The Role of 'Coolness' in Political Success

The New Yorker staff writer Naomi Fry joins Tyler Foggatt to unpack Kamala Harris’s cultural blitzkrieg and how a litany of A-list celebrities and online influencers have helped revitalize the Presidential race. “It’s like the scene in ‘Pulp Fiction’ or something, where Uma Thurman overdoses and then has the adrenaline shot into her heart,” Fry said. To what degree can a candidate turn “being cool” into a winning strategy?

This week’s reading:

• “What Kamala Harris May Have to Do Next,” by Jay Caspian Kang
• “Kamala Harris’s Youth-Vote Turnaround,” by E. Tammy Kim
• “The Kamala Show,” by Vinson Cunningham

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