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Good News for Dems—Plus, Fascists and Teachers

On this episode of Start Making Sense: John Nichols on recent special elections, and Randi Weingarten on Why Fascists Fear Teachers.

Jon Wiener

September 17, 2025

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)

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Good News for Dems – plus Fascists and Teachers | Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

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.

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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.

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.

How Abdul El-Sayed Can Win Michigan, Plus an Election Protection Test Case / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

The Michigan Democratic senate primary provided a test of the power of AIPAC and big money. John Nichols has our analysis.

Also: a rehearsal for the election protection groups: the California sherriff who seized 650,000 ballots from November’s referendum, claiming he needed to recount them. Zach Roth of Democracy Docket will explain how the Chad Bianco case provides a test of one key Republican strategy for holding on to the House after the midterms.

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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.


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