The Assignment with Audie Cornish

The Obama/Biden ticket’s historic victory in 2008 was the result of massive turnout from Black voters, young voters, and college-educated Americans. Audie talks with Ashley Allison, a CNN commentator and former National Coalitions Director for Biden-Harris 2020 campaign, about the challenge Democrats face holding that coalition together.Call and leave us your Assignments: (202) 854-8802 or email TheAssignment@cnn.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 28th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP28, begins this week. As global leaders convene to address the urgent challenges of our planet's changing climate, two creative minds join Audie to explore how we process the climate crisis. She explores how these creators infuse hope into their narratives, envisioning a world where art and storytelling inspire action and solutions. For all of CNN’s COP28 coverage, go to cnn.com/RoadToCop GUESTS Sam Alfred is a video game designer from Cape Town, South Africa, who created Terra Nil, a mobile strategy game that challenges players to transform desolate landscapes into flourishing ecosystems.  Sequoia Nagamatsu is an author and professor. His book "How High We Go in the Dark," explores a future shaped by environmental crisis and generational resilience.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mass deportations, a weaponized justice department, purges of civil servants: these are among the plans that former President Trump and his allies are making for a second term in the White House. CNN national correspondent Kristen Holmes has been traveling to Trump’s rallies and she has an analysis of what’s in the works for MAGA 2.0.Call and leave us your Assignments: (202) 854-8802 or email TheAssignment@cnn.com. Reporting from Kristen Holmes: Trump’s radical second-term agenda would wield executive power in unprecedented ways  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The number of Americans who would say that they’re “extremely proud to be American” is at a record low, according to a recent Gallup poll. Perhaps that’s not surprising, given widespread political divisiveness across the country. Today – in time for Thanksgiving – Audie sits down with writer, comedian, and activist Baratunde Thurston to talk about what it means to be patriotic in an age of growing disillusionment. And more importantly — why does it matter?  Baratunde Thurston is the host and executive producer of the PBS television series America Outdoors, creator and host of How To Citizen, and a founding partner of the new media startup Puck. His comedic memoir, How To Be Black, is a New York Times best-seller.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New polling shows that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has moved into second place in New Hampshire, behind Donald Trump. Haley's momentum hasn’t gone unnoticed by the anti-Trump fundraisers looking for a horse to back. Audie talks with CNN Political Commentator Kevin Madden about the state of the race, and what Haley needs to do to maintain her momentum. Madden has worked on several Republican campaigns, including Mitt Romney’s 2012 bid for the White House.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are revisiting the public school culture wars – this time, from the perspective of students. What have we learned from the kids who are fighting against book bans? How has the war over books sparked a backlash to the so-called parents’ rights movement?  We call up two busy teen activists – Da’Taeveyon Daniels in Texas and Eliza Lane in Florida – to find out. And CNN correspondent Elle Reeve, who covers how extremism percolates into everyday life, puts the board room debates over what kids should and shouldn’t read into a national context.  To hear from the perspective of two concerned parents, check out our very first episode “Meet The Parents Taking Over School Boards,”which we released one year ago today. Thank you for calling in with your assignments for us at (202) 854-8802. And thank you for listening.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ahead of President Biden's meeting with Chinese President Xi, CNN spoke to Americans who are being hounded and harassed by the Chinese government's brazen online disinformation campaign. Correspondent Donie O’Sullivan reported the story and joins Audie to walk through the lengths Beijing will go to silence online critics, even those on US soil. Donie O’Sullivan is a CNN Correspondent. Read his full story here.  And we’d love to hear from you! What do you want us to cover? Call and leave us your Assignments: (202) 854-8802. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last year the Army missed its recruitment goal; it had 65,000 spots to fill and came in 10,000 short. Audie talks with a former recruiter about what he saw as some of the challenges the Army faces when it comes to recruitment, including cultural shifts around everything from marijuana use to mental health. And we hear from Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth about how the Army is responding to recruitment shortfalls.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New polling shows President Biden trailing Donald Trump in key battleground states, and that has many Democrats worried about his re-election prospects. Can anything be done to turn the numbers around? Or should the President bow out? Audie talks with CNN Senior Political Commentator and longtime Obama advisor David Axelrod who’s said that the President must decide whether it’s wise to run given the political headwinds he’s facing. David Axelrod is the host of CNN’s The Axe Files. Download it wherever you get your podcasts. And we’d love to hear from you! What do you want us to cover? Call and leave us your Assignments: (202) 854-8802  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dive into the world of online detectives tracking down January 6th insurrectionists. How did a dedicated community of digital sleuths help the FBI bring thousands to justice? Audie sits down with Ryan Reilly, the author of "Sedition Hunters: How January 6th Broke the Justice System," for a journey through the realm of modern digital investigations.Call us with your Assignments: ‪(202) 854-8802‬. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices