Democratically: 2020

In this special bonus episode, 2 very exciting things happen! 1) Karin announces her new podcast, What Can You Do? This commute length podcast brings on experts in some of the biggest issues facing the world today - polarisation, the housing crisis, inequality, climate change - to get a quick briefing on the issue and point you to some practical things you can do to help. 2) Karin speaks to Edward-Isaac Dovere, political journalist for the Atlantic, about his "cracking" new book Battle for the Soul. They talk about how Pete Buttigieg got robbed of his post Iowa momentum, the tensions between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, how close Mike Bloomberg came to being the nominee before Warren decimated him in his first debate, and - of course - about how Democrats wound up choosing Joe Biden and the country wound up electing him. They discuss the anti-democracy turn of the Republican Party post-election and how big D Democrats should respond to it. And, they play a "greatest hits" version of the Gut Check Game, reacting to quotes and sayings from throughout the campaign.  

In this final episode of Democratically: 2020, Karin explains the medical dramas that kept her away from podcasting for the first couple months of the Biden era, and talks to Political Director of Data for Progress Marcella Mulholland and former Republican strategist Marshall Manson about the American Rescue Act, the prospects for improving our political system, and the (surprisingly?) impressive start to the Biden Administration. 

This week, Karin welcomes in the new year with a quick recap of the rollercoaster of horrors that was 2020, and also gives you a rundown of what you can expect in Tuesday's 2 Georgia Senate runoff races. 

Happy New Year to you and yours! 

Karin speaks to Friend of the Pod Khary Penebaker, who was one of the 306 Electoral College members who cast their ballots for Joe Biden this week. He tells us about what the vibe was like in the room, how he drew a little heart over Kamala Harris' name, how he has dealt with death threats and "twisted logic" from Trump supporters, and much more.  

Karin speaks to Alex Thier, a foreign policy specialist who served with President-Elect Biden in the Obama administration and is currently working to promote Democracy overseas. Alex first appeared on this podcast during the primary, when he made the case for Joe Biden to be the nominee. In this conversation, we discuss what a Biden administration will look like, the challenges the President-Elect faces at home and abroad, and how concerned we should be about Donald Trump's refusal to concede the race.  And, of course, we play the Gut Check Game!

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Karin also announced on this podcast that she will be hosting a live online event, "Thanksgiving, Democratically" on Saturday November 28th from 6PM UK time (1PM EST). Mark your diaries now, and register at this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-democratically-2020-thanksgiving-tickets-129003515989?aff=Podcast

Karin takes a moment to celebrate Joe Biden's victory and reflect on the journey we've taken to get to this moment. 

In the first of a 2 part series, Karin is joined by writer and Friend of the Pod Skylar Baker Jordan for a deep dive on the parallel lives of the two men who seek the Presidency. Focussing in pivotal years that we important in defining the lives of both men, Karin covers the live of Joseph Robinette Biden, Former Vice President, Senator for Delaware, grieving husband and father, 3 time Presidential candidate, and Man on a mission...

Meanwhile, Skylar covers the live of Donald John Trump, scion of a New York real estate dynasty, "billionaire' property developer whose net worth is sometimes negative to the tune of millions, twice divorced father of 5 and President of the United States.

In this episode, we look at:

1973: The year in which Biden is sworn in to the Senate from his sons' hospital bed and the year the Trump family is investigated for racial discrimination in housing. 

1991: The year Biden Chairs the Judiciary committee hearing into the nomination of Clarence Thomas - prompting a national debate about sexual harassment in the workplace and the year Trump declares the first of his 6 bankruptcies, after the catastrophic failure of some his Atlantic City casino investments. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 which will be published on Friday, and look at the years 2008 and the present day.

Karin speaks to Kyle Taylor, the founder of Fair Vote UK, about the ways that social media platform have changed our political debate. We discuss the way that platforms responded to the New York Post story relating to Joe Biden's son Hunter, and we try to consider what a better information ecosystem might look like. 

This week, after a quick news roundup, Karin talks through the abundant reasons Democrats have to be cheerful and optimistic about the election so far, based on the current polling and based on the data we do have about early voting. But then, after a warning for those who don't want to hear it, she touches on a few things that might be sources of concern for Democrats. 

Karin talks to Journalist and @TrumpsAlert creator James O'Malley about President being ill with Covid, the unreliable and contradictory information that the White House put out about the President's health, the high number of other Republican officials who have now tested positive for the virus, the impact this could have on Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearings and much more. 

Click here to donate to the Democratically 2020 election fund: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/democratically

Karin talks to Political Scientist Seth Masket about his new book Learning from Loss: The Democrats 2016-2020. They discuss the different narratives Democrats used to explain their loss in 2016 and how that affected the 2020 Primary race. His findings show that electability and identity featured highly in people's calculations and that views on electability often coloured how Party leaders and activists thought about the selection of their nominee. 

She also briefly covers the news about Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, and the bombshell New York Times story unveiling 20 years worth of Trump's tax returns: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

Seth's book can be found here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/learning-from-loss/84FBCDB9534B3F80C26C2CAE672951CE

Karin speaks to Marcela Mulholland, Deputy Director of Climate at Data for Progress to get an update on what the state of polling says about the Presidential race, but also about how voters think about big issues like Climate change more broadly and what are the opportunities to move our politics in a more progressive direction. Obviously, we touch on the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the dire consequences that could have for the Supreme court, as well as the wider structural challenges that progressives face in what has become a very unequal and unfair political system. And we talk about the generational differences between idealistic younger voter (like Marcela) who are passionate about issues but may not align with a political party, and an older generation (like me?) who may see their politics more through a Party lens. 

THe Democratically: 2020 campaign fundraising page is now more than halfway to it's goal - please give if you can. The page is designed to funnel your money toward the most vital races: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/democratically 

Karin is joined by Emma Burnell to discuss the recent Atlantic Article exploring Trump's contempt for those who serve in uniform (why does he keep calling them "losers"?), Biden's steadily strong poll number nationally as well as the state by state perspective (whisper it, but increasingly Biden looks like a winner), and the Democrats' exceptionally strong fundraising in August ($384Million dollars!?).

We also play the Gut Check Game, reacting to Trump's insistence he did not have a series of small strokes, Trump and BIden's visits to Kenosha Wisconsin and much more. 

This week, we explore political donation - who should you give to if your goal is to maximise progressive power? Chatting with Friend of the Pod and Chair of the Foreign Policy for America group Simon Clark, we explore the power of small donors, the role of different party and outside organisations in building a winning coalition, and how to figure out if your preferred candidate will spend your money well. We also cover Cal Cunningham's chances to pick up a Senate seat in North Carolina, and of course we play the Gut Check Game, testing our reactions to some of this week's headlines.