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What the Polls Get Wrong About Biden—Plus, Turmoil in Haiti

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Steve Phillips argues for expanding the electorate, and Amy Wilentz reports on Port-au-Prince.

Jon Wiener

March 13, 2024

President Joe Biden announces the cancellation of an additional $1.2 billion in student loan debt at the Julian Dixon Library in Culver City, Calif.—far from any possible protests over his policy towards Israel’s war in Gaza.(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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What the Polls Get Wrong about Biden, plus Haiti in Turmoil | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

After gangs took over most of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s acting prime minister, Ariel Henry, agreed to step aside. Long-time Haiti observer Amy Wilentz analyzes the forces at work shaping the country’s next steps.

Also: the polls and the pollsters are missing the political potential in 9 million people who have turned 18 since the last election. Steve Phillips explains – his book, ‘How We Win the Civil War,’ is out now in a new edition, updated for the 2024 election.

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After gangs took over most of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s acting prime minister, Ariel Henry, agreed to step aside. Longtime Haiti observer Amy Wilentz analyzes the forces at work shaping the country’s next steps.

Also on this episode: The polls and the pollsters are missing the political potential in 9 million people who have turned 18 since the last election. Steve Phillips is on the podcast to explain. His book How We Win the Civil War is out now in a new edition, updated for the 2024 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.

Hottest Year on Record, Syria's Transition, Yoon Weathers Impeachment | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this week's American Prestige news roundup: 2024 is officially the hottest year on record (0:57), particularly because the Arctic is no longer a carbon sink, but rather a net carbon emitter (2:40); regarding the situation in Syria, an update on the political transition (5:16), renewed fighting between the SDF and Turkish proxies (10:56), and Israel makes a land grab for an extended "buffer zone" (15:01); in Israel-Palestine, Hamas makes a major ceasefire concession (18:22); rebels in Myanmar seize the Bangladesh border (21:29) while other factions call for a ceasefire (22:51); President Yoon of South Korea survives his first impeachment vote and chaos ensues (24:30); Ethiopia and Somalia strike a deal to settle their recent tensions (30:14); in Russia-Ukraine, Trump's demand for a ceasefire panics Zelenskyy (33:22); Romania's constitutional court annuls the first round of its presidential election (37:14); an armed group commits a massacre in Haiti (40:25); and the Biden administration is building migrant detention facilities (42:00).

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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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