A New Primary Calendar Changes the Race for the Presidency
The Political Scene | The New Yorker
The New Yorker
4.3 • 3.9K Ratings
🗓️ 8 February 2023
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, the Democratic Party upended its primary schedule for 2024. Instead of the Iowa caucuses, South Carolina will now go first, giving more deciding power to Black voters. Is this an attempt to realign the Democratic Party’s priorities—or a token of gratitude for the state that pushed Biden to the Presidency in 2020? Benjamin Wallace-Wells, a New Yorker staff writer and reporter who has spent a lot of time in Iowa, joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss the influence of the early primaries, and the political calculations that went into changing them.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choicesTranscript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Discover Earth's ultimate untamed places with wilderness. With access to 6 million acres of private land |
| 0:07.7 | in eight African countries, wilderness offers intimate wildlife encounters and experiences that will |
| 0:13.0 | leave you changed forever. The accommodations are luxurious and stay true to the vibrant soul |
| 0:19.8 | and spirit of each destination and the trips are |
| 0:23.0 | meticulously planned from arrival to departure, making them perfect for a group, family or |
| 0:28.5 | solo travellers. Wilderness is among the leaders of conservation hospitality, with more than 60 |
| 0:34.5 | of the most highly awarded lodges in camps in Africa. |
| 0:43.0 | Wilderness is especially excited this year to focus on wellness, providing experiences that immerse you in beautiful places to restore your sense of self through nature. |
| 0:48.1 | To learn more and book your own wilderness adventure, go to wilderness destinations.com |
| 0:52.9 | slash women who travel. |
| 0:55.7 | eBay, it's a place to fall in love with new pre-loved vintage and rare fashion over and over |
| 1:01.6 | again. Your favorite designers, expertly authenticated. Yeah, eBay. Things people love. |
| 1:10.7 | So obviously, you know, Iowa has kicked off the primary process for eBay. Things people love. |
| 1:16.5 | So obviously, you know, Iowa has kicked off the primary process for like the last 50 years. |
| 1:21.2 | And as someone who was born in the 90s, like I've just never really thought that much about the order and whether it's right or whether it could be changed. I mean, it was always just sort |
| 1:25.5 | of like, okay, the, you know, the first primaries in Iowa, the capitals in D.C., Pluto is a planet, like, you know, next. And I guess I'm wondering if we could start out by just talking about why that sort of thinking is so naive. I mean, clearly the order is so important. You know, why should we not just take it for granted that this has been happening in Iowa for so long? And, you know, it's now going to be happening in South Carolina. |
| 1:46.5 | Yeah, I mean, you know, there is a, there's a lot of, you know, |
| 1:50.6 | kind of interesting sentimentality among political reporters for the specific experience of Iowa and New Hampshire. |
| 1:58.8 | And, you know, it is, especially for reporters |
| 2:02.4 | and for like the very few voters who are there, |
| 2:05.0 | nice. You know, you are in a country |
| 2:08.8 | of 350 million people, you know, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The New Yorker, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The New Yorker and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.