Over the next few days at the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris will accept her party’s nomination and reintroduce herself to American voters.

Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter and the host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up,” talks through key periods in Ms. Harris’s life that explain what she believes and the kind of president she might become.

Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national politics reporter and the host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up” for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• A vice-presidential learning curve:harris-vice-president-record.html"> How Ms. Harris picked her shots.
• Nearly 14 years ago, Ms. Harris’s opponent in the California attorney general’s race gave an answer at a debate that was frank —harris-2010-debate.html"> and fateful for the future Democratic presidential nominee.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.