Whoever wins Pennsylvania will probably win the presidency: according to The Economist’s forecast model it’s the most likely tipping point state. We’ve travelled to three different areas to assess how the campaign is going, and try to read the electoral tea leaves. Who’s winning in Pennsylvania?

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon.

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Over the past decade a form of wokeness arose on the illiberal left, characterised by extreme pessimism about America and its capacity to make progress. Analysis by The Economist of how influential these ideas are today finds that wokeness peaked in 2021-22 and has since receded. Why is America becoming less “woke”?

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. They’re joined by The Economist’s Ainslie Johnstone and Sacha Nauta, and Professor Musa al-Gharbi of Stony Brook University.

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Republicans are already preparing to contest the result if Kamala Harris wins the presidency. American elections demand patience and trust, but with Donald Trump on the ballot those are in short supply. How ugly could this election get? And what will happen if the result is contested?

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. They’re joined by former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan and Congressman Jamie Raskin.

This episode uses audio from The Laska Archive titled “Kentucky representative Thurston Ballard Morton on investigation election fraud 08 0011”.

Runtime: 48 min

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On Tuesday night in Philadelphia Donald Trump and Kamala Harris took part in what might be the only debate between them in this campaign. The race is extremely close: will the debate make any difference?

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Adam O’Neal. They’re joined by The Economist’s James Bennet, Lane Greene and Owen Winter.

This episode draws on audio from CBS and C-Span.

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How did two old, unpopular men end up running for the world's most demanding job? It’s the question John Prideaux, The Economist’s US editor, gets asked the most. And the answer lies in the peculiar politics of the baby boomers.

Since 1992, every American president bar one has been a white man born in the 1940s. That run looks likely to span 36 years - not far off the age of the median American. This cohort was born with aces in their pockets. Their parents defeated Nazism and won the cold war. They hit the jobs market at an unmatched period of wealth creation. They have benefitted from giant leaps in technology, and in racial and gender equality.

And yet, their last act in politics sees the two main parties accusing each other of wrecking American democracy. As the boomers near the end of their political journey, John Prideaux sets out to make sense of their inheritance and their legacy.

Launching July 2024.

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Narendra Modi is one of the most popular politicians on the planet. India’s prime minister is eyeing a third term atop the world’s biggest democracy.

A tea-seller’s son, Mr Modi began life an outsider and the man behind the political phenomenon remains hard to fathom. India has become an economic powerhouse during his ten years in charge. But he’s also the frontman for a chauvinistic Hindu nationalist dogma.

Can Mr Modi continue to balance both parts of his agenda and finish the job of turning India into a superpower? The Economist’s Avantika Chilkoti finds out what makes him tick.

Launching June 2024.

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The first episode of a three-part special series investigating the fight over what is taught in America’s public schools. Until recently, critical race theory (CRT) was a niche legal field encountered only by graduate students. It is now a catch-all term for whatever the right thinks is going wrong with America and a new front in the culture war alongside abortion and guns. The anti-CRT movement has become a powerful new social, legislative and political force in its own right. But what actually is critical race theory?

The Economist’s Tamara Gilkes Borr, a former public-school teacher, has spent months reporting on this issue. In this episode she speaks to Kimberlé Crenshaw, a professor at UCLA and Columbia law schools and one of the scholars who first developed critical race theory. She meets Christopher Rufo, the man who started the conservative furore over CRT. And she examines what the bans against the teaching of CRT in 17 states actually do. 

You can listen to the rest of this special series in full via the Checks and Balance homepage and sign up to our weekly newsletter. For full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod.

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In 2022 the Supreme Court gave control of abortion back to “the people and their elected representatives.” This November will be the greatest test yet of what that means. Democrats are running hard on the issue and as many as 16 states will vote directly on abortion. A grassroots movement has sprung up to defend reproductive rights. Will this fight decide the election? And what will the results mean for women’s ability to have an abortion?

Charlotte Howard hosts with Sacha Nauta and Idrees Kahloon. Mary Ziegler of the University of California, Davis, and The Economist’s Stevie Hertz and Daniella Raz also contribute.

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