Ohio’s diverse religious history from early settlers to the present day has shaped the state's cultural fabric. In this four-part series, the WOSU News team explores religion in Ohio with reports examining how faith influences politics and policy in the state.

Mentions of crowd sizes and eating pets were just two moments from what was an incredible piece of political theater during the first and possibly only debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. We discuss the debate with Nate French, associate teaching professor at Wake Forest University and an expert in political communication.

Usually, Labor Day marks the start of the home stretch of a presidential campaign, but this campaign only began six weeks ago. Ohio State political science professor Wendy Smooth joins the show to discuss the upcoming election.

This week, we’re doing something a little different. We’ll be listening to WOSU's most recent Politics and a Pint event where three political reporters and host Mike Thompson sat in front of a large crowd at a local brewpub and talked about this chaotic political season.

Ohioans will vote in November on a plan to change the way the state draws its legislative districts. Some don't like the plan and think Iowa has a system worth replicating. WOSU reporter George Shillcock joins the show to discuss the Iowa way.

Midwesterners have cornered the market on vice presidential candidates for the 2024 election. This week Vice President Kamala Harris named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz’s selection follows former President Donald Trump naming Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance as his running mate. Joining us to discuss the issue is another proud midwesterner and political expert, Ohio State University political scientist Paul Beck.

To get a handle on how this is playing out in Ohio, we talked to four veteran political observers: progressive activist Morgan Harper, Republican strategist Terry Casey, Ohio Public Radio reporter Jo Ingles and Cleveland.com reporter Andrew Tobias.

There is a new likely Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Former Ohio Democratic Chair David Pepper—a man who has been through candidate nomination processes, recruiting candidates and guiding them to Election Day—joins the show to discuss this tumultuous pivot for Democrats.

Former President Donald Trump ended all speculation and named Ohio’s junior U.S. Senator, JD Vance, as his running mate this week at the Republican National Convention. To understand why Trump may have made this pick, longtime Vance adviser Jai Chabria joins the show.

Voters will not get the chance to increase Ohio’s minimum wage in this year’s election. Supporters of an effort to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour have come up short in their attempt to get the proposed amendment on the ballot. Joining us to discuss the campaign is the president of One Fair Wage, Saru Jayaraman.