The Choice, Episode 1 After the Conventions

Interpreting the 2024 Election

In the aftermath of the 2024 election, Vanderbilt professor and Emmy-nominated Senior Election Analyst for NBC News Josh Clinton joins Pulitzer Prize-winning author, presidential historian, and Vanderbilt professor Jon Meacham and polling expert, political scientist, and Vanderbilt professor John Geer. They interpret what the election results say about the 2024 election, assessing such things as whether Trump enjoyed a landslide or a mandate. The conversation also turns to governing and what to expect over the next four years.

The Final Days of the Campaign

On the penultimate episode of The Choice, Jonathan Martin, Politico's politics bureau chief and senior political columnist, joins Pulitzer Prize-winning author, presidential historian, and Vanderbilt professor Jon Meacham and polling expert, political scientist, and Vanderbilt professor John Geer to assess the final days of the 2024 campaign.  They discuss how the messages, strategies, and ground game of two major candidates.      The Choice will return after the election to attempt to make sense of everything that happens on election day and beyond.

A call for evidence in the 2024 election

On the second episode of The Choice, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, presidential historian, and Vanderbilt professor Jon Meacham and polling expert, political scientist, and Vanderbilt professor John Geer take stock of the race as the country enters the last five weeks of the campaign, assessing both where the campaign stands and what “October surprises” may lie ahead.  They also stressed the importance of taking an evidence-based approach to the election and how stressing of evidence over ideology has been attacked by some as being partisan—am ironic and troubling twist.  This is a recent development in American politics and underscores the high stakes of the 2024 election.

The Choice, Episode 1 After the Conventions

On the first episode of The Choice, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and presidential historian Jon Meacham and Vanderbilt professor, polling expert and political scientist John Geer talk about wanting to bring evidence-based analysis to the 2024 election as the inspiration for this podcast. They also explore the historical and political context of this fascinating election and point out ways it is and is not unprecedented.

The Choice Trailer

If you look over the long span of American history, one thing is clear: no one party or ideological approach has all the answers. The Choice will discuss key moments and the many implications of the 2024 presidential election. Jon Meacham and John Geer will blend history and political science to offer relevant context and, we hope, a few insights about this fascinating campaign.