On the campaign trail for the US presidency, former president Donald Trump has been saying that the US is becoming a more dangerous than Venezuela.
He also claims that the crime data for the US that the FBI collects is missing the most violent cities.
Is he right? Tim Harford investigates, with the help of Bastian Herre from Our World in Data and Jay Albanese from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Bethan Ashmead Latham
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner
Editor: Richard Vadon
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are preparing to make their closing pitches to voters ahead of Election Day. The Harris Campaign announced she’ll make her final arguments to the American people next week in a speech at the Ellipse in D.C., the exact same spot where nearly four years ago, then-President Donald Trump incited a mob of his supporters to march toward the Capitol. The Harris campaign said the decision to have the vice president speak at the Ellipse is meant to highlight the contrast between her and Trump, who still has yet to say whether he’ll accept the results of the upcoming election. Kyle Cheney, senior legal affairs reporter for Politico, says Trump is already laying the groundwork to challenge the election results if he loses. This time, he could be successful.
And in headlines: Trump says he’ll fire Special Counsel Jack Smith if elected, Harris headlines a rally in Texas with Beyonce tonight, and Los Angeles County’s district attorney says he’ll recommend resentencing for the Menendez Brothers.
China's irregular military exercises around Taiwan express Beijing's displeasure with Taiwanese leadership, so how seriously should the US take those demonstrations? Eric Gomez comments.
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Last night, Vice President Kamala Harris was in the Philadelphia suburbs for a CNN Town Hall with Anderson Cooper and an audience of what the network called “undecided and persuadable voters.” Harris fielded questions about whether former President Donald Trump is a fascist, and was asked by audience members what she’d do about the price of groceries. There’s a reason the CNN town hall was in Pennsylvania. It’s the state both campaigns have visited the most – and where they’ve spent the most money on ads. It’s also the swing state with the most electoral college votes up for grabs in the election. And on top of that – Pennsylvania is also home to an extremely tight race that will help decide which party controls the Senate. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey joins us to talk about his race and what Democrats can do to help Harris take Pennsylvania.
And in headlines: The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea sends troops to Russia, RFK Jr. asks the Supreme Court to take him off another swing state ballot, a report from Microsoft warns of Chinese, Russian, and Iranian interference in the election, and former Republican National Convention Chair Ronna McDaniel warns the GOP about neglecting young voters.
When put to the voters, abortion rights have been winning over stricter restrictions even in places like deeply red Kansas. But Florida Republicans are working hard to defeat a ballot measure that would roll back the state’s six-week abortion ban—and they might have found a formula to win.
Guest: Grace Panetta, political reporter at The 19th.
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Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.
Was an MP wrong about the number of people who pay capital gains tax?
Why is 2% the magic number for the rate of inflation?
Donald Trump says US crime figures are fake. Are they?
How do you work out how many buffaloberries a bear eats in a day?
And we fact-check a claim about the prevalence of suicide among GPs. For information and support follow this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporters: Nathan Gower and Bethan Ashmead Latham
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Sound mix: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Richard Vadon
Roughly 20 million people have already voted in the upcoming election, either by mail or in person. And as the ballots keep pouring in, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are running around the country, trying to sway as many voters as they can ahead of what’s shaping up to be a historically close election. On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for interviews with NBC and Telemundo, while former President Barack Obama and rapper Eminem rallied for her in Michigan. Meanwhile, Trump joined a roundtable with Latino leaders in Doral, Florida, canceled a virtual town hall, and finished the day repeating lies about FEMA during a rally in North Carolina. Atlantic Staff writer Charlie Warzel explains how the debunked FEMA conspiracies play into something darker that’s happening online and what it could all mean for the election.
And in headlines: The FBI announced it's investigating a possible leak of classified documents that allegedly outline Israel’s plans to attack Iran, a federal judge ordered former New York City mayor and Trump loyalist Rudy Giuliani to turn over his Upper East Side penthouse to two Georgia election workers who he defamed, and Trump plans a sit-down interview with podcaster Joe Rogan.
