Democratically: 2020

This week, Karin talks to Ali Goldsworthy, founder of the Depolarization Project, about why our politics has become so polarized and what we can do about it. Why can't we seem to talk to people from "the other side" anymore? Should we worry that the Democratic Party itself will be divided and polarized after a hard fought primary? Why is that that the data suggests liberals are actually the least likely to befriend people on the the other side? Why is it actually smart politics to exacerbate polarization? Also this week: A news roundup covering the Republican candidates running against Trump in the GOP primary, the exit of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz from the race, and more. 

In the first of 2 episodes recapping the 2nd round of Democratic debates, Karin is joined by friend of the pod and frequent guest Emma Burnell. We discuss everything from Pete Buttigieg's military service to Bernie's finger wagging to Elizabeth Warren't school teacher aspirations. And of course we play the Gut Check game testing our reactions to some quotes spoken during the debate. 

The second of these two episodes will go live tomorrow - Saturday, August 3rd.

This week, Karin talks to the political forecaster Rachel Bitecofer, of the Wason Center for Public Policy in Virginia. Dr Bitecofer has developed a predictive model for US politics that was exceptionally accurate in the 2018 midterms, and she is going to tell us whether she thinks the Democratic candidate, whoever they might be, is favored to win in 2020. We'll talk about the rise of negative partisanship in America, which electoral strategy Democrats should be pursuing, and what her model says makes for a stronger or weaker candidate for the Party in this cycle.  We also play the Gut Check Game, testing our reactions to some of the main media narratives around the race.