Woocast's Politics & Polls

Working-class citizens have been historically underrepresented in American politics. In this episode, Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang discuss the influence of money in politics — both in terms of who rises to elected office and how those elected govern — with political scientist Nicholas Carnes. Carnes asserts that government would be more responsive to what the general public wants if the socioeconomic backgrounds of politicians were more in line with those of the general public. Carnes then explains the cash barriers that exist, which bar working-class Americans from running for office.