This is hardly the first time American politics have been bitterly divided. But it’s the first time it’s been bitterly divided in this way. Fundamental changes in economic opportunity are coinciding with accelerating shifts in the nation’s demography and culture; one party embraces those shifts, the other resists them. With insight, humor, and rich personal stories, John Harwood draws on decades of work for the most prestigious outlets on the media landscape to describe the unpredictable electoral outlook that collision of forces has produced.

America’s $17-trillion economy moves in rhythms all its own. But what happens in Washington — taxes, spending, regulations, interest rates — helps shape which businesses prosper, what workers earn, and whether jobs are plentiful. John Harwood, who has spent decades covering those issues in print for the Wall Street Journal and on television for CNBC, takes audiences through choices facing the White House, Congress and the Federal Reserve and how they matter for their pocketbooks.

That 21st century American journalism and democracy both find themselves in crisis is no coincidence. Economic and cultural changes have shredded the pool of commonly-accepted information, and with it the credibility of media organizations among other institutions. As January 6 demonstrated, a vast swath of the country angrily rejects plainly-visible facts about the nation’s elections. That creates a wrenching dilemma for the financially-fragile business of journalism – more bluntness, or more solicitousness toward its skeptics? In print and on television, conducting interviews and moderating presidential debates, John Harwood has been on the firing line and can help audiences understand the escalating challenges ahead.