Washington Monthly

Democrats won big. Can they deliver? Voters handed Democrats a midterm win on affordability, and now they expect results. That won’t be easy with Trump still in the White House. Ed Kilgore, political columnist at New York magazine, joins Anne Kim to talk about the quick wins Democrats need. They cover the “double haters” who decided the election, the party’s surprising gains across the South, and...

The Trump administration recently proposed dramatic changes to the U.S. Census that could erase millions of people from the official count and obscure vital demographic data. If these plans move forward, the 2030 Census could include new questions related to citizenship and a ban on questions about race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. These changes would have profound implications for politics,...

The GOP is putting up a bumper crop of subpar candidates this cycle. Here’s our countdown of the five worst. Host: Anne Kim, Washington Monthly Guest: Nate Weisberg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to problematic congressional candidates 02:01 Common traits among problematic candidates: racism and white supremacy ties 03:56 Top five candidates: Brandon Herrera and Texas 23 05:28 Number four: Scott Perr...

Until fairly recently, one of the most valuable commoditiesin GOP politics was an endorsement by President Donald Trump. According to an analysis by political scientist Seth Masket and his colleagues, Trump-endorsed candidates enjoy as much as a 16-point advantage over their rivals. How did Trump establish such a grip over the RepublicanParty? Masket’s new book, The Elephants in the Room: How Trum...

The think tank Third Way recently released what it calls a "new economic bargain" with the middle class. It's premised on the idea that "if you bust your butt, you should get ahead," says Executive Vice President for Policy Jim Kessler. The organization proposes a slate of 20 practical ideas it says will significantly improve the lives of middle-class Americans. Among these...

A veteran pollster points to several factors wrecking polling’s reputation, including overhyped results and a sea of low-quality polls. Political polling has suffered some embarrassing   failures this year. In Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, polls predicted a blowout for Abdul El-Sayed; he won by less than a percentage po int. In Wisconsin, polls showed Democratic SocialistFrancesca Hong enj...

The CEO of the world’s first “female-forward” AI startuphas a plan for tackling gender bias in artificial intelligence. Host: Anne Kim, Washington Monthly Guest, Shubhi Rao, CEO and Founder, Uplevyl Chapters 00:00 Introduction to AI bias and societal influence 03:00 How large language models are trained and their data sources 07:04 Societal biases reflected in AI, especially regarding gender 12:03...

President Donald Trump's relentless attacks on vote by mail are needlessly threatening public trust in absentee voting. Learn the truth about vote by mail and the threats to its future. Host: Anne Kim, Washington Monthly Guests: Phil Keisling, former Oregon Secretary of State; Barbara Smith Warner, Center for Responsive Government Chapters 00:00 Introduction to vote by mail and its importance 02:0...

1 in 5 voters who supported Donald Trump iin 2024 now regrets their vote, according to a new survey from Navigator Research. Inflation and war are their biggest complaints. But Democrats shouldn't count on their votes. "Trump regretters" remain deeply skeptical about both parties' ability to deliver on their promises. Host: Anne Kim, Washington Monthly Guest: Tina Tang, Navigator Research Chapters...

Recent weeks have seen an escalation of the Trumpadministration’s efforts to interfere with this fall’s elections. Itsaggressive efforts to restrict mail-in voting, for example, could potentially disenfranchise millions while sowing chaos in states. President Trump has also threatened to arrest election officers accused of wrongdoing (many of whom are volunteers) andto send ICE agents to the polls...

Elon Musk's DOGE has "self-deleted." But not without leaving a trail of wreckage that could take decades to undo. Tens of thousands of vital government workers have been fired or have left, leaving Americans more vulnerable to a host of threats: terrorism, natural disasters, epidemics, tainted food. Crucial federal data systems have also been compromised, including Social Security's database with...

Businesses need democracy to thrive, argues Daniella Ballou-Aares, founder of the business coalition Leadership Now. They should step up to defend it. Host: Anne Kim, Washington Monthly Guest: Daniella Ballou-Aares, CEO and founder, Leadership Now Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Daniella Ballou-Aares and the topic of democracy and business 01:47 The macro context that led to the founding of Leaders...

