Washington has been busy debating what to do about China. Arguments abound about whether to try to engage with the Communist Party, or to focus on deterrence. Congress continues to debate industrial policy, arming Taiwan and whether to ban TikTok. And as the House’s select committee releases policy suggestions, the Biden administration is forming its own through executive orders. How bipartisan will the next stage of US-China policy be? And what will it look like? Representative Mike...

Joe Biden has been on the road this week, touting his administration’s investment in American manufacturing. His government has embraced a “place-based” industrial policy, explicitly directing tens of billions of dollars to boost struggling regions. The bet is that the money will leave thriving economies and grateful Democratic voters in its wake. Will “place-based” policies help the bits of American that have been left-behind? We join Congressman Ro Khanna on a tour of former manufacturing...

Donald Trump has been charged with the most serious political crime it is possible to commit in a democracy. A special counsel alleges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results, knowing that his claims of fraud were false. What do the latest charges mean for Donald Trump, and American democracy? Legal expert Sarah Isgur tells us she thinks this will be a difficult case to prove. The Economist’s Steve Mazie profiles the man tasked with prosecuting Trump. And The Economist’s James...

It’s hot. Over the past month millions of Americans have been sweltering in fierce temperatures. Around a third of the population lives in places where the government has recently issued warnings about extreme heat. How can American cities prepare for an even hotter future? The Economist’s Oliver Morton tells us what causes heat waves. Jeff Goodell, author of “The Heat Will Kill You First”, charts how the invention of air conditioning changed the locus of political power in America. And David...

Donald Trump’s first term in office was characterised by chaos. MAGA Republicans are already working to ensure the sequel, should there be one, is a more orderly affair. How exactly would a second Trump term be different from the first? The Heritage Foundation’s Paul Dans gives us a glimpse of the new right’s administration-in-waiting. We find out how an act of violence created the modern civil service. And former FERC Commissioner Bernard L. McNamee envisions a conservative energy...

By some measures, in the aftermath of the pandemic, income inequality in America is either increasing or remaining stubbornly high. On the left, the gap between rich and poor has long been an urgent issue—and more people on the right now agree. As both sides of the aisle look for solutions, they are reaching some surprisingly similar conclusions. What are the proposed answers to economic inequality in America? How likely are they to be taken up? Economist Thomas Piketty talks us through the...

America’s Supreme Court has ended the use of race-based affirmative action in college admissions. It is 45 years since the court gave its blessing to such practices but, given that it now has a six-justice conservative majority sceptical of using racial criteria, the decision was no surprise. Why did the court do this, and was it right to? The University of Chicago’s Geoffrey Stone explains why he thinks it was wrong. We go back to the first time the court ruled on affirmative action in...

Joe Biden took to the stage in Chicago this week to trumpet his economic plan.  He heralded America’s post-pandemic growth and the buoyancy of the job market.  “Folks, that’s no accident,” he told the crowd: “That’s Bidenomics in action.” But what actually is “Bidenomics”? Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Jared Bernstein sets out the administration’s economic agenda.  The Economist’s Lane Greene traces the origins of “name-enomics”.  And The Economist’s Simon Rabinovitch assesses if...

A year ago the Supreme Court upended abortion access in America. The court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade allowed states to ban abortion, leaving a patchwork of policies across the country. What difference has the ruling actually made, and what will happen next in the fight over abortion access? Dr Ushma Upadhyay from the Society of Family Planning shares the latest numbers. Dr Alicia Gutierrez-Romine, author of “From Back Alley to the Border”, remembers Ronald Reagan’s surprising role in...

There have been lots of attempts at improving American police since George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis cop three years ago. Reform-minded activists argue that any changes are cosmetic. Many cops think that reforms have been too sweeping. What has really happened to American policing since 2020?    The Economist’s Jon Fasman visits Minneapolis, to speak to people there about police reform. He hears the frustrations of activists from Communities United Against Police Brutality and...

Chris Christie and Mike Pence have become the latest to enter the Republican primary.  Despite his legal woes Donald Trump commands a huge lead in the early polling and the man thought most likely to challenge him, Ron DeSantis, has been stumbling. Can anyone beat Trump to the nomination?  Congressman Bob Good explains why he’s backing DeSantis over Trump. Jon Ward, author of “Camelot’s End”, remembers an early frontrunner who lost a big lead. And The Economist’s James Bennet surveys the...

The deal to raise America’s debt ceiling is finally done. The government will now be able to resume borrowing money to pay its bills, and avoid a default. The last-minute agreement will suspend the debt ceiling and flatten some categories of spending for two years, until after the next election. Why does America has this pointless, exhausting ritual? And how can Congress get rid of it? The Economist’s Simon Rabinovitch assesses the impact of the agreement. We go back to a previous wrangling...

Normally we take one big theme shaping American politics and explore it in depth. This week is a little different: we’re going to answer your questions. We tackle whether America will ever have a female president, the politics of health-care reform and how the show gets made. Plus, a bumper quiz.  John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard, Idrees Kahloon and Jon Fasman.   We would also love to ask you some questions. Please fill out our listener survey at economist.com/uspodsurvey. You can...

