What Makes Arizona Tick
On this episode of See How They Run, Sasha Abramsky and Amy Littlefield on the chaotic, complicated, high-drama prize of the Southwest.

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On this episode of See How They Run, DD Guttenplan is joined by Sasha Abramsky and Amy Littlefield to discuss the chaotic, complicated, high-drama prize of the Southwest.
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Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, his wife former Rep. Gabby Giffords, Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, and Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, stand together on stage a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on August 9, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona.
(Photo by Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)On this episode of See How They Run, we’re continuing our series of deep dives into the swing states that will decide the presidential election. Today, we’ve moved southwest to Arizona, a state that had been slipping away from Democrats under Joe Biden but has moved back into contention under Kamala Harris. How she does there will be a crucial test of her ability to navigate some of the trickiest issues in American politics—from immigration to abortion to plain old MAGA hysteria. Throw in a blockbuster Senate race and a robust election-denial movement and you have a recipe for fireworks.
We’ll be speaking with Amy Littlefield, The Nation’s abortion access correspondent, about Arizona’s upcoming referendum on abortion, and with Sasha Abramsky, The Nation’s Left Coast correspondent and the author of the new book Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America. Sasha’s recent story, “Will Arizona Be MAGA’s Last Stand?” led our July issue.

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
In June, Trump sent more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to occupy Los Angeles and terrorize the immigrant population. But by the end of July, almost all the Guard and the Marines were gone. Bill Gallegos explains how that happened and what other cities can learn from it.
Also: Bob Dylan fans have been puzzled and troubled by his Christmas album ever since he released it in 2009. To help figure out what Dylan was doing, we turn to Sean Wilentz. He’s author of Bob Dylan in America, and he also teaches history at Princeton. (Originally recorded in January, 2005.)
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