Party Lines

Here we are in the final stretch. In just seven days, millions of Americans will head to the polls and elect the next president of the United States. Elamin calls up Sabrina Siddiqui, national politics reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Toluse Olorunnipa, who covers the White House for the Washington Post. They go through the biggest stories of the past week, including Thursday night’s presidential debate, and Trump’s sudden obsession with Joe Biden’s son Hunter. They also check in on what’s happening in key swing states, and what the strategy is for the Biden and Trump campaigns in the final days of the race.

World news, local voices. Nothing is Foreign is a weekly trip to where the story is unfolding. Hosted by Tamara Khandaker. This episode takes you inside El Salvador to hear from locals to see how the promise of a cryptocurrency paradise by a self-professed 'world's coolest dictator' is running up against the reality of regular people just trying to survive. More episodes are available at: http://hyperurl.co/nothingisforeign

Since we last checked in President Joe Biden has signed even more executive orders, including directives to advance racial equity and expand health care. He’s also got that big COVID-19 relief bill to get through Congress, and the massive issue of climate change to move up the agenda. By contrast, former President Donald Trump — who faces his impeachment trial on February 8th — had his five lawyers quit this weekend. This week Elamin calls up Seung Min Kim, White House reporter for the Washington Post and CNN Political Analyst, to break down what these executive orders all mean. We also talk to Zahra Hirji, climate reporter at Buzzfeed News to assess Biden’s climate policies so far.

South of the border, there’s a battle brewing for the most basic expression of democracy — voting. And there’s never been more at stake. Former President Donald Trump has repeated false allegations that the 2020 election results are fraudulent due to massive, widespread voter tampering. This has inspired a wave of voter restriction measures at the state level — 43 states in all — and if passed, could represent some of the most restrictive voting laws since the Jim Crow era. At the same time, the U.S. Senate is about to debate one of the most important civil rights bill in a generation, one that could bring substantial protections to voters and help stop the barrage of restrictions. But passing it will be extremely difficult. Elamin is joined by Michael Mark Cohen, a professor in American Studies at the University of California Berkeley, and Michael Barajas, a reporter for the Texas Observer.

The Atlanta shooting attack on March 16 marked a culmination of a year of increased racism, discrimination and violence directed against Asians and Asian Americans in the U.S. In this episode, we look at the long history of discrimination against Asians in America, the complications of "Asian-American" as a political term, and what this moment means for mainstream politics and grassroots organizing. Elamin is joined by Kim Tran, an anti-racist researcher and consultant based in Oakland, and Arissa Oh, a professor of history at Boston College.