Democrats are celebrating a collection of election wins across the country this week. Messaging around affordability and the cost of living scored big wins for the party in the Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races, as well as mayoral races in several major cities. Will a successful off year help the party smooth over its internal disagreements heading into next year’s midterms?

California passed Proposition 50, a proverbial counter punch to redistricting efforts in Texas and other red states. The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, says the legislation is a temporary fix to the campaign by President Donald Trump to create more congressional seats for conservatives. Democrats promise to be the “adults in the room,” but can they deliver?

Can voters really exert their power if the two major parties control the candidates they have to choose from? KCRW discusses one potential solution to the political Coke vs. Pepsi problem.

The federal shutdown is set to extend past the one month mark. The longer the shutdown goes, the more Americans could feel its impact. The Department of Agriculture announced that it would not use emergency funding to keep supplying the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) - also known as food stamps - after November 1st. Halting SNAP payments would affect more than 40 million Americans. Many federal workers, including air traffic controllers, are working without pay while the shutdown battle continues. With the holiday season approaching, airline travel could take a major hit. Will these economic pressure points jolt Congress into action? 

Construction on a new grand ballroom at the White House has begun. Renovations at the ‘People’s House’ are nothing new. So why has the demolition and remodel of the East Wing drawn so much attention? One factor could be the stream of private donations funding the project. KCRW discusses how those payments and the access that comes with them puts one of Washington's biggest problems on display.

New York City’s mayoral race hits the ballot next week, along with a number of elections across the country. We’ll discuss what to watch for as a precursor to next year’s midterms, and answer one listener’s question about the future of the Voting Rights Act.

Tensions are high after President Trump ordered a military strike on a boat in the Pacific Ocean this week. It’s the latest in a series of attacks on vessels the administration has accused of carrying illicit drugs out of Venezuela. The president says these attacks are intended to stop narcoterrorists, despite Venezuela’s minor role in the drug trade. Could the real driver behind this campaign be the type of regime change Trump often railed against?

An estimated seven million Americans marched across the country in the second round of the “No Kings” protest. Participants voiced their frustrations with the Trump administration and its policies. Some Republican leaders dismissed the protests and its anti-Trump messaging. Do they run the risk of making the same mistakes Democrats made as the Tea Party gained notoriety?

The nationwide redistricting push is the motivating force behind California’s Proposition 50. The ballot measure could completely reshape the state’s electoral maps. Our panel answers one listener’s question about how to approach the measure, and the “moral confusion” the redistricting fight has introduced. 

Despite President Trump declaring the war in Gaza “over,” the situation on the ground is far from certain. Israel has threatened to block some of the humanitarian aid approved in the deal until Hamas fulfills its promise of returning all the bodies of dead hostages. That hasn’t deterred the president from promoting himself as a peacemaker. What’s motivating his aggressive push to take credit for the deal?

The Middle East is just one part of Trump’s foreign policy push. Just this week, he agreed to provide $40 billion in relief for Argentina’s struggling economy. However, Americans are hoping he narrows his focus to domestic issues. Recent polling shows that concerns about the economy remain top of mind for most, and there are worries that Trump isn’t focused enough on reducing inflation. Is the administration running the risk of losing touch with voters?

Many of us are trying to reckon with a culture that glorifies the “grind” of constant work. Focusing solely on rest and relaxation is one way of pushing back, but what if you overdo it? In the constant search for balance, one writer shares thoughts on “pruning” our lives to provide room for reflection and real connection.

Sharing an episode of On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti. On Point is a rare public space where you hear nuanced explorations of complex topics live and in real time. Host Meghna Chakrabarti leads provocative conversations that help make sense of the world, with urgency, timeliness and depth. In this episode, Meghna talks to Jake Sullivan, who has been working to shape policy for the United States for much of the 21st century. With President Donald Trump back in the White House, Meghna asks Sullivan about the U.S. role in major foreign policy challenges including the war in Ukraine, the war in Gaza, and what’s at stake as Trump changes the direction of the U.S. and our standing in the world.

You can hear more On Point episodes at https://link.mgln.ai/leftrightcenter

Officials from Hamas and Israel have come together on the initial framework of a ceasefire agreement. In the first phase, Israeli and Palestinian hostages will be released next week. Other details, such as disarmament of Hamas, governance of Palestine, and the removal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip remain to be seen. President Trump celebrated the agreement and pronounced “lasting peace” in the Middle East, but is that premature?

