Podcast / Start Making Sense / Jul 29, 2026

Election Protection for the Midterms, Plus The Odyssey for Filmgoers

Election Protection for the Midterms, Plus “The Odyssey” for Filmgoers

Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward talks about free and fair elections, and John Powers of Fresh Air discusses the new Christopher Nolan film.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Election Protection for the Midterms, plus ‘The Odyssey’ for Filmgoers
byThe Nation Magazine

An impressive alliance of groups have been preparing for months to counter Trump’s threats to Democrats in the midterms. Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward and a member of The Senate Democrats’ Election Protection Tast Force, explains why “we are going to have free and fair elections” in November. 

Also: Elon Musk calls Christopher Nolan’s film “The Odyssey” “part of a left-wing plan” to “destroy Western Civilization.” John Powers has a differnet view – he’s critic-at-large on NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross.

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An election worker sorts ballots at a polling location inside City Hall durign a primary election in San Francisco, California, on June 2, 2026.

(David Paul Morris / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

An impressive alliance of groups have been preparing for months to counter Trump’s threats to Democrats in the midterms. Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward and a member of the Senate Democrats’ Election Protection Task Force, explains why “we are going to have free and fair elections” in November. 

Also: Elon Musk calls Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey “part of a left-wing plan” to “destroy Western Civilization.” John Powers has a different view—he’s critic at large on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/subscribe.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

The Plan for November—and After / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

How are we going to defeat Trump and the Republicans and win control of Congress in the midterms? How are we going to win the White House in two years? Ben Wikler has a plan – he’s published a book with the title This is the Plan. Ben was chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin for six years, ending in 2025, where he shaped what became the most powerful and effective state political party in the country.

Plus: John Nichols on the Senate Candidates in Maine and Nebraska, and the governor’s race in Wisconsin. John of course is executive editor of The Nation.

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Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Jon Wiener

Jon Wiener is a contributing editor of The Nation and co-author (with Mike Davis) of Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties.

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