Diane Rehm: On My Mind

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris met on stage for their first, and likely only, debate of the campaign Tuesday night, just a week before early voting kicks off in Pennsylvania, one of the most critical battleground states of the election. Over an hour and a half Harris needled Trump on everything from crowd sizes to getting “fired” by the American people. With each jab the former president seemed to become more enraged, his anger distracting him from his own talking points and allowing Harris to set the agenda. Headlines across the country declared a clear victory for Harris and Trump now says that he will not debate her again. But how much will all this matter at the polls? The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser joins Diane to help answer that question.

Donald Trump began his political career with demands to see Barack Obama’s birth certificate, based on the false claim that the he had been born outside of the United States. In other words, a lie. The former president concluded his term in office with an even bigger lie, namely that the 2020 election was rigged. In between, Trump fibbed thousands of times about things big and small. And keeping track of these mistruths and exaggerations were political fact-checkers, journalists whose job it is to call out not only Donald Trump’s lies – but the lies all politicians tell. Glenn Kessler has been the chief writer and editor of the Fact Checker column for The Washington Post since 2011. In it he examines the “truth behind the rhetoric.” Kessler joined Diane to talk about how his job has changed since Donald Trump entered politics and the challenges of covering the 2024 presidential election.

If you’re a reader of the New York Times – or a lover of books – you might know about the paper’s project this summer counting down the top hundred books of the century so far. Number one on the list? “My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante. It is the first of four novels that tell the story of the friendship between Lila and Elena, two working class girls growing up in post-World War II Naples. In 2018 HBO adapted the series for television. Diane hosted a discussion of “My Brilliant Friend” as part of her Readers Review series back in 2015 on The Diane Rehm Show. She and her guests dug into the characters, the setting, and the mystery surrounding the author’s identity. Diane's guests included Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, and The Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University; Louis Bayard Author, "Roosevelt's Beast." His other books include "The Pale Blue Eye," "The School of Night" and "Mr. Timothy," a New York Times Notable Book. He teaches fiction writing at The George Washington University; and Professor of contemporary Italian culture, Georgetown University; author of "The Tigress in the Snow: Motherhood and Literature in Twentieth-Century Italy" and of the novel "Un Paese Di Carta."

Kamala Harris currently leads Donald Trump in national polls by more than 3 percentage points according to the website 538. But if there’s one thing that recent elections have taught us, it is that a victory in the popular vote does not guarantee a spot in the oval office. This is, of course, thanks to the Electoral College. In two of the last six elections, more Americans punched their ballots for the eventual losers than the men who went on to claim the presidency. And the same could happen again this year. “My opinion is that it is a fundamentally unfair system because of the way it erases so many millions of Americans’ votes,” says Jesse Wegman, a member of the editorial board of the New York Times. In 2020 Wegman joined Diane to talk about his book, “Let the People Pick the President,” and made his case for abolishing the Electoral College. With the 2024 election less than 75 days away, we revisit their conversation.

If you count yourself among the majority of Americans who own at least one pet, you might have noticed that your vet bill is quite a bit bigger than it once was. In fact, over the last decade the cost of pet care has risen by more than 60%. Helaine Olen is a journalist who has written about personal finance and the financial industry for years. In 2020, her aging dog fell ill, and she found herself shelling out big bucks to keep her beloved pup alive. She knew she wasn’t the only one who was willing to open her wallet in a big way for her furry friend and started looking into the big business of veterinary care. What she found was an industry going through a major shift, with a flood of private equity investment and corporate consolidation. Olen joins Diane to discuss what she says can be called the era of Big Vet.

Dr. Anthony Fauci became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic. To many, he was a hero for his efforts to relay potentially lifesaving information. But he also found himself at the center of conspiracy theories -- and became the target of a vitriolic political backlash. He says of the experience that it was “very painful and tragic to see people make decisions that led to their detriment.” Dr. Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022. He has advised seven presidents, guiding the nation’s response to threats like Zika, Ebola, AIDS, and Anthrax. His work on a 2003 plan to address the global HIV/AIDS crisis helped save more than twenty-five million lives. Dr. Fauci’s new memoir is titled “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service”. He joins Diane to talk about his career in public health and share his thoughts on the threats ahead.

