The X-Ray

Introducing The X-Ray with Fernando Espuelas — a new podcast with a fresh take on political power: Who wants it? Who wields it? And why?

Through compelling conversations with newsmakers, power players, and experts, The X-Ray answers these questions, providing listeners with insightful analysis of the biggest issues facing our democracy at home and abroad.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! For more information, check out thexray.org.

After two years and nearly 50 episodes, Swamp Stories host Weston Wamp started a new chapter in his life. So we’re launching an awesome new show — The X-Ray, which will feature fresh conversations with some of the biggest newsmakers about challenges facing democracy — at home and abroad.

We hope you'll join us every week on The X-Ray. Look for our first episodes dropping soon!

As season two of "Swamp Stories" comes to a close, so does Weston's time as host of the show.

After nearly 50 episodes that cover a wide range of national democracy reform topics, Weston has turned his sights back home to Tennessee. He was recently sworn in as the mayor of Hamilton County, the state's fourth largest county.

For Weston's final episode, he sat down with Issue One's Chief of Strategy and Program Ethan Rome to reflect on what led him to the political reform space, what it's been like being a Republican who works on these issues, and the moment we're living through as a country.

The search is currently underway for a new “Swamp Stories” host.

During the 2022 midterm elections, in many of the most competitive, high-profile races, Americans rejected election denialism. But it’s also still true that many people have lost trust in our elections. That is because former President Trump and his allies have spent more than two years spreading lies that the 2020 election was “stolen.” Upon its release in May 2022, a film entitled “2000 Mules” became a dangerous new catalyst for spreading lies about that election.

In the latest “Swamp Stories,” Weston analyzes the film — which has been highly effective at spreading election conspiracy theories — and shows why the film is misleading, false, and holds no merit.

Guests:

• Neal Kelley: Faces of Democracy participant; Former Registrar of Elections in Orange County, CA
• Amber McReynolds: Member of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service

This year, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spent millions of dollars boosting election denier candidates in GOP primaries across the country in the gamble that they will be easier for Democrats to beat this November.

Many have denounced this tactic as dangerous, including some Democratic Party members, former elected officials who are bucking their party and condemning the practice.

On episode 44 of “Swamp Stories,” Weston chats with two co-chairs of Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus, former Amb. Tim Roemer (D-IN), who recently spoke out with an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, and former Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) about their thoughts on the tactic.

Further Reading:

• “Political Leaders Denounce Democrats Who Elevate Election Deniers in Republican Primaries”
• “Democrats, Stop Helping Pro-Trump Republicans” - opinion piece by Amb. Tim Roemer in theWall Street Journal

In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, it became clear that the Electoral Count Act of 1887, the legislation that provides the framework governing the casting and counting of electoral votes, needed updating because of its arcane language and ambiguities that could be exploited by bad actors willing to overturn the will of the people

In stepped a bipartisan group of senators, and, after months of negotiating, a deal was struck. Last month, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act was introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) along with eight other Republican cosponsors and seven Democratic cosponsors, to update the antiquated Electoral Count Act of 1887.

On this special episode of Swamp Stories, Weston spoke with former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) about the bipartisan group of senators that helped drive the effort, the implications for public confidence in our system, and why the bill needs to pass this year.

Want to learn even more about the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and why it needs to be updated? Listen to episode 31, “Regularly Given.”

Election officials and poll workers are our friends, family, and neighbors. They are dedicated workers who manage a vital part of our democratic infrastructure. 

But because of a massive election disinformation campaign led by former President Trump and his allies, they have become the target of threats, intimidation, and harassment — adding to their already challenging job.

“Swamp Stories” host Weston Wamp sat down with a few of the election workers — local election officials and a poll worker from both parties — participating in our Faces of Democracy campaign to discuss building trust in our election processes, protecting elections workers from threats and harassment, and much more.

Issue One launched Faces of Democracy to amplify the voices of election workers. The campaign aims to educate the public about how our elections work, as well as advocate for the necessary improvements to our elections — like regular and sufficient funding from Congress for state and local election administration, and increased protections for election workers and their families from violent threats.

Learn more about our Faces of Democracy campaign.

The 2020 election season, while carried out successfully by dedicated election officials and poll workers, exposed one glaring problem with the U.S. system of elections: it is chronically underfunded.

Though Congress allocated $400 million for election assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was far short of what experts and election administrators said was needed to pull off an election in a pandemic. Private philanthropy, from folks like Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, stepped in to help fill the gap. These investments didn’t come without scrutiny.

In episode 41, Weston speaks with members of the nonprofits that distributed grants to election departments around the country in both red and blue states to set the record straight about the role private philanthropy played in the 2020 election, and the need for increased federal investment in our nation’s election infrastructure.

Guests:

• Tiana Epps-Johnson, CEO of the Center for Tech and Civic Life
• Sam Oliker-Friedland, Executive Director of the Institute for Responsive Government

The episode also features interviews Issue One conducted with Republican election officials, including:

• Bill Gates, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for Maricopa County, AZ
• Neal Kelley, Former Registrar of Voters for Orange County, CA
• Carly Koppes, Clerk and Recorder for Weld County, CO
• Shane Schoeller, Clerk for Greene County, MO

Over the next few weeks, the bipartisan House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is holding a series of historic hearings to shed light on the events leading up to and on January 6, 2021.

During the hearings, we are hosting a special series of “Swamp Stories” to bring listeners in-depth analysis by some of the country’s leading political experts on what we are learning and how the country is reacting.

In the third episode of the series, host Weston Wamp talks with former Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, who testified before the January 6th Committee during its third hearing.