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The Political Junkie Looks At Politics In A Pandemic

WUNC News | By Frank Stasio,
Amanda Magnus
Published April 9, 2020 at 11:33 AM EDT
Former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., departs Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, after the Senate passed a second coronavirus response bill. Sanders announced on Wednesday he is suspending his campaign.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., departs Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, after the Senate passed a second coronavirus response bill. Sanders announced on Wednesday he is suspending his campaign.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is out of the Democratic presidential race. Former Vice President Joe Biden is now the presumptive nominee who will face President Donald Trump in November. 

Host Frank Stasio and Political Junkie Ken Rudin talk about Bernie Sanders and the other political news of the week.

A new poll from CNN shows that more than half of Americans think the federal government is doing a “poor job” in preventing the spread of COVID-19 — and a majority disapprove of the president’s response to the crisis. Plus, Wisconsin held its primary election this week after a political battle between the Democratic governor and Republican-controlled state legislature and state supreme court. Does this election fight foreshadow what could happen on a national scale in November?

Host Frank Stasio talks to Political Junkie Ken Rudin about all this and more, including how this moment measures up against other tough times in American history.

Copyright 2020 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Amanda Magnus
Amanda Magnus grew up in Maryland and went to high school in Baltimore. She became interested in radio after an elective course in the NYU journalism department. She got her start at Sirius XM Satellite Radio, but she knew public radio was for her when she interned at WNYC. She later moved to Madison, where she worked at Wisconsin Public Radio for six years. In her time there, she helped create an afternoon drive news magazine show, called Central Time. She also produced several series, including one on Native American life in Wisconsin. She spends her free time running, hiking, and roller skating. She also loves scary movies.
See stories by Amanda Magnus