Checks and Balance
Unlock American politics with our weekly podcast
Checks and Balance unlocks American politics by taking a big theme each week and digging into the data, the ideas, and the history shaping the country. Join John Prideaux, Charlotte Howard, Idrees Kahloon and Jon Fasman as they talk to politicians, pollsters, academics and people across the country about the great experiment of American democracy.
You can subscribe and listen to “Checks and Balance” on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Stitcher | TuneIn or wherever you get your podcasts.
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October 2023
Checks and Balance
What is the best way to treat severe mental illness?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we look at the expansion of involuntary treatment in mental health care
47:31
Checks and Balance
What should America’s Middle East strategy be now?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider how the US should respond to Hamas’ attack on Israel
45:41
Checks and Balance
How can America fix its housing shortage?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ask what it would take for the country to build more homes
49:46
September 2023
Checks and Balance
Where is Donald Trump taking the Republican Party next?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ponder how the former president dominates the GOP even when he’s absent
48:41
Checks and Balance
Is Australia now America’s closest ally?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we explain how the growing threat from China is reshaping relationships in the Indo-Pacific.
49:18
Checks and Balance
Can Democrats win back working-class voters?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we look at whether a wave of industrial action will test Joe Biden’s affection for unions
50:50
Checks and Balance
How will AI influence the 2024 election?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we assess the validity of concerns about artificial intelligence and democracy
43:22
Checks and Balance
Falling population, rising costs: what is bedevilling the City of Angels?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we examine the problems facing Los Angeles
45:33
August 2023
Checks and Balance
What makes a Great American Novel?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we convene our summer book club
49:16
Checks and Balance
What's next for America's China policy?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we look at the future of Washington’s changing position on Beijing
49:08
Checks and Balance
Can the Biden administration help left-behind parts of America?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ask if a “place-based” industrial policy can help revive manufacturing
48:38
Checks and Balance
What does Donald Trump’s latest indictment mean for American democracy?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ask how the new charges against the former president will affect the 2024 election
44:51
July 2023
Checks and Balance
How can America adapt to extreme heat?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we discover how cities are preparing for an even hotter future
45:15
Checks and Balance
How would a second Trump term be different from the first?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we uncover the meticulous plans being made for another Trump administration
46:26
Checks and Balance
What, if anything, should be done about economic inequality?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we look at the left and the right’s surprisingly similar solutions to the gap between rich and poor
48:25
Checks and Balance
Was the Supreme Court right to overturn affirmative action?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we pick apart the arguments concerning race-based admissions
49:13
June 2023
Checks and Balance
What is Bidenomics?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we assess whether Joe Biden’s economic record can get him re-elected
47:11
Checks and Balance
What effect has the end of Roe v Wade had on abortion access?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider what will happen next in the fight over abortion
45:28
Checks and Balance
How has American policing changed since George Floyd’s murder?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we chart the progress of police reform over the last three years
46:43
Checks and Balance
Can anyone beat Donald Trump to the Republican nomination?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we discuss what, if anything, could break the former president’s hold over his party
43:58
Checks and Balance
Why does America have a debt limit?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider whether the country can ever escape the debt ceiling doom-loop
43:59
May 2023
Checks and Balance
Female presidents, third-party hopefuls, how the show gets made: answers to listeners’ queries
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, the team fields questions sent in from around the world
38:54
Checks and Balance
Is America’s immigration system in crisis?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ask whether the immigration system is broken.
44:50
Checks and Balance
Is there a crisis of masculinity?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider whether worries over masculinity obscure real problems for men
44:48
Checks and Balance
How secure is social security?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, while Washington debates the debt ceiling, Social Security and Medicare are heading for insolvency.
43:44
April 2023
Checks and Balance
How stable is the bond between America and Israel?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider what relations between the allies might look like in the decades to come
44:12
Checks and Balance
Will the Dominion lawsuit change Fox News?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we look at what the case tells us about how the media works in the US
44:35
Checks and Balance
Can America stop fentanyl trafficking?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, in the second of two episodes, we examine how drugs get into the country
44:45
Checks and Balance
Is prosecuting Donald Trump a mistake?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, what the charges mean for the former president’s political ambitions
46:30
March 2023
Checks and Balance
What’s at stake in the Chicago mayor’s race?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, why the mayoral election matters outside of the city limits
44:07
Checks and Balance
What’s behind the boom in Texas?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ask what lessons the Lone Star State has for the nation
44:30
Checks and Balance
Can America solve its opioid crisis?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, in the first of two episodes, we look at what can be done to reduce demand
45:08
Checks and Balance
What does a body in a barrel have to do with climate change?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, a special episode explores a Las Vegas murder mystery–uncovered by the megadrought
39:56
Checks and Balance
Should Joe Biden run in 2024?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we look at the potential Democratic presidential candidates waiting for their chance
41:47
February 2023
Checks and Balance
How long will America continue to support Ukraine?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider whether the US has the will and the means to back Ukraine for as long as it takes
46:56
Checks and Balance
What do statehouses tell us about the future of the GOP?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, what state-level debates explain about the Republican agenda
43:52
Checks and Balance
What do America and China want from each other?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider what is next for relations between the two superpowers
45:35
Checks and Balance
Are diversity statements a threat to academic freedom?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we look at ways ideological homogeneity is spreading across campuses
39:35
January 2023
Checks and Balance
Will the Hunter Biden saga spell trouble for Joe Biden?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider why Republicans are investigating the president’s son
44:13
Checks and Balance
What’s behind America’s rising incomes?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, why politics has become more unsettled even as earnings have grown
39:58
Checks and Balance
What do electric vehicles tell us about the future of American industry?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we examine whether the US can meet its industrial and environmental goals in 2023
42:51
Checks and Balance
Can this Congress get over its chaotic start?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, what the struggle to elect a speaker means for the year ahead
43:46
Alaska: oil and ice
Checks and Balance
Will there be a new oil boom in Alaska?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, in the first of two episodes, we ask whether Alaska can reconcile the desire to drill with the need to limit climate change
25:31
Checks and Balance
What does the world’s thirst for oil mean for Alaska’s ice?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, in the second of two episodes, we ponder what is at stake in Alaska as oil production continues
31:50
December 2022
Checks and Balance
What’s going right in America?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we assess some of the bright spots from 2022 and ask whether they will continue next year
44:34
Checks and Balance
How is the Supreme Court changing American democracy?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we assess how Supreme Court rulings have affected how elections are run
42:03
Checks and Balance
What should Democrats do in the lame-duck Congress?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, our wish-list for what lawmakers could pass before the next Congress takes over
39:37
November 2022
Checks and Balance
Can Americans be convinced to eat less meat? An episode from our archive
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, our Thanksgiving special from 2021, looking at whether Americans will ever wean themselves off meat
40:12
Checks and Balance
Can Donald Trump win again?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we examine the former president’s bid for the White House and the Republican road to 2024
42:01
Checks and Balance
What do the midterm election results mean for America?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ask if the midterms were a repudiation of Trumpism
45:00
Checks and Balance
What’s at stake in the midterm elections?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, how could the results of the midterms change the country?
