Radio Atlantic

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Partisanship at the Supreme Court Jun 06, 2019

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In the coming days, the Supreme Court will announce its decisions on two cases that ask the same basic question: how far should partisan politics go?

One will determine whether a citizenship question will appear on the 2020 census. The other asks whether partisan gerrymandering is constitutional.

With these decisions imminent, that same question about partisanship in non-partisan institutions hangs over the court itself. Still wounded by Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation battle, the nation’s highest court has a “virus of illegitimacy.” And with Democratic candidates endorsing proposals to pack the court, that virus could remake the third branch of American government.

On this week’s Radio Atlantic, Isaac Dovere discusses the court with lawyer and Slate writer Mark Joseph Stern.

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The Abortion Debate’s New Urgency May 30, 2019

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Recent weeks have seen unprecedented anti-abortion bills pass in states across the country. In Alabama, abortion is now banned under state law, without any exceptions for rape or incest. Georgia, Ohio, and Kentucky have all passed so-called ‘heartbeat’ bills making abortion illegal six to eight weeks into pregnancy.

On Wednesday, Louisiana's legislature passed its own heartbeat bill without any exceptions for rape or incest. In Missouri, abortion has been outlawed after eight weeks. And on Friday, it may become the first state without any access to abortion, as a clinic may be pressured to close.

These bills have been challenged in court as conflicting with Roe v. Wade, but of course, that conflict is the point. Will a conservative Supreme Court use one of these state laws to overturn Roe? And will this new attention to abortion change how Americans vote in 2020?

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Introducing Crazy/Genius Season 3 May 23, 2019

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Privacy is now the most important idea on the internet—so what exactly is it? And if we care about our privacy, why aren’t we willing to pay to keep it?

This week’s Radio Atlantic is a preview of the new season of Crazy/Genius, The Atlantic’s podcast about technology and culture. Staff writer Derek Thompson joins Isaac Dovere to discuss Season 3, which kicks off with an episode about privacy.

Subscribe to Crazy/Genius: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play

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Trump’s Trade War May 16, 2019

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Trump isn’t like most Republican presidents, but his views on trade have been an unusually firm departure from his party. Despite long championing free trade, the GOP is now led by a man who seems deeply skeptical of it. Last week, he upended trade negotiations with China by levying tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, carrying out a threat he’d issued just before a Chinese delegation visited the White House. On Monday, China retaliated with tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods.

A trade war between the world’s two largest economies seems to be here. And the risks are dire. Financial institutions have warned that "a trade war could cause a global recession," but, as the president infamously tweeted last year, he thinks “trade wars are good, and easy to win.”

On this week’s Radio Atlantic, staff writer Isaac Dovere sits down with Colin Grabow, a trade expert from the libertarian Cato Institute, to discuss the two trade battles at hand: one between the U.S. and China, and the other within the Republican party.

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Liberalism’s Last Stand May 09, 2019

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Franklin Foer joins Isaac Dovere to discuss his story in the June issue of The Atlantic about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Orbán described his vision of Hungary as an "alternative to liberal democracy," and, in recent years, cemented his power by undermining civil society.

When Orbán’s party won a majority last year, it rewrote parts of the constitution, redrew parliamentary districts, and stacked courts. Foer details how one of the last independent institutions—a university in Budapest founded by George Soros—has fought back on Orbán’s efforts to expel it from Hungary.

These efforts have not been met with condemnation from the Trump administration. To the contrary, when he spoke with Foer, the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary said: "I can tell you, knowing the president for a good 25 or 30 years, that he would love to have the situation that Viktor Orbán has."

Next week, President Trump will welcome Orbán to the White House.

How has Hungary found itself losing its democracy? What does it mean for the future of Europe? And what role does the U.S. have in all of this?

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Is Politics Funny Anymore? May 02, 2019

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Last weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner was the first one in years without a comedian. In the Trump era, comedians have struggled to adjust — are things too serious? Too biased? Too absurd? Is any of it funny anymore?

Jordan Klepper has been on three very different political comedy shows in three years. He was a fake news correspondent on The Daily Show, then a parody conspiracy theorist on The Opposition, to now playing himself in a new documentary series called simply: Klepper. He joins staff writer Isaac Dovere to discuss the state of political comedy (and why he went from parodying Alex Jones to getting strip-searched in Georgia).

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To Impeach Or Not To Impeach? Apr 25, 2019

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Atlantic Ideas Editor Yoni Appelbaum and Vox editor-at-large Ezra Klein have both deeply researched the question of impeachment — and each came to a different conclusion.

Appelbaum argued in The Atlantic’s March cover story that the House of Representatives “must immediately open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump, and bring the debate out of the court of public opinion and into Congress, where it belongs.”

Klein argues that “impeachment will be a partisan war over the president’s removal, and anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. The fact-finding potential within the process will be overwhelmed by the question of whether impeachment is merited.”

With that question pressing in the wake of the Mueller report, they sit down with Isaac Dovere to discuss the history of impeachment and make their cases: should Congress move ahead with impeachment?

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The Trauma at the Border Apr 20, 2019

Show notes

On Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr ordered immigration judges to stop releasing asylum seekers on bail. The move signals an even fiercer immigration policy that could include the return of family separations. A few weeks ago, the president threatened to close the southern border. Days later, he fired his Homeland Security chief, who reportedly lost out to hardliners in the White House.

Isaac Dovere interviews Taylor Levy, the Legal Coordinator at Annunciation House, a Catholic charity based in El Paso that provides shelter to immigrants on both sides of the southern border. El Paso has emerged as a hot spot for migration recently. It’s drawn national attention for the number of people crossing there and for the conditions in which those people have been held. Levy shares the harrowing stories of migrants she works with every day.

What are these families escaping when they seek asylum in the U.S.? Why are they being held outside under bridges? And does the Trump administration’s new “Remain in Mexico” policy endanger them?

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Can A Long-Shot Candidate Beat Donald Trump? Apr 12, 2019

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The crowded race for the Democratic nomination includes both frontrunners and long-shots, but how do we know which is which? Some big names have trailed in fundraising and polls. And some written off early have found surprising support.

On this week’s Radio Atlantic, Isaac Dovere is joined by one of the biggest long-shot successes in recent Democratic politics: Howard Dean. The former Vermont governor was an unlikely frontrunner for the presidency, but for a time in the 2004 race, he was the man to beat.

Dean talks about what it was like to go from long-shot to frontrunner—and what it’s like to have it all fall apart. He recalls how his 2004 campaign was animated (and perhaps limited) by anger at President Bush. Now, Dean warns Democrats against falling into the same trap with Donald Trump.

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Sex, Gender, and the Democratic Party Apr 04, 2019

Show notes

In recent days, three women have accused former Vice President Joe Biden of inappropriate contact. On Wednesday, Biden announced in a video that he is going to be “mindful” about personal space going forward, that he hears what these women are saying, and that he "gets it."

While a number of prominent women have come to Biden's defense, there are plenty of critics who have said he has no place representing a diverse, empowered, progressive electorate in the coming presidential race. When it comes to gender, have the politics of the Democratic party passed Joe Biden by? What happens now to the Biden proto-candidacy? And what does it mean for the Democratic party of 2020?

Alex Wagner sits down with Jennifer Palmieri, former Communications Director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign and for the Obama White House from 2013 to 2015.

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