Episode description

When President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump shared the stage for the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Namely, it displayed a concern of many Americans: Biden’s age and acuity. We watched two men, both in the late years of their lives, both of whom have already spent decades as rich and powerful people, both of whom have already been president, and neither of whom can conceive of a future in which they aren’t in charge. Many in the Democratic Party were left angry and terrified, and the event prompted an op-ed from The New York Times’ Editorial Board calling for Biden to remove himself from the race.

In this episode, host Kai Wright is joined by New York Times columnist Lydia Polgreen to talk about the calls for Biden’s removal and her own suggestion that Vice President Kamala Harris step in instead. They also sit down with Christopher Ojeda, a political scientist at the University of California, Merced, and author of the forthcoming book “The Sad Citizen,” to hear about his research on how politics impacts our mental health and what that in turn means for elections. Plus, we hear why some of you are starting to feel anxious, depressed, and angry about the upcoming presidential election.

Companion listening for this episode:

Voter Vibe Check: Anti-Trump Conservatives On Republican Party Politics in 2024  (2/5/2024)

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Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.