Politics Brief

Latest Episodes:

Cynthia Nixon’s Hail Mary Hope Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

With 10 days to go before the party primaries, Nixon remains the underdog in the polls in the New York governor's race against Andrew Cuomo. But the upset win by Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez earlier this summer, and Andrew Gillum’s surprising gubernatorial primary victory in Florida, has given many Nixon supporters hope and cemented a strategy: attracting new voters to the polls, or “expanding the electorate.”

Grassroots Organizing and a Glimmer of Hope Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

Formerly a member of the Clinton and Obama administrations, Eric Liu is the CEO of Citizens University and executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Citizen and American Identity Program. Liu says that he's part of a new generation of activists who are trying to empower people to lead in cities and towns across the country, and is hopeful with what he sees.

Covering the Alt-Right Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

In the run-up to and the fallout from the 2016 election, reporters have been accused of normalizing dangerous racist movements or falling for predictable tricks.

Lois Beckett, senior reporter at The Guardian US talks with four seasoned reporters on the far-right beat about what they have learned from covering American hate groups and about the mistakes the media often make.

Help Us Report on Gender and Power Aug 29, 2018

Show notes

For our next season of the United States of Anxiety, we’re focusing on power and gender, and we’ve partnered with ProPublica to look at how political advertising targets people of different genders differently on Facebook.

Unlike broadcast television ads, which are heavily regulated, we have no idea how individual voters are micro-targeted on Facebook. It’s still the Wild West. Nor do we know about potentially unethical or misleading advertising that may be happening.

We do know from the Cambridge Analytica scandal that much of the misinformation spread in 2016 targeted people based on their race and gender. And we know that this is an election in which gender is expected to be a decisive factor.

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ProPublica’s database of political ads

By doing this, you'll be part of groundbreaking research — remember this is the first election cycle since Facebook changed its policies. And you'll also be helping WNYC and ProPublica bring you reporting and analysis about these campaign ads.

To get started, visit propublica.org/facebook.

Indictment And Impeachment Demystified Aug 29, 2018

Show notes

News out of President Trump's White House moves fast. And you probably have questions about what's been going on. Rebecca Ballhaus, of the Wall Street Journal, and Ken White, a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, join The Takeaway to demystify some of the big words you hear in the news, from indictment to impeachment.

Perception Versus Reality Aug 28, 2018

Show notes

According to a new study, Americans' perceptions of the opposing political party tend to skew far from the truth. What's more, people's perceptions of their own political parties aren't much better. Perry Bacon, senior writer for FiveThirtyEight, wrote about the study for his column “Secret Identity.” He spoke with On The Media about why the gulf between perception and reality might be so wide.

Reforming the NYC Community Boards Aug 28, 2018

Show notes

Borough Presidents Eric Adams (Brooklyn) and Gale Brewer (Manhattan) debate a proposal to impose term limits on community board members, some of whom stay for decades. These are the boards that play a big role in land-use decisions and can be a gateway to public service. The city's Charter Review Commission is considering changes.