Hello and welcome to the World Ahead on Economist Radio. I'm Tom Standage, Deputy Editor

at the Economist. In this Future Gazing Podcast series, we consider provocative prophecies

and speculative scenarios to gain a different perspective on the present and help us better

prepare for what might come next.

Today we're looking at the year ahead for America. We'll ask some of our US correspondents

for their predictions, drawing on their contributions to the Economist's Future Gazing Annual, the

World in 2021. In particular, we'll be asking what's on the domestic policy agenda for

President-elect Joe Biden, including, can the new President really heal America's deep

cultural divides?

I don't think either side in the cultural war is about to pack up and go home.

How will state-level politics influence Joe Biden's policies?

We've been arrested in America in 2021. We'll be looking to America's two largest states,

Texas and California to see which model works most effectively.

And meanwhile, how will the Republican Party evolve in 2021?

We can expect a Trumpish party, but I think I may be wrong, not a Trump party going forward.

2020 has been one of the most difficult years in recent American history. More than 300,000

people have died of COVID-19. More than 10 million jobs have been lost. And racial grievances

highlighted by the Black Lives Matter protests have been inflamed by the President's race baiting

on the campaign trail.

Donald Trump's refusal to accept the election result has even tested the foundations of

American democracy. But his defeat marked the end of one of the most divisive presidencies

in American history. Now, a once-in-a-century pandemic has created the opportunity for

...