Despite the charged rhetoric to the contrary, there actually is work getting done in Washington.
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It’s hard to run for Congress if you’re not rich, and that’s a problem
Author Sarah Smarsh discusses how she was encouraged to run for the U.S. Senate in her home state, the financial barriers to that goal, and the avenues she feels could best give voice to the voiceless in Washington.
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The numbers are in: A look at the 2020 census
NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang joins us to explore what the latest numbers say about the country’s racial makeup – and how this snapshot of America drives everything from federal spending to representation in Congress.
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Congress Cares More About Washington Than Your Home Town
David Fontana is the Samuel Tyler Research Professor at George Washington University Law School, and he joins us to talk about how when members of Congress are forced to choose between the people they represent and what their party and donors want.
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How Oversight Committees Lost Their Way
David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect, joins us to discuss the original intent of oversight investigations, how they’ve evolved over half a century, and whether the fact-finding efforts behind the grandstanding move the needle.
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From Enslaved To Congress: The Life Of Joseph Rainey
Bobby J. Donaldson is director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina, and he joins us to profile a man who was born enslaved before being elected to Congress in the wake of the Civil War.
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The Future Of DACA
In this collaboration between Think and The Texas Newsroom, we’ll explore why Congress has been unwilling to create legislation that addresses DACA, share the stories of DACA recipients as they go about their lives unable to plan for their futures, and talk to Janet Napolitano, who initiated the program as President Obama’s Homeland Security secretary.
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What Drives Mike Pence
Journalist Tom LoBianco has covered Pence for decades, and he joins us to talk about what he’s learned about who Pence is publicly and privately – and why he agreed to partner with a president with whom he seemingly has little in common.
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By the Numbers: Census 2020
NPR national correspondent Hansi Lo Wang joins us to talk about the politics behind the 2020 census.
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A More Powerful Presidency
This hour, we’ll talk about if the Founding Fathers set the federal government up for stagnation – and about the idea of updating the Constitution – with University of Chicago professor William Howell.
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A Conversation With Sen. John Cornyn
This hour, we’ll speak to the Texas senator about recent legislation he’s sponsored – and about the battle in the Senate over filling the open spot on the Supreme Court. And later in the hour, we’ll talk with Colleen McCain Nelson, White House correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, about President Obama’s trip to Saudi Arabia.
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Secrets Of 1971
In 1971, eight activists broke into an FBI field office in Pennsylvania, stealing hundreds of secret files to share with member of Congress and the media.
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