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Radio Atlantic

The Atlanticwww.theatlantic.com
The Atlantic has long been known as an ideas-driven magazine. Now we’re bringing that same ethos to audio. Like the magazine, the show will “road test” the big ideas that both drive the news and shape our culture. Through conversations—and sometimes sharp debates—with the most insightful thinkers and writers on topics of the day, Radio Atlantic will complicate overly simplistic views. It will cut through the noise with clarifying, personal narratives. It will, hopefully, help listeners make up their own mind about certain ideas. The national conversation right now can be chaotic, reckless, and stuck. Radio Atlantic aims to bring some order to our thinking—and encourage listeners to be purposeful about how they unstick their mind.

Episodes

Bill Cassidy

Senator (and doctor) Bill Cassidy discusses the coronavirus response, vaccines, and how states like his own Louisiana hope to reopen. Support this show and all of The Atlantic's journalism by subscribing at: theatlantic.com/supportus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 15, 202027 minEp. 15

Phil Murphy

The governor of one of the hardest-hit states discusses the coronavirus response, how he thinks about reopening New Jersey, and his conversations with President Trump. (In fact, the president called him during taping.) Support this show and all of The Atlantic's journalism by subscribing at: theatlantic.com/supportus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 01, 202024 minEp. 14

Andrew Yang

The former presidential candidate discusses universal basic income, coronavirus-linked bigotry against Asian Americans, and how the pandemic has accelerated the automation trends he's long worried about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 27, 202031 minEp. 13

Stacey Abrams

Georgia politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams discusses elections in a pandemic, vice presidential aspirations, and Star Trek. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 24, 202033 minEp. 12

Voter Suppression By Pandemic

Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund discusses Wisconsin’s election debacle and how the coronavirus has become a new tool of voter suppression. Ifill says Wisconsin legislators “created a perfect storm where it didn't have to exist” and that the Supreme Court’s “terrible decision” allowing the election to proceed “consigned people to have to choose between their health and their right as citizens to participate and vote.” She describes how the current partisan debate around voter supp...

Apr 11, 202030 minEp. 11

‘The Woman From Michigan’

Governor Gretchen Whitmer joins to discuss Michigan’s coronavirus response and her relationship with President Trump. Elected in the state’s 2018 wave election, the popular young governor is considered a potential running mate for Joe Biden. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 03, 202020 minEp. 10

Risking Exposure in Congress

Grace Meng represents New York in Congress. Her Queens district is at the center of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, where its hospitals face an ‘apocalyptic’ situation. She spent the day flying to and from Washington to pass the $2 trillion stimulus package. After landing back home, she spoke with Isaac Dovere about her constituents fighting against the coronavirus, having to risk exposure flying to Washington for the vote, and how politicians using the phrase ‘Chinese virus’ has impacted the peo...

Mar 28, 202022 minEp. 9

Arnold Schwarzenegger on the Pandemic Response

Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked everyone to stay home. He's issued PSA videos, with his mini donkey and mini horse, and from his jacuzzi, urging people to socially distance. Besides his celebrity, he of course also spent seven years governing California—a state that's no stranger to disaster. He calls Isaac Dovere to share his thoughts on this bonus episode of The Ticket: Politics from The Atlantic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 25, 202022 min

The Coronavirus Response, with Senator Sherrod Brown

Senator Sherrod Brown discusses the Trump administration's response to the pandemic and what he thinks Congress needs to do now. The progressive Ohio senator believes that, as Americans rely on expanded social insurance programs to weather this crisis, they'll value government taking on a bigger role in society. "I think you'll see the kind of structural change in our society that most of the country wants," he tells Isaac Dovere. "I think the public overwhelmingly agrees and sees more clearly n...

Mar 20, 202035 minEp. 8

This Isn’t Trump’s Katrina (Except When It Is)

Vann Newkirk joins Isaac Dovere to discuss Floodlines—the new Atlantic podcast about Hurricane Katrina—and what lessons the disaster response in 2005 has for the coronavirus crisis in 2020. (After their conversation, listen for the full first episode of Floodlines.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 13, 202050 minEp. 7

Beating Donald Trump, with David Plouffe

The campaign manager behind Obama’s 2008 election breaks down the state of the Democratic party. What do Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden each need to do to win the nomination? And for an election Plouffe says has probably “the biggest stakes the country's ever known,” what do Democrats have to do to defeat President Trump? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 06, 202034 minEp. 6

South Carolina, with Jennifer Palmieri

Former Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri discusses the South Carolina primary, how 2020 is different than 2016, and how sexism still shapes American politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 29, 202034 minEp. 5

The Unlearned Lessons of 2016, with Katy Tur

As Democrats slugged it out in Nevada this week, the president undermined the Justice Department in Washington. News anchor Katy Tur—and everyone else covering politics—has had to constantly switch gears between two stories: a crowded primary of challengers working to overtake one another, and a post-impeachment White House emboldened to break yet more democratic norms. But when the general election arrives, and the two stories merge, will the news media be up to the task? Tur grew up around tel...

Feb 21, 202033 minEp. 4

A Historic Vote on Equal Rights, and Hopes for Gun Control

On Thursday, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton presided over debate on a bill to advance the Equal Rights Amendment. After the bill passed, she sat down in her office with Isaac Dovere to discuss the historic ERA vote and how she thinks Congress can take action on gun violence. Also on the show: thoughts on New Hampshire and an exclusive exchange with Andrew Yang, recorded as he prepared to announce the end of his candidacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 14, 202033 minEp. 3

The New Hampshire Primary, with Chris Pappas

After the chaos of Iowa, New Hampshire is set to deliver the first clear results of the 2020 presidential race. And on the show to preview the first primary vote is New Hampshire Congressman Chris Pappas. The freshman Democrat is new to Washington, but he's been around Granite State politics his entire life. He was elected state representative at 22, but has been meeting presidential candidates since he was 7. His family's Manchester restaurant has been a waypoint on the trail to the White House...

Feb 07, 202031 minEp. 2

The Iowa Caucuses, with J.D. Scholten

Isaac Dovere previews the Iowa caucuses with congressional candidate J.D. Scholten. A former baseball player running to represent the state’s most rural district, Scholten offers an on-the-ground view as Iowans gather to pick a president. He discusses his race against Rep. Steve King (who he nearly unseated in 2018), what Iowans care about as they go to the caucuses, and whether the state should keep its first-in-the-nation vote. Like many of his fellow Iowans, he’s had presidential candidates p...

Jan 30, 202035 minEp. 1

The Ticket: Politics from The Atlantic

On Thursday, Radio Atlantic is becoming The Ticket: Politics from The Atlantic. As the 2020 voting begins, this show will relaunch with a new name and new look — but you’ll still get the same important conversations each week. Keep listening for interviews with the people defining this incredible moment in American history. Same show. Same feed. New name. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 28, 20201 min

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot

The new mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, won all fifty of Chicago’s wards in a landslide last year. A lawyer with experience in government oversight, Lightfoot ran on an anti-corruption and police reform platform. She campaigned as a political outsider in a city long run by dynasties. And she represents a lot of firsts: the first African-American woman to lead the city, its first openly gay mayor, and for her, the first time running for higher office. Lightfoot came into the job with a big oppo...

Jan 24, 202033 minEp. 124

Arnold Schwarzenegger on Show-Business Politics

The governator discusses the Republican party, his commitment to the environment, and the Democratic candidates (his review: "such bad actors"). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 16, 202037 minEp. 123

"He Doesn't Understand War"

Ruben Gallego says President Trump doesn’t understand war, but the situation with Iran could soon escalate to one. Gallego is a progressive congressman from Arizona and a combat veteran who served in Iraq — stationed at one point at one of the bases struck by Iranian missiles this week. He discusses his experience of war, his insights on the developing crisis, and what he worries about most. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 09, 202034 minEp. 122

Will the Trump Presidential Library Have an Impeachment Section?

On the day President Trump is impeached, Isaac Dovere visits the Nixon Library with Tom Steyer. The billionaire presidential candidate has spent two years (and millions of dollars) to keep impeachment in the headlines. As the House of Representatives prepares for the historic vote, they reflect on Nixon's legacy, Trump's future, and Steyer's unique family history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 20, 201935 minEp. 122

Why Impeachment Is Different This Time Around

Steve Chabot, a House Republican who helped lead his party's impeachment fight against Bill Clinton, explains why he’s unconvinced by the Democrats’ case against Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 13, 201927 minEp. 121

Britain Votes (Again)

Donald Trump wasn’t the only election surprise of 2016. Three months before he won the presidency, the United Kingdom also shocked observers by voting to leave the European Union. Ever since, Brexit has dominated British politics. But while Americans may have to wait another eleven months to see Trump’s name back on the ballot, British elections arrive much faster (and of late, much more frequently). Britain may not be terribly enthusiastic about heading back to the polls, but the stakes couldn’...

Dec 05, 201934 minEp. 120

Is Russia Winning the Impeachment Hearings?

During an impeachment hearing this week, President Trump's former top Russia adviser accused Republicans of peddling Russian propaganda. Anne Applebaum is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and historian who will join The Atlantic as a staff writer in January. As one of the world’s leading experts on pre- and post-Communist Europe, disinformation and propaganda, and the future of democracy, she joins Isaac Dovere to discuss impeachment through a global lens. How did a conspiracy theory concocte...

Nov 22, 201940 minEp. 119

How to Stop A Civil War

The special December issue of The Atlantic focuses on a single theme: “How to Stop a Civil War.” Two contributors to the issue, Harvard professor Danielle Allen and staff writer Adam Serwer, join Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to discuss their arguments in the magazine. Allen’s piece, “The Road From Serfdom,” asserts that unity must be made a priority again and offers prescriptive steps for how it can be achieved. In “Against Reconciliation,” Serwer argues that the nation’s pursuits of comprom...

Nov 14, 201941 minEp. 118

Virginia Hates Tyrants

Senator Tim Kaine discusses Democrats' historic win in Virginia and what it means for 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 07, 201943 minEp. 117

President Pete?

Mayor Pete Buttigieg discusses his unlikely presidential run. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 31, 201932 minEp. 116

Reporting in ‘Forgotten America’

James Fallows spent decades covering national politics for The Atlantic. For the last four years though, he’s traveled the parts of America typically left out of the national conversation. And he comes back with good news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 24, 201938 minEp. 115

Sanders vs. Warren?

The fourth Democratic debate this week highlighted Elizabeth Warren’s new front-runner status. It also marked the return to public events for Bernie Sanders, who showcased his energy following a heart attack and touted a key new endorsement from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The two progressive candidates haven’t gone after each other thus far. How much longer will that last? And where does the race go from here? Joining Isaac Dovere this week is Elaine Godfrey, who reports on progressive politics f...

Oct 18, 201937 minEp. 114

How ISIS Returns

Staff writer Mike Giglio has been reporting on ISIS since before Americans knew what to call it. He documents his five years in the region for a new book, Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate. He joins Isaac Dovere to discuss the abrupt changes happening in Syria. How did a phone call upend American policy towards its Kurdish allies? What’s happening on the ground now? And where will this new cycle of violence lead? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...

Oct 11, 201939 minEp. 113