President Biden laid out a series of proposals to change some fundamental aspects of our nation’s highest court this week. This included term limits, a code of ethics and a constitutional amendment that would say nobody is above the law. Though the Supreme Court’s approval ratings are stuck at historic lows, Republicans said the reforms are “dead on arrival.” Democrats, on the other hand, see this as a winning issue among the American public for this election cycle, and beyond. “I think Biden and the people advising him are playing the long game,” says Harry Litman. Litman is the senior legal affairs columnist at the Los Angeles Times, a former U.S. attorney and deputy assistant attorney general, and host of the podcast “Talking Feds.” He joined Diane to break down Biden’s proposed reforms, what impact they would have, and why the president is proposing them now. You can find "Talking Feds" wherever you listen to podcasts or on YouTube.

For years experts have warned of a wave of politically motivated violence in America. And, some might argue, that threat of violence has become a reality. There were the events of January 6th when one woman was killed, police officers were beaten, and the Vice President Pence’s life threatened. There was the foiled kidnapping plot against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer that ended in multiple convictions. And there was the recent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, when bullets narrowly missed ending the former president’s life. “You certainly see by every possible measure that it’s worsening,” says Adrienne LaFrance, executive editor of The Atlantic. LaFrance has written extensively about political violence in the U.S. She joins Diane to talk about her new essay titled “American Fury,” in which she asks if the situation will get worse before it gets better.

The Republican National Convention convention wrapped up last night with a speech from Donald Trump that lasted more than 90 minutes. It capped a week that was heavy on rhetoric, short on specifics. Enter Project 2025. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a document created by the conservative Heritage Foundation that lays out a vision for the next Republican president. “Project 2025 has gotten a lot of attention,” says Andrew Prokop, a senior political correspondent at Vox. He notes that Democrats in particular point to it as “a stand in for a lot of Trump’s extreme plans for dictatorship.” Though Trump has distanced himself from the document, experts say much – or even most of its proposals will likely be on the agenda for a possible second Trump term. Andrew Prokop joined Diane to talk about the myths and the facts about Project 2025.

Sheila Johnson is known as the nation’s first black female billionaire. She first rose to prominence as the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, or BET. Since then, she has become a widely recognized business leader, a hotel mogul, and the co-owner of three professional sports teams. But, Johnson says, her triumphs masked deep trauma and pain that she carried for decades. That included fear and self-doubt, an emotionally abusive 33-year marriage, and a severe depression following her divorce. Johnson joined Diane in April at WAMU’s Black Box Theater for a special in-person Diane Rehm Book Club Conversation. They talked about her memoir, “Walk Through Fire.”

Judge David Tatel sat on the bench of the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for nearly three decades. Appointed by Bill Clinton, he became a prominent, liberal-leaning voice in the judiciary, widely considered a top candidate for the Supreme Court had Al Gore won the 2000 election. Tatel was known as a brilliant legal mind, whose opinions helped shape laws affecting voting rights, the environment, internet regulations and press freedoms. But he was also known for another reason: he was blind. David Tatel retired from the bench in January. He joins Diane to discuss his new book, "Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice." In it, he opens up about his experience as a blind judge – and his grave concerns about the Supreme Court.

Last night President Biden and former president Donald Trump took to the debate stage. Hosted by CNN, the conversation focused more on personal attacks than policy. Throughout the night, Trump rattled off strings of lies that largely went unchecked. Biden, meanwhile, sounded meandering and unsteady, raising questions about his fitness as a candidate. Jamelle Bouie is a columnist for The New York Times who writes about politics, with an eye towards history. He joined Diane on Friday morning to help make sense of what happened last night and what it will mean for the 2024 election.

Once upon a time television news was dominated by men like Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. Some might call it an old boys club. Today, the sight of a woman in the anchor’s chair is commonplace. For this, we can thank Barbara Walters. In 1976 she became the first female host of a network nightly news program – and it did not go well. She was shunned, ridiculed, glared at by her co-anchor and eventually replaced. Instead of giving up, Walters transformed herself, becoming a legendary long-form interviewer. She talked to presidents, celebrities and, famously Monica Lewinsky. Walters went on to host ABC’s “20/20" for 25 years and “The View” for 17 more. She died two years ago at the age of 93. Journalist Susan Page has long been fascinated by Walters, her drive to succeed, and how she changed our understanding of news. Page wrote about her in the new book, “The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters.”

