Well, it’s been a year: 2021 has been better than 2020 all told, but not as normal as hoped. It’s seemingly not as normal as the voters hoped it would be either, with President Biden’s approval ratings sliding from the summer on with inflation, resurgent covid cases, and a haphazard withdrawal from Afghanistan. So one year on, how is President Biden doing? And what can he do to right the ship before Democrats face voters next November?

On this special episode of Left, Right & Center, frequent panelists LANHEE CHEN, CHRISTINE EMBA, and GUSTAVO ARELLANO join departing host JOSH BARRO to look backward and forward. The panel discusses the highlights and the discontents of this year, hopes for what the government will do differently (and what will go differently) in 2022, the pluses and minuses of this economy, and the tools, both old and new, that could bring the virus under enough control for things to be close enough to normal…if we do things right.

A special Left, Right & Center for the end of 2021

Left, Right &amp; Center is KCRW’s weekly civilized yet provocative confrontation over politics, policy and pop culture.

News

A New York jury found Donald Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records. It is the first time a former president has been convicted of a crime. The case was rooted in Trump’s attempt to keep a damaging story about himself and actress Stormy Daniels out of the news during the 2016 election. With any potential punishment still far out, the focus now is on how the conviction will impact politics in the upcoming weeks and months. Will Trump or Joe Biden find the best way to capitalize on the ruling? Will voters who were already unmoved by the proceedings be stirred to action?Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito notified Congress that he would not recuse himself from cases involving the January 6th riots or the 2020 election. Members of Congress were calling for a recusal following reports that flags associated with the Stop the Steal movement were flown over his residence and a vacation home in 2021 and 2023. Alito claims his wife put up the flags and he was not involved. The situation rekindled conversations about justices’ responsibilities for their spouses’ actions. But more concerning is how this incident (and the Donald Trump trial) plays into growing levels of public mistrust in the judiciary.

With Trump’s trial over (for now), what’s next?

The renewed bill — to address the ongoing border crisis — fails to advance from the Senate following a 43-50 procedural vote. The bipartisan legislation would have provided more money for border security and tightened asylum restrictions, among other provisions. Republican detractors viewed this latest push as a political stunt, while some progressives argued that it was too punitive. With immigration consistently rising as a top issue for voters, how might this latest congressional failure to act influence the election?  In a presidential election with two extremely unpopular candidates, down-ballot politicians in tight races are distancing themselves from the top of the ticket. They’re hoping to capitalize on popular policies without taking on too much of their party’s baggage. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s loyalists are flocking to his New York courtroom in a show of solidarity. Are average voters willing to separate candidates from their parties, and is Trump’s trial reaching anyone beyond political junkies?   AI and deepfakes pose an unprecedented threat to election integrity. With Congress and the law slow to keep pace with rapid advances in this technology, can we rely on tech companies to step up? And is government regulation of political speech a slippery slope, even in the case of misinformation and disinformation?

How AI and deepfakes could affect this election

President Biden is trailing Donald Trump in several battleground states, according to new polling from the New York Times and Siena College. While polling this far out from an election often doesn’t represent final results, it can reveal trends that candidates should seriously consider, says Mo Elleithee, executive director at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service. In Biden’s case, the polls indicate less support among young voters, nonwhite voters, and blue collar workers. With Biden and Trump agreeing to a series of debates in June and September, can the president use the head-to-head settings to regain ground with those crucial groups?The Democratic National Convention will take place in Chicago this summer. There are some concerns that the contentious atmosphere surrounding the convention, including nationwide campus protests and anger with the president’s support for the war in Gaza, could lead to a scene similar to the unrest at 1968’s DNC, also in Chicago. Are those concerns overblown? And would more protests allow Donald Trump to emerge as a figure who can end the growing sense of chaos among voters?Kansas is the focus of our 50 states series this week. Mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion statements have become a growing legal concern for legislators and administrators in Kansas and at universities across the country. Does requiring a commitment to DEI fall mean forcing an ideology on faculty and students?

Will debates give Biden or Trump an edge?

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shuttered the Israel offices of news network Al Jazeera this week. The country blocked the network’s website, and Israeli police raided their studios, confiscating broadcast equipment. Americans would expect this move from an authoritarian leader, not a democratic ally. Will the United States’ relationship with Netanyahu’s country change how it views the threat to press freedom?

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is under fire for several controversies from her new memoir, including a reference to shooting a 14-month-old puppy she described as “untrainable.” Noem is pushing back at the criticism amid a bid to be Donald Trump’s running mate this fall, but her pursuit of the vice presidency may be over. KCRW speculates on Trump’s other options for VP, and wonders aloud why other Republican politicians seem unable to overcome controversy as easily as the former president.

There are plenty of reasons to argue that the news ecosystem is biased — does that also apply to satire? Hear an excerpt from the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival, where the Left, Right and Center panel discussed political comedy and applauded the uniting power of karaoke.

Why Netanyahu’s latest move is a threat to a free press

Pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have taken over national headlines recently. Clashes between protestors and counterprotestors, as well as law enforcement, are top of mind for political leaders. Have the student-led demonstrations shifted the focus away from the actual conflict on the ground in Gaza?

When it comes to states enforcing Title IX, the Biden administration recently announced new guidelines, which include extending discrimination protections to groups who previously weren’t covered by the legislation, including LGBTQ students. Several Republican-led states have filed lawsuits claiming that the administration overstepped its authority and attempted to change how they define sex and gender. 

And this installment of the 50 states series looks at a rare phenomenon in Idaho politics that could empower the political middle.

A special Left, Right & Center for the end of 2021

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