Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From the Radiolab podcast: The closest we ever came to abolishing the electoral college and why we probably never will.
As the US presidential election nears, Radiolab covers the closest we ever came to abolishing the Electoral College.
In the 1960s, then-President Lyndon Johnson approached an ambitious young senator known as the "Kennedy of the Midwest" to tweak the way Americans elect their president. The more Senator Birch Bayh looked into the Electoral College, the more he believed it was a ticking time bomb hidden in the Constitution, that someone needed to defuse. With overwhelming support in Congress, the endorsement of multiple presidents, and polling showing that more than 80 percent of the American public supported abolishing it, it looked like he might just pull it off. So why do we still have the Electoral College? And will we actually ever get rid of it?
Special thanks to Jesse Wegman, the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, Sarah Steinkamp at DePauw University, Sara Stefani at Indiana University Libraries, Olivia-Britain-Toole at Clemson University Special Collections, Tim Groeling at UCLA, Samuel Wang, Philip Stark, Walter Mebane, Laura Beth Schnitker at University of Maryland Special Collections, Hunter Estes at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the folks at Common Cause.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by Latif Nasser and Matt Kielty.
Produced by Matt Kielty and Simon Adler.
Original music and sound design contributed by Matt Kielty, Simon Adler and Jeremy Bloom.
Mixed by Jeremy Bloom.
Fact-checking by Diane Kelley.
Edited by Becca Bressler and Pat Walters.
Episode Citations can be found here: radiolab.org/podcast/the-unpopular-vote
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Photo illustration by Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna
From the Radiolab podcast: The closest we ever came to abolishing the electoral college and why we probably never will.
As the US presidential election nears, Radiolab covers the closest we ever came to abolishing the Electoral College.
In the 1960s, then-President Lyndon Johnson approached an ambitious young senator known as the "Kennedy of the Midwest" to tweak the way Americans elect their president. The more Senator Birch Bayh looked into the Electoral College, the more he believed it was a ticking time bomb hidden in the Constitution, that someone needed to defuse. With overwhelming support in Congress, the endorsement of multiple presidents, and polling showing that more than 80 percent of the American public supported abolishing it, it looked like he might just pull it off. So why do we still have the Electoral College? And will we actually ever get rid of it?
Special thanks to Jesse Wegman, the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, Sarah Steinkamp at DePauw University, Sara Stefani at Indiana University Libraries, Olivia-Britain-Toole at Clemson University Special Collections, Tim Groeling at UCLA, Samuel Wang, Philip Stark, Walter Mebane, Laura Beth Schnitker at University of Maryland Special Collections, Hunter Estes at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the folks at Common Cause.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by Latif Nasser and Matt Kielty.
Produced by Matt Kielty and Simon Adler.
Original music and sound design contributed by Matt Kielty, Simon Adler and Jeremy Bloom.
Mixed by Jeremy Bloom.
Fact-checking by Diane Kelley.
Edited by Becca Bressler and Pat Walters.
Episode Citations can be found here: radiolab.org/podcast/the-unpopular-vote
🎧 Subscribe to Radiolab wherever you listen to podcasts: bit.ly/3trXDLe
🔎 Subscribe to Radiolab on YouTube: bit.ly/3I9KI53
🖋 Subscribe to Radiolab’s Newsletter: radiolab.org/newsletter
🌱 Check out Radiolab's Starter Kit Playlist: bit.ly/3sX8f4P
👍 Like this video ✏️ and leave us a comment!
Follow Radiolab:
Instagram — instagram.com/radiolab
X — https://x.com/Radiolab
Facebook — facebook.com/Radiolab
Threads — threads.net/@radiolab
TikTok — tiktok.com/@radiolab
Our newsletter includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up here: radiolab.org/newsletter
Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today: radiolab.org/the-lab
Photo illustration by Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna
