairly and accurately. A majority of Americans say that th...
Sep 11, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 114
Since May, protests have unfolded to denounce the way police interact with Black Americans. Most recently, the shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed father, has grabbed national headlines. Blake was shot in the back seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The violent event has resulted in many taking to the street and demanding answers to why this keeps happening. Maya King , political reporting fellow at POLITICO, and Katie Glueck , national politics reporter for The New York Times unpack ho...
Sep 04, 2020•47 min•Ep. 113
Over the last two weeks, both the Republican and Democratic parties have proposed their visions for America and they could not be more different. President Trump used his primetime speech to convince those watching that he was still the outsider that had been elected four years prior and that he would not conform to establishment politics, even though he is now the establishment. Joe Biden used his time to demonstrate that he believes that Trump is a threat to democracy and that reelecting him w...
Aug 28, 2020•50 min•Ep. 112
This week, Joe Biden officially became the Democratic nominee for president in the first-ever virtual convention. While there were no crowds, handshakes, or applause to demonstrate excitement, the new format allowed for Americans across the country to participate. Each night consisted of live and taped speeches where voters implored those watching to vote for Joe Biden. They spoke about President Trump's failure to address climate change, structural racism, gun violence, economic insecurity, and...
Aug 21, 2020•47 min•Ep. 111
The surge in absentee ballots because of the coronavirus could mean the outcome of the presidential race remains undetermined for weeks after the first Tuesday in November. Recently, The New York Times published a piece about what the media may not understand about covering election night 2020. The way election night coverage has unfolded in the past makes this new reality particularly tough to understand. But just because the exit poll data and electoral college tally that we are used to seeing...
Aug 14, 2020•46 min•Ep. 110
This week, Cori Bush defeated longtime Democratic Congressman Lacy Clay, in the primary for Missouri’s First Congressional District. A safe Democratic seat, Bush is all but guaranteed to win in November when she will become the first Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in Missouri. Bush is one of more 100 Black women running for Congress this cycle, a record-breaking number, according to an analysis by the Center for American Women and Politics . Women of color have also bec...
Aug 10, 2020•18 min•Ep. 109
While many countries have curbed their total number of coronavirus cases, the U.S. has recorded more than four and a half million, and more than 160,000 deaths. Inadequate national leadership has caused one of the easiest and simplest solutions to curb the spread of the disease, mask-wearing, to become the latest front in the culture wars The White House has spread not only conflicting messages about the severity of the virus but also conspiracy theories about the science and the solutions to st...
Aug 09, 2020•35 min•Ep. 108
This week, President Trump renewed his commitment to questioning the integrity of our election system and the Senate left town on Thursday without reaching an agreement on a new stimulus bill, leaving millions of unemployed Americans in economic limbo. At the same time, the U.S. surpassed 150,000 deaths caused by the coronavirus as confirmed cases in many states continue to climb. With less than 100 days until the general election, Jane Coaston , a senior politics reporter at Vox , and Tim Alber...
Aug 01, 2020•38 min•Ep. 107
Perhaps, no state better embodies the polarization and partisanship with which we approach election administration than Georgia. After a messy primary in June with long lines and shuttered polling locations, election officials in the state have been working to improve and restore faith in the process for what is certain to be a contentious election in November. And, in a little over a week, they’ll get another try. On August 11th, more than half of Georgia’s 159 counties will hold runoff electio...
Jul 31, 2020•20 min•Ep. 106
Conventional wisdom had most people thinking that any gains that Democrats made in the Senate would be nominal. But, unexpected events over the last six months have turned a long-shot into the very real possibility that Democrats take control of the Senate in November. Seats that were formerly considered safe for the GOP are now in play as a result of the Trump administration’s failure to handle the coronavirus crisis and provide a national plan for recovery while simultaneously stoking racial t...
Jul 25, 2020•34 min•Ep. 105
Last Friday, the world learned of the death of Congressman John Lewis. A civil rights icon and hero, John Lewis was known as the "conscience of the Congress," where he served for more than 30 years. In the week following his death, we’ve seen countless tributes across social media and from his colleagues on the House floor. There is a growing movement for Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge to be renamed in his honor and on Wednesday, The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was introduced in the...
Jul 24, 2020•32 min•Ep. 104
It’s been four months since the U.S. economy shut down as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, more than three million Americans have been infected by the virus and tens of millions have lost their jobs. In March, Congress passed a $2 trillion economic relief package tasked with getting money to individuals and businesses after coronavirus brought the global economy to a halt. The CARES act expanded unemployment benefits, provided direct stimulus payments, and assistance with federa...
Jul 20, 2020•21 min•Ep. 103
With its 15 electoral votes, North Carolina is one of a handful of states truly up for grabs come November. Since 2008, no presidential candidate has carried the state by more than three points. The most recent polls show Vice President Joe Biden ahead of President Donald Trump by about two points. And, only one Democrat running for president has been able to build a winning coalition in the state in the last 10 elections, and that was Barack Obama in 2008. Associate Professor, Jarvis Hall from ...
Jul 17, 2020•37 min•Ep. 102
Lately, President Donald Trump’s speeches and tweets have become more pointed and divisive as he attempts to appeal to members of his base. There are four crucial months until election day and the president is spending them emphasizing racial divisions and defending symbols of white supremacy. The move is at odds with a cultural moment of awareness about systemic racism and police brutality. Maya King , campaign 2020 reporting fellow at POLITICO, David Nakamura , White House reporter for The Was...
