In this episode, recorded on 17th February 2021, Sasha Abramsky (The Nation), Chris Floyd (Counterpunch), and Jim Driscoll discuss the difficulties of democratic discourse in America given that one party has gone off the authoritarian deep-end, and possible ways in which the Democrats might seek to get politics back on an even keel.

In this episode, recorded on 30th January, Chris Floyd (Counterpunch) and Jim Driscoll discuss the first ten days of the Biden administration and the future of the Republican Party as it binds itself ever tighter to Trumpist Q-Anon lunacy.

What does the future hold for Trump, the Republican Party, and the American Republic? With Sasha Abramsky (The Nation), Chris Floyd (CounterPunch) and Jim Driscoll.Read Sasha's most recent article for The Nation is here.The article by Timothy Snyder from which we derive the terminology of 'breakers' and 'gamers' that structures much of our discussion is here.

In this episode, recorded 24 hours after the events of Wednesday 6th January, Sasha Abramsky (The Nation), Chris Floyd (Counterpunch) and Jim Driscoll discuss what should happen next, the prospects for Trumpism and the Republican Party going forward, and their thoughts on the way forward for the incoming administration.

In this episode, with Trump's legal challenges grinding on under the tender care of court jester Rudy Gulliani (see this helpful video for a good discussion of their slender prospects), Chris, Sasha, and Jim discuss what the future might hold for Trump, Trumpism, and the GOP, with reference to Sasha's latest article in the Nation (here). They also discuss the prospects for the senate run-offs in Georgia, with the whole team expressing cautious optimism regarding the Democrats' chances.

In this episode, Chris, Jim, and Sasha discuss the post-election situation, unprecedented in modern times, with Trump and increasing numbers of Republican officials refusing to accept the results of the election and crying fraud. Is this a mark of desperation or a serious escalation of anti-democratic strategising? Or perhaps both? All three of us are more pessimistic than a lot of the media seem to be. (See for example this headline in the Washington Post.) But Trump has been signalling his intentions for months and so far it is all unfolding as he said it would. The only question is whether the Republican party will go along with the charade, and so far the signs are not good. Is the Democrat's current strategy adequate for the moment we find ourselves in? Will they be able to step up to the plate if the Republicans' anti-democratic intransigence continues? If you too feel a resurgence of that familiar anxiety as Trump and his enablers trash America's democratic norms, I'm afraid this episode will not make you feel any better.Nor will these commentators - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jJrmPQf4NQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jco8c6nCUoOn the other hand, there is thishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAyh2xPrFvo

In this episode, recorded on Tuesday 27th October, Chris, jim, and Sasha discuss the recent confirmation to the US Supreme Court of Amy Coney Barrett and its implications for the election. In the second half of the episode, Chris and Jim talk about their hopes and fears for a possible Biden administration.Earlier in the day, Sasha discussed many of the same topics on act.tv - you can watch that interview here.There is an interesting article from the Washington Post discussing in some detail Brett Kavanaugh's opinion in the Wisconsin election case, issued ust as Amy Coney Barrett was being confirmed, which you can read here.

In this episode, Chris, Sasha, and Jim explore the limits of their optimism regarding the election, discussing the significance of the high levels of early voting, the gratifying spectacle of Republicans beginning to distance themselves from Trump, and the prospects for the Senate.

In this episode, Chris and Jim discuss some more general trends in US politics and culture that are feeding into the election cycle, and wonder how optimistic we should be about the deep cultural changes that societies around the world appear to be going through. They also spend a little bit of time talking about the impact of the Covid's sudden appearance at the White House.For a video that lays out as clearly as possible the various rules, regulations, and constitutional procedures that govern the death or incapacitation of a candidate or president elect at various points in the electoral process, see here.

Recorded slightly later in the week than normal in order to allow for discussion of the first debate between Trump and Biden, this episode looks at the impact, if any, of that debate, the revelations from the New York Times about Trump's tax affairs (see the original article here) and whether the imminent appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court will have the impact Trump appears to want on any election litigation that ends up there. Discussion of the impact on the election of Trump's Covid diagnosis is just going to have to wait until next week!