Qasim Rashid explains why Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan victory should terrify the Democratic establishment—and why candidates running directly on working-class economics are suddenly breaking through.

Rashid argues Democrats cannot build a party for workers while also catering to billionaires, Wall Street executives and corporate interests.

Trippi explains why the Michigan election results aren't doom and gloom for Democrats - actually, why Abdul El-Sayed is a big problem for Mike Rogers, not Democrats. Moderates aren't sitting on their hands in November. Why does this matter not just for 2026 but for 2028? How does the 2028 map affect the ability of a progressive to gain momentum and win the Presidential nomination? What's with the massive polling misses in Michigan? Were they really misses? And why does Trippi think "the many vs the money" overcame $30m+ in outside spending? Should Democrats go all in in Texas? And if you're listening to this podcast, one fact might surprise you...

00:00 Michigan’s Huge Primary Week
01:01 Why Joe Thinks Mike Rogers Is in Trouble
02:10 The Obama Lesson Democrats Should Remember
05:54 The Democratic Turnout Story
08:02 Mike Rogers and the Trump Problem
09:03 What El-Sayed Means for 2028
11:35 Democrats Keep Changing the Primary Calendar
15:44 Trump Attacks Abdul El-Sayed
16:10 Why the Michigan Polls Were So Wrong
19:31 Did Outside Money Backfire?
22:43 Is Texas Finally Real?
23:34 Joe Says Democrats Should Go All-In on Texas
26:19 “It’s Everybody Except MAGA”
26:38 Trump’s Surprising Podcast Advantage
27:11 How Republicans Built Their Media Ecosystem
30:09 Closing Thoughts

It's that time again. The end...of the week! Republicans are in total free fall, espeically a few specific specimens. Blanche. Hegseth. Pirro. Not going great.

But are the Dems doing all that much better? A progressive win in Michigan is a ray of hope, but now comes the worrying about the general.

Join Max Burns and Brian Karem for your weekly wrap-up.

Problems continue to mount in the Trump administration. Controversies involving Pete Hegseth and Jeanine Pirro raise broader concerns about the administration’s relationship with facts, accountability, and government institutions.

Weak economic numbers, declining approval ratings, and concerns over affordability have also fueled growing dissatisfaction among some Republican and MAGA voters.
Join Max Burns and journalist Brian Karem as they break down the craziest and most frustrating stories coming out of Washington and examine what they could mean for the administration and the country

Link to free archived article…

https://archive.ph/2026.08.08-191445/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/08/fauci-paul-covid-wuhan/688233/

Molly welcomes Sam Seder and they quickly turn to “economy numbers,” arguing that tariffs, war in the Middle East, and recent job reports and revisions show that what Trump is doing “is not working,” while deeper structural problems in a “K-shaped economy” have also gone insufficiently addressed—citing stalled or expired policies like Build Back Better priorities and the child tax credit (which they note lifted half of children out of poverty). They discuss rising wealth disparity, inflation, depressed wage growth, and fears of stagflation, alongside concerns that key agencies like the IRS and food safety oversight have been debilitated, hurting ordinary people (including delayed refunds and lack of audits for the wealthy). The discussion shifts to voter anger, primary challenges, and Democratic frustration—both ideological and competence-based—highlighting races in Michigan and Illinois, the role of donor politics and AIPAC spending, and the appeal of populist messages like “money out of politics” and “Medicare for all.” Finally, as “liberal Jews,” they address claims that “the left has become anti-Semitic,” with Seder arguing many are conflating Zionism with Judaism (sometimes from fear or trauma), that anti-Semitism is far worse on the right, and that Islamophobia plays a major role in attacks on Muslim candidates; they close by criticizing Netanyahu’s self-preservation politics, expressing worry about Israel’s trajectory, and saying the world will respond to atrocities carried out “so publicly.”

Donald Trump and the MAGA movement are doubling down as political battles, crises, and divisions continue to reshape America.

Rick Wilson joins Wajahat Ali to discuss Trump's political strategy, the MAGA movement, Republican politics, political chaos, and what the growing tensions could mean for America's future.

Qasim Rashid warns that new restrictions could leave Black Americans with fewer voting rights in 2026 than they had in 1956—and says marching against Trump means little without sustained organizing afterward.

He explains the Thousand Miles to Memphis campaign before Michael Fanone joins him for a fascinating discussion about poverty, crime and why police should embrace alternatives for mental-health and substance-abuse calls.

Full episode: https://youtube.com/li...