The Internal Revenue Service may never be the government’s most popular agency, but it could have been the most efficient.  In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which invested  $80 billion  to fix the Internal Revenue Service. In 2024, the agency rolled out features like Direct File, a new free filing service for taxpayers. But Elon Musk's DOGE had other plans, including mass...

The ultra-right-wing Heritage Foundation blames "feminism" for falling fertility rates. Not surprisingly, its "solutions" are hostile to women. Host: Anne Kim, Washington MonthlyGuest: Varina Winder, Co-founder, Arch CollaborativeChapters00:00 Introduction to the Pronatalist Agenda02:57 The Heritage Foundation's Influence and Report05:50 Crisis Framing: Fertility Rates and...

Much like the economy at large, the system favors big players over independent creators . Online sensations like Mr. Beast —the YouTuber with nearly 500 million subscribers—have spurred countless imitators with dreams of online fame. Yet a vanishing few reach the stratospheric heights of Mr. Beast, who reportedly earns $700 million a year. Accordingto a 2025 survey by NeoReach, 70 percent of creat...

For several decades now, girls have been outperforming boysacademically.  They earn  higher grades , are  less likely  to drop out, and are significantly  more likely  to attend college. Women now earn themajority of professional degrees, according to the  Hechinger Report , including  60 percent  of master’s and doctorates.  More male teachers can help close gender gaps inachievement, argues Curt...

Billionaires are the apex predators of the modern economy. They tear up governments, buy politicians, and wreck the planet with carbon-spewing yachts. They control the news and what’s in our feeds. They spend $55 million on lavish weddings while the rest of us struggle to buy groceries and gas. That's why entrepreneur Nick Hanauer and Professor Eric Beinhocker argue for a new economic paradigm...

Risky financial maneuvers and mountains of debt mean the AI economy is in trouble, says Vanderbilt's Asad Ramzanali. America needs to get ready. Host: Anne Kim, Senior Editor, Washington MonthlyGuest: Asad Ramzanali, Director of AI and Technology Policy, Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, Vanderbilt University

President Donald Trump recently unveiled his “Great Healthcare Plan,” vowing to bring down soaring premiums and “fix” the Affordable Care Act. But Trump’s single-page plan is likely to fall far short of his promises, says Edwin Park, a research professor at Georgetown University and a former health policy advisor to the National Economic Council under President Joe Biden. Host: Anne Kim, Senior Ed...

So-called “Constitution-First” Republicans are uncomfortable with Trump’s abuses of power. They could be the key to a pro-democracy coalition that cuts across party and ideology. President Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican party hasseemed absolute. But his consistent disregard for constitutional and societalnorms might be leading to genuine fissures within the GOP. A new report by the nonprofi...

In 2003, New Orleans public schools were among the worst in the country. Seventy percent of eighth-graders were not proficient in math, 74 percent weren’t proficient in English, and the graduation rate was barely over 50 percent. Moreover, the district was as corrupt as it was incompetent. FBI investigations led to the indictment of two dozen school officials; nearly $70 million in federal funding...

In the eyes of today’s teens, journalism and the media are doomed. In two major surveys of US teens conducted over the last two years, the nonprofit News Literacy Project found deep levels of mistrust and misunderstanding of the news: Only about half ofteens know that “branded content” is a form of advertising; Only 52 percent of teens understand that articleslabeled “commentary” are opinions; ·Te...

President Donald Trump won 93 percent of rural counties in 2024. Rural voters also made up 36 percent of the Trump vote, according to the Pew Research Center, compared to just 16 percent of voters for Harris. Political scientists Suzanne Mettler of Cornell University and Trevor Brown of Johns Hopkins argue that Democrats must work to bridge this urban-rural chasm, both for the sake of Democrats’ p...

In 2010, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to money in politics with its decision in   Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission . The Court struck down longstanding federal restrictions on “independent” political spending by corporations and outside groups, ruling that such expenditures were protected “speech” under the First Amendment. Since then, according to the Brennan Center , su...

Billionaires have become a uniquely destructive force to both democracy and the planet, says author Chuck Collins. Collins' new book, "Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet," argues that the rise of the billionaire class has profoundly damaging impacts on ordinary Americans’ lives and on the functioning of democracy. Collins is a s...