With the lifting of Title 42, America is once again forced to consider its border policy, just as Democrat-run cities struggle to find shelter for busloads of migrants sent north from the US-Mexico border. What responsibilities do states and cities far from the border have? And with Congress frozen, what can President Biden actually do? Doris Meissner of the Migration Policy Institute talks through the dilemmas facing the Biden administration and Rosemarie Ward reports from the town of...

There have long been worries about manhood in the United States. Today, nearly half of men believe traditional masculinity is under threat. While the left talk about toxic masculinity, some politicians on the right fear men’s very “deconstruction”. Researchers point to data showing a relative decline in men’s education rates and rise in deaths from drugs and suicide. Does the debate over masculinity obscure actual problems for boys and men? And what does the fight over America’s men mean for...

While Washington debates the debt ceiling, the entitlements time bomb is ticking. The trust fund that pays for much of Medicare, the health-insurance scheme for the elderly, will run out of money by 2031. The fund that pays old-age benefits for Social Security, the state pension scheme, will be exhausted by 2033. Politicians need to agree to a fix, but it’s not clear that they will. What would happen if these funds reach insolvency? And how could that be avoided?  John Prideaux hosts with...

Israel is marking its 75th anniversary. America has always been its closest foreign ally, but that relationship has seldom been easy.  That’s true now: progressive Democrats are questioning the party’s innate pro-Israel stance, and Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reforms have met with open disapproval from the White House.  What might relations look like in another 75 years?  The Economist’s Josie Delap assesses the impact of Netanyahu’s judicial plans.  We go back to a eulogy...

Fox News has settled a mammoth defamation lawsuit over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election. Dominion Voting Systems had accused the network of knowingly spreading the lie that its machines somehow rigged the election by awarding votes to Joe Biden. Defamation cases are notoriously hard to win in America, and it was remarkable that this one got so far. Will it change Fox News? The Economist’s Kennett Werner sets out the background to the lawsuit. We return to the founding of Fox...

American authorities confiscated a record amount of illegal fentanyl along the southwest border in 2022. But even so, last year will still likely see the highest number of fatal overdoses in America’s 20-year opioid epidemic. In this episode–our second on the opioid epidemic–we trace the supply chain from China to the southern border, via Mexico. Can that supply route be interrupted? And how do America’s relationships with China and Mexico affect the flow of drugs? San Diego’s mayor, Todd...

Donald Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records.  He denies all the charges, and in a New York courtroom earlier this week pleaded not guilty. For most American politicians this would be the end of their presidential ambitions—why not for Mr Trump? Former prosecutor Matthew Galluzzo assesses the case.  We hear about a world leader who had several brushes with the law. And The Economist’s James Bennet considers whether it’s a mistake to prosecute Donald...

Voters in Chicago are choosing between two candidates for mayor, and two very different wings of the Democratic Party.  One contender is conservative, for a Chicago Democrat, and backed by the police union. The other is a progressive, who once called to defund the police. Why does the Chicago mayoral election matter outside of the city limits?   The Economist’s Daniel Knowles profiles the candidates. We learn about a notoriously powerful Chicago mayor. And former education secretary Arne...

Texas is on a roll.  People and companies are flocking to the Lone Star State.  It’s an energy pioneer, its size means it has a significant say in national politics and its coffers are full, in part due to an influx of federal money.   What’s behind the Texan boom? Texas’s governor Greg Abbott makes the case for his state.  We go back to the abrupt end of a previous Texan boom.  And developer Ross Perot junior explains why it’s easy to do business in Texas. John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte...

More than 650,000 Americans have died of overdoses since the start of the opioid epidemic. Fentanyl, easily available and dangerously powerful, killed seventy thousand people in 2021 alone. Now, as the federal government estimates more than five million people struggle with an opioid addiction, states are increasingly looking for sweeping solutions to the crisis. What solutions are there? And what’s stopping them being enacted? Keith Humphreys, drug policy advisor to George W Bush and Barack...

Lake Mead is shrinking. The receding shoreline of the country’s largest reservoir has laid bare the American West’s vulnerability to climate change. But last May, it revealed something else: a body shoved into a barrel. With all the signs of a mob-hit, the murder is a symbol of what Sin City used to be, but also hints at how the city could evolve again.  In this special episode, The Economist’s Aryn Braun examines what this mystery can tell us about Las Vegas’s past and future. The...

There’s been no official announcement, but the mood music suggests Joe Biden will seek a second term. If he does run in 2024, and if he wins, he would be 86 by the time he leaves office. Part of Biden’s appeal in 2020 was his electability, but that seems less assured now. Are Democrats making a mistake by not looking elsewhere?  The Economist’s Elliott Morris considers what the polls tell us about Biden’s popularity.  We go back to the last time a president chose not to seek reelection.  And...