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About this episode

As the United States gears up to mid-term elections, which may once again shift the political trajectory of the country, the Last Best Hope? returns for a brand-new season on the 8th of October. “Adam Smith is one of the UK’s foremost historians of America, and communicates his expertise with zest, wit and unforced passion. The Last Best Hope? brings him together with fellow scholars to provide a unique insight we can’t do without.” — Phil Tinline, BBC radio documentary-maker and author “The Last Best Hope is an absolutely brilliant podcast. Thoughtful, clever, engaging and accessible, Adam Smith always gets the best out of his guests, and I’ve learned an enormous amount from every episode. I love it.” — Dominic Sandbrook, historian and co-host of The Rest is History“The must-listen US podcast” Nick Bryant, former BBC Correspondent in New York. Presented by Adam Smith, Orsborn Professor of American Political History at Oxford. Each episode explores history to understand what makes America what it is. In this season Adam asks what constitutes a U.S political party, and how they differ from parties in parliamentary democracies? And he takes the long view of midterm elections,