The Assignment with Audie Cornish

Would you prefer to feel morally righteous, or to win? Audie talks with Adam Jentleson, who wants all Democrats to consider that question and adjust their tactics accordingly. He’s worked for U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Fetterman, and in a recent New York Times op-ed, Jentleson prescribes his party a heavy dose of skepticism toward “the groups” on its left flank and a focus on making progress for all working people instead.

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Lifelong Republicans who passionately resisted Trump are now grappling with how to move forward. Audie talks with political strategist and publisher of The Bulwark, Sarah Longwell, about the future of the 'Never Trump' movement and how politics may evolve in the years ahead.

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The Republican Party had the strongest showing among Latinos in decades, particularly Latino men. CNN’s national exit poll found Trump won 54 percent of Latino men compared to Harris’ 44 percent – that's an 18-point increase from 2020. Audie talks with Democratic strategist and founder of Solidarity Strategies, Chuck Rocha, about this shift. Why did so many Latino men go for Trump this time around? And what will the Democratic party do about it?

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With just hours before election day, we’re returning to a handful of people who represent a crucial voter segment: unhappy Pennsylvania Republicans. John King interviews three people who voted for Nikki Haley in the state’s primary back in the spring — long after she’d dropped out. How they and others like them fill out their ballots this week may decide the next president of the United States.

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Every four years, millions of people tune into news networks for real-time election results, but there is much more happening behind the scenes before the final call is aired. Audie talks with CNN Vice President and Political Director, David Chalian. He leads the team responsible for making high-stakes calls under intense pressure — all while ensuring accuracy, especially in today’s politically charged era. They talk about what goes into making the calls, and when we can expect a presidential election result.

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Wisconsin and Michigan, the big bricks of the former Blue Wall, are considered must-wins for Kamala Harris. They’re also both toss-ups at this point. This week, John King talks to voters in Milwaukee and Detroit who have a lot in common: They’re both Black men, about the same age, born and raised in their respective Rust Belt cities, and steeped in a culture that always voted for Democrats. One is voting for Harris. The other is going for Trump. Their choices — and how they got there — tell us a lot about the very tight election math in the upper Midwest. 

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Elections officials across the country are preparing for a potentially bumpy election night. Audie travels to Arizona to talk with one of those officials: Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates. He is a lifelong Republican who faced death threats and harassment from election deniers after he certified the results of the 2020 election. They discuss why election centers now look like forts – surrounded by barbed wire and shatterproof glass – all in the name of protecting election integrity. 

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Is it really possible to fight conspiracy theories? Robbie Parker says yes. After his daughter Emilie was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in 2012, Parker became the target of conspiracy theories -- amplified and monetized by Alex Jones. Audie talks with Parker about how he helped sue Alex Jones’ Infowars and won, and what he thinks of gun politics in an election where candidates brag about being gun owners. 

Robbie Parker’s new book is called, “A Father's Fight: Taking on Alex Jones and Reclaiming the Truth About Sandy Hook.” 

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Vice President Kamala Harris’ goal in Georgia is to turn out the coalition that barely tipped the newly purple state to Joe Biden in 2020. That means firing up the base, convincing the unconvinced, and driving turnout as high as possible. Donald Trump, meanwhile, is hoping Georgians think the shift left was a mistake. There's no question that women of color are a huge part of the Georgia equation. John sits down with two who show it would be a mistake to think they’re voting as a bloc.

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Owning a home is the cornerstone of the American dream, but an affordability crisis is making it a distant fantasy for many. The presidential candidates are taking notice. Sonja Trauss is a key activist in the YIMBY movement (“Yes in My Backyard”), and says the solution is pretty simple: Build more homes. Getting that done isn’t so easy. Audie sits down with Trauss in Southern California — ground zero for the housing shortage — to talk about the origins of the problem and potential solutions. 

Watch a version of our conversation here. 

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