Podcast / Start Making Sense / May 6, 2026

Election Protection in the Midterms—Plus Racism and Antisemitism in the 1940s and ’50s

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Ian Bassin of Protect Democracy talks about preparations for voting in November, and historian Steven J. Ross discusses the far right post-WWII.

(Smith Collection / Gado via Getty Images)

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Ian Bassin of Protect Democracy talks about preparations for voting in November, and historian Steven J. Ross discusses the far right after WWII.

Trump’s efforts to block Democratic voting in the midterms, or overturn the results, is not going to work, Ian Bassin argues, because of the widespread preparations underway for defending the election in November. Ian is cofounder of the organization Protect Democracy and winner of a MacArthur “genius” grant.

Also: In the aftermath of WWII, racists and antisemites organized to reverse the changes brought by the New Deal and the war, but their organizations were infiltrated and undermined by activists from the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and the Non-­Sectarian Anti­-Nazi League. Steven J. Ross has that history—his new book is The Secret War Against Hate.

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Election Protection in the Midterms, plus Racists and Neo-Nazis in the 1940s and 50s / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

Trump’s efforts to block Democratic voting in the midterms, or overturn the results, is not going to work—Ian Bassin explains the widespread preparations underway for defending the election in November. Ian is co-founder of the organization Protect Democracy and winner of a MacArthur genius grant.

Also: In the aftermath of WWII, racists and antisemites organized to reverse the changes brought by the New Deal and the war, but their organizations were infiltrated and undermined by activists from the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and the Non-­Sectarian Anti­-Nazi League. Steven J. Ross has that history – his new book is The Secret War Against Hate. 

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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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