After the disastrous presidential debate the country witnessed this week between Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, we're asking: Do political debates still matter?
There have been moments in past debates that did seem to swing public opinion – Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960 is one of the most notable – but as we head into political debate season, we ask Princeton historian Dr. Julian Zelizer what debates are, what they should be and if they still can have an impact on the outcome of elections. Join Dr. Zelizer and RadioWest on Friday at noon as we look back on the history of political debates and ask what their place is in our increasingly polarized country.
GUESTS
- Dr. Julian Zelizer, professor of history in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and CNN political analyst. His most recent book is Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker and the Rise of the New Republican Party. [Bookshop | Amazon| Audible]
- Dr. Matthew Pinsker, Pohanka Chair in American Civil War History and professor of history at Dickinson College.
