Checks and Balance from The Economist

The race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat is wild, and between now and the midterm elections we’ll be regularly checking in. The first major milestone, the primaries, is a few weeks away. What can the Pennsylvania Senate race tell us about the future direction of American politics?  

Local journalist John Micek gives us a tour of his home state. The Economist’s James Bennet profiles the Democratic candidates. And veteran political consultant Christopher Nicholas examines what it takes for a Republican to win. 

John Prideaux presents with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon.

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President Biden came to office promising a clean energy revolution that would both slash emissions and strengthen the economy. But that priority has been overtaken by the need to control high oil prices and look tough on Russia. How has the war in Ukraine changed Mr Biden’s energy calculus—and what’s left of the green agenda?

We ask Jason Bordoff, energy adviser to President Obama and founder of Columbia University's Climate School, whether America now has to choose between energy security and tackling climate change. We go back to the year a president with no majority managed to pass sweeping environmental bills. And our correspondent Aryn Braun investigates what California’s record as a green laboratory reveals about states' ability to act on their own. She talks to Anthony Rendon, speaker of the California state assembly, Lauren Sanchez, chief climate adviser to Governor Newsom, and Mary Nichols, former head of the California Air Resources Board.

Charlotte Howard hosts with Vijay Vaitheeswaran, our energy and climate innovation editor, and Idrees Kahloon, our Washington DC bureau chief.

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A liberal and a nationalist are facing off for the presidency of France after a first round in which most voters opted for anti-establishment candidates. Both finalists have redrawn the country’s political map and the polls are tight. Emmanuel Macron’s struggles are a cautionary tale for political centrists everywhere. But could the foibles of the French system offer lessons for America’s partisan gridlock? 

Our Paris bureau chief Sophie Pedder lays out how the result will reshape the relationship with America’s oldest ally. We find out how France ditched its electoral college. And we talk to Gérard Araud, French ambassador to the United States from 2014-19, about which political system would win in a fight. 

John Prideaux hosts with Idrees Kahloon, our Washington DC bureau chief, and Charlotte Howard, New York bureau chief and US business editor.

To read, watch and listen to all our coverage of the French election go to www.economist.com/french-election-2022 and you can subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod

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Florida was once dismissed as peripheral—a greying, golfing appendage to continental America. But the Sunshine State is now the country’s top migration destination and the 15th-largest economy in the world. How is this remarkable boom transforming the politics of a crucial swing state? And what lessons does Florida’s low-tax, low-spend model hold for the rest of America?

John Prideaux hosts with Jon Fasman and Alexandra Suich Bass, who has been driving the length and breadth of the state to talk to Florida natives and new arrivals alike. We go back to the 1970s to find out how the Democrats lost touch with so many Florida voters. And we hear from Francis Suarez, the Republican mayor of Miami, about whether his city’s success is a model—or an exception.

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Archive material courtesy of Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Archives

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Last year it looked like America had found the solution to child poverty: spend more. The expanded child tax credit is thought to have lifted around 3.7m children out of poverty. But the legislation expired and rates shot back up. How did America find the answer to a long-running problem, only to abandon it?  

Senator Michael Bennet tells us why he’s been a long-time proponent of the policy. And The Economist’s Stevie Hertz visits a food bank in the Bronx to find out how the payments helped families in need. 

John Prideaux presents with Idrees Kahloon and Charlotte Howard. 

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President Biden is in Europe, meeting with allies as the conflict in Ukraine reaches the one month mark.  His administration has supported the fight against Russia with sanctions and military aid, but the president made it clear from the start he won’t deploy US troops. Is the war in Ukraine a turning point for US foreign policy?

The Economist’s Anton La Guardia considers America’s response so far.  We go back to the time President Obama made a foreign policy u-turn.  And Republican strategist Sarah Longwell explains how the conflict has changed how voters feel about Russia. 

John Prideaux presents with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.

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Two years on, even cautious Democrats are feeling confident that America is entering a new, less severe phase of the covid-19 pandemic. But, depending on how you measure it, America's death toll from the coronavirus has just passed a horrendous milestone—one million. How did America handle covid-19?  

The Economist’s Sondre Solstad takes us through the data. We look at how Florida has dealt with the pandemic. And The Economist’s Tamara Gilkes Borr examines why America was unprepared for the onslaught of the virus.

John Prideaux presents with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. 

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Since the founding of America, its people and its economy have moved steadily westwards and, later, southwards. Recently, people and businesses have flocked to Sun Belt states, while cities in America’s old industrial heartland are struggling. What makes American cities boom and bust?

The Economist’s Simon Rabinovitch compares two places on divergent paths. We find out about a city that turned its fortunes around. And community organiser Ian Beniston explains how he’s trying to fix his Ohio hometown.  

John Prideaux presents with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman. 

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Joe Biden gave his first State of the Union address against a difficult backdrop. Inflation is soaring, covid variants have extended the death toll of the pandemic and the signature piece of his domestic agenda is stuck. Now he has the conflict in Ukraine to deal with. Can Joe Biden rescue his presidency? 

The Economist’s James Astill assesses the president’s track record. We go back to another State of the Union given by a president in a bind. And The Economist’s Elliott Morris digs into voter sentiment. 

John Prideaux presents with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon.

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There is war in Europe. America has spent the past decade trying to pivot its geopolitical attention to Asia, away from its old allies in the West. But the crisis, and now conflict, in Ukraine has pulled it back in, showing how reliant Europe still is on the support of its friend across the Atlantic. How far will America go in standing up to Russian aggression?  

Ex-CIA operative John Sipher takes us through the intelligence playbook. We find out about a forgotten founder of NATO. And John Tefft, a former US ambassador to Ukraine and Russia, examines what Vladimir Putin wants.  

John Prideaux presents with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. 

For full access to print, digital and audio editions as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod

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