Jul 10, 2020•47 min•Ep. 101
When the COVID-19 swept the U.S. in March, it was hard to fully understand how society would fundamentally change. Since then, more than 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment. As states grapple with the uncertainty that comes with reopening their economies, Politics with Amy Walter returns to a conversation from April about what it's like to be entering the workforce at this time. Hannes Schwandt , assistant professor at Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, s...
Jul 03, 2020•51 min•Ep. 100
The uncertainty caused by COVID-19 has resulted in a record number of people requesting to vote-by-mail. While increased access to mail ballots will stem the spread of the disease, waiting for ballots to arrive will delay the final result. Kentucky and New York are among the states that hosted primaries this week. In both states, several candidates of color, many who ran on progressive platforms, had strong performances. While officials wait for absentee ballots to arrive so they can provide a f...
Jun 26, 2020•47 min•Ep. 99
In the weeks since George Floyd was killed by police officers in Minneapolis, we’ve been watching uprisings take place against police brutality. What many Americans have finally woken up to is what Black Americans have known for years: That it’s impossible to separate police brutality from the racism that is baked into the structure of every American institution. Institutions, like schools, healthcare, housing, and policing have failed to give Black Americans a level playing field. Ninety-nine y...
Jun 19, 2020•46 min•Ep. 98
Georgia’s Primary, George Floyd’s Funeral, and Congress’ Approach to Police Reform As the coronavirus pandemic has created uncertainty for the upcoming general election, many Americans are reconsidering how they’ll cast their ballots. This week, many primary voters in Georgia were greeted by long lines and malfunctioning voting machines. The chaos surrounding Georgia’s recent election has raised questions about whether or not the same issues will reoccur in November. Also, George Floyd was laid ...
Jun 12, 2020•42 min•Ep. 97
How a Legacy of Racist Policies and Police Brutality Contributed to the Mass Disenfranchisement of Black People The death of George Floyd, an African American man, at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis has ignited protests and conversations surrounding the mistreatment of Black Americans at the hands of the state against the backdrop of a pandemic that is disproportionately affecting Black people. Americans in every state have taken to the streets to protest police brutality and chant "...
Jun 05, 2020•49 min•Ep. 96
The Future of the Democratic Primary At the beginning of the Democratic nominating contests, the party faced a number of challenges. The field being crowded with candidates with such varied politics demonstrated that there were different visions for the future of the party. And today, while Joe Biden is the presumed nominee, there is concern that he won't drive excitement and turnout in the way a candidate like Senator Bernie Sanders might've been able to. The Democratic Party's foremost goal is...
May 29, 2020•52 min•Ep. 95
How Political Identities Have Become About What We Hate Instead of What We Love Individual reactions to the coronavirus pandemic and the public health restrictions that have accompanied it have underscored how powerful negative partisanship can be in the formation of political opinions. In past crises, national shocks have urged partisans to put aside their personal grievances in pursuit of the greater good, but today, that doesn't seem to be the case. A look at how the perception of risk influe...
May 22, 2020•51 min•Ep. 94
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a serious toll on not only our health, but on the economic well-being of cities and states across the country. As leaders grapple with how best protect the health of their constituents in addition to mitigating the economic fall out caused by stay-at-home orders, preparation for future elections is in front of mind. Recently, California became the first state to modify its plans for the general election after Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that...
May 15, 2020•41 min•Ep. 93
The White House has deferred to states about reopening their economies. This week, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced that his state would move to phase one of their plan to reopen. Phase one will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, May, 8th. While the stay-at-home order will still be in effect, there will no longer be a distinction between essential and non-essential businesses. Dr. Mandy Cohen , Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, shares what metrics the s...
May 08, 2020•50 min•Ep. 92
The Great Depression, 9/11, and the 2008 financial crisis dealt serious shocks to the nation and resulted in the expansion of government. When a crisis happens, leaders in Washington try to mitigate financial ruin and to boost morale which often results in the creation of programs that have a lasting impact. The creation of Homeland Security, unemployment benefits, and new regulations on banks have stemmed from national disasters. The coronavirus pandemic is no exception as more than 30 million ...
May 01, 2020•46 min•Ep. 91
Rallies, conventions, and press conferences were once the primary method for campaigns to connect with voters. The coronavirus pandemic has forced politicians and strategists to rethink how they approach campaigning. Stephanie Cutter , deputy campaign manager for President Barack Obama in 2012, and Matt Rhoades, campaign manager for Mitt Romney in 2012, share how campaigns will need to rely heavily on digital efforts. Recent graduates seeking to get involved in field campaigns have also had to s...
Apr 24, 2020•49 min•Ep. 90
It's hard to know how the coronavirus pandemic will permanently alter the fabric of society. So far, 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment over the last month of social distancing. This week, Politics with Amy Walter looks at the impact the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 will have on a generation that was just starting to find their footing. Hannes Schwandt , Assistant Professor at Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, shares how cohorts unlucky enough t...
Apr 17, 2020•47 min•Ep. 89
The scale of the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented but history is often a helpful guide. Kathleen Sebelius , Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Obama administration, and Andy Card, Secretary of the Department of Transportation for President George H.W. Bush and White House Chief of Staff for President George W. Bush, describe what it's like to govern during a crisis. Plus, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Executive Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense Dr. ...
Apr 10, 2020•49 min•Ep. 88
