On 5 January, a special Senate run-off election in the ‘Deep South’ state of Georgia will determine the future of Biden’s presidency. Will the new president be able to pass badly needed COVID relief; take action on climate change, racial justice and much more?

The voters of Georgia will decide the crucial power balance in the US Senate – and right now, the polls are neck and neck.

Ahead of the vote, we’ve been talking to friends, family, political experts and regular people across the state. They’ve told us how record-breaking sums of cash are piling into Georgia; of fierce battles over voter suppression, corruption and dirty tricks – and of how millions of Black, Brown and younger voters are mobilising in this historic race.

We’ve spoken with the trailblazing Nse Ufot of the New Georgia Project about how grassroots organisations like hers have registered millions of new voters. Investigative journalist Greg Palast has told us about how he uncovered documents showing widespread voter suppression.

We’ve heard from Republican lawyers waging war on the state’s voting system; from elusive ‘swing voters’ – and from citizens just struggling to survive.

As we’ve been discovering, the story of Georgia is both a story of what’s deeply broken in American politics – and of how dramatic change is possible, fast.

And follow us on Twitter @maryftz and @aaronwolfwhite to get our latest updates from the ground, as we travel across this new battleground state during the final crunch days of this race.

This episode was produced by Freddie Stuart. Special thanks to Penny Dale