Politics

The Swing State Power Brokers

By Rund Abdelfatah,

Ramtin Arablouei, Casey Miner, Julie Caine, Devin Katayama, Anya Steinberg, Lawrence Wu, Sarah Wyman, Linah Mohammad, Cristina Kim, Irene Noguchi

Published October 24, 2024 at 10:52 AM MST

Today on the show, two stories of building power in swing states: from the top down, and the bottom up.

First, how a future Supreme Court justice helped launch a program to challenge voters at the Arizona polls in the early 1960s, in a county that's become a hotbed for election conspiracies in the decades since. Then, how a 1973 labor strike led by Arab Americans in a Michigan factory town sparked a political movement that could play a major role in the 2024 election.

This story is part of "We, The Voters," NPR's election series reported from the seven swing states that will most likely decide the 2024 election.

Guests:

John A. Jenkins, author of The Partisan: The Life of William Rehnquist

Tova Wang, Director of Research Projects in Democratic Practice at the Ash Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and author of The Politics of Voter Suppression: Defending and Expanding Americans' Right to Vote.
Ismael Ahmed, co-founder of the Arab American Center for Economic and Social Services.

Sally Howell, Professor of History with a focus on Arab American studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Politics

Rund Abdelfatah

Rund Abdelfatah is the co-host and producer of Throughline, a podcast that explores the history of current events. In that role, she's responsible for all aspects of the podcast's production, including development of episode concepts, interviewing guests, and sound design.

Ramtin Arablouei

Ramtin Arablouei is co-host and co-producer of NPR's podcast Throughline, a show that explores history through creative, immersive storytelling designed to reintroduce history to new audiences.

Casey Miner

Casey Miner is an award-winning narrative audio editor, producer and writer who's worked with NPR, Wondery, Reveal, The Stoop, Slate, Pop-Up Magazine and Mother Jones, among many others. Projects she's worked on have been recognized by the Peabody Awards, the Emmy Awards, the National Association of Black Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists. She created and hosted The Specialist, a podcast about work we don't think about and the people who do it, and is a co-founder of the Editors Collective, a group of narrative audio editors working to diversify the field and build networks and career paths for new editors. [Copyright 2024 NPR]

Julie Caine

Julie Caine is supervising editor for NPR's Throughline. An award-winning editor, reporter and audio producer, Caine's heart is in her ears. She led podcasting and on-demand audio at KQED in San Francisco, overseeing strategy, new show development and a vibrant podcast portfolio, including The Bay, Truth Be Told and Rightnowish. She helped found Jetty Studios, an international podcast unit for the Al Jazeera Media Network, where she launched Closer Than They Appear and Game of Our Lives, and developed The Take. She's a founding producer and editor on The Stoop and The Specialist podcasts, and was managing producer for Crosscurrents at KALW Public Radio, a springboard for shows like 99% Invisible, Snap Judgment, The Intersection, and Kamau Right Now. She believes deeply in Grace Paley's maxim that you must be a story listener to be a storyteller. [Copyright 2024 NPR]

Devin Katayama

Devin Katayama is a Senior Producer for NPR's Throughline podcast. He was formerly Editor of Talent and Development for KQED, where he created equitable opportunities for interns and newsroom staff. Prior to that, he hosted The Bay and American Suburb podcasts. While an education reporter with WFPL, Katayama won WBUR's 2014 Daniel Schorr award and a regional RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for his documentary "At Risk." Katayama has also received numerous local awards from the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists. He earned his master's in journalism from Columbia College Chicago, and a bachelor's in English creative writing from CUNY Hunter College. Katayama is based in Vallejo, California – the 707. [Copyright 2024 NPR]

Anya Steinberg

Lawrence Wu

Sarah Wyman

Linah Mohammad

Cristina Kim

Cristina Kim is a reporter/producer for Throughline.

Irene Noguchi

Irene Noguchi is the Executive Producer leading NPR's Enterprise Storytelling Unit, which includes the talented teams creating podcasts Rough Translation, Invisibilia and Embedded, as well as Sunday episodes of Up First in collaboration with Morning Edition and longform narrative collaborations across public media. She brings a rich background of public radio, digital media and experience covering news and launching new podcasts.