Political violence on the left continues to be a focus of the Trump administration in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. The White House has accused massive anti-ICE protests of being connected to large networks of left-wing nonprofits and donors. Is there legitimacy to those claims? Or is the administration silencing any opponents?

Global superstar Bad Bunny was announced as the halftime entertainment for this season’s Super Bowl. The artist, whose music is predominantly in Spanish, previously avoided touring in the USA after concerns that his concerts would be targeted by ICE raids. In response to the announcement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that ICE would be present at the NFL’s signature event. But are agents there for law enforcement or other motives?

The federal government shut down this week, leaving thousands of federal employees furloughed. Families who depend on WIC and SNAP could also be at risk if the shutdown prolongs. Since President Trump took office, thousands of federal employees have faced layoffs or resigned themselves.  Conversations around a government shutdown brewed in March, but the final straw for Democrats may have been in August. That was when Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the House of Representatives would withhold $4 billion previously allocated for foreign aid. Trump blames Democrats for the shutdown. Which party will get their desired outcome here?

Ezra Klein, a New York Times opinion writer, said that a shutdown may be exactly what Democrats need to regain power of the legislative branch. But could it jeopardize the party’s political future?

Also this week, President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gathered global military leaders in Quantico, Virginia, sharing their visions for the newly-named Department of War. This comes after 200 National Guard troops were sent to Portland, Oregon because Trump said the city looked like “World War II.” How do active and retired military members feel about orders to enforce the law in American cities?

Since taking office, President Trump has vowed to seek political vengeance on his opponents. He followed up on this by asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff. Senator Ted Cruz expressed concerns that all this could potentially impact the GOP down the line. How has political retribution defined our current era of politics? 

President Trump has advised pregnant mothers to stop taking Tylenol because he believes it could lead to autism in children — despite no scientific proof. Similarly, Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. strongly opposes vaccines, and claims they’re also linked to autism. He  says that moms who share this belief have been silenced and marginalized. Is the pushback on vaccines a reaction to how regulatory agencies like the CDC handled the COVID-19 pandemic? 

This week, a listener asked the Left, Right, and Center panel how to navigate conversations with people we deeply disagree with.

After the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, both Republicans and Democrats called for unity and understanding — but polarizing rhetoric has continued to escalate. President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other White House officials have vowed to target the “radical left” for being politically violent. Democratic officials have warned that the White House may try to use the assassination to suppress speech. Those fears may have been realized when ABC was threatened over late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s comments about conservatives’ reaction to Charlie Kirk’s killing. Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, pressured the network to pull Kimmel off the air indefinitely. How do Americans feel about a government agency censoring speech that they don’t agree with? Whose responsibility is it to turn down the temperature when it comes to rhetoric and polarization? 

David Greene worked with country singer Ketch Secor of the band Old Crow Medicine Show to produce a music documentary called Louder Than Guns. Greene spent time with Secor, touring across the country and hearing Americans’ reflections on gun violence and gun rights. When FOX News host Trey Gowdy said that Americans should have a conversation about preventing more gun violence, his fellow conservatives said he should be ashamed. How do we stop talking past each other during conversations about guns and create an open dialogue?

Are Americans too enraged by each other to ever experience unity? This week, a listener asked Left, Right and Center about America’s history of political violence and if our panel thinks anything has changed.

Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and commentator, was shot and killed while hosting an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Utah Governor Spencer Cox says it was a political assassination. Kirk, 31, co-founded the conservative youth organization, Turning Point USA, when he was 18. His visit to Utah Valley University was the kick-off for his “American Comeback Tour,” during which he planned to host political debates on college campuses across the country. President Trump announced Kirk’s death on Truth Social, and later said his death was a result of “radical left political violence.” A string of political violence has broken out in America over the past few years, from the January 6, 2021 insurrection to two assassination attempts on President Trump. What’s the path to ending political violence and the extreme rhetoric that leads to it?

As for overseas conflicts, President Trump claims he’s stopped several of them, such as Thailand and Cambodia’s, and Armenia and Azerbaijan’s. But as war continues in Gaza and Ukraine, is Trump’s strategy to bring global peace effective? Do Democrats have better ideas?

This week, a listener asked Left, Right, and Center about three problems he thinks the left struggles with. Our panel discusses those issues and whether they can be solved.