Political attacks have been around as long as democracy itself, but where exactly does the history of “oppo research” begin? Hosts Kate Andersen Brower and Joseph Rodota interview historian and author Susan Swain about a campaign in which the target of opposition researchers wasn’t the candidate – it was the candidate’s wife. And in 2016, Liz Mair unearths a risqué photo of Melania Trump, setting in motion a series of charges and counter-charges on the campaign trail – and provoking an ominous threat.

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