283 | What Trump Means to Us

Helen and David talk about what four years of Trump - and of talking (and talking) about Trump - have meant or their thinking about America and about democratic politics. Is it possible to give a balanced picture of Trump's presidency? Have the last four years followed a pattern or has it just been chaos? What is the likely legacy of Trump's extraordinary level of global fame? Plus we discuss whether 2020 marks the beginning of the 'short' twenty-first century and what that means for Trump's place in it.

281 | Trump Stress Test

David talks to the historian Sarah Churchwell about how well America's political institutions have withstood the stress of the last four years.  Have we seen the limits of presidential power or have we discovered how easy it is to trash those limits?  Are constitutional checks and balances still intact?  Is it really Mitch McConnell who is putting American democracy under stress?  Plus we talk about what will be needed to restore the social contract and the perils of political humility.

279 | One-Term Presidents

David talks to Helen Thompson and Gary Gerstle about the historical precedents for US presidents losing office after a single term.  It doesn't happen very often, but it could be about to happen again!  Can Trump use the powers of incumbency to prevent it?  Can Biden use Trump's growing chaos to seal his fate?  Plus we talk about the fall-out from the first presidential debate and we ask how the politics of the Supreme Court might intersect with a contested election result.

276 | Jill Lepore on the Destructive Power of Tech

David talks to the American historian Jill Lepore about the damage new technology can do to democracy, from the 1960s to the present. Who first tried to manipulate the minds of the electorate? Where did the money come from? What happened when the same technology was applied to fighting the Vietnam War? Plus we discuss US presidential elections from 1960 to 2020: do the machines really decide who is going to win, and if he does win this time, what might Joe Biden be able to do about it?

271 | Judith Butler: Then and Now

This week two conversations with the feminist theorist and writer Judith Butler: one recorded the week Trump won the presidency in 2016 and one recorded a few days ago, as his presidency (just maybe) approaches its end.  We reflect on what has changed over the last four years, what has stayed the same, and whether our worst fears were realised.  Plus Judith tells us what she sees when she sees Biden and what she hopes might come next.  Two linked conversations about misogyny, racism, representation, empowerment, hope, rage, and the damage one man can do to democracy.

250 | What Just Happened at the New York Times?

In an extra episode, we're back with last week's guest Jonathan Shainin, Head of Opinion at the Guardian, so he can talk us through the big blow-up at the NYT.  What has it taught us about about the new battlegrounds in newspaper opinion?  Where does power now lie in newspaper offices?  And where does Jonathan draw the line between what can and can't be published?  In our next episode, voices on the ground in the US.