How Americans Survived 2020

The year 2020 marked an inflection point in U.S. history that tested the mettle of its citizenry, its government and the soul of the republic itself. On this edition, host Jane Whitney takes a look back at the most important issues impacting our world, in a round-up of interviews from 2020 featurin…

The Way We (Were) Are

A panel of guests join Jane Whitney for a discussion of the state of the country in the shadow of the pandemic but through an intensely personal lens, a series of vignettes with influencers and thought leaders that, like a jig-saw puzzle, provide a view of the broad landscape when pieced together. …

Rebooting the GOP

The defining political question of the moment, many pundits claim, probably is: Whither the GOP? When Donald Trump was sworn into office, the GOP held both houses of Congress and was considered untouchable. Two years later, the Democrats won back the House; two years after that, the Senate and the …

Climate Change: Sunrise or Sunset?

“We’re the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we’re the last that can do something about it” has become something of a cliché, a summary of the existential threat posed by global warming. As climate change moves from an imminent peril to a deadly reality for vast swaths of th…

Women’s Rights Rollback: The New Frontier

A century after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote, the uncertainty that foreshadowed the suffrage victory foreshadows the precariousness of women’s rights. “Finish the Fight!”, a rallying cry from the struggle to win the final battle of the women’s voting r…

The Threat Within: Homegrown Terrorism

In the wake of the January 6 insurrection, probably the most serious threat to our constitutional government since the Civil War, leaders of the FBI and law enforcement authorities have repeatedly warned that the threat of domestic grown terrorism is metastasizing. Are they overreacting to a moment…

Global Remix: America & the World

Has America lost its preeminent place in the world? Emerging from World War II as the first among equals, the United States became the architect and leader of a series of overlapping international alliances and agreements that relied on cooperation to seed the unrivaled progress and prosperity of t…

Superstars of Tomorrow

Since the Kardashians became America’s royalty – famous for being, well, famous – celebrity has defined the country’s culture, an essential element to win power and influence. Donald Trump took celebrity to new heights, using it to become the most powerful man in the world. Now a new generation of …

SCOTUS: Breakpoint?

The Trump administration’s signature achievement was the expansion of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority and the confirmation of hundreds of lower court judges, the capstone of conservatives’ 30-year mission to restructure the courts in their own image. Case by case, the Supreme Court is rew…

Democracy in Color

Although race and identity always have shaped U.S. politics, they reemerged four years ago with new intensity. In what was supposed to be Obama's post-racial America as the pivot point of the election, they became the unapologetic driver of Donald Trump's unexpected victory. But the reenergized for…