Shows

There are two weeks to go until the first Democratic debate, and about eight months until the Iowa caucuses. We look at the current state of the presidential race in Iowa. Plus, as the fights over abortion rights intensify, we explore why Joe Biden changed his position on the Hyde Amendment. And four years after Donald Trump descended that escalator and announced his run for president, we look back at why political analysts underestimated his campaign from the very beginning.

Fourteen candidates showed up last weekend at the California Democratic convention. We discuss who received a less-than-warm welcome, and how much attention went to Joe Biden, who skipped the event. Plus, an early preview of the race to take on Alabama Sen. Doug Jones. And former Rep. David Dreier talks about the influence his friend President Ronald Reagan had on his career.

Does Robert Mueller’s decision to put President Trump’s future in the hands of Congress put more pressure on Nancy Pelosi?  Plus, a look back at the history of relationships between other presidents and House speakers. And former GOP Congressman Tom Coleman discusses his call for impeachment and what’s going on in his party today.

It’s been 46 years since the Roe decision, and abortion continues to be a political punching bag. We look back at the history of abortion in politics. Plus, has Michigan Republican Congressman Justin Amash risked his political future by calling for President Trump’s impeachment? And Mayor Bill de Blasio’s numbers are abysmal at home in New York City. What kind of a send-off is that for someone who wants to be president?

Alabama’s new law that essentially bans all abortions is clearly intended to ignite a challenge of Roe v. Wade at the Supreme Court. Could it lead to Roe being overturned? Plus, a preview of the battle for control of the Senate in 2020, and we explore which presidential candidates are likely to make the primary debate stage next month. And we reflect on the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, 65 years later.

With Joe Biden’s candidacy bringing back memories of the Hill-Thomas hearings, former Arizona senator Dennis DeConcini, a Democrat from the 1991 committee recalls that confirmation battle. Marvin Kalb, the former CBS and NBC newsman weighs in on Donald Trump’s attacks on the media. And author Rick Robinson joins us to talk about some famous political embarrassments and screw-ups of the past.

With the Democratic field for 2020 shaping up to be the largest in history, we check in on Iowa to see who is making waves in the Hawkeye State. Plus, we remember the life of Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar by hearing from two of his colleagues: former Sen. Sam Nunn and former Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke. And we listen back to Ken’s 2017 interview with the late Sen. Lugar.

Now that the Mueller report is out, what will the Democrats do next? As debate swirls around the possibility of impeachment, we take a look back at the investigation of President Nixon in 1974, and examine the similarities and differences to today. Plus, we discuss the politics of the supposedly-independent Federal Reserve Board, and preview next month’s gubernatorial primary in Kentucky.

President Trump’s feud with Rep. Ilhan Omar is not the first time that Trump has been accused of stoking Islamophobia to stir up his base. We look back at the history of American’s attitudes towards Muslims, and also examine how Rep. Omar has become a lightning rod among Democrats as well. Plus, we discuss how Mayor Pete Buttigieg has become a media phenomenon, and we look back at the ten worst presidential primary campaigns of recent memory.

Will Joe Biden’s history of placing his hands on men and women hold him back from securing the Democratic nomination? Plus, journalist Evan Thomas discusses his new biography of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, entitled “First.” And we reflect on the life of former South Carolina Sen. Fritz Hollings, who died recently at age 97.