The Field

The Field

This is The Field, a series that goes inside towns and cities across America in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. Each week, Times reporters will speak to voters to understand their hopes and fears at a time when the stakes have never felt higher on either side. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

  1. On Election Day, 'Two Different Worlds'

    03/11/2020 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    On Election Day, 'Two Different Worlds'

    This episode contains strong language. At the heart of one race for the Wisconsin State Assembly are some of the same political cracks splitting the U.S. as a whole. Some believe keeping businesses running is a priority during the coronavirus pandemic; others think keeping people safe and healthy should be given precedence. Rob Swearingen is a four-time Republican assemblyman and owner of a local restaurant. He challenged the lockdown imposed by Wisconsin’s governor and, since reopening his business, has taken a loose interpretation of the mask mandate. His Democratic challenger, Kirk Bangstad, has strictly followed statewide edicts, opening his restaurant outdoors in the summer and, when there were coronavirus infections among his staff, closing down until all could be tested. What do the different approaches reveal about Wisconsin politics and about broader American divisions? Reid J. Epstein, a politics reporter for The New York Times, and Andy Mills and Luke Vander Ploeg, audio producers for The Times, went to the state to find out. Guests: Reid J. Epstein, who covers campaigns and elections for The New York Times; Andy Mills, a senior audio producer for The Times; Luke Vander Ploeg, an audio producer for The Times.  Bonus Election Day special: The Daily is going LIVE today. Listen to Michael Barbaro and Carolyn Ryan, a deputy managing editor at The Times, as they call our correspondents for the latest on a history-making day.  Tune in from 4 - 8 p.m. Eastern, only on nytimes.com/thedaily and on the The New York Times iPhone app. Click here for more information.  Background reading: Here’s Reid’s story about how the virus has divided the conservative town of Minocqua, Wis.President Trump and Joe Biden barnstormed through battleground states, concluding an extraordinary campaign conducted amid a health crisis and deep economic anxiety.

    37 min
  2. 30/10/2020 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The Shy Biden Voters Among Florida’s Seniors

    Florida’s seniors played an important role in President Trump’s victory there in 2016. Older voters, who are mostly conservative, make up around 25 percent of the swing state’s electorate and turn out in astonishing numbers. They are also disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and polling suggests that Joe Biden is making inroads with Republican-leaning older voters. In Florida’s conservative retirement communities, however, the decision to switch from Mr. Trump can have consequences and many stay quiet for fear of reprisals. Some of these consequences are obvious: One resident who erected a sign in support of Mr. Biden woke up to “Trump” written in weedkiller on his lawn. Other effects are more personal, and more insidious. Today, Annie Brown, a senior audio producer at The Times, speaks to some of Florida’s seniors about their voting intentions — including one, Dave Niederkorn, who has turned his back on Mr. Trump and almost lost a close friend in the process. Guests: Annie Brown, a senior audio producer for The New York Times; and Patricia Mazzei, the Miami bureau chief of The Times, who covers Florida and Puerto Rico.  For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily  Background reading: Older people are a crucial voting bloc in Florida. In a speech earlier this month, Joe Biden made his pitch to them.“If it’s here, it’s here” — how retirees in Florida’s Villages confronted the coronavirus in the summer.

    37 min
  3. 29/10/2020 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    The Specter of Political Violence

    This episode contains strong language. With an election in which uncertainty may abound, concerns are swirling around the possibility of political violence. Experts and officials — including those charged with the security of polling stations and ballot counting facilities — have been taking extra precautions. Americans across the political spectrum appear to be preparing themselves for this possibility, too: Eight of the 10 biggest weeks for gun sales since the late 1990s took place since March this year. Many of those sales were to people buying guns for the first time. Today’s episode examines these anxieties from two perspectives. Andy Mills, a senior audio producer for The New York Times, speaks to patrons of gun stores in Washington State about their motivations and sits down with a first-time gun owner who relays his anxiety, ignited by the unrest and protests in Seattle over the summer. And Alix Spiegel, a senior audio editor for The Times, visits three women of color in North Carolina, one of whom says the scenes in Charlottesville, the killing of Black people at the hands of the police and the threat of white militias have encouraged her to shift her anti-gun stance.  Guests:  Andy Mills, a senior audio producer for The New York Times; Alix Spiegel, a senior audio editor for The Times; and Reid J. Epstein, who covers campaigns and elections for The Times.  For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily  Background reading: Gun buyers say they are motivated by a new sense of instability that is pushing them to purchase weapons for the first time, or if they already have them, to buy more.

    47 min

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About

This is The Field, a series that goes inside towns and cities across America in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. Each week, Times reporters will speak to voters to understand their hopes and fears at a time when the stakes have never felt higher on either side. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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