When Arizona’s Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law reinstating a near-total ban on abortion, it took most of the country by surprise. For plugged-in journalist Jim Small of AZ Mirror, this was the expected result of a deliberate effort by Republicans to arrive at precisely this outcome. Now that the great backpedal is underway, Small tells Audie how we got here and how Arizona politics will affect the elections in November.
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Why Arizona Matters So Much

Every Monday on The Assignment, host Audie Cornish explores the animating forces of American politics. It’s not about the horserace, it’s about the larger cultural ideas driving the American electorate. Audie draws on the deep well of CNN reporters, editors, and contributors to examine topics like the nuances of building electoral coalitions, and the role the media plays in modern elections. 
Every Thursday, Audie pulls listeners out of their digital echo chambers to hear from the people whose lives intersect with the news cycle, as well as deep conversations with people driving the headlines. From astrology’s modern renaissance to the free speech wars on campus, no topic is off the table.

News

News Commentary

What can we learn from the first great rap battle of the streaming age? Like the ones that came before, the recent rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake is defined by lyrical dexterity and sheer intensity. But UNLIKE past battles this one was remarkable for its speed. Both rappers released songs within hours and even minutes of each other. Audie talks with CNN Entertainment Reporter Lisa Respers France about this moment, and how social media pushed this beef to a fever pitch. 
 
Read Lisa’s reporting on the feud : 
Kendrick Lamar and Drake gave us an epic hip-hop beef weekend. Here’s what to know 
Questlove was not happy with Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s beef: ‘Nobody won the war’ 
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How Social Media Amplified the Drake-Kendrick Rap Beef

Vice President Kamala Harris thinks about everything as a lawyer first. That's an observation CNN Senior Reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere has made after many interviews with the Veep. Audie talks with Dovere about how Harris has deployed her prosecutorial skills against Wall Street CEOs, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and even President Biden in a debate moment that nearly derailed his campaign. And they talk about how she is using those same prosecutorial skills this election year, especially around the issue of abortion.
Dovere is the author of “Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats' Campaigns to Defeat Trump.”
Dovere: Harris is making unprecedented Black outreach efforts as Biden campaign looks to her to bolster support
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How Kamala Harris is Finding Her Voice

Bad trips, anti-drug PSAs, and the crackdown under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 helped stigmatize psychedelics in the U.S. But now, there’s renewed clinical inquiry into whether these drugs can ease emotional trauma. To understand the future of psychedelics, Audie calls up Ernesto Londoño, reporter at the New York Times and author of the new book, “Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics.” They discuss his own mental health and psychedelic journeys and why he thinks there’s good reason for both hope and skepticism. 
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The Power and Promise of Psychedelics in Therapy

When Mike Johnson worked with Democrats to pass Ukraine war funding, he knew it would enrage the extreme right-wing and threaten his speakership. So far, Johnson has survived the challenge to his job, and as Doug Heye puts it, “survival is strength.” Heye has worked for Republicans in the House and Senate and is a former communications director for the Republican National Committee. He’ll describe the tightrope Mike Johnson must walk in order lead House Republicans back to a majority in November.
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How Speaker Mike Johnson Has Survived So Far

Pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have been met with suspensions, expulsions, and arrests. This week, Audie talks with two people in the middle of the story to understand how they view and talk about this moment. We hear from Krasimir Staykov, a junior and an activist at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He and others were arrested for staging a sit-in in the university president’s office. We also hear from Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, about his approach to campus protest, and his response to protest language he finds offensive.
Read all of CNN’s coverage on campus protests. 
Read all of Pomona College’s statements about protests on campus. 
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Why Arizona Matters So Much

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