Almost half the tap water in the United States contains PFAS, also called forever chemicals. This class of compounds never fully break down in nature and have been linked to serious health problems. In April the Environmental Protection Agency required the removal of PFAS from drinking water. Now industry is pushing back. This week a group of chemical and manufacturing companies sued the EPA, saying it overstepped its authority. ProPublica’s Sharon Lerner has been reporting on these substances for years. Her latest piece appears in The New Yorker and is titled “How 3M Discovered, then Concealed, the Dangers of Forever Chemicals.” Lerner joins Diane on this episode of On My Mind to talk about the history of PFAS and how they became so ubiquitous.

After a New York jury found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 felonies last week, the reactions were swift and vehement. The former president’s calls for vengeance have become louder. GOP attacks on the justice system have become nearly universal, backed by specific threats and proposals. And Democrats seem to be struggling to find a way to respond. Susan Glasser writes a weekly column about life in Washington for The New Yorker, and is co-author of the book, “The Divider,” a best-selling history of Donald Trump in the white house, co-written with her husband, Peter Baker. Glasser joins Diane to talk about what has happened in the presidential race since Trump’s verdict and the starkly different worldviews the candidates are presenting to the American people.

In 1939 fascism was on the march around the world and America found itself at a crossroads. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt believed Hitler and the Nazis posed an existential threat to democracy. But the American public, still reeling from the Great Depression, remained wary of getting involved. Fascist sympathizers and powerful right-wing media groups egged on the isolationists. Famed aviator Charles Lindbergh became the voice of this opposition and over the ensuing two years a war of words played out between Lindbergh and Roosevelt. Paul Sparrow, the former director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, tells this story in a new book, “Awakening the Spirit of America.” “Awakening the Spirit” will be on bookstore shelves on June 4, 2024.

Diana Williams lived a rich life by any measure. She was a wife, a mother, a traveler, and the founder of a job training organization at San Quentin prison in California. But for three decades, Williams was plagued by mysterious symptoms. These included exhaustion, night sweats, brain fog, and throbbing headaches and chills that left her bedridden for days. Specialists diagnosed her with a series of maladies such as multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease, and toxic mold exposure. They prescribed grueling treatments that took up time, money, and ultimately proved unsuccessful. Williams eventually decided enough was enough. In January of this year, she traveled to Dignitas, a “death with dignity” group in Switzerland, and ended her life. In December 2023, just weeks before her “death date,” Williams joined Diane for a conversation about her agonizing choice and why she felt it was so important to tell her story of “a life well lived, a death well planned.” You can read more about Diana Williams’s story in her posthumously published memoir, “Traveling Solo.”

Three years ago, conservative activists took over the school board in a small suburb in Texas. They ended diversity initiatives, rolled back LGBTQ protections, and banned books they said did not reflect their values. Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News senior investigative reporter, has been following the story ever since. He says what happened in Southlake inspired a movement that threatens to undermine public education in America. Hixenbaugh’s reporting led to the award-winning podcast, Southlake, and the new book “They Came for the Schools.” He joined Diane to talk about one town's fight over race and identity, and the new war for America’s classrooms

About half of American voters say, if given the chance, they would replace both Trump and Biden on the ballot. While nearly two-thirds agree with the statement that “a third major party is needed.” Given the mood of the country, what will the role of third-party candidates be in the 2024 election? Could, say, Robert F. Kennedy, break through? How worried are Trump and Biden about an independent acting as “spoiler” and handing the race to their opponent? Michael Scherer is a national political reporter for the Washington Post. He joins Diane to discuss the ways independent and third-party candidates are affecting the campaign -- and could affect the election.

Will Biden and Trump take the stage? Last week President Biden said he would be willing to debate Donald Trump ahead of this year’s election in November. This came after months of back and forth between the candidates. Biden’s answers had been coy regarding a face off, citing the “behavior” of the former president. This was likely referencing Trump’s frequent interruptions and name calling in their 2020 meetings. Meanwhile the GOP turned this reluctance into a campaign talking point, claiming Biden was afraid to face the former president and the American people. If their commitments to share the stage fall through, this would be the first presidential campaign since 1976 without a debate. But with so many other methods available for candidates to reach potential voters, do debates even matter anymore? “Candidates control so much of the campaign process with their ralies, ads and conventions,” says Mitchell McKinney, dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Akron and an expert on political communication. “We the votes deserve a moment when they are not in control, and debates provide that.” McKinney joins Diane to talk about the past, present, and continued relevance of presidential debates.