The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on 18 September means the political balance of the court is likely to swing right. Justice Ginsburg was a pioneering lawyer and judge who was at the forefront of battles for gender equality and women’s rights. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of three women out of … Continue reading “Goodbye RBG”
As the race to the White House is about to resume after the pandemic , Jon Stewart’s latest movie — released on 1 July in France — takes you behind the scenes to help you decipher a political campaign. Setting the movie in Wisconsin, and using (wry) humour, Stewart wants people to realise politics is … Continue reading “Irresistible: U.S. Politics on Film”
Jon Stewart honed the art of satire on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. Now he’s left the presenting to Trevor Noah, he has turned his satire on the U.S. political system and its finances in a new film, Irresistible. It stars Steve Carrell as a political strategist for the Democratic Party who persuades an ex-Marine … Continue reading “The “Irresistible” Election Machine”
On 8 April Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, effectively opening to road to Joe Biden to become the party’s official candidate for the White House in November’s election. The two men were the surviving candidates in the primary campaign, but Mr Sanders’ delegate numbers were looking weak before the disruption … Continue reading “Bye-bye Bernie”
From a diverse field of almost thirty candidates, the campaign to find the Democratic candidate to oppose Donald Trump in November’s election has narrowed to a choice between frontrunners representing the left and the right of the party. The 2016 Democratic primary season started with just three candidates, including two rather atypical frontrunners: Hillary Clinton, … Continue reading “Getting Closer to the White House”
On 18 December, President Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, only the third president in U.S. history to be rebuked in this way. The second stage of impeachment, before the Senate, is unlikely to succeed, but it will run into the beginning of primary season for the November presidential election. The impeachment … Continue reading “Impeached”
A young Latina woman from the Bronx, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shatters our traditional vision of Congressional Representatives. This article explores her life, both private and public, from the Bronx to Washington, D.C. after the recent midterm elections: how can “one of us” sit in Congress at barely 29 and champion the average working class person’s rights? … Continue reading “The New Face of Congress”
The Great Hack is a new documentary made for Netflix on the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal over the use of social-media users’ data to potentially manipulate the outcome of elections including the 2016 U.S. Presidential election and the UK Brexit referendum. This B1-level resource based on an interview with the two directors of the documentary is … Continue reading “The Great Hack”
American photojournalist Christopher Morris followed Donald Trump on the campaign trail. He’s giving a talk about the experience at the American Library in Paris on 30 November. Hear about the Trump campaign from someone who observed it close up. TIME photographer Morris has won numerous awards for his work, including a Robert Capa Gold Medal … Continue reading “A Photojournalist’s View of the Trump Campaign”
These articles about the President-elect of the United States will enable students to say what they already know about Donald Trump and the American election and will provide enough new information to trigger interest. They will serve as a basis for speaking and writing activities as well as interaction. There are two articles and corresponding … Continue reading “President Trump Profile”