Clusterf*cked Roger King

Ross Benes grew up in small town Nebraska, surrounded by Republicans.  Now he lives in Brooklyn.  His book "Rural Rebellion: How Nebraska Became a Republican Stronghold" details Nebraska's move rightward but is also a personal story about understanding both rural and urban cultures, and how to bridge that divide. Ross and Roger discuss the misconceptions about rural voters and how Democrats can be competitive in Nebraska again. 

Journalist Alec MacGillis often writes about inequality in the U.S., including a New York Times article that led to the launch of this very Clusterfucked podcast.  His new book, Fulfillment: Winning & Losing in One-Click America, looks at winners and losers in different regions through the lens of Amazon.  Roger and Alec discuss the book, how the pandemic has affected liberal clustering and more.

Wisconsin Democratic Chair Ben Wikler joins Roger to discuss Wisconsin politics: how Biden beat Trump in the state, the 2022 campaign to defeat Republican Senator Ron Johnson, how candidates can win regularly in Wisconsin, and more.

Former Senator Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota) and first ever African-American Alabama Minority House Leader Anthony Daniels join Roger for a lively discussion on what Democrats need to do to reach out to rural voters, particularly in deep red states.

A California filmmaker goes back to where she grew up in small-town Kentucky to find out why her relatives support Trump and to explore the cultural stereotyping of the people of Appalachia.

Roger and Director Ashley York discuss her film Hillbilly, the conditions that led to the politics of the region and the surprising progressive community in Kentucky and surrounding red states.

At 20 years old, David Shor was hired by Obama for America and was a key data analyst & forecaster for Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.  David and Roger discuss the polling problems with the 2020 election, who non-voters really are, myths about which issues are actually popular with voters, and more.