Swamp Notes: Democrats find a feeling at the DNC

Swamp Notes: Democrats find a feeling at the DNC

Author: Financial Times August 23, 2024 Duration: 18:50

Democrats from across the US gathered in Chicago for their presidential convention this week, promising to move past the Donald Trump-era of American politics. But if their newly-minted nominee, vice-president Kamala Harris, wins November’s election, she’ll have her work cut out to keep her party together. The FT’s deputy Washington bureau chief, Lauren Fedor, and US political news editor, Derek Brower, join the FT's US politics podcast, Swamp Notes, to explain what the future of the party might look like.


Mentioned in this podcast:

Five key points from Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech

Kamala Harris vows to ‘strengthen, not abdicate’ US global leadership

Kamala Harris’s underwhelming economic agenda

Listen to Swamp Notes every Saturday on the feed of the FT News Briefing


Swamp Notes is produced by Ethan Plotkin, Sonja Hutson, Lauren Fedor and Marc Filippino. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. 


CREDIT: PBS NewsHour


Register now for the FT Weekend Festival, and claim £24 off your pass using promo code FTPodcast at: ft.com/festival


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Every Friday, the team behind Political Fix gathers to make sense of the week's political turbulence. This isn't just a recap of headlines; it's a deep, often lively conversation that pulls back the curtain on how decisions are really made in Westminster and beyond. You'll hear from the Financial Times journalists who are actually there, in the corridors and committee rooms, paired with expert voices who provide crucial context. Together, they untangle complex policy debates, analyse the shifting alliances, and question the strategies defining Britain's future. The result is a clear-eyed, authoritative look at the forces shaping the nation, delivered with the FT's signature rigor and insight. Tuning into this podcast feels like gaining access to a private briefing, one that prioritizes substance over noise. It’s for anyone who wants to move past the soundbites and understand the real stories and personalities driving the political agenda. New episodes arrive weekly, offering a consistent and essential perspective on a landscape that never stops moving.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Political Fix
Podcast Episodes
Introducing Untold: Toxic Legacy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:16
Introducing Toxic Legacy, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. Host Laura Hughes uncovers a lead poisoning epidemic across the UK. You might be living with lead and not know it: the toxin is often invisible t…
Has Kemi Badenoch silenced the critics? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:57
Conference season is over for another year and after a rousing speech from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to the party faithful, the Political Fix panel is asking: has she done enough to silence her critics and revers…
Coming soon from Tech Tonic: Mission to Mars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:40
US President Donald Trump has pledged to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”, China could send its first crewed mission to Mars within a decade, and Elon Musk wants people to actually settle on Mars, transfo…
Labour’s conference comeback? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:27
This week, the Political Fix team comes to you from Liverpool — with all the news from the annual Labour Party Conference. Sir Keir Starmer struck a patriotic tone to the Labour faithful, promising to fight Nigel Farage’…
Does Starmer have a northern problem? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:16
As the prime minister prepares for his annual party conference, the mayor for Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, seems to be mounting a thinly veiled bid for the Labour leadership. In numerous interviews given to the medi…
Trumpery, pageantry and the ‘special relationship’ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:05
President Donald Trump landed in Windsor this week for his historic second state visit to the UK. What ensued was a celebration of pomp and pageantry fit for a king: a Red Arrows flyby, a lavish banquet in a castle, and…
Starmer in a spin as the ‘Dark Lord’ bites the dust [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:21
After the toe-curling revelations about Lord Peter Mandelson’s connections with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the ambassador’s departure seemed inevitable to all - with the exception of some in Downing Street…
Bonus ep: How the UK is navigating the Trump era [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:45
US President Donald Trump is coming to the UK next week. What can we expect from his visit? And where do things stand between the US and the UK? In this special bonus episode, our two FT political chat shows, Political F…
Rayner, Reeves and Reform [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:26
It wasn’t the start to the new parliamentary term that Prime Minister Keir Starmer hoped for. His insistence that his focus is now on “delivery, delivery, delivery” was eclipsed by the furore surrounding the deputy prime…
Farage, flags and the ghosts of Labour’s past [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:47
Just as Sir Keir Starmer was stealing a few days' summer holiday, Reform unveiled its immigration policy, former Labour heavyweights called for a withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights, and Tony Blair po…