election

S4 E2 - The Blob

Things That Go Boom is launching its very first fundraiser! Please consider giving just $5 a month. It’s convenient for you, provides ongoing support for Things That Go Boom and Inkstick Media, and you’ll feel good knowing you’re helping make Things That Go Boom freely available to everyone. Always. If Things That Go Boom is something that you’ve come to rely on over the course of the past two years, please go to inkstickmedia.com/donate and make a donation today. ————————— In 1958, a movie about a man-eating, bloodcurdling mass from outer space introduced the world to "The Blob." But in recent years, that term has taken on a whole new meaning among foreign policy professionals in Washington. What exactly defines this Blob can be as amorphous as the movie monster, so we reached out to three people to explain who exactly belongs in this group. The term, we learned, describes a perspective that transcends party lines and has remained relatively unchallenged for decades. In this episode, we'll explore the moment that all changed, and the Blob came face-to-face with... the anti-Blob. GUESTS: Ben Armbruster, Managing Editor of ResponsibleStatecraft.org at The Quincy Institute; Emma Ashford, Senior Fellow at the New American Engagement Initiative in the Scowcroft Center of the Atlantic Council; Van Jackson, professor of International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington. ADDITIONAL READING: Build a Better Blob, Emma Ashford The Blob Strikes Back, and Misses, Patrick Porter. More, Less, or Different?, Jake Sullivan. Policy Roundtable: The Future of Progressive Foreign Policy, Van Jackson.
S4 E2 - The Blob

S4 E1 - Fee-fi-fo-fear

2020 has been a scary year. In an effort to get to the root of why we’re all feeling the way we are, the first thing we did was something we probably should have done a long time ago... we reached out to a psychiatrist. We also asked all of you — our listeners, our friends, our family — to tell us the answer to what might seem like a pretty simple question: How safe do you feel? But the answers didn’t feel simple at all. GUESTS: Arash Javanbakht, MD; Bunmi Akinnusotu, Host of What in the World?; You guys! ADDITIONAL READING: Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defense Intellectuals, Carol Cohn. The Politics of Fear: How Fear Goes Tribal, Allowing Us To Be Manipulated, Arash Javanbakht. When Mask-Wearing Rules in the 1918 Pandemic Faced Resistance, Becky Little. As the 1918 Flu Emerged, Cover-Up and Denial Helped It Spread, Becky Little.
S4 E1 - Fee-fi-fo-fear

Politics with Amy Walter: The Next President of the United States

Not immediately knowing which candidate won the White House has long been a reality of a world changed by COVID-19. What campaigns, pundits, and pollsters failed to predict was the distance that would separate the results from the expectations. Tim Alberta, chief political correspondent at Politico, Sahil Kapur, national political reporter for NBC News, and Clare Malone, senior politics writer at FiveThirtyEight, analyze the incomplete election results and what Congress could look like when the dust settles. 

President Trump has consistently and falsely asserted that losing reelection would mean that the White House was stolen from him. Meanwhile, election officials across the country have been working diligently to maintain free and fair elections. This year, their jobs include responding to a pandemic and refuting conspiracy theories. Election officials from across the country describe how Election Day 2020 went and how things could improve for future elections. 

As Joe Biden gets closer to winning the electoral college, the Trump campaign is taking to the courts in an attempt to challenge the results. In the past few days, states like Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania have all seen lawsuits calling into question their process of counting ballots, though there’s no evidence supporting the president’s claims of voter fraud. While some of the lawsuits have already been dismissed, others are still in play. Toluse Olorunnipa, a White House reporter for the Washington Post, breaks down the Trump campaign’s recent legal action.

In the Trump era, political polarization has reached a level not seen since the Civil War. Though this polarization didn't start with President Trump's campaign and subsequent administration, it has brought the deepening divide to the surface--and to the ballot box--with voter turnout this week reaching record numbers. Lilliana Mason, professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland and author of "Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity,"walks us through the widening political divide in the U.S. and what it means for how the country moves forward, regardless of who wins the 2020 election.

Amy's closing thoughts:

"The political profession. No other career as prosaic has been glamorized more. In movies and on TV, everyone who works for or as a politician is beautiful, smart, and ambitious. All are doing super important work that is changing the world. Even the interns are drafting amendments that protect our way of life.

In real life, of course, politics is messy. And, more important, boring. For every election night balloon drop victory party, there are a million days filled with the crushingly tedious work of voter contact and fundraising and town hall meetings filled with cranky and angry constituents.

But, as we learned this week, it is the people who do the non-glamorous work, those who spend almost every single day of their entire career in relative ambiguity, who help keep our democratic institutions steady. I’m talking about the elected officials, poll workers, and office staff, who ensured that this election - an election taking place in the middle of a health pandemic and with record turnout - was conducted as fairly, smoothly, and judiciously as possible. They are doing this work under great duress and stress. They continue to do their job even as the president of the United States - without any evidence - takes to the White House briefing room to question their integrity.

When the election is over, these folks aren’t going to get a sweet cable TV gig or their own podcast. Instead, they are going to go back to their offices and prepare for the next election.

For all of you who are cynical or anxious about the sturdiness of the guardrails protecting our democratic institutions, look no further than the local officials in charge of voting. They are not bowing to pressure from the president. They are not abandoning their posts for fear of political reprisal. They are doing their jobs. And, doing them well. 

At the end of the day, it is regular people who are responsible for our democracy. And, the regular people are saving it."

Politics with Amy Walter: The Next President of the United States

S4 Trailer

Things That Go Boom will be back November 9th, and we’ll be there to hold your hand while you weep, or party, all the way to the inauguration, a coronavirus vaccine, an accidental nuclear war (?!) … and beyond. In the meantime, go vote!
S4 Trailer

Politics with Amy Walter: How North Carolina's Electoral Process is Unfolding

While the bedrock of democracy is free and fair elections, the President has been sowing seeds of distrust throughout the course of the campaign. He's used his platform to spread conspiracy theories about the integrity of absentee ballots to his millions of followers.

The consequences of those lies can be seen in a recent Monmouth University poll that found almost 40 percent of Americans don’t believe that the elections will be conducted fairly and accurately. A majority of Americans say that they think the Trump campaign will try to cheat if necessary to win in November, while 39 percent say the same of the Biden campaign.

Aside from Barack Obama in 2008, North Carolina hasn't voted for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter in 1976, but polls show President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are neck and neck there. A contentious senate race is also on the ballot in the state. 

North Carolina began sending out absentee ballots on September 4th. The more than 700,000 mail ballots that have been requested has shone the national spotlight on the Tar Heel State. 

Chair of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, Damon CircostaMichael Bitzer, a professor of Political Science at Catawba College, and Rusty Jacobs, politics reporter at WUNC North Carolina Public Radio, walk us through the state's electoral process.

Many credit Barack Obama’s win in North Carolina to strong turnout from African American voters. Exit polls that year showed African Americans making up almost a quarter of the electorate and they gave Obama 95 percent of the vote. Congresswoman Alma Adams of North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District and Professor Kerry Haynie, Political Science and African & African American Studies at Duke University, describe how the Biden/Harris ticket is working to convince Black voters to turnout. 

As part of our continuing series on how the pandemic has changed campaigns, we checked in with Chase Gaines, Coalition Director North Carolina GOP. He describes what it's like to organize at this moment and what he's heard from voters while knocking doors.

These conversations are part of a series called Every Vote Counts.

Politics with Amy Walter: How North Carolina's Electoral Process is Unfolding