With less than two months to go before New Hampshire voters cast their votes in the first-in-the-nation primary, NHPR offers special broadcasts of our Stranglehold podcast during the holiday week.
Stranglehold takes an in-depth look at the New Hampshire primary – past and present – probing the mythology, key players and history of a powerful state institution.
Portions of the Stranglehold podcast will air Monday, December 30 through Thursday, January 2 – in the 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. timeslot, usually reserved for The Exchange.
Check out the daily schedule and episode info:
Monday – Dec 30
For the last four decades, hundreds of the most powerful people in American politics — senators, governors, even a reality TV star — have had to meet one unassuming state bureaucrat on their way to The White House.
This man has built a reputation as "the guardian" of New Hampshire’s most sacred political institution. Some consider him an icon. But others say he’s a problem.
Tuesday, Dec 31
Jimmy Carter’s 1976 primary campaign gave New Hampshire one hell of a gift: the state’s best argument for why it deserves the privileged status of having the first-in-the-nation presidential primary.
And it also gave a lot of politicos in this state their ticket to power.
Weds, Jan 1
Every four years, a caravan of national news networks descends on a remote corner of New Hampshire to broadcast the first results from the first-in-the-nation primary.
The wall-to-wall coverage of Dixville Notch by some major news outlets might lead you to believe that they started this midnight voting tradition, or that their vote is unique, or that it holds greater weight than of the other precincts in New Hampshire.
But there’s more — a lot more — to the story.
Thursday, January 2
THE IDENTITY CRISIS
When New Hampshire is up against the wall, when other states are trying to creep up on the first-in-the-nation primary, people here insist we’re special. That no one else can do it like we do.
This episode is about that stranglehold.
For decades, New Hampshire could stand its ground and knock down anybody that tried to steal its prized possession. But how long can a state hold on? Battle lines are being redrawn, and these days, the threats aren’t coming from the usual suspects.
National politics…the media…technology…it’s all changing - and the New Hampshire primary can’t escape it.
In less than two months, voters in New Hampshire will send some presidential candidates limping out of the Granite State and maybe lift others to future victories.
But do New Hampshire voters value that privilege? Do they deserve it? You might be surprised what they had to say.
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