S6 Ep. 38: Everybody Hates Joe: Jacinda Townsend on Why Democrats Are Skeptical of President Biden—and What He Must Do To Win Them Back

Novelist Jacinda Townsend joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss Joe Biden’s stubbornly low poll numbers among Democrats, which persist despite his legislative accomplishments. Townsend talks about the administration’s struggles to communicate its goals and achievements and explains why Biden’s policy decisions—past and present—have often disappointed Black and younger voters. Townsend reads from her novel Mother Country and reflects on the aftermath of the Biden administration’s plan to forgive student debt.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Jacinda Townsend

• Saint Monkey
• Mother Country
• “Why More Single Women Should Run for Office”

Others:

• Affordable Care Act
• “Did William Henry Harrison Really Die From Pneumonia?” by Christopher Klein
• Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign
• “SOTU: Joe Biden’s Economy By the Numbers” by Tim Smart
• “Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces New Clean Energy Projects”
• “President Biden Announces Student Loan Relief for Borrowers Who Need It Most”
• “President Biden to Sign Executive Order Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services”
• “Biden picks Ketanji Brown Jackson as historic U.S. Supreme Court nominee” by Jeff Mason, Jarrett Renshaw, and Lawrence Hurley
• Harvard CAPS Harris Poll 
• “Former President Donald Trump's second indictment, annotated” by Zachary B. Wolf and Curt Merrill
• Biden’s Numbers, January 2023 Update
• Biden-Harris Administration Launches First CHIPS for America Funding Opportunity
• Inflation Reduction Act Guidebook
• “Biden signs bipartisan bill that suspends debt limit until 2025, cuts spending” by Chris Megerian
• Biden-Harris Administration Announces $502 Million for High-Speed Internet in Rural Communities
• “Network Free K.C.” by Whitney Terrell
• “Biden Administration Announces Savings on 43 Prescription Drugs as Part of Cost-Saving Measures Under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act” 
• “Biden Supported A Constitutional Amendment To End Mandated Busing In 1975” by Domenico Montanaro
• “Did Joe Biden Say He Didn't Want His Kids Growing Up in a 'Racial Jungle'?” by Bethania Palma
• Jesse Helms
• “Did the 1994 crime bill cause mass incarceration?” by Rashawn Ray and William A. Galston
• “New Process to Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy” by John Rao
• “Student Loan Debt by Gender” by Melanie Hanson
• Reaganomics
• Jimmy Carter
• “Biden Job Approval, Direction Of Country: IBD/TIPP Poll”
• “Joe Biden’s 1975 comments slamming slavery reparations, school busing resurfaced by Washington Post” by Jessica Chasmar 
• “Young Voters Not Excited About Joe Biden” by Lauren Camera
• Chris Christie
• Ron DeSantis
• Mike Pence
• “It took 15 rounds of voting, but Ann Arbor School Board finally picks president” by Martin Slagter
• Moms of Liberty

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