On this episode of Start Making Sense: John Nichols on recent special elections, and Randi Weingarten on Why Fascists Fear Teachers.
JD Vance hosts a podcast episode of Charlie Kirk’s show at the White House on September 15, 2025.(Doug Mills-Pool via Getty Images)
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.
In suburban DC, southern Pennsylvania and Iowa, Democrats have won special elections by significant margins – and the polls for this year’s upcoming elections for mayor in New York City, governor in Virginia, and redistricting in California show Democrats well ahead. Also: J.D. Vance attacks The Nation. John Nichols comments.
Also: Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT and one of our leading progressives, explains “Why Fascists Fear Teachers” – the title of her new book.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
In suburban DC, southern Pennsylvania, and small-town Iowa, Democrats have won special elections by significant margins—and the polls for this year’s upcoming elections for mayor in New York City, governor in Virginia, and redistricting in California show Democrats well ahead. Also: JD Vance attacks The Nation. John Nichols comments.
Also: Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT and one of our leading progressives, explains Why Fascists Hate Teachers—the title of her new book.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.
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.
Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible, answers the question, “What’s the Plan — for the next No Kings Nationwide Day of Action?” This one shifts from mass protest in the streets to organizing for early voting – and preparing for whatever Trump does to disrupt or undermine the vote, the count, and the certification.
Also: The Supreme Court last Friday issued an order allowing states to use Trump’s SAVE database to purge their voter rolls of people the DHS considers ineligible – but it’s too late to apply to the midterms. Rick Hasen explains – he teaches law at UCLA and he’s Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project and editor of the Election Law Blog.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Jon WienerTwitterJon 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.