meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Radio Atlantic

If the Voting Rights Act Falls

Radio Atlantic

The Atlantic

Politics, News, Society & Culture

4.41.9K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments about the last remaining section of the Voting Rights Act, a civil rights law designed to ensure that states could not get in the way of nonwhite citizens voting. We talk to Stacey Abrams, voting rights activist and former candidate for Georgia governor, and Atlantic staff writer Vann Newkirk about the case and a world without the Voting Rights Act.  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at theAtlantic.com/listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

In the Premier League, everyone pushes their hardest to win. And now it's your turn. With their EPL fantasy challenge, Coca-Cola are giving you a chance to win big by beating the best. All you have to do is build a team based on rules set by an icon. And to help you on your way, I've got a tip to help you build your team. Make sure you keep an eye on fixtures. Who are the players up against next? Sometimes it's not about form.

0:21.9

Like there are some players that, for whatever reason, always play well against certain teams

0:26.8

to do your research. To get involved in the EPL Fantasy Challenge, all you've got to do is grab

0:31.9

a Coke and scan the code on the pack. Just by playing, you get a chance to win Coke swag or

0:36.7

vouchers. But if you beat the

0:38.8

icon who set the rules, you could win vintage Coca-Cola jerseys, Premier League tickets, and more.

0:44.6

So go ahead and get involved. Grab a Coke, drink it in.

0:52.1

This right to vote is the basic right without which all others are meaningless.

1:03.0

It gives people, people as individual, control over their own destination.

1:15.7

When Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act in 1965, he called it a triumph for freedom

1:22.8

as huge as any victory won on any battlefield. For decades, the Voting Rights Act was reshaped and expanded, mostly by Congress.

1:32.3

It became a kind of intricate machine that allowed the federal government to step in whenever minorities were not fairly represented in any state.

1:42.3

Since the law passed, the number of non-white representatives in the

1:46.6

House has gone up over tenfold, and the first black president was elected. The act was effective,

1:54.8

supported by both parties, and thriving, until it wasn't. I'm Hannah Rosen, This is Radio Atlantic. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court

2:05.0

heard arguments in Louisiana v. Calais about the state's redistricting map. A group of self-labeled

2:11.7

non-African Americans are challenging a new district in Louisiana, claiming that it violates the Constitution.

2:19.6

Now, the court has already chipped away parts of the Act in recent years.

2:23.8

This latest case involves Section 2, the last pillar of the Voting Rights Act.

2:30.3

The key question of the case is, do the acts measures to fix racial discrimination actually violate the equal protection and voting rights enshrined in the 14th and 15th amendments?

2:43.2

Does the crowning civil rights law of the 1960s violate the crowning civil rights laws of the 1860s,

2:51.7

or more concretely, as one of my guests put it,

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Atlantic, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Atlantic and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.