Politics Weekly America

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Americans lose faith in the US supreme court: Politics Weekly America Jul 01, 2022

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The US supreme court has struck down the constitutional right to an abortion, one of several landmark decisions that will affect the lives of millions of Americans for decades to come. Jonathan Freedland and Jill Filipovic discuss whether it’s still possible for a deeply divided court of nine judges, a group that now has a 6-3 conservative majority, to keep the promise to the American people of ‘equal protection’, and what happens if it can’t

What the January 6 hearings have told us: Politics Weekly America Jun 24, 2022

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We learned this week that the public hearings held by the January 6 select committee would be extended into July. The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell tells Jonathan Freedland what we’ve learned so far, why they need more time and what happens next

What does ‘Watergate’ teach us 50 years on?: Politics Weekly America Jun 17, 2022

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50 years ago, police in Washington DC arrested five men for breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. What followed was the unravelling of a web of scandals that ultimately ended Richard Nixon’s presidency. What can today’s January 6 hearings learn from Watergate? And had it happened in today’s political climate, would it have played out the way it did? Jonathan Freedland speaks with Garrett M. Graff, journalist and author of Watergate: A New History

A celebrity heart surgeon wins in Pennsylvania, what next? Politics Weekly America Jun 10, 2022

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Dr Mehmet Öz is the Republican nominee for the Pennsylvania Senate race, which will take place in November. Up against him is another interesting character in John Fetterman. Both see themselves as political outsiders, but who will win this important swing state in the midterms? Jonathan Freedland puts this to politics reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer Julia Terruso

Biden’s dilemma over supporting Ukraine: Politics Weekly America Jun 03, 2022

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This week, Joe Biden confirmed he will send more advanced rocket systems to Kyiv. As Russian troops continue their assault on the Donbas region in the east of the country, Joan E Greve talks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about what the future holds for US support to Ukraine.

Texas school shooting overshadows primaries: Politics Weekly America May 27, 2022

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The killing of at least 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in the town of Uvalde on Tuesday has reignited the gun control debate in the US. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the chief correspondent for the Washington Post, Dan Balz, about why, after yet another tragedy involving firearms, the Republican party is still unwilling to talk gun reform

Will Republicans drop the Great Replacement Theory? Politics Weekly America May 20, 2022

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In a week when a teenager shot dead 10 Black people in Buffalo New York, apparently motivated by the ‘great replacement’ theory, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Michael Harriot and Anne Applebaum about why this racist ideology has become mainstream in rightwing circles in the US, and why we shouldn’t be surprised

How senior GOP figures tried to oust Trump: Politics Weekly America podcast May 13, 2022

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This week Jonathan Freedland speaks to Jonathan Martin of the New York Times after the publication of his new book This Will Not Pass and what he and his co-author Alexander Burns unearthed about events behind the scenes in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, why all is not well for the Biden administration, and what all of this says for the future of the two-party system

Is Biden willing to go against the supreme court to save Roe v Wade? Politics Weekly America May 06, 2022

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According to a draft majority opinion published by Politico this week, the US supreme court has voted to overturn Roe v Wade in the clearest sign yet that the constitutional right to abortion will probably be taken away from millions of Americans very soon. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Moira Donegan about what it will take to stop the majority conservative bench, whether Democrats are willing to pull rank, and if they don’t, whether it is even accurate to call the US the land of the free

Jon Ronson on the fall of Alex Jones: Politics Weekly America Apr 29, 2022

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A couple of weeks ago, the far-right website InfoWars filed for bankruptcy. Its founder, Alex Jones, is facing multiple compensation claims brought by parents of victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, an event Jones previously told his followers was a hoax. Documentary maker Jon Ronson has followed Jones’ career from the very beginning. This week, Jonathan Freedland asks him for his take on the fall of one of America’s most famous conspiracy theorists

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