283 | What Trump Means to Us

Helen and David talk about what four years of Trump - and of talking (and talking) about Trump - have meant or their thinking about America and about democratic politics. Is it possible to give a balanced picture of Trump's presidency? Have the last four years followed a pattern or has it just been chaos? What is the likely legacy of Trump's extraordinary level of global fame? Plus we discuss whether 2020 marks the beginning of the 'short' twenty-first century and what that means for Trump's place in it.

195 | Impeach This!

We catch up with Gary Gerstle and Helen Thompson about the state of the Trump presidency, from and cover-ups to Syria and Ukraine. We ask what it would take for Republican senators to desert him and what the collateral damage is likely to be for the Democratic presidential candidates. Plus is Hillary really - really?! - back in the game?

161 | President Bernie?

We talk about socialism in America: where it comes from, what it means, why it's so associated with Bernie Sanders and whether it can actually reach the White House.  What's the difference between democratic socialism and social democracy?  How would the workers gain control of businesses like Facebook and Amazon?  Who are the workers these days anyway?  Plus, we ask what a Sanders vs Trump contest would actually be like.  With Adom Getachew, from the University of Chicago, and Gary Gerstle.

140 | Trump and the Shutdown

With the US government still shut, we compare this standoff to shutdowns of the past and try to work out what happens next.  What is Trump's game?  Can the two parties hold together?  And why aren't the workers taking to the streets?  Plus we weigh up where things stand with the Mueller investigation, the race for the democratic nomination and Trump's shifting policy on Syria.  It's all connected!  With Helen Thompson and Gary Gerstle.

124 | Midterms Special!

In a special episode recorded the morning after the midterms, we try to make sense of the results as they come in. How much trouble can a Democratic House cause for Trump's presidency? What will Republicans do with their new strength in the Senate? And when, if ever, will the South turn blue? Plus we ask what impact the Kavanaugh hearings had on the outcome and whether the Democrats have an economic message for 2020. With Helen Thompson and Gary Gerstle – recorded in front of a live audience at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Read More

115 | Taming Trump

We talk with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government and former Washington bureau chief of the Times, about the latest revelations from inside Trumpworld.  With claims that the resistance has spread to the government, we ask whether it is ethical for administration officials to resist the elected president.  Is this about Trump's personality or his policies?  What precedent might be being set?  And are Obama's interventions in the mid-term elections helping?  Recorded at the Institute for Government with Helen Thompson.