The Assignment with Audie Cornish

Every four years, millions of people tune into news networks for real-time election results, but there is much more happening behind the scenes before the final call is aired. Audie talks with CNN Vice President and Political Director, David Chalian. He leads the team responsible for making high-stakes calls under intense pressure — all while ensuring accuracy, especially in today’s politically charged era. They talk about what goes into making the calls, and when we can expect a presidential election result. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wisconsin and Michigan, the big bricks of the former Blue Wall, are considered must-wins for Kamala Harris. They’re also both toss-ups at this point. This week, John King talks to voters in Milwaukee and Detroit who have a lot in common: They’re both Black men, about the same age, born and raised in their respective Rust Belt cities, and steeped in a culture that always voted for Democrats. One is voting for Harris. The other is going for Trump. Their choices — and how they got there — tell us a lot about the very tight election math in the upper Midwest.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elections officials across the country are preparing for a potentially bumpy election night. Audie travels to Arizona to talk with one of those officials: Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates. He is a lifelong Republican who faced death threats and harassment from election deniers after he certified the results of the 2020 election. They discuss why election centers now look like forts – surrounded by barbed wire and shatterproof glass – all in the name of protecting election integrity.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is it really possible to fight conspiracy theories? Robbie Parker says yes. After his daughter Emilie was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in 2012, Parker became the target of conspiracy theories -- amplified and monetized by Alex Jones. Audie talks with Parker about how he helped sue Alex Jones’ Infowars and won, and what he thinks of gun politics in an election where candidates brag about being gun owners. Robbie Parker’s new book is called, “A Father's Fight: Taking on Alex Jones and Reclaiming the Truth About Sandy Hook.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vice President Kamala Harris’ goal in Georgia is to turn out the coalition that barely tipped the newly purple state to Joe Biden in 2020. That means firing up the base, convincing the unconvinced, and driving turnout as high as possible. Donald Trump, meanwhile, is hoping Georgians think the shift left was a mistake. There's no question that women of color are a huge part of the Georgia equation. John sits down with two who show it would be a mistake to think they’re voting as a bloc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Owning a home is the cornerstone of the American dream, but an affordability crisis is making it a distant fantasy for many. The presidential candidates are taking notice. Sonja Trauss is a key activist in the YIMBY movement (“Yes in My Backyard”), and says the solution is pretty simple: Build more homes. Getting that done isn’t so easy. Audie sits down with Trauss in Southern California — ground zero for the housing shortage — to talk about the origins of the problem and potential solutions. Watch a version of our conversation here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Audie steps into the cage, literally, to learn why mixed martial arts is America's latest political battleground. As young men and women drift further apart politically, mixed martial arts has proven fertile ground for a changed GOP looking for fresh supporters. Retired Ultimate Fighting Championship star Jorge Masvidal is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, as are many other fighters and UFC CEO Dana White. Audie talks with him and journalist Luke Thomas to learn about the growing connection between fight fans and the former president. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nevada — especially Clark County, home to Vegas and almost 75 percent of the state’s population — is a political bellwether in a very specific way. The pandemic gutted the tourism-based economy, and the recovery has been slow. John King speaks with two voters in Las Vegas with centrist political views who show us why Nevada is very much up for grabs in this election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I vividly remember Donald Trump winning the election and waking up shocked the next day because I was told by everyone...this was impossible.” For Lakshya Jain, 2016 was a major wake-up call, and he decided to use his skills to address the gaps in understanding left by traditional political media. Together with a group of fellow Gen Z engineers and political enthusiasts, he founded Split-Ticket.org, a nonpartisan website that uses creative framing and interactive games to tell a new kind of political story.You Be The Campaign Manager game Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The historically Black sororities and fraternities known as the Divine 9 have a long legacy of political activism, though it’s traditionally been nonpartisan. Now that Vice President Kamala Harris — a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the country’s oldest Black sorority — is at the top of the Democratic ticket, the organizations are mobilizing in a whole new way. And nowhere is that more evident or more consequential than in Georgia. Audie Cornish travels to Atlanta to sit down with two other AKA members: Democratic Congresswoman Nikema Williams and Maisha Land, creator of the viral Stroll to the Polls campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices