In partnership with the LRB
One week on, the feminist philosopher Judith Butler talks to us about what Trump's victory means to her and what it says about rage and misogyny in America. We also discuss where American democracy goes from here: reform, resistance or collapse? Plus Judith reads Auden's 'September 1, 1939' and Helen and Aaron answer listeners' questions from last week.
Still reeling, we gather round the table to talk about the election of President Trump, just a couple of hours after it actually happened. What does it mean for America, democracy and the world? We discuss what went wrong for Clinton, whether Bernie could have done better, and what explains the latest in the series of astonishing political events. All this on little or no sleep. The start of a much longer conversation, in the weeks and months to come.
Award-winning comedian Ahir Shah talks Brexit, Trump and Corbyn and why his generation feels betrayed by the baby boomers. There's a bit of swearing - some light relief before the serious business of next week.
Less than a week out we give our final thoughts on this amazing campaign. We talk emails, we reflect on what it's like inside Clintonworld and we discuss Peter Thiel's speech doubling down on his support for Trump: an authoritarian billionaire maverick making the case for another one. Plus some predictions about what might happen next Tuesday, before we reconvene next Wednesday to see what really went down.
We take a break from Trumpworld for a week to talk about attitudes to politics in the UK with best-selling crime novelist and poet Sophie Hannah. She explains her feelings about Brexit, the AV referendum, trial by Twitter and the importance of weighing the arguments on their merits. Funny, witty and wise: not Trumpworld at all.
On the night of the final debate, we take a step back to ask: Is Trump really unprecedented in the history of American democracy? Is this the worst campaign ever? What's gone wrong with American politics? With leading historians Gary Gerstle and David Reynolds, recorded before a live audience as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas.