Democratically: 2020

Karin is joined by the American expat comedian Erich McElroy to discuss the news of the day, dig into the allegations made by former Biden staffer Tara Reade against the Vice President, and finally to make the best 60 second pitch they can for voting for Democratics, voting against Donald Trump, and voting for Joe Biden. They also play the Gut Check game...

The former Primarily: 2020 has now been renamed and relaunched. In the first episode of the new Democratically: 2020, We speak to journalist and Editorial Board founder John Stoehr about the Democrats' chances in November, Biden's strengths and weaknesses relative to Hillary Clinton in 2016, and the major theme that underpins so much of our politics - the divide in America between the traditions based on the common good (originating in the Northeast), limited democracy for the powerful (a more Southern tradition), and the idolisation of individual liberty (associated more with the midwest). 

Karin also does a lightening round of the Gut Check Game, offering quick answers to common questions about the election.

This week, Karin talks to Psychoanalyst and co-host of the Mind of State podcast Betty Teng about the complicated psychology of campaigns during a time of pandemic. How can we recreate the value of face to face voter interactions when in person contact is not possible? Will the virus make people want to vote for conservative politicians out of fear? Will it make them value government services more? How can we guard against despair and disengagement? Plus, we play the Gut Check game, reacting to quotes about current political news stories such as the Wisconsin election outcome, the endorsements of Biden by Obama, Sanders and Warren, and the right wing protests against Corona related closures.

This week, Joe Biden became the presumptive nominee, as his last remaining opponent - Senator Bernie Sanders - announed he would halt his campaign. Friend of the Pod Emma Burnell joins Karin to discuss the challenges Biden will face campaigning in the pandemic era, how we can protect the vote in November, Biden's (surprisingly?) resilient campaign, Senator Sanders' impact on Democratic politics and much more.

This week, Karin catches up with Friends of the Pod Emma Burnell and Skylar Baker-Jordan about the latest primary news, including: The DNC Convention has been postponed until mid August, the Wisconsin primary is still taking place this Tuesday, despite the pandemic. And: Trump's approval rating seems to have gone up during the crisis, but his head to head polling against Biden has not improved - what does it all mean. PLus, we do a Gut Check Game using quotes from named and anonymous Sanders advisors as reported in a long Huffington Post article about the campaign's struggles and failures.

This week, Karin catches up with political modeller Rachel Bitecofer of the Nixkanen Center to find out how the Corona epidemic is likely to affect the election November, what  Trump's strategy is to divide Democrats, whether Bernie Sanders still has a path to winning the nomination (spoiler alert: no.) and who Biden should pick as VP to give Democrats their best chance in November. We'll also play the Gut Check Game, testing our reactions to some of the possible scenarios that we might see in November. Will Trump cancel the elections outright? Will states fail to hold viable elections? Will Democrats retake the Senate?

This week, Karin pulls together a panel of people who originally supported a wide array of candidates to talk about the campaign ahead and the possibility of a Biden administration. She welcomes:

Longstanding Biden supporter, and foreign policy specialist Alex Thier

Former Mike Bloomberg supporter, former congressional candidate and gun reform activist Khary Penebaker

Former Andrew Yang supporter and technologist, Chuck Smith, and

Former Elizabeth Warren supporter and Ada's List Founder Merici Vinton

This week, Karin is joined by free lance journalist and friend of the pod James O'Malley, to talk through the impact that the global COVID-19 pandemic will have on the election, the results in last Tuesdays vote, the prospects for Bernie Sanders to stage a comeback, and how Joe Biden win over his supporters if he does NOT stage a comeback. 

And finally: as the campaign winds to a close, there are so many other important races to be looking at. So Karin suggests some down-ballot Senate and Congressional candidates who you might also like if your preferred candidate is no longer in the Presidential race.

This week Karin recaps the dramatic events of the past week, with Journalist and fervent Buttigieg supporter Skylar Baker-Jordan. They start by discussing Joe Biden's massive win on Super Tuesday, and then talk through the departure from the race of, respectively, Butttigieg, Klobuchar, Bloomberg and Warren.  And, of course, they play the Gut Check Game