Checks and Balance from The Economist

Despite a remarkably strong labour market, predictions of an imminent downturn are everywhere. The disagreement now is not over whether the Federal Reserve should fight inflation, but how painful the consequences of doing so will be. In trying to fix one problem, will the Federal Reserve create another? How much should Americans blame President Biden for the increasingly gloomy outlook? And what can the administration do to protect both the economy and its own electoral future?

We ask Dr Cecilia Rouse, chair of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors, whether America is heading for recession and why the post-pandemic economic paradigm is different. We go back to the 1970s to find out why inflation is so politically toxic for the Democrats. And our US economics editor Simon Rabinovitch looks beyond the midterms to see whether President Biden has a way out.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon

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As gridlock plagues the Capitol, across First Street the Supreme Court is transforming America. In this term alone, it has overturned the right to an abortion, loosened gun laws, eroded the separation of church and state and limited the federal government’s ability to combat climate change. Public confidence in the institution is at a record low. How is the Supreme Court changing America and, as it does so, is it undermining itself? 

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and our Supreme Court correspondent, Steven Mazie. They talk to Leah Litman, a professor at the University of Michigan and cohost of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, about how the justices have radically tipped the scales this term. We revisit another era in which the court tested the limits of its powers and transformed America. And Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas and author of “The Shadow Docket”, explains how the court’s under-the-radar decision-making is damaging its authority.

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After conducting more than 1,000 interviews and reviewing over 140,000 documents, the House of Representatives’ January 6th committee is now presenting its findings. Yet much of what it is investigating happened publicly: the violence in the Capitol was live-streamed and the conspiracy to overturn the election happened in the open. Even so, most Americans have either moved on or misinterpreted the riot. What is the purpose of the committee? What new information has it revealed—and can it make a difference?

Former federal and state prosecutor Danya Perry examines the possible criminal consequences for top-ranking officials. And strategist Sarah Longwell shares how Republican voters are receiving the committee. John Prideaux hosts with Idrees Kahloon and James Astill. 

Since recording this episode, the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, its landmark ruling which protected the right to an abortion. Last month, we examined what America would look like if Roe was struck down. 

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Since America dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, a fragile balance of deterrence, treaties, fear and taboo has stopped the world’s nuclear powers from deploying their arsenals in anger. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ushered in a new nuclear era. How should we think about the nuclear threat? And what role should America play in policing it?  

Dr Nina Tannenwald, author of “The Nuclear Taboo”, explains how the norms that guaranteed the long nuclear peace have been unravelling for years. We explore the lost era of US-Soviet collaboration to contain the threat from “loose nukes”. And Dr Siegfried Hecker, who led those efforts as director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, shares lessons from sixty years working to avert nuclear catastrophe.

John Prideaux hosts with Shashank Joshi and Jon Fasman

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The Golden State, it is often said, is where the future happens first. Now Los Angeles, long a bastion of the left, is seriously contemplating choosing a billionaire former Republican as its next mayor. Voters are fed up with homelessness and crime and are threatening to follow San Francisco’s example and recall progressive public prosecutors who had promised to reimagine public safety. Is California revealing the limits of progressive politics?

The mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, reflects on his city’s progress and challenges as he leaves office. We head to the campaign trail to meet the candidates vying to replace him. And Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount University explains what California’s example means for the rest of the country. 

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Aryn Braun.

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Another American administration, another much-vaunted pivot to Asia. Republicans and Democrats agree that America needs to respond to China's growing regional clout, but that's where the harmony ends. War in Europe is diverting attention, much of Asia has doubts about America’s reliability and China warns that any attempt to build an “Asian NATO” is “doomed to fail”. What is the Biden administration’s Asia strategy?

Scott Kennedy, senior advisor on China at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, assesses the administration’s long-awaited plans for countering Chinese regional influence. We find out how America pushed its Western defensive frontier all the way across the Pacific. And our US economics editor Simon Rabinovitch weighs up whether the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is a disappointing “nothing burger” or a vital seat at the table. 

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.

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The horror at Uvalde in Texas shows American exceptionalism at its worst. But part of the tragedy is that the event in itself is not exceptional. In the ten years since the massacre at Sandy Hook, there have been more than 900 other shootings in schools across the country. Why can’t America stop gun violence? 

Former firearms executive turned safety campaigner Ryan Busse explores how American gun culture has changed. We go back to the last time a president was able to pass lasting federal gun control legislation. And The Economist’s Alexandra Suich Bass considers what policies could help make America safer. 

John Prideaux presents with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon.  

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President Biden came to office promising, like many before him, to fix America's immigration system. But border crossings are at record highs, his reforms have floundered and states are going their own way on how to treat undocumented residents. Meanwhile a third of voters believe there is a plan afoot to replace them with people brought in from abroad. What will it take to untangle the immigration mess in America?

Alexandra Suich Bass reports from Texas where the fight over Title 42 is compounding frustrations over record numbers of people attempting to cross into America. We speak to Ali Noorani, author of “Crossing Borders” and former head of the National Immigration Forum, about the Great Replacement theory and why immigration is such fertile ground for conspiracy thinking. And Idrees investigates how some states are creating alternative welfare systems for the millions of undocumented migrants living and working long-term in America. 

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. 

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Primary season is in full swing but more than a third of voters and a majority of Republicans still believe the last election was stolen. At the centre of this struggle is Georgia, which in 2020 had the tightest presidential election results in the country. It has since passed restrictive new voting laws, locking both Republicans and Democrats into a fierce fight over electoral fairness. We explore why the parties have so much power over the running of elections in America and ask what it will take to restore voters’ faith in their own democracy. 

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. Idrees has been reporting from Georgia where he spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger about what’s at stake for Georgia voters this time around. We look back at why the mechanics of how Americans vote have changed so much and so frequently over time. And we hear from Nse Ufot, head of the New Georgia Project, a voter-registration organisation, about the impact of new voting laws on the coming elections. 

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A leaked draft opinion suggests that the Supreme Court is preparing to overturn Roe v Wade. But the verdict will not end fights over abortion in America. Both pro-choice and anti-abortion movements are furiously preparing for what comes next. What will the post-Roe era look like? And if the justices do overturn a 50-year-old precedent and hand decisions on abortion back to the states, what might the Supreme Court do next?

The Economist’s Steven Mazie explains what the leak reveals about the inner workings of America’s highest court. Our correspondent Stevie Hertz visits Illinois and Missouri to find out what the end of Roe will mean in practice. She speaks to Dr Colleen McNicholas, regional chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood, Michele Landeau, head of the Missouri Abortion Fund, and anti-abortion lawyer and state representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman. And David French, a conservative Christian writer and author of “Divided We Fall”, considers whether the reasoning that could overturn Roe might be applied to other constitutional liberties in America.

John Prideaux hosts with Mian Ridge and Jon Fasman. 

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The original version of this episode contained an unverified statement about the impact of proposed anti-abortion legislation on access to some forms of contraception. This has now been removed.

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