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Why Political Losers Tell Us More About American Politics Than The Winners

Why Political Losers Tell Us More About American Politics Than The Winners

In the past couple years, politicians have discovered new ways to lose in devastating, often humiliating fashion. They’ve been busted for cocaine, had their emails hacked and published for the world to see, and seen their family subjected to racist threats and tirades even before they’ve declared their candidacy.

Welcome to season two of Candidate Confessional, which launches Wednesday with an extended trailer. This season, we talk to the risk takers, the near-glass ceiling breakers, the hopeless and a self-described “hip-hop conservative.” We talk to a key Hillary Clinton strategist and to Jason Kander, a Missouri Democrat who lost a Senate run despite having the best ad of 2016. All reaffirmed the fact that losing still sucks. But they also underscored the layers of humanity that are often obscured in our nation’s rough-and-tumble political system.

And for this season, we’ve added a few new storylines.

We’ll have episodes dedicated not just to campaigns, but also to major legislative pushes that ultimately failed, and to famous figures who found themselves in the epicenter of scandal. You’ll hear from the senators who tried to stop the march to war in Iraq and the key congressional aides behind the first failed 2008 bailout vote; the senator who made gun control a cause after national tragedy; and the videographer who found herself on the cover of the National Enquirer.

A preview of our next season is above.

We begin next week with the first ever-interview with the small band of online operatives that turned Sen. Bernie Sanders, a septuagenarian independent socialist from Vermont, into the most dynamic grassroots fundraising candidate of all time.

Candidate Confessional is produced by Zach Young. To listen to this podcast later, download it on Apple Podcasts. While you’re there, please rate and review our show. To subscribe, visit the following: Apple Podcasts / Acast / RadioPublic / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS

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