There's the green chili aroma in New Mexico.

Mm-hmm.

Right, that's the official state aroma.

Wait, states can have official aromas.

I don't want to ask what New York says.

Yeah.

Ha-ha-ha.

The New York's not going to do it,

because nobody wants, you know, hot urine

on the subway platform to be a state smell, so.

Hello, and welcome to the 538 Politics Podcast.

I'm Gaelin Drouk.

In our Federalist system, the saying goes,

the states are laboratories of democracy.

State governments test out different policies

or even political strategies that may someday reach the whole country

or drive red and blue states further apart.

The power of states is never more clear

than when power in Washington is divided,

national legislation is stalled,

and state houses become the main drivers

of political change in the country.

...