States of Mind: Recent Episodes
RTÉ
From celebrity endorsements to in-depth analysis, RTÉ's Brian O'Donovan and Jackie Fox guide you through the twists and turns of the 2020 race to the White House in the 'States of Mind' podcast.
Jackie and Sean speak to Republican Congressman David Joyce about what’s next for the GOP after it swept the board in this year’s elections
Jackie speaks to Ariel Hill-Davis from Republican Women for Progress on what's at stake during this election for Republicans and women
Jackie Fox, Sean Whelan and Fiona Mitchell look back at the chaotic, strange and historical US 2024 presidential election
A new Grand Old Party? Caitlin Sinclair, Spokesperson Turning Point Action, and Kevin Madden, Former Senior Advisor to Mitt Romney, discuss what’s next for the GOP
How real is election fraud? Geoff Duncan, former Georgia Lieutenant Governor, and Paul Smith, Law Professor at Georgetown University, talk voting and what might happen after Election Day
Yvonne Murray joins Jackie and Sean to break down the immigration issue. Jackie speaks to an Irish woman who has been on the front line of the migration crisis in the US
Dr Alexander Vindman, ex-National Security Council member, and former taoiseach Leo Varadkar join Jackie and Sean to discuss America’s place in the world as election day edges closer
Paul Young, Mayor Memphis Democrat, Patrick Houlihan, Delegate from Ohio and Kelly Dittmar, Centre for American Women and Politics, discuss this monumental convention for the Democrats
Are they the right running mates? What’s the story with the US economy? Meghan Milloy, Republican Women for Progress, On Message’s Jerrod Dobkin and ex-White House Economic Adviser, Tomas Philipson discuss
Jackie and Sean speak to Kamala Harris’ uncle, Brendan Boyle and Sean Spicer about how both campaigns are going back to the drawing board
With the Democrats in crisis, Jackie and Sean speak with former Governor of Vermont Howard Dean and former Republican Congressman, Dr John Fleming, about the chaos engulfing White House
Jackie Fox discusses the year in US politics just gone and what's ahead with Rep Bill Keating, Rep Brendan Boyle, longtime Republican strategist Scott Jennings, and reporter Alayna Treene
As the dust settles on the Midterm elections and Donald Trump announces another presidential bid, Jackie and Sean look at what it all means for the White House and Congress
Republican Congressman David Joyce talks about his Galway roots, American democracy and what's next for the Republican party
Joe Biden warns that American democracy is under threat, but a senior member of Trump's 2020 re-election campaign suggests that it is a figment of people's imagination
Season 2 of States of Mind kicks off with a playbook for the Midterm Elections. Congressman Richard Neal also speaks about the future of his country.
Jackie Fox looks forward to a new year and a new administration with former White House Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci, legal analyst Kimberly Wehle and Congressman Brendan Boyle.
With the dust settling on an intense, unprecedented US Presidential election – eyes are turning to two run-off elections in Georgia as they will determine what Joe Biden can do in office.
What does America First mean for Joe Biden? Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Aaron David Miller, who worked with former US secretaries of states, along with former Irish Ambassador to US and IIEA DG Michael Collins discuss Joe Biden’s foreign policy vision.
A dramatic end to a dramatic presidency. Brian and Jackie reflect on a week which saw Joe Biden becoming US president-elect after a gruelling and bitter campaign.
Following an inconclusive night in a tight US presidential election, the final result is still too close to call.
With only hours to go until polling day, Brian and Jackie answer your questions ahead of Election Night.
What could happen when the polls close? Republican Congressman in Florida, Francis Rooney and Notre Dame’s Professor Emeritus Bob Schmuhl discuss the different scenarios which may or may not happen following election night and why eyes should be on Florida.
Former speechwriter for Barack Obama, David Litt and Greg Swenson from Republicans Overseas discuss the second and final presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee where no mute button was needed.
Why is it so hard to vote in America? Legal analyst and law professor, Kimberly Wehle and Rachel Homer from Protect Democracy discuss voting barriers across America and concerns over voter suppression.
US Presidential election drama aside, the Congressional elections will determine who has the upper hand in Washington. Mark Rom from Georgetown University discusses who and what we should look out for. And back to the drama - the fallout from Donald Trump’s Covid diagnosis.
Kamala Harris is a woman with many firsts to her name. The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, she is known for her tough and combative nature. Her uncle Gopalan Balachandran on how those characteristics were always there and Suhasini Haidar from The Hindu discusses what a Biden/Harris administration could mean for India-US relations.
Who is Mike Pence? What does he stand for? A look at the life and times of Vice President Mike Pence as the running mate debate edges closer. His Clare relative gives an insight into his love for Ireland but it’s his devotion to God that will always come out on top.
A look at the ‘hot mess’ that was the first presidential debate with Katherine Zappone, who is part of Team Biden and Jennifer Carnahan, Chair for the Republican Party of Minnesota.
With the US presidential debates about to get underway, Eli Attie, who was part of Al Gore’s debate team in 2000, gives a behind the scenes insight and discusses how it influenced his writing and producing for the West Wing.
Legendary journalist Bob Woodward on why he thinks Donald Trump’s leadership is shocking, tragic and embarrassing.
