Examining how U.S. politics became intertwined with personal identity

America’s divisions often go beyond disputes over policy, regularly spilling into clashes over identity and culture and pitting friends and family against one another. Judy Woodruff explores how that came to be and what it means for our shared future in her latest installment of “America at a Crossroads.” PBS […] Read more »

The Resentment Fueling the Republican Party Is Not Coming From the Suburbs

Rural America has become the Republican Party’s life preserver. Less densely settled regions of the country, crucial to the creation of congressional and legislative districts favorable to conservatives, are a pillar of the party’s strength in the House and the Senate and a decisive factor in the rightward tilt of […] Read more »

The GOP may regret McCarthy’s concessions in 2024

One of Kevin McCarthy’s first acts as speaker of the House was to take a selfie with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right conspiracy theorist and election denier who has emerged as one of his staunchest allies. That image, which Greene immediately posted on social media, encapsulates the wager McCarthy […] Read more »

Many around the world feel the system is broken. Can we do anything?

Over the past few years, there has been a string of populist victories. From Brexit in 2015 to Trump’s victory in 2016, they have been the canary in the coal mine for surging anti-establishment sentiments worldwide. Following these two earth-shattering wins, anti-establishment candidates continued their victory march in places like […] Read more »

How the Diploma Divide Is Remaking American Politics

… John F. Kennedy lost college-educated voters by a two-to-one margin yet won the presidency thanks to overwhelming support among white voters without a degree. Sixty years later, our second Catholic president charted a much different path to the White House, losing non-college-educated whites by a two-to-one margin while securing […] Read more »