Matthew Spolar
Matthew Spolar is a Producer at Retro Report. He has covered a range of issues, from sports to genetics to politics, including web series looking back at the historic import of past political conventions and campaign ads. He previously covered state politics in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.
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Lessons From the 1976 Republican Convention: Why Ronald Reagan Lost the Nomination
In 1976, Ronald Reagan found owning the soul of a party isn’t the same as taking home its nomination.
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Lessons from the 1924 Democratic Convention: An Immigration Debate’s Impact
Immigration has been a defining issue in a campaign before, and the consequences transformed the Democratic Party.
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Lessons From the 1964 Republican Convention: Declaring War on the Establishment
Donald Trump’s candidacy wasn’t the first time the Republican Party was split by an outsider declaring war on the establishment elite.
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The Birth of the U.S. Political Convention in 1831
In 1831, a radical third party had a new idea for selecting a presidential candidate, and it’s still in use today: the national nominating convention.
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‘Another Player Down’: How Concern About Injuries Is Changing Sports
It’s not often that a Sunday spent vegging on football devolves (evolves?) into a Google search to parse the meaning of “déjà vu.” For the N.F.L., that’s not a good thing. Amid the Buffalo Bills’ drubbing of the New York Jets this weekend came an all too familiar sight. Just before halftime, Jets running back […]
