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Understanding the Undecideds, plus Working Class Voters Now

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Rick Perlstein on the failures of journalism, and Eyal Press on Harris in Pennsylvania.

Jon Wiener

October 16, 2024

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event at the Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania, on October 14, 2024.(Dustin Franz / AFP via Getty Images)

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Understanding the Undecideds, plus Working Class Voters Now | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

One in six voters, pollsters say, are “still unsure of their choice.” What do people mean when they say they are “undecided”? Rick Perlstein says political writers have failed to understand the undecideds—and what Kamala might do to win their votes.

Also: Pennsylvania is the state where this year’s election may well be decided—and where nearly two-thirds of voters don’t have college degrees. Eyal Press went to Pennsylvania to find out what working class people there are thinking about and talking about in this election.

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One in six voters, pollsters say, are “still unsure of their choice.”  What do people mean when they say they are “undecided”? Rick Perlstein says political writers have failed to understand the undecideds—and what Kamala Harris might do to win their votes. He’s on the podcast to discuss.

Also on this episode of Start Making Sense: Pennsylvania is the state where this year’s election may well be decided—and where nearly two-thirds of voters don’t have college degrees. Eyal Press went to Pennsylvania to find out what working class people there are thinking about and talking about in this election.

The Nation Podcasts

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.

The Dems After Tuesday’s Primaries, plus Elmore Leonard’s Bad Guys / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of Start Making Sense, John Nichols analyzes this week’s primary results in California and elsewhere, and, from the archives, Elmore Leonard talks about where his characters and plots came from.

California’s jungle primary on Tuesday set the stage for the next Democratic governor of the state, and primaries in Iowa, New Jersey and elsewhere tested the strength of progressives in the party. John Nichols has our analysis.

Also: from the archives: Elmore Leonard, who died in 2013 at age 87, was unpretentious about his massive accomplishments: 45 novels, more than a dozen turned into movies, and a reputation as one of the great writers of dialogue. When we spoke in 2000, he had just published Pagan Babies, and his movies Get Shorty, Jackie Brown, and Out of Sight had been hits.

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Jon WienerTwitterJon Wiener is a contributing editor of The Nation and co-author (with Mike Davis) of Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties.


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