Episode 36: Navalny Dead, Dem Wins in NY, Trump Wants a National Abortion Ban, a Deep Dive into the Political Realignment, and More

This week's current events: Alexei Navalny, the leader of the opposition movement to Putin in Russia for the last several decades, has died The U.S. vetoes another U.N. resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, but submits their own temporary ceasefire resolution New electoral maps were approved in Wisconsin to create near equality in the number of Democrat and Republican districts, after a decade and a half of Republican dominance Democrat Tom Suozzi defeated Republican Mazi Pilip in the New York special election to fill George Santos's seat in the House of Representatives Trump's plans for a national abortion ban were leaked to the press New demographic projections from the Congressional Budget Office predict net immigration will play a huge role in growing the U.S. economy over the next two decades Productivity of American workers spiked in 2023 As China's economy continues to decline, the state ramps up efforts to maintain social order in a situation we foresee spiraling The government is on the verge of a shutdown because of an inability to agree on a budget for the year of 2024 for the fourth time Hyundai is opening its first U.S. EV plant in Georgia because of subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act In our deep dive, we examine how political coalitions have morphed over the past 160 years since the end of the Civil War. We look back through history to understand how we've arrived at the point we're at today: another inflection point where the definitions of the parties are changing. Donald Trump's emphasis on anti-immigrant policy and isolationism has completely changed the identity of the Republican party. It has brought in more working class white voters while alienating the college-educated base that used to always vote Republican.