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Act Two: Mr. Popular

Vladmir Putin’s approval rating among Russians is always stunningly high. Ira talks to reporter Charles Maynes to find out if that number is real and how it could be that high.

Act One: Cops and Mobbers

Reporter Emmanuel Felton called up several Black Capitol Police officers in the days after the attack on the Capitol on January 6th to find out what it was like for them to face off with this mostly white mob. (13 minutes)You can find more of Emmanuel's reporting on race and inequality at BuzzFeed. The video of Eugene Goodman was filmed by Igor Bobic of HuffPost.

Act Three: There’s a German Word for That

Ira Glass talks to journalist Jochen Bittner about a political lie from 1920s Germany and the lessons it holds for 2020s America. His op-ed about this ran in the New York Times. Bittner’s one of the people who runs the Opinion section of the German newspaper Die Zeit.

Prologue

Host Ira Glass talks with Georgia Democrats who went out to “cure” ballots in a state with some of the closest results in the country.

Act One: Virginia

Reporter Mike Giglio follows a group of militia members as they prepare to heed President Trump’s call and watch polling locations for signs of trouble on Election Day.

Act Three: Louisiana

Ben Calhoun talks to a man in ICE detention in Louisiana about how he and people around him are following the election. But right as the results are coming in, the man’s case takes a serious turn.

Act Four: Detroit

Emanuele Berry talks to Khalilah, who got involved as a poll watcher this year and ended up inside a national news story. (7 minutes)

Act Six: Massachusetts

During an election in which it feels like the very existence of our democracy hangs in the balance, producer Sean Cole and someone very close to him have been dealing with their own immediate existential questions.

Prologue

Host Ira Glass speaks to Kevin Sheekey, the man tasked with spending $100m of Mike Bloomberg’s billions on securing a Democrat win in the constant battleground state of Florida. He also speaks to producer Lina Misitzis about what’s going on down on the ground with Democrats in the state.