Beyond Politics

Author Magdi Semrau recently wrote an article for The Editorial Board arguing that the media is badly misleading the public on Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" plan, and explaining some of the massive political consequences that we could see.  And the Democrats have not only let it happen, they've actively seeded their own problems.  Magdi joins the show to walk us through a major media distortion happening right before our eyes, and what Democrats can do to salvage the situation.

Every four years, political analysts obsess about the Virginia governor's race, the first and usually closest big election after we elect a President.  This year, the race is balanced on a knife's edge. Operatives around the country will be poring over data in the coming weeks to understand what is happening, what's working, what's not working, and where the 2022 midterms could be headed.  One of the very top experts on the state is Mark Bergman, a political consultant who has worked around the country but has his deepest roots in Virginia.  He explains how the pros are watching the race, what it could turn on, how to judge which way it's going in the next month, and why the results are such a good barometer for politics in America. We also cover why Ralph Northam survived the photo scandal, how to navigate a media firestorm, and why things have gotten so much harder for campaigns in the last ten years. 

All paths have led to this day. The Biden agenda. Infrastructure.  Child Care. Health Care. Funding for our entire government. Our entire country's credit.  The biggest issues have all converged in Congress today, and everything is hanging by a thread.  Our Senate insider, former Chuck Schumer right-hand man on policy and legislation Ryan McConaghy, walks us through the standoff...what are people thinking, what are people doing, and where all of this could be going. 

Shenna Bellows is Secretary of State of the State of Maine, the very first woman to hold that position, and she joins us on Beyond Politics during a crisis of American democracy.  Two-thirds of Republican voters say in surveys but they don't believe the 2020 election was legitimate. We have seen 350+ bills introduced in legislatures around the country over the past year that in one way or another restrict access to voting. And new Pew Research Center survey finds that a depressingly low number of Americans, only 57%, say voting is “a fundamental right for every adult U.S. citizen and should not be restricted in any way.” 42% now say that “voting is a privilege that comes with responsibilities and can be limited if adult U.S. citizens don’t meet some requirements.”  It’s not going too far to say that in 2020, Secretaries of State like Republican Brad Raffensberger of Georgia were part of the very thin line of courage and integrity that saved American democracy. So we ask Secretary of State Bellows about her efforts to protect the right to vote, how Maine's groundbreaking ranked-choice voting system works, and what we can do to get people to reaffirm their faith in our basic system of government.

Cliff Schecter just hosted Donald Trump's niece and clinical psychologist Mary Trump on the Unpresidented Podcast to talk about the roots of his psychopathology.  Cliff joins Matt to discuss the biggest takeaways from that interview, and how they relate to recent revelations about the Trump plot to overthrow our democratic system and stay in power.

Alison McCook is a veteran science journalist for Reuters, Scientific American, Discover, Nature, Science, and Retraction Watch, as well as a regular columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.  She takes us inside the winding science and public health road that we've taken on Covid in recent months, explains where science and public communication have gotten out of sync, and looks ahead at where we might be going next. 

John Stoehr is the Editor of "The Editorial Board," a newsletter about politics in plain English for normal people, democracy and the common good. We talk about some of the fresh takes and insightful analysis that has appeared on its pages recently, especially around authoritarianism, lawlessness, the media, and how political discourse has gone off the rails. John is a former visiting professor of public policy at Wesleyan University; a fellow at the Yale Journalism Initiative; a contributing writer for the Washington Monthly; a contributing editor for Religion Dispatches; a columnist for Public Seminar; and senior editor at Alternet.

Kathleen Ronayne is a highly respected, veteran Associate Press reporter who covers California and national politics.  So she was the perfect guest to explain some of the wild backstory that got us to tomorrow's California recall, and to preview what national political operatives and experienced analysts will be watching for in the coming days.  Why is this a thing anyway? Could Larry Elder really win with 20% of the vote?  Is Gavin Newsome going to coast to safety? And what would it really mean if the governor is recalled? 

In recent weeks, Afghanistan, the Delta surge, Hurricane Ida, and mixed economic news have changed what’s on voters' minds, and driven new and more negative perceptions of elected leaders and policies in the U.S. Joe Biden is significantly down, as are views of the Democratic Party and the state of the country overall. One of the very best polls in New Hampshire or around the country tracking these views comes from the Saint Anselm College Survey Center. The Executive Director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm is Neil Levesque...he oversees this poll, and he joins us to discuss what it says about the current state of politics in America. 

There's so much in the news these days -- much of it depressing -- that it's hard to pick our heads up and see what else is going on. It turns out that there's a lot, especially if you pick your head all the way up and look out to other worlds and some of the most exciting frontiers in science. Today, we talk about all of these fascinating developments with "The SKYGUY."  John Gianforte is an Astronomer and Director of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Observatory.  He is also a Science Writer, and Adjunct Faculty member at Granite State College, in New Hampshire. Photo by NASA on Unsplash