AM in the USA
Presenter Tony Eastley, executive producer David Burgess and technical producer Alan Arthur are travelling through America's heartland taking the political pulse ahead of the Presidential election on November 5 (AEDT).
Along the way you can listen to the stories they file for AM, view the photos from their road trip, listen to extended interviews with the people they meet and read Tony's blog. Click the dots on the map above to access content highlights in the right panel, or scroll down to see everything the team files.
Day 10 - Miami, Florida
Last time, Florida was pivotal. George W Bush pipped John Kerry and the result of the election swung on that relative handful of votes.
This time again the polls are predicting an extremely tight-run thing.
While they were in Miami, the team caught up with a street musician who wrote them a song called "Don't Vote for Your Mama, Vote for Obama".
Day nine - Gastonia, North Carolina
North Carolina should be red-letter Republican territory. But despite having been a "red state" at every election since 1976, the polls are showing the state too close to call.
If Republican candidate John McCain can't win here, it's unlikely he can win the White House. Local resident Jim Martin says he's always voted Republican. But this time, he's backing Barack Obama.
While in Gastonia, Tony and the team talk to a surgeon who has firm ideas on the state of the US health system. And in a region known as America's "biscuit belt", she says obesity is making health issues even more extreme.
Elsewhere, correspondents John Shovelan and Michael Rowland report in on the movements of Senators McCain and Obama as they criss-cross the country in the lead-up to polling day.
Tony spoke to Gastonia resident Jim Martin who says despite being a Republican voter all his life, he thinks Barack Obama presents the best option for positive change in the US.
Gastonia surgeon Dr Verena Boylan explained her take on the problems with the US health system and told Tony about the issues involved in treating very overweight patients.
Dr Verena Boylan's husband is a professor of political science at a South Carolina university. Dr Tim Boylan says the 2008 election is a watershed marking a change in the attitude of the American electorate.
Day seven/eight - Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio is a key state in this election - the last man to win the presidency without carrying Ohio was John F Kennedy.
Both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are running hard here, rallying the faithful and wooing the as yet uncommitted.
It's clear turnout is going to be bigger than usual - even days before election day, voters were queueing for more than three hours in Cincinnatti to cast pre-poll votes.
Here, as in much of America, religion is also playing a major role in determining how people will vote. While in Ohio, the team visited the Union Baptist Church where they spoke to Pastor Orlando B Yates about the role of religion in the poll.
Listen to Pastor Yates's sermon as he prays for Barack Obama.
Listen to the Union Baptist Choir in full voice.
Day six - Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is known as the Buckle of the Bible Belt. Here, religion is plays a big role in people's lives.
Tony reflects on the experience travelling through Mississippi where the gap between the haves and have nots was marked. He spoke to a white cotton farmer who predicted an Obama victory. He said that result would be a great result from a racial perspective.
Day five - Clarksdale, Mississippi
The team are winding their way north crossing the border from Arkansas into Mississippi. Clarksdale is a real cotton town on the Mississippi delta.
While Mississippi is a solidly Republican state, Clarksdale's population is roughly 2-1 African-American and is likely to line up behind Barack Obama.
The team spoke to local black woman Mary-Jane, who picked cotton as a young girl. She wasn't allowed to vote as a young woman and she's amazed that a black man is on the verge of becoming President.
Day four - El Dorado, Arkansas
There was a time when El Dorado was the toast of southern America. Someone found oil - lots of it - and for decades El Dorado lived up to its name.
It's still got oil, but in recent times other local companies are cutting back or closing down. With some of the lowest income levels in the US, Arkansas is feeling the heat of global competition. Local factories are either sacking workers or warning of tough times ahead.
There is tension too about whether an African-American Senator from Illinois should become President. Religion, gun control and race are issues Barack Obama will have to overcome to first become President then, if he's successful, unite the country.
Listen to Tony's interview with Country Living trailer park owner Stacey Johnston who says his park is full. He says businesses in El Dorado are closing down because the wage bill is too high.
Listen to the team's interview with Adam, a trailer park resident who says times are tough and it's George W Bush's fault and that there are still many in the South who don't want to see a black man in the White House.
El Dorado resident Len Smith tells the team he believes a black President would be a good thing for the United States, and he thinks many others in the South share his view.
Listen to AM's coverage, including Tony's interviews from El Dorado.
Day three - Mt Pleasant, Texas
Mt Pleasant, in north-eastern Texas, is right in the middle of America's South. The town is a commercial centre for farming, poultry farming and processing, livestock, oil, lignite and manufacturing. It has a population of around 14,000 and has been named one of the "100 Best Small Towns in America". The town is dry by ordinance - it is illegal to sell alcohol.
Texas is known for boots, belt buckles and Bar-B-Q Texas style. Bob Adams runs Bob's Bodacious Bar-B-Q in Mt Pleasant. Bar-B-Qs in Texas mean smokey, wood-flavoured beef, pork, chicken and just about everything else. Every state in the south has its own way of barbequing and Bob spoke to AM about his technique.
While in town, Tony spoke to locals Cliff Butler, Charles Smith and Bob Palmer. In this conservative heartland all three are backing Republican candidate John McCain. But Mr Palmer, editor of the local paper, says his wife and son both voted for Barack Obama.
Mr Palmer also says Obama's race may be an issue for people in the town, along with his ability, or otherwise, to run the country. But the trio say they believe the Democrat candidate could win the state over if he becomes President.
Day two - Dallas, Texas
After a flight from LA to Dallas, the team collected their car - nicknamed "The Whale" - and hit the road.
Before they collected the car, they heard both John McCain and Barack Obama campaigning in the swing state of Ohio; while Senator McCain's running mate Sarah Palin was rallying the Republican faithful in Virginia.
Texas, and its 34 electoral college votes, are strongly Republican. Tony and the team are keen to hit the road to discover if the mood on the street matches the predictions of the opinion polls.
Day one - Los Angeles, California
After touching down in LA, the team hit the road to test the political winds in this firmly Democrat state.
California has grunt in the presidential race, boasting 55 electoral college votes - 19 more than the next biggest state, Texas.
Tony and the team joined a campaign going door-to-door encouraging young people to register and vote. It's a big job - in the 2004 election there were 70,000 people aged 18-35 eligible to vote, but only 6,000 actually voted.
It wasn't long before they tracked down some young African-Americans, asking them for their views. Unsurprisingly, it was the Senator from Illinois who was winning most of the support.
