Between the Headlines

Trump’s impact on America, as a political revolutionary, will last far beyond his presidency. In this episode, I discuss how he has changed the ideology and demeanor of American politics.

I try not to get too opinionated, but this is important. For more detail, listen to the full episode.

Wow, there's been a lot of news in the past week. In this episode, I break down the major developments and changes.

For more detail, listen to the full episode.

Trump's rhetoric for the 2016 election was that we need to pull America out of a gradual decline — the same decline expedited by the coronavirus. Why, then, is America the great falling?

First, to answer this question, I identify the true decline of the American empire: not just when it weakens, but when it transforms entirely, contracting from its unique modern-day imperial role, as a democratic, multi-culture country commanded great pride as well as trust and respect from the international community. The first half of this decline consists of America's new nationalistic rather than globalist mindset that deems it unstable. The second half is American exceptionalism and a refusal to innovate and keep up with the world, in part due to the problems created by a winner-take-all economy. Trump's two slogans — 'America First' and 'Make America Great Again' — are perfect examples of these trends. 

This fall is expedited by the coronavirus, as America has crumbled rather than flourished in a time of crisis. And America's failure to invest in education, the future of the country, will not help to slow this decline. Another, more grim and questionable explanation is that the American experiment of rights and liberties was doomed to begin with.

For more detail, check out the full episode

Adding onto and updating points I mentioned from the first seven episodes. Topics range from Joe Biden's recent boost, to deep-rooted racial inequalities and racism, to the different kinds of unhelpful media.

This episode suggests more potential reasons why America is so divided.

The first one is the role of race, the defining characteristic of American history; the vast cultural and socioeconomic gaps make consensus much more difficult. Recently, the "browning of America", or the increase in minority voters, creates white identity politics of feeling threatened, and magnifies voices of dissent. Also—very importantly—a 17th century system cannot work in the 21st century. Cooperation across political branches breaks down the idea of checks and balances, allowing crazier ideas to pass more easily. Lastly, the psychological cost of admitting you're wrong and the effect of tribalism drives people apart.

At the very beginning, I also comment on the recent Ahmad Arbery and George Floyd incidents.

For more detail, check out the full episode. This episode is loosely based on Ezra Klein's book, Why We're Polarized.

Why is America so divided? — This is the question political junkies are answering when we talk about political polarization.

Firstly, while the country is polarized, it might not necessarily be becoming more polarized. From a historical viewpoint, this era has the least tension, but in the past, differences weren't necessarily sorted out in politics and along party lines. Also, nowadays we include more people, so previously silenced dissent is now being heard. Additionally, polarization is asymmetrical—Republicans a whole lot more than Democrats—and the US system over-represents a conservative minority compared to countries like the UK, meaning the population isn't as polarized as Washington.

Once we've established that polarization is, to a degree, a myth, I begin to explore the causes of political division. Terrible political media, incentivized by revenue generated from conflict and controversy, as well as the illusion of bipartisanship, draws the craziest people into politics. The episode ends here, with more causes to be unveiled next week.

For more detail, listen to the full episode. This episode is loosely based on Ezra Klein's book, Why We're Polarized.

Joe Biden is simply more popular than Donald Trump—by a lot, almost everywhere. Then, how can Donald Trump win the election? This episode explores a couple things that could help him and the GOP.

1. The incumbent advantage: no "fear of the unknown", good things attributed to him, more resources

2. The electoral college reduces the pool of relevant voters

3. Democratic voting trends: harder to take time off work, voter suppression, infighting and heterogeneity

4. Gerrymandering at the congressional level

5. If there is an electoral college tie, Trump most likely wins the presidency

For more detail, watch the full episode.

Debunking the narrative that the 2020 elections are really close. They're not.

Joe Biden is ahead by surprisingly large margins in swing states, not to mention a 4.4 percentage point advantage nationwide.  While people love to argue that the statistics were wrong in 2016, they clearly showed that Trump had a decent shot, whereas Biden's current data (far better than Clinton's) suggest domination. This trend continues to the Senate, where Democrats could take the majority.

To find out more, check out the full episode.

Exploring how the Covid-19 pandemic could impact the 2020 elections.

The United States' coronavirus response has been a total failure on every front. President Trump has delegated responsibility to governors of individual states, and while his approval rating went up temporarily, it has eventually climbed back down. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has been silent. Trump cannot cancel the election, so mail-in voting will become very important. Ultimately, we need to wait and see what will happen, and whether Trump's chances will be hurt or not—it's too early to predict.

For more detail, check out the full episode, and please, stay home. Big thank you to all medical personnel and governors who are stepping up.

Exploring Joe Biden's career in the Senate, as Obama's VP, and in the Democratic primary to find out what it means in the election.

Biden has become much more liberal over the years — compare his early Senate years to his current policies. He plays old school politics: he had a career in public service, he rose in the ranks, he compromises across the aisle. He is unthreatening to voters and uncontroversial in politics. The contradiction between his progressive platform and his anti-progressive character is part of why he won the primary; his typicality and vanilla-ness, in addition to his personal charm, will help him out in the general election.

For more detail, listen to the full episode. This episode is largely based on a video by Vox.