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In Nashville last week, Christian conservatives echoed Trump's claims about fraud after his speech at their conference. In Texas, the state GOP incorporated the idea that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent into the party's new platform.
Sharply-partisan districts and an ever-more polarized public have drawn lawmakers like Rep. Elise Stefanik, once known for her moderate politics, to publicly promote the former president's attacks on the American democratic process.
This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, political correspondent Susan Davis, political reporter Ashley Lopez, and North Country Public radio reporter Zach Hirsch.
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The officials who appeared before the Jan. 6 committee were Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his chief operating officer Gabriel Sterling — all Republicans who indicated then-President Trump pushed them to violate their obligations to the Constitution.
The committee also heard from Shaye Moss, a former staff election worker in Georgia who was targeted by Trump and his allies over baseless conspiracy theories about election fraud. She left her job as racist attacks and threats against her safety mounted.
This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh, and Georgia Public Broadcasting's Stephen Fowler.
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A special episode from our friends at Code Switch:
In the wake of violence and tragedies, people are often left in search of ways to feel safe again. That almost inevitably to conversations about the role of police. On today's episode, we're talking to the author and sociologist Alex Vitale, who argues that many spaces in U.S. society over-rely on the police to prevent problems that are better addressed through other means. Doing so, he says, can prevent us from properly investing in resources and programs that could make the country safer in the long run.
Subscribe: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch
This episode was fact-checked by Alyssa Jeong Perry and Christina Cala. Summer Thomad, Alyssa Jeong Perry, Diba Mohtasham and Christina Cala contributed to the production.
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The committee centered its third hearing around one person in particular: former Vice President Mike Pence, honing in on the pressure put on him by former President Trump to overturn the 2020 election. Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney began the hearing by saying: "What the president wanted the vice president to do was not just wrong. It was illegal and unconstitutional." The hearing featured live testimony from two Pence legal advisors, Greg Jacob and retired fourth circuit judge Michael Luttig.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/1105513685
This episode: Voting correspondent Miles Parks, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales and senior political editor and correspondent Ron Elving.
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Ahead of those elections, NPR held discussions with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters in the Nevada about their concerns and priorities ahead of the midterms, ranging from the cost of living to gun violence.
Then, a look at what Congress is doing to address gun violence in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, and whether any legislation has a chance of passing.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/1103894544
This episode: congressional correspondents Kelsey Snell and Susan Davis, political correspondent Juana Summers and political reporter Barbara Sprunt
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One theory: as polarization pushed policy-making out of Congress and toward states, divergent policies passed in red and blue-leaning states may have caused a big — and growing — gap in health outcomes.
Read more: https://n.pr/3NUFJZr
This episode: political correspondent Susan Davis, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and health correspondent Allison Aubrey.
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The second hearing into the Jan. 6 insurrection featured a slew of clips from top Trump aides from the campaign and administration testifying that the former president was repeatedly told that voter fraud claims were not true — but he continued to double-down, both publicly and privately.
And senators came to a very narrow agreement on measures designed to curb gun violence.
This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.
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The hearing documenting former President Trump's role in the January 6th riot was largely told through recorded clips. But Rep. Liz Cheney — a Republican from Wyoming and an ousted member of GOP leadership — also played a starring role. Why did she break with her Republican colleagues?
And in California, progressive Democrats had setbacks in two high-profile elections — the LA mayoral primary and a recall election for the District Attorney in San Francisco.
This episode: demographics and culture correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro, congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh, and KQED reporter Marisa Lagos.
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Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee's vice chair, summed up the hearing's thesis like this: "On this point, there is no room for debate: Those who invaded our Capitol and battled law enforcement for hours were motivated by what President Trump had told them."
The hearing featured produced videos of the assault on the Capitol, recorded clips of interviews with insurrectionists and senior aides to Donald Trump, and live testimony from a Capitol police officer and a documentary filmmaker.
This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh, and senior political editor and correspondent Ron Elving.
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