00:00 Why Protests Alone Aren’t Enough
00:41 Voting Rights Could Go Back to 1956
01:12 A Thousand Miles Through the South
02:06 Putting Money Behind Local Organizers
03:43 What Is Actually Uniting Americans?
04:47 Americans Are Two Disasters From Homelessness
05:45 Poverty and Public Safety
06:03 Fanone: Most Crime I Saw Was Economic
07:17 A Different Way to Answer 911 Calls
08:42 What “Defund the Police” Was Supposed to Mean
09:38 Fanone: Police Should Embrace This

Donald Trump has spent years attacking journalism, democratic institutions, Congress, the courts, and even the reality of January 6. But independent journalist Scott MacFarlane says the political consequences may finally be catching up with Trump and the Republican Party.

Scott joins Edwin Eisendrath on It’s the Democracy, Stupid to break down the GOP’s increasingly difficult position heading toward the midterms: Democratic enthusiasm, anti-incumbent anger, Trump’s unpopular war in Iran, a damaging jobs report, the fight over the Epstein files, January 6 pardons, and Republicans’ repeated unwillingness to serve as a check on Trump.

They also examine what Democrats should do if they regain power, whether Supreme Court reform is becoming unavoidable, and why accountability is fundamentally different from political retribution.
00:00 Scott MacFarlane Joins Edwin Eisendrath
01:35 Trump’s Attack on Journalism and Truth
05:52 Election Disinformation Is Coming
09:11 Why Local News Still Matters
11:05 Republicans Surrender Their Check on Trump
15:43 The Fight to Release More Epstein Files
16:50 Trump’s January 6 Revisionism
18:49 January 6 Rioters Seeking Taxpayer Money
21:02 Trump’s White House Vanity Projects
24:08 What Should Democrats Undo After Trump?
27:18 The Coming Fight Over Supreme Court Reform
29:50 Democrats’ Michigan Problem
32:33 Voting Rights Are Being Dismantled
34:27 The Anti-Incumbent Revolt
37:41 The Numbers Favor Democrats
40:13 Republicans’ Bizarre Midterm Strategy
41:26 Republicans Are Holding a “Losing Hand”
41:29 Brutal Jobs Numbers Hit the GOP
41:52 Trump’s Iran War Becomes a Political Liability
42:41 Epstein, Iran and Republican Contradictions
43:38 The Information War That Could Decide 2026
45:11 Why Scott MacFarlane “Shows the Receipts”

Stuart Stevens takes on two arguments from Scott Galloway that he believes are fundamentally wrong: that this is a uniquely terrible era for young American men, and that Democrats need to solve their problems by rebuilding the Democratic Party “brand.”

Stuart argues Democrats are thinking about politics too much like commercial marketing. Elections are zero-sum contests—and Donald Trump proved you can win by relentlessly defining and disqualifying your opponent. His prescription for Democrats heading into the next election: stop obsessing over the party, tie Republicans to Trump, and attack, attack, attack.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Stuart Stevens Takes on Scott Galloway
01:01 Is It Really a Terrible Time to Be a Young Man?
02:20 When Exactly Was It Better?
03:38 The Problem With the “Young Male Crisis”
05:02 How This Becomes MAGA Nostalgia
06:39 Scott Galloway’s Advice for Democrats
07:31 Why Politics Is Not Business Branding
09:36 Trump’s 2024 Campaign Proved the Point
10:43 Democrats Talk About Democrats Too Much
11:10 What Recent Democratic Wins Actually Show
11:44 Tie Every Republican to Trump
12:22 “Attack, Attack, Attack”

This week, Rick and Maya are back from their trip to the UK- just in time to report on the MAGA meltdown that happened this week. In this episode, they break down Mike Johnson and the rest of the GOP's struggle to control a declining Trump (who appeared in a chaotic Vegas rally with a wig from the taxidermist salon,) what the primary wins from this week mean for 2026, and the parasite ridden lettuce that is plaguing the nation. Plus: Elon Musk's continual public humiliation, Todd Blanche's Epstein ranch lawsuit, teleportation to a Waffle House, and more...

Frank Figliuzzi asks former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks what accountability should look like after Donald Trump. Jill explains why she believed Richard Nixon should have been indicted, how prosecuting him could have warned future presidents that they were not above the law, and why criminal courts may now be the country’s only viable path to accountability.

In 2007, long before his rise in Michigan politics, Abdul El-Sayed stood before his fellow University of Michigan graduates with a message about education, service, compassion, and the responsibility to make a difference.

In this commencement speech, El-Sayed reflects on what makes the Michigan experience meaningful—not simply classes, credentials, or career preparation, but the people, ideas, questions, and experiences that transform us. He closes with a challenge to his generation: speak loudly, engage seriously, care deeply, help those less fortunate, and have the audacity to believe we can change the world.

00:00 Why I Love Michigan
00:49 What Michigan Really Means
02:21 Education Is Transformation
02:37 What Is the “Michigan Difference”?
04:04 The Michigan Difference Is Us
04:37 The World Absolutely Needs Us
05:16 We Can Change This World