Join WRKF as we bring you special programming and live coverage addressing this year's major election. Hear live national conversations about the issues important to voters, documentaries analyzing democracy and the history of American politics, and conversations about how politics penetrates our personal lives.
America, Are We Ready?
Wednesday evenings through November 6 at 7pm
Weekly live national conversations about the economy, housing, healthcare, and the media. With guests and calls, we open a dialogue across divides about what the outcomes of the November election, both in the White House and in Congress, mean to us. Read more here.
BBC Question Time: U.S. Election Special
Sunday, October 13 at 8pm
With less than a month until the election, the BBC’s flagship political debate programme Question Time broadcasts from the key swing state of Pennsylvania. The program will hear directly from American voters as they get the chance to put their questions to a panel of politicians and prominent figures, holding them to account on the topics which matter most as they prepare to go to the polls. Chaired by Fiona Bruce, the debate is recorded at the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia, the venue for the recent Presidential Debate.
The Breakthrough of ’48: When Civil Rights Won the White House
Sunday, October 20 at 8pm
George Floyd’s 2020 murder in Minneapolis jolted many Americans to recognize that much work lay ahead in confronting and overcoming racism. Yet Minneapolis — and America — stood at a nearly identical juncture in the wake of the Allied defeat of fascism in World War II. The press reviled Minneapolis as the epitome of homegrown bigotry against Blacks and Jews. The response by Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey and the city’s Black and Jewish leaders propelled the cause of civil rights nationwide. They were joined by an interracial coalition that included A. Philip Randolph, the most important Black civil rights leader of the time.
At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Humphrey demanded that the party step “out of the shadows of state’s rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.” Southern Democrats defected, creating their own Dixiecrat Party. Harry Truman, the incumbent president, ran for re-election as the candidate of civil rights. American society and politics were forever changed by his victory, setting the stage for the landmark civil rights laws of the 1960s.
Too few Americans — even those who have read the stirring history of the Freedom Movement — know or fully recognize the significance of Humphrey’s attack on discrimination, and the formation of a multiracial, interfaith movement for civil rights. Based on veteran journalist Samuel Freedman’s celebrated new book, Into the Bright Sunshine, this documentary uses first-person interviews and compelling archival audio to resurrect a pivotal moment in American history that remains relevant and revealing today.
Long Shadow: Rise of the American Far Right
Sunday, October 27 at 8pm
Crackling with rich archival sound and riveting interviews, this special examines a history thread vitally relevant to our current political climate. In it, journalist and historian Garrett Graff explores how the modern domestic extremist movement grew from a fatal shootout on a mountaintop in Idaho to a riot on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. How did America get the far right so wrong? What will it take now to get it right?
Love Across the Divide
Sunday, November 3 at 8pm
Older singles are more likely than their younger counterparts to say it’s very important that online dating profiles include a potential partner’s ideology. Indeed, romantic relationships are built on shared values. Do two people need to be aligned politically to have a deep connection and strong romantic bond? Can one truly be considered liberal if they habitually swipe left on conservatives? In this special, we talk to older Americans as well as experts about ideological differences and their role in making and maintaining romantic connections.
NPR Election Night Coverage
Tuesday, November 5 at 6pm
NPR bring special coverage of the general election as polls close across the nation. Stay tuned as late as it takes to ascertain the results.
