Everyone is talking about who will the US election. Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? That's the question on everyone's lips, which is why we, at The Political Cycle, decided to take our lips out of the equation for a week and offer something a little different. Here are our pop cultural picks – films, TV shows, even a song or two – to get you election ready and distract you from the nightmare possibilities that the Presidential race is throwing up. Here are the picks from this episode: Emily's pic...
Nov 01, 2024•35 min
Issues surrounding women and, in particular, reproductive rights have become a big issue in the US Presidential Election. With just a couple of weeks left until polling day, the Political Cyclists gather to discuss the impact this is having on the race, and are joined by Kelly Weil, a writer and author of the MomLeft newsletter. As Emily Tamkin and Kelly discuss the natalist movement, the comments of JD Vance and the lack of provision of affordable childcare, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat add th...
Oct 22, 2024•36 min
With the US election only a few weeks away, the Political Cyclists gather to discuss how Kamala Harris and the Democratic machine are targeting former Republican voters. Can this make an impact? And how do her more progressive policies sit with this caucus of undecided voters? Emily Tamkin reports from a busy DC, while Rohan Venkat and Tom Hamilton offer the perspective from across the continents, on everything from bipartisan support bases to multi-party systems. You can now subscribe to the PR...
Oct 16, 2024•30 min
On this week's episode of The Political Cycle, Rohan Venkat, Emily Tamkin and Tom Hamilton gather to take a 'vibes check' on their respective nations. Are the narratives emerging – that Kamala Harris has blown it, that Narendra Modi is in crisis, that Keir Starmer is another lame duck PM – matching reality? We also touch base with the results of the Haraya assembly elections and look at where they fit into the picture, as well as polling oscillations in the US, and staffing nightmares in Downing...
Oct 10, 2024•32 min
In an historic week for relations in the Middle-East, which saw Israel launch a ground invasion of Lebanon and Iran fire hundreds of missile towards the Israeli capital, The Political Cyclists gather to discuss the impact that war in the region is having on the American election. The US is widely seen as the most influential foreign policy actor in this conflict (outside of the immediate protagonists) and so the Harris vs Trump contest has taken on added importance. Emily Tamkin reports back fro...
Oct 02, 2024•29 min
This week we're turning our attention (with Tom off to Liverpool for the Labour party's first conference in power) to Sri Lanka. Raisa Wickrematunge, deputy editor of Himal Southasian magazine, joins Rohan and Emily to discuss this month's election and how Anura Kumara Dissanayake (aka AKD) has re-aligned Sir Lanka's political compass. What has happened to the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to allow this outsider to romp home? And what should global politics watchers make ...
Sep 26, 2024•31 min
Last week, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump took to the stage for the first – and, increasingly likely, the only – Presidential debate. In it, Trump propounded a conspiracy theory about Haitian migrants eating the pets of residents in Springfield, Ohio. What was going on there? And why does the Trump campaign want to keep talking about immigration in this campaign? Emily Tamkin gives the full debate low-down, while Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat look at the similarities across Europe and Asia. You ...
Sep 18, 2024•26 min
On today's episode of The Political Cycle, with Emily Tamkin away and American politics on hold until last night's debate (more on that next week), we've decided to peddle over to France where Emmanuel Macron has named Michel Barnier as his new Prime Minister. Barnier is well known to British audiences as the EU's chief negotiator on Brexit, but what does his appointment as PM mean for the political instability in France? To discuss this, Rohan Venkat and Tom Hamilton are joined from Washington ...
Sep 11, 2024•34 min
This week, for the first time since the Second World War, elections in Germany provided significant victories for the far-right. In Thuringia, candidate Björn Höcke of the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) hailed an "historic victory". But what does this mean for German and European politics? And what broader trends might we look at in terms of increasing far-right success at the ballot box? To discuss this – and with Tom Hamilton on holiday – the Cyclists are joined from Berlin by Rachel Rizzo ...
Sep 04, 2024•29 min
In the weeks since the announcement that Joe Biden would no longer be the Democratic candidate in the 2024 Presidential election, the narrative has shifted from one of senile intransigence to graceful benevolence. As Biden appeared – tearful – on-stage at the DNC, Emily Tamkin asks whether the reframing of this decision to hand the baton to Kamala Harris could be a masterstroke? And could it also, she asks Rohan Venkat, offer Prime Minister Narendra Modi a prototype for how to secure your legacy...
Aug 21, 2024•26 min
Recent polling shows that the Democrat's shiny new candidate – Kamala Harris – is ahead in almost all the swing states. Meanwhile, the British far-right, who seemed so potent last week, have bee repelled by anti-fascist campaigners and the criminal justice system. Is the tide beginning to turn in favour of reasoned debate? Emily Tamkin and Tom Hamilton report back, while Rohan Venkat, back from vacation, picks up on the turbulence in Bangladesh. You can now subscribe to the PREMIUM version of El...
Aug 14, 2024•30 min
They call it 'midsummer madness', the fit of rash and often violent behaviour that seems to strike in the long, hot days. In the UK, right-wing thuggery has descended on a number of cities following the tragic murder of three young girls. What is motivating these riots? And who is stoking the flames of this racially-motivated disorder? Tom Hamilton reports back from a broiling, roiling London. Meanwhile, on the campaign trail in the US, Emily Tamkin talks us through Kamala Harris's VP pick: Tim ...
Aug 07, 2024•30 min
Are Donald Trump and JD Vance quite a weird political combo? That's the attack line coming out of Kamala Harris's camp, as the Democrats gear up for their new candidate's campaign. Emily Tamkin discusses the changing landscape in the US election scene, while Rohan Venkat reports back on Rahul Gandhi's attempts to cast aspersions about the Hindu credentials of the BJP. You can now subscribe to the PREMIUM version of Election Trike on Hubwave: tricycle.hubwave.net Here are the Trike Recommendation...
Jul 31, 2024•24 min
After months of growing pressure, Joe Biden has finally ditched his bid for a second term in the Oval Office, paving the way for his VP, Kamala Harris, to lead the Democratic ticket. But who really is Harris, the former California senator? What challenges will she face in the campaign crucible? And what does Team Trump make of all this toing and froing? Emily Tamkin reports on an historic week in American politics, while Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat provide the perspective from the rest of the ...
Jul 23, 2024•32 min
When secret service agents ushered Donald Trump offstage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, there was much confusion as to what had actually happened. The events, as they came to light over the next few hours, reshaped the narrative of the election, with Trump surviving a very real assassination attempt. Reshaped, sure, but has it changed the course of the election? Emily Tamkin reports on the fallout, as the RNC gathers in Milwaukee and Trump picks marine/lawyer/venture capitalist/author/polit...
Jul 17, 2024•27 min
A new day has dawned in the UK, with Keir Starmer's Labour romping to a landslide victory in the General Election, ending 14 years of Tory rule. Tom Hamilton – himself a former Labour advisor – talks Emily Tamkin and Rohan Venkat through the results, the rise of Reform, and the other big stories of the night. Did the landslide result paper over some cracks in the Labour party's performance? And what can the government do now, with a British state that is in desperate need of some stimulation... ...
Jul 10, 2024•36 min
It's the morning after the night before (well, a few nights before) and America is still reeling from the first Presidential debate. The earliest TV debate in history ended in renewed fears about Joe Biden's competence to continue as US President – let alone as the Democrat candidate. Emily Tamkin leads us through the fallout to both the debate and the Supreme Court's verdict on Donald Trump's partial immunity from prosecution, while Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat marvel at the eccentricity of Am...
Jul 03, 2024•32 min
On this week's episode of The Election Tricycle we're talking to Art Goldhammer to talk about what's going on in France's parliamentary elections. Was Macron "totally insane" to call this surprise election? Who, on both the Left and the Right, is a danger to the President? How has the far-Right – particularly the National Rally – evolved over time? And how is Emmanuel Macron personally rated amongst the French public? You can now subscribe to the PREMIUM version of Election Trike on Hubwave: tri...
Jun 27, 2024•35 min
Rohan takes us to the Lok Sabha – the lower house of the Indian parliament – to look at how the fallout from the general election is impacting the vote there. A new Speaker will be elected at the end of June, but will the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) secure the post? In London, Tom talks us through the impact that Nigel Farage and his Reform party is having in reshaping the landscape of the British Right, while, in the US, Emily looks at how – and why – the Right gets away with characterising its po...
Jun 20, 2024•36 min
The Trike makes a brief detour this week, over to mainland Europe where EU elections have rocked the continent. A strong showing from the far and hard right has led President Macron to call a snap election in France. So what's really going on in Europe? To discuss this, the podcast is joined by Zselyke Csaky from the Centre for European Reform, who guides Emily Tamkin, Tom Hamilton and Rohan Venkat through the currents of a continent. Oh, and there's also some discussion of Rishi Sunak bailing o...
