Political Breakdown

Latest Episodes:

If Harris Wins: Foreign Policy Aug 15, 2024

Show notes

The next U.S. president will likely inherit wars in Ukraine and Gaza, along with complicated relationships with China and Russia. As vice president, Kamala Harris has mostly supported Biden Administration policies, but how would she recalibrate those positions if she is elected president?

Political Breakdown continues their series digging into what a Harris administration might look like. Today, Scott and Marisa talk about foreign policy with Eric Bazail-Eimil, national security reporter and co-writer of POLITICO's "National Security Daily."

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If Harris Wins: Climate Aug 14, 2024

Show notes

Political Breakdown continues our week-long series looking at how Vice President Kamala Harris would tackle a range of major issues if she’s elected president. Today, Scott and Marisa talk with Grist's Zoya Teirstein about how a Harris administration would handle climate change and environmental protection.

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If Harris Wins Aug 12, 2024

Show notes

What would a Kamala Harris presidency look like and how would her policies differ from President Biden? Just three weeks after Harris got into the race and ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the Political Breakdown team is spending all week analyzing what we know about the vice president’s policy agenda.

To kick us off, Marisa and Scott talk with NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram, who's traveling with Harris as she campaigns across the country.

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Are the Political Fortunes of Mayor London Breed Improving? Aug 10, 2024

Show notes

A new poll from the San Francisco Chronicle shows Mayor London Breed with surprising strength against four main challengers, with former Supervisor Mark Farrell in second followed by non-profit founder Daniel Lurie.

Plus, a rare political move in Sacramento: A state senator representing a rural part of California announces an abrupt switch from the Democratic to the Republican Party.

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Mark Farrell on His Run for Mayor, the Police Department and Outside Lands Aug 09, 2024

Show notes

San Francisco voters will choose their next mayor this November, and we are going to bring you interviews with all of the top candidates. Today, Marisa and Scott sit down with former interim mayor and supervisor Mark Farrell, who discusses his German heritage, growing up and raising kids in the city; along with his plans for policing and encampment sweeps.

We want to hear your questions! If you have a burning question that you want us to ask the mayoral candidates, you can send us an email: politicalbreakdown@kqed.org.

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Harris vs. Trump is Dividing Silicon Valley Aug 08, 2024

Show notes

The presidential election is dividing big money donors from across the political spectrum in Silicon Valley. Although some prominent venture capitalists are backing Kamala Harris, there are a handful of other tech billionaires who have recently thrown their support behind former President Donald Trump. Scott discusses this campaign battle over deep pockets in Silicon Valley with the Washington Post's Trisha Thadani.

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Who is Tim Walz, the Minnesota Governor with ‘Dad Energy’? Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is joining Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket. They’re hoping the former school teacher and football coach can help reach swing voters in the midwest, but Republicans are already trying to paint him as a West Coast liberal. Scott talks with Minnesota Public Radio politics reporter Dana Ferguson and Brendon Gehrke, a former congressional staffer for Walz, about the governor's personal and political image — plus, why people are saying he has "Midwestern dad energy."

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Biographer Dan Morain On Harris' Road from Oakland to Washington D.C. Aug 05, 2024

Show notes

Veteran Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee reporter Dan Morain wrote a biography in 2021 titled “Kamala’s Way: An American Life," which traces Harris’ rise in politics starting from her upbringing in the Bay Area to her getting elected vice president. Scott talks with Morain about Harris then and now and how she matches up against former President Donald Trump.

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Inside the Black Journalists Convention Where Trump Attacked VP Harris’ Race Aug 03, 2024

Show notes

Vice President Kamala Harris officially won enough votes from Democratic delegates to become the party’s presidential nominee. She also hired new senior advisors including David Plouffe, a top strategist for Barack Obama's presidential campaigns.

Scott and Marisa talk about all that with Bradford William Davis, a reporter, culture critic and fellow with the National Press Foundation. Plus, Davis shares an inside view of the National Association of Black Journalists convention where former President Donald Trump questioned Harris' ethnicity.

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Why Swing Voters Are Open to Kamala Harris’ Pitch Aug 02, 2024

Show notes

Sarah Longwell spends a lot of her time talking to swing voters about how they view the presidential race and politics more broadly. A Republican pollster and Never Trumper, Longwell joins Marisa and Scott to discuss how these key voters view Vice President Kamala Harris and what both Harris and former President Donald Trump would need to do to get those “double haters” over to their side this November.

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