With postal voting more popular in 2020 due to the pandemic, Brian and Jackie discuss the controversies surrounding it and the postal service with CEO of FairVote, Rob Richie. Also one American living in Ireland on why she’s worried about her vote.
Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s oldest son, Martin Luther King III speaks about his father's legacy, Donald Trump's America and how voting in November should be a 'very easy choice'.
What are battleground states and why are they so important? Business owner in Pennsylvania, Sean Fedorko talks about his state’s unexpected swing in 2016 and black Democrat Vernon Jones, who spoke at this year’s RNC, on backing Donald Trump.
A look at the world of the Electoral College while former White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci talks about Donald Trump calling him a ‘loser’ and why the president is going to be ‘annihilated’ in November.
The Republican National Convention had the five fs: faith, family, feelings, fear and future. Tim Wigginton, North Carolina GOP Press Secretary joins to talk about the long road to this convention and what it was like to be on the ground.
Congressman Brendan Boyle looks back at the virtual Democratic National Convention’s unusual speeches, Joe’s big moment and how he’s welcoming anti-Trump Republicans with open arms.
Howard Dean, ex Chair of the Democratic National Committee, on healthy infighting and the party's virtual convention. Former Washington Correspondent, Robert Shortt also lays bare what conventions are really all about.
Grief, gaffes and gregarious: A look at the life and times of Joe Biden, with the man who inadvertently ruined his first presidential run.
Sean Spicer, former White House Press Secretary speaks about the dangers of underestimating Joe Biden, the future of the GOP, Trump's re-election bid and not missing that podium.
Pete Buttigieg’s Campaign Manager, Mike Schmuhl on the unprecedented campaign, social media wars in 2020, disinformation and the power of Trump’s Twitter. While Brian speaks to people to see if they have learned anything from the chaotic 2016 election.
Communications Director for the Trump campaign, Tim Murtaugh on shake-ups, not trusting the polls, daily battles, holding out for campaign rallies and his Irish roots.
Immanuel Jarvis, North Carolina GOP Chair, on what it’s like to be a black Donald Trump supporter while Brian goes on the road in Pennsylvania as the Pence and Biden campaigns hit the swing state.
The Lincoln Project’s John Weaver discusses the group's battle against Donald Trump as he and other Republicans take a ‘flamethrower’ to their life’s work. Sawyer Hackett, adviser to Julián Castro on the woes and foes of campaigning in Election 2020.
From the streets to the ballot paper: Progressive pollster, Cornell Belcher outlines a turning point for minorities in politics while Prof Derryn Moten and Dr Hasan Jeffries discuss colonial symbols and why they were never welcome in the first place.
From the frontline: Physician Assistant Jim Nealon and Funeral Director Clive Anderson reflect on how Covid-19 ripped through New York this spring, remember the people they lost and discuss the moments that will stay will them forever.
One of the leading African-American politicians in the United States, Rep James Clyburn discusses racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the steps the country needs to take for it “to survive for the next generation”.
Women from both sides of the political divide discuss Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s record with women and explore what it means to be a woman involved in politics in 2020.
Trump and Obama economic advisors give a first-hand insight into the success and failures of the current administration and offer their two cents on the Covid-19 era. Also, one Irish woman on trying to get a business back on track in Virgina.
Only a heartbeat away from the presidency, the Vice President has resulted in some of the most memorable moments in US history. But how does the office work? America’s leading expert on VPs, Prof Joel Goldstein puts the role under the microscope.
If money can’t buy votes, what can it buy? Sarah Bryner, Centre for Responsive Politics and ex-Federal Election Commission chair, Bradley Smith discuss the ways and means of campaign fundraising and finding ways to lure donations during a pandemic.
Fake news poses a real threat to Election 2020 as CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan explains. While head of the American Press Institute, Tom Rosenstiel outlines how people have been losing trust in the media for a long time and where it all goes from here.
Untangling the complicated US voting web with Rob Richie from FairVote as he turns to Ireland for electoral reform inspiration. Chair of Texas Young Republicans, Hayden Padgett on why absentee ballot voting isn’t a partisan problem.
With Bernie Sanders officially bowing out, we go behind the man and the movement. Family friend, Shyla Nelson Stewarts remembers his early years in Vermont while Irish man, Conor Boylan talks about how he convinced Sanders to run in the first place.
As the Covid-19 pandemic turns the US Presidential Election upside down, it has also unearthed racial issues within the country. Kailee Scales from Black Lives Matter tells us why. Our divided American family is also back, reflecting on politics during lockdown.
One Irish man living in the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in New York tells Brian and Jackie why he is going beyond the line of duty to help people get some closure in a new restrictive and grief-stricken world. Also, how millions of people in America won’t see one cent of the multi-trillion dollar aid package.
It’s a testing time for a tested president as Covid-19 hits the United States and Election 2020. Brian O’Donovan and Jackie Fox speak to one family split by the the president’s response and Bernie Sanders' friend for more than 40 years about why his campaign suddenly fell flat.
Shamrock sharing delayed & former Whitehouse Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney talks about his final days in the job. In a Special St. Patrick’s Edition States of Mind, Brian O’Donovan and Jackie Fox discuss this year’s light greening of the White House as major events are cancelled for the first time in decades.
As the Joe Biden bandwagon takes to the road, Brian O'Donovan and Jackie Fox discuss whether it is on a steady track to the Democratic presidential nomination