Jun 13, 2024•35 min
A week is a long time in politics, or so they say. And this has been one looooong week. But at the end of it, The Tricyclists are united by a sense of welcome surprise, with Narendra Modi and the BJP humbled in the Indian elections, with their majority slashed and coalition required. Meanwhile in New York a court has found former President, and current candidate, Donald Trump guilty on 34 counts during his so-called "hush money" trial. And in the UK, the election campaign has begun in earnest, w...
Jun 06, 2024•30 min
Shortly after we recorded last week, on a drizzly Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the long-awaited UK General Election would take place in July. So, this week Emily Tamkin is quizzing Tom Hamilton – a former strategist for the Labour party, who are heading for a huge victory – about what's going on over in the UK, and whether the electoral calculus is really as simple as it looks. You can now subscribe to the PREMIUM version of Election Trike on Hubwave: tricycle.hubwave.net...
May 30, 2024•29 min
With Rohan away and Tom – *cough* – busy (until the Premium section), Emily is joined by Karishma Mehrotra, south Asia correspondent for the Washington Post. They'll be discussing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pitch to women voters, demographic difference between Indian and American electorates, and the way that Indian-American voters lean in the US. You can now subscribe to the PREMIUM version of Election Trike on Hubwave: tricycle.hubwave.net Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episo...
May 23, 2024•37 min
The shape of an economy is inevitably a big vote-mover in an election, and 2024 is no different. In India, the stock market has slumped during the election period, while, in the UK, the country's has formally left recession territory. But do these facts impact elections? And how has the economic revival under Joe Biden been perceived by American voters? Are people plugged into the minutiae of economic policy, or are they governed more by "vibes" when they arrive at the ballot box? As ever Tom Ha...
May 15, 2024•34 min
Rohan Venkat and Emily Tamkin are joined by Manisha Pande – standing in for Tom – to discuss the relationship between the media and the elections in India, which have begun in earnest. Is mainstream TV news still dominating the political cycle? Or are alternatives emerging, as the population becomes more digitally engaged? You can now subscribe to the PREMIUM version of Election Trike on Hubwave: tricycle.hubwave.net Here are the Trike Recommendations from this episode: Emily recommends “ The On...
May 09, 2024•27 min
On this week's episode of The Election Tricycle , we're looking at the wave of student protests – from New York to LA – which are sweeping America. Is this something that will come into play once election season begins in earnest? Are universities also hubs of revolutionary thought in India? Meanwhile, in the UK, Scotland's First Minister, Humza Yousef, has imploded, sending the country into crisis. What next for Scotland, the SNP and the question of independence? You can now subscribe to the PR...
May 02, 2024•35 min
As voting begins in India, we're looking at the question of whether the favourites, in our three races, are confident or complacent. With all the polls indicated a big win for Labour in the UK and Modi's BJP in India, does complacency sneak in? And with the race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden still on a knife edge, does the dynamic of the election shift compared with the other wheels on our trike? How does the rhetoric from Trump and Biden stir their support bases out of a complacency, and g...
Apr 24, 2024•31 min
This week, the Tricycleers are joined by Matthew McGregor, CEO or 38 Degrees and veteran of digital campaigns in the UK and the US. How has digital campaigning evolved over the years? Are the right better at using these tools than the left? How impactful is cash on digital results, or can organic results be produced with even the tightest of budgets? As ever, Tom, Emily and Rohan are your guides through the maze, looking at the similarities and difference in these three election cycles. You can ...
Apr 17, 2024•29 min
This week on The Election Tricycle , Emily returns from vacation and updates us on that Slovakian election (spoiler alert: it didn't go well). Then the gang gather to compare their elections and look at the question of 'change'. Is Rishi Sunak a change Prime Minister or a continuity Prime Minister? How does Donald Trump keep running as an outsider? And how do the BJP stop things getting stale after 10 years as the governing party in India? You can now subscribe to the PREMIUM version of Election...
Apr 10, 2024•24 min
On this week's episode of The Election Tricycle, with Emily on holiday (or "vacation", as she calls it), we're looking at the interaction of elections and technology. To discuss this, we're joined by Yashraj Sharma, an India-based reporter who has written about YouTube, social media and AI, especially in the context of the upcoming elections in India. Rohan Venkat and Tom Hamilton pick his brain and also chip in with their own observations about what could prove to be a turning point in the hist...
Apr 03, 2024•26 min