43:02
October 2022
Checks and Balance
What have Democrats achieved in power?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we assess the legacy of two years of unified government
41:13
Checks and Balance
Will immigration lose Democrats votes in the midterms?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider whether the problem at the southern border will ever be solved
43:30
Checks and Balance
How much do candidates matter in the midterms?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, does the pull of partisanship outweigh flawed candidates?
42:11
Checks and Balance
How does politics shape how Americans view the economy?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we measure the impact of political tribalism on who voters trust to manage the public purse
43:27
September 2022
Checks and Balance
What would Republicans do with a majority in the House of Representatives?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider what a Republican-controlled House would mean for the next two years
41:16
Checks and Balance
What’s the future of America’s Ukraine policy?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider how effective Joe Biden’s Ukraine strategy has been and whether the midterms might change it
44:36
Checks and Balance
Will abortion decide the midterm elections?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ask how much the Democrats’ uptick in the polls has to do with the fight for reproductive rights
44:02
Checks and Balance
Why is the Republican Party falling out of love with big business?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we consider the impact of the party’s growing suspicion of America Inc
42:53
Checks and Balance
The state-by-state splintering of American policy
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, how states are splitting into two distinct policy blocs with incompatible visions of America’s future
46:06
Critical Race Theory
Checks and Balance
What is critical race theory?
A special series of our American politics podcast on the battle over what is taught in public schools. In part one, how a niche academic theory became a rallying call for the right
32:16
Checks and Balance
Is critical race theory taught in schools?
Part two of our podcast series on the fight over what is taught in American schools. We head into the classroom to find out what is really going on
42:21
Checks and Balance
What is the fight over critical race theory really about?
The final episode of our three-part podcast series on the furore over what is taught in American schools. We get to the bottom of why this fight has become so frenzied
50:23
August 2022
Checks and Balance
Is America entering a new era of political violence?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we examine the militia movement and why violence is on the rise
44:47
Checks and Balance
Will anything break Donald Trump’s hold on the Republican Party?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we visit Wyoming, Arizona and Texas to explore how the former president has tightened his control of the GOP
45:45
Checks and Balance
How big a deal is the Inflation Reduction Act?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we pore over the details of the Democrats’ big legislative victory
44:39
Checks and Balance
What wins elections in Pennsylvania?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, the second episode in our series on the race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat
46:49
July 2022
Checks and Balance
Have the Democrats passed peak progressive?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, how the Democratic Party lost touch with its voters and how it can get them back
46:30
Checks and Balance
How will the Democrats weather the next recession?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we explore why inflation is so politically perilous for the left
42:52
Checks and Balance
Where is the Supreme Court taking America?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we explore how the court is changing the country and whether it is undermining itself in the process
45:49
June 2022
Checks and Balance
What impact can the January 6th committee have?
Our podcast on democracy in America. This week, we examine the findings of the January 6th committee and ask what it will achieve
46:56
Checks and Balance
What is America’s role in the new nuclear order?
Our podcast on democracy in America. This week, how to think about a new era of nuclear threat and America's role in policing it
48:53
Checks and Balance
Is California revealing the limits of progressive politics?
Our podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ask whether the Golden State is sending a message from the future for the Democrats
46:04
Checks and Balance
What is the Biden administration’s Asia strategy?
Our podcast on American politics and society. This week, we ask whether America can finally pull off a long-promised "pivot to Asia"
43:51
May 2022
Checks and Balance
What will it take for America to solve its gun problem?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, how gun culture is changing and what policies could make the country safer
45:42
Checks and Balance
How to untangle the immigration mess in America
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, what went wrong with President Biden's border strategy and why states are going their own way
44:55
Checks and Balance
What can Georgia teach the rest of America about rebuilding trust in elections?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, the impact of new voting laws and why the parties have so much power over election administration
45:06
Checks and Balance
What happens if the Supreme Court overturns the right to an abortion in America?
Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we ask what a post-Roe future will look like and explore how activists on both sides are preparing
47:05