In this episode, Chris, Sasha, and Jim explore the limits of their optimism regarding the election, discussing the significance of the high levels of early voting, the gratifying spectacle of Republicans beginning to distance themselves from Trump, and the prospects for the Senate.

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In this episode, Chris and Jim discuss some more general trends in US politics and culture that are feeding into the election cycle, and wonder how optimistic we should be about the deep cultural changes that societies around the world appear to be going through. They also spend a little bit of time talking about the impact of the Covid's sudden appearance at the White House.
For a video that lays out as clearly as possible the various rules, regulations, and constitutional procedures that govern the death or incapacitation of a candidate or president elect at various points in the electoral process, see here.

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Recorded slightly later in the week than normal in order to allow for discussion of the first debate between Trump and Biden, this episode looks at the impact, if any, of that debate, the revelations from the New York Times about Trump's tax affairs (see the original article here) and whether the imminent appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court will have the impact Trump appears to want on any election litigation that ends up there. Discussion of the impact on the election of Trump's Covid diagnosis is just going to have to wait until next week!

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With Sasha unable to make the recording (since he was busy writing this article), Chris and Jim have a wide ranging discussion. The supreme court is on their minds, of course, with comparisons made  to previous nomination battles and potential reforms of the court canvassed (many of which mirrored in this interesting leader from the Washington Post), but they also talk about Trump's unhinged rally in Minnesota and the DoJ designation of New York, Seattle, and Portland as 'anarchist jurisdictions'. Chris also speaks movingly of the fate of his hometown in Tennessee, ravaged by the economic storms of the 70s and 80s.
For a view of one possible future for America, and a powerful and compelling take on the place the country finds itself in, which interacts with many of the themes discussed in this podcast, check out Chris Hedges on Act TV here. If you subscribe to Act TV, then you may well soon get to see Sasha, who is a regular contributor to the channel.

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In this episode, we begin by discussing the latest depredation or the post office, before moving on to the crazy week that has just transpired, culminating in Trump's illegal rally in Nevada. We finish with a slightly more abstract discussion about why people fall for conspiracy theories.
Sasha's piece in the Nation this week can be found here -
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-coronavirus-wildfires-elections/
You can watch Pomerantsev discuss his book Nothing is True and Everything is Possible here -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Au332OG-M4
And for a terrifying discussion of Q-Anon, you need look no further than this fine article by Adrienne LaFrance published in the Atlantic in June 2020
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/qanon-nothing-can-stop-what-is-coming/610567/

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In this episode, Sasha, Chris, and Jim discuss Sasha's latest article for the Nation, which explains how activists are organising in response to prospective election chaos. They also discuss Trump's call for his followers to vote twice. Chris remembers what happened when they first proposed flouride in the water and Sasha thinks back to the late 80s rave scene.
You can read Sasha's article here -
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/trump-coup-elections-gop/

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In this episode, with Sasha unable to make the recording, Chris and Jim discuss Watergate, the 1980 election, and other events from US political history with a view to their parallels to today's situation.
Much of the discussion is prompted by Jim's reading Rick Perlstein's book The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan (available as an e-book here - https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Rick-Perlstein/The-Invisible-Bridge--The-Fall-of-Nixon-and-the-Rise-of-Reagan/16166184)
Perlstein, a historian of the American right, has unsurprisingly intervened in the current debate, for example at the links below -
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/8/28/rick_perlstein_rnc_trump_fascism
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/15/rick-perlstein-reaganland-donald-trump-nixon-republicans
https://www.thenation.com/podcast/politics/rick-perlstein-on-the-republican-party-from-reagan-to-trump/

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In this episode, Sasha, Chris, and Jim try their level best to avoid discussing the Republican National Convention, before moving on to discuss how the recent shenanigans at the USPS reveal the insidious role of big money interests in US politics. and the way in which American democracy is on a knife-edge. As Chris says at the end, 'We may already be living in the bardo'. (I had to look it up too - according to Professor Google, 'bardo' is the Tibetan term for the stage between death and rebirth.)
The issue of Vanity Fair guest edited by Ta-Nehisi Coates is available here  https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2020/08/september-2020-issue-the-great-fire
His collection of writings up to 2016, We Were Eight Years In Power is also a fantastic read.
For more information on the Hard Hat Riot mentioned by Sasha, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Hat_Riot
Alternatively, you may be interested in this video from the late Michael Brooks discussing whether there was a Hard Hat Rebellion for Trump (the video is from June 2020).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Ijs2ZAZR4

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In this episode, recorded during and ongoing heatwave in Sacramento, Sasha, Chris, and Jim discuss media reactions in the UK and the US to Trump's attacks on the USPS, and their possible impact on the election. They then go on to discuss Republicans at the Democratic National Convention, and the chances of Biden implementing what is shaping up to be a surprisingly progressive platform.
You can follow the Democratic Convention at https://www.demconvention.com/.

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In this episode, Chris, Jim, and Sasha discuss Trump's recent Covid-related executive orders, an analogy from the end of the Soviet Union, and some breaking news (from Tuesday!). There is also some brief discussion of Slavoj Zizek (not a sentence I ever expected to write) regarding his 2016 views on the electoral contest between Trump and Clinton. See this recent article in the Irish Times for his views on the Trump-Biden match-up - https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/slavoj-%C5%BEi%C5%BEek-joe-biden-is-long-term-the-same-catastrophe-as-trump-1.4312913

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