*** Check out the free America Explained newsletter for occasional written posts on the big issues in U.S. politics and foreign policy and no extra spam ***

How might artificial intelligence change the nature of warfare, and what political and ethical dilemmas does it pose in civilian society? Nowadays popular culture is full of speculation about these questions, but popular films and TV series often run far ahead of reality, while at the same time downplaying the dangers which exist in the real world. In this episode I interviewed Dr. Kenneth Payne, author of a great - and highly-acclaimed - new book on war and artificial intelligence about these questions, and more.

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Kenneth's new book.

Credits

Host - Andy Gawthorpe

*** Check out the free America Explained newsletter for a few posts a month on American politics and foreign policy ***

When we think of America, one of the first images that comes to mind are often a neat row of suburban houses, or long highways stretching into the distance. But how did those pictures come about, and what about the people who got left out - the people who couldn't afford one of those suburban houses, or whose life would be much easier if they could travel by rail? In this episode Andy and Catherine discuss the ways that America's built environment has been shaped by race and why undoing its toxic legacies is so difficult.

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Credits

Host - Andy Gawthorpe

Co-host - Catherine Wood

*** Check out the free America Explained newsletter for a few posts a month on American politics and foreign policy ***

Politics started early this year, with tumult in the House of Representatives and President Biden getting a classified document scandal of his own. Andy and Catherine dissect the issues and offer some predictions for how it all might unfold in 2023.

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Credits

Host - Andy Gawthorpe

Co-host - Catherine Wood

*** Check out the free America Explained newsletter for a few posts a month on American politics and foreign policy ***

There is a humanitarian crisis at the southern border, and Republicans in Congress will be working hard to make it a political crisis for the Biden administration in the coming year. But the dirty secret of Biden's immigration policy is that it continued the use of a very repressive tool first used by Trump - so-called "Title 42" immediate expulsions. This episode traces the debate over the issue and how the situation at the border got so bad.

Correction: In the episode, Andy discussed a new "humanitarian parole" program created by the administration and stated there are only 30,000 places on it. That should have been "30,000 places a month".

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Credits

Host - Andy Gawthorpe

Researcher, editorial assistant - Catherine Wood

*** Check out the free America Explained newsletter for a few posts a month on American politics and foreign policy ***

Merry Christmas from America Explained. Send your episode ideas for the new year: [email protected].

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Credits

Host - Andy Gawthorpe

Researcher, editorial assistant - Catherine Wood

*** Check out the free America Explained newsletter for a few posts a month on American politics and foreign policy ***

The war in Ukraine has shaken up global energy markets and created fears of a seriously bad winter in Europe if temperatures go to low. But although it looks like disaster will be averted this time around, there's still no real plan for next year. This episode dives into some of the long-term geopolitical and climate implications created by the war's impact on energy markets.

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Credits

Host - Andy Gawthorpe

Researcher, editorial assistant - Catherine Wood

*** Check out the free America Explained newsletter for occasional written posts on the big issues in U.S. politics and foreign policy and no extra spam ***

Intersectionality and critical race theory have become big issues in American politics in recent years. But watching that "debate" - if we can even call it that - has not been a great way to get informed about what these topics mean and what their history is. In this episode I clear it up with Shanah Khan, coordinator of Intersecting Madrid and a researcher into U.S. intersectionality issues.

Shanah's organization, Intersect Madrid.

Shanah's podcast.

Credits

Host - Andy Gawthorpe

*** Check out the free America Explained newsletter for a few posts a month on American politics and foreign policy ***

Democrats had one of the best midterm showings of the postwar era. In this episode, Andy explains how Joe Biden's strategy of reaching out to independent and even right-wing voters has been vindicated. He also talks about what's next for the GOP, which has been engulfed in chaos since its poor showing last week.

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Credits

Host - Andy Gawthorpe

Researcher, editorial assistant - Catherine Wood

*** Check out the free America Explained newsletter for a few posts a month on American politics and foreign policy ***

In this episode, Andy and Catherine discuss next week's midterms. We talk about the current polls and why they seem to have got worse for the Democrats in the last few weeks, then highlight some important ballot initiatives and races taking place across the country. Finally, we talk about what implications the midterms might have for the future of American democracy and U.S. foreign policy towards Ukraine.

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Credits

Host - Andy Gawthorpe

Researcher, editorial assistant, host - Catherine Wood

*** Check out the free America Explained newsletter for a few posts a month on American politics and foreign policy ***

In August, President Biden announced substantial student debt forgiveness. This step has been so long coming - and proven so controversial - because the value and role of education have become deeply contested issues in American culture. This episode takes a look at Biden's decision and unpacks why.

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Credits

Host - Andy Gawthorpe

Researcher and editorial assistant - Catherine Wood