Politics and Polls

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#162: Breaking Down the Impeachment Inquiry Nov 21, 2019

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Impeachment headlines are dominating the news. Since the start of public hearings in the U.S. House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump last week, several witnesses have testified on concerns about the Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang discuss the impeachment inquiry in this week's episode, breaking down the substance of and the Republican response to the public hearings so far.

#161: Florida Politics Featuring Andrew Gillum Nov 14, 2019

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Florida will be a key state in the 2020 presidential election, and one Mayor Andrew Gillum hopes will flip blue. In this episode, he chats with Julian Zelizer about his run for governor and his current efforts to mobilize voters in Florida. Gillum is currently chair of Forward Florida Action, a voter registration organization working to build a vibrant, inclusive democracy that works for all Florida communities.

#160: Election Day 2019 Nov 07, 2019

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Voters cast their ballots this week, with a few key statewide elections taking place in Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi. Sam Wang and Julian Zelizer discuss the results of these elections and what it means for the 2020 election in this episode.

The duo also takes a look at the impeachment process, debating whether the inquiry has caused rallying among Republican voters. The short answer: It hasn't — according to the pair.

#159: Strategizing for the 2020 Election Ft. Joel Benenson Oct 31, 2019

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Newly released polls show wide-ranging political scenarios, but reading the electorate can be hard. What exactly is going on and what might pundits and media be getting wrong? In this week's episode, Joel Benenson discusses his work on four presidential campaigns with Sam Wang and Julian Zelizer. Benenson argues for tempered media coverage of these campaigns, suggesting the key to winning an election centers around addressing people's lived experiences and economic struggles. Benenson is the founder and CEO of the Benenson Group and one of the leading strategists in the world for campaigns. He is an award-winning researcher and pollster who helped run President Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns. He also played a critical role in Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2016 campaign and President Bill Clinton's 1996 campaign and is currently working on Mayor Pete Buttigieg's 2020 campaign. Benenson was named "Pollster of the Year" by the American Association of Political Consultants. He previously worked as a journalist for the New York Daily News, communications director for Governor Cuomo, and vice president at FCB, a global advertising agency.

#158: The Fight Against Income Inequality Ft. Emmanuel Saez Oct 24, 2019

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Income inequality in the U.S. has reached a five-decade high, according to data from the Census Bureau. Debates over why this is happening and how to address it have taken center stage in the Democratic debates, with Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren calling for a wealth tax while other candidates are pushing back. Emmanuel Saez joins Julian Zelizer in this week's episode to discuss the erosion of the progressive tax system, which Saez and co-author Gabriel Zucman detail in their new book, "The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay." While the individual income tax is still progressive, Saez argues that other taxes, such as the sales tax and payroll taxes, make the tax system regressive as a whole. Saez is a professor in the Department of Economics and the director of the Center of Economic Growth at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining the Berkeley faculty, he was an assistant professor of economics at Harvard University. His research focuses on taxation, redistribution, and inequality. Jointly with economist Thomas Piketty, Saez has constructed long-run historical series of income inequality in the U.S. that have been widely discussed in the public debate.

#157: How Economists Attained Power in the Modern Era Ft. Binyamin Appelbaum Oct 17, 2019

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Economists shape conversations on topics ranging from business to politics, and their influence is widely felt; the Federal Reserve, trade negotiations, and public spending have become central focuses of political debate. But economists weren't always permanent fixtures in policymaking. Binyamin Appelbaum joins Sam Wang and Julian Zelizer to discuss the rise of economists between the 1960s and 2000 — the focus of his new book, "The Economists' Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society. His book explores the role of economists in shaping public policy on issues like the draft, income inequality and distribution, and minimum wage. Appelbaum is The New York Times Editorial Board's lead writer on business and economics. Prior to joining the Board this year, he was a Washington correspondent for the Times, covering the Federal Reserve and other aspects of economic policy from 2001 to 2009. Appelbaum previously worked for the Charlotte Observer, where his reporting on subprime lending won a George Polk Award and a Gerald Loeb Award. He also was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize.

#156: Black Youth and the Criminal Justice System Ft. Carl Suddler Oct 10, 2019

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Racism affects our criminal justice system — from policing methods to prison-system structures to punishments issued for different crimes. More than 50 years after the publication of the Kerner Report — which investigated the 1967 race riots — many of the same problems of institutionalized racism persist today. Carl Suddler joins Julian Zelizer in this episode to discuss the racialized nature of the criminal justice system, which is the topic of his new book, "Presumed Criminal: Black Youth and the Justice System in Postwar New York." The book examines history of policies and strategies that led to the criminalization of black youth, including stop-and-frisk policing and no-knock warrants, and media coverage of black youth and crime. Suddler is an assistant professor in the Department of History at Emory University. Prior to joining to Emory faculty this year, Suddler was an assistant professor of African American history at Florida Atlantic University and a postdoctoral fellow at the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference at Emory. His research focuses on the intersections of youth, race, and crime and on the consequences of inequity in the United States. Suddler is also a contributing writer for the Conversation and Bleacher Report and has published work in the Journal of American History, Journal of African American History, American Studies Journal, and The Washington Post.

#155: The Evolution of Free Enterprise Ft. Lawrence Glickman Oct 03, 2019

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Many conservative politicians have used the term "free enterprise" as a rallying cry during the past few elections. Yet, the exact meaning of the phrase is unclear. Where did this idea come from? What did it mean in different time periods? And what are the stakes in how we define it? Lawrence Glickman joins Julian Zelizer in this episode to discuss these questions, which he addresses in his new book, "Free Enterprise: An American History." The book examines how the idea of free enterprise has changed over the past few decades, covering its origins in 1832, its growth as an oppositional ideology to the New Deal, and its role in American politics now. Glickman is the Stephen and Evalyn Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. He has authored four books, including "Buying Power: A History of Consumer Activism in America." Prior to joining the Cornell faculty in 2014, Glickman was the Carolina Trustee Professor and chair of the Department of History at the University of South Carolina. He has written on public affairs for Boston Review, Dissent, and other publications.

#154: The Press Under Attack Ft. Jim Acosta Sep 26, 2019

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The media has come under increasing attack over the past few years. While the adversarial relationship between past presidents and the media is not new, some have argued that President Trump has gone further than his predecessors by targeting specific journalists and using language meant to incite violence. As accusations of "fake news" grow, many are paying close attention to how media outlets cover the current administration. Jim Acosta of CNN joins Julian Zelizer in this episode to discuss his experiences covering the Trump administration's first two years in office. His new book, "The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America" examines the recent attacks and death threats against Acosta and other members of the press corps, the roles of former Press Secretaries Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and media coverage of the 2020 presidential election. Acosta gave a public talk at Princeton on Sept. 23. Acosta is CNN's chief White House correspondent, currently covering the Trump administration and previously covering the Obama administration. He has received several awards, including the National Association of Hispanic Journalists 2017 Presidential Award and the San Jose State University Journalism School 2018 William Randolph Hearst Foundation Award, and was a part of the CNN team that won an Emmy for their 2012 presidential campaign coverage. Prior to joining CNN in 2007, Acosta reported as a news correspondent for CBS News, CBS Newspath, and various local radio stations.

#154: The Press Under Attack Ft. Jim Acosta Sep 26, 2019

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