Radio Atlantic

Rebuilding the Blue Wall

While in Detroit covering the Democratic debates, Isaac Dovere sits down with Dana Nessel, Michigan’s new Democratic attorney general and the state’s first openly gay statewide officeholder.
Last year, Nessel was part of an all-women executive slate that many said couldn’t win. But every single woman candidate did and Nessel now holds a job that Republican men had controlled for 16 years.
What lessons does Nessel’s victory have for Democrats trying to retake Michigan and other crucial states in the industrial midwest? The candidates on stage in Detroit argued over a choice between appealing to progressives or moderates to win. But is that a false choice? And is Joe Biden the safe bet many voters think he is?
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The Atlantic has long been known as an ideas-driven magazine. Now we’re bringing that same ethos to audio. Like the magazine, the show will “road test” the big ideas that both drive the news and shape our culture. Through conversations—and sometimes sharp debates—with the most insightful thinkers and writers on topics of the day, Radio Atlantic will complicate overly simplistic views. It will cut through the noise with clarifying, personal narratives. It will, hopefully, help listeners make up their own mind about certain ideas.
The national conversation right now can be chaotic, reckless, and stuck. Radio Atlantic aims to bring some order to our thinking—and encourage listeners to be purposeful about how they unstick their mind.