Podcast / Start Making Sense / May 20, 2026

Winning State Legislatures and Winning Midterm Elections

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Daniel Squadron argues that state governments provide the key check on Trump, and John Nichols reviews the political landscape.

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.

Winning State Legislatures and Winning Midterm Elections / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

State legislatures have a lot of power in America—the States Project focuses on expanding that. Daniel Squadron explains. His new book is The Fourth Branch: How State Government can Save Our Union.

Also: this week’s polls and this week’s primaries have nothing but bad news for Trump and his followers.John Nichols has our analysis.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Nadine Seiler attends a rally for voting rights in front of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC, on December 7, 2022.

Nadine Seiler attends a rally for voting rights in front of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC, on December 7, 2022.

(Drew Angerer / Getty)

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Daniel Squadron argues that state governments provide the key check on Trump, and John Nichols reviews the political landscape 6 months out.

State legislatures have a lot of power in America—the States Project focuses on expanding that. Daniel Squadron explains. His new book is The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union.

Also: this week’s polls and this week’s primaries have nothing but bad news for Trump and his followers. John Nichols has our analysis.

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.

Winning State Legislatures and Winning Midterm Elections / Start Making Sense
byThe Nation Magazine

State legislatures have a lot of power in America—the States Project focuses on expanding that. Daniel Squadron explains. His new book is The Fourth Branch: How State Government can Save Our Union.

Also: this week’s polls and this week’s primaries have nothing but bad news for Trump and his followers.John Nichols has our analysis.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Your support makes stories like this possible

From illegal war on Iran to an inhumane fuel blockade of Cuba, from AI weapons to crypto corruption, this is a time of staggering chaos, cruelty, and violence. 

Unlike other publications that parrot the views of authoritarians, billionaires, and corporations, The Nation publishes stories that hold the powerful to account and center the communities too often denied a voice in the national media—stories like the one you’ve just read.

Each day, our journalism cuts through lies and distortions, contextualizes the developments reshaping politics around the globe, and advances progressive ideas that oxygenate our movements and instigate change in the halls of power. 

This independent journalism is only possible with the support of our readers. If you want to see more urgent coverage like this, please donate to The Nation today.

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.

More from The Nation

Students marching in the “No Kings” rally in Burlington, Vermont.

Building Local Power to Win—With Dan Denvir Building Local Power to Win—With Dan Denvir

Aaron and Jonathan talk to Dan Denvir about his local organizing project, Reclaim RI.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

The UK Government’s AI Obsession Is a Big Risk—With Will Dunn The UK Government’s AI Obsession Is a Big Risk—With Will Dunn

What happens when a government goes all in on AI? It creates some huge vulnerabilities.

Paris Marx

Washington Wizards' John Wall, left, and NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum, pose for photos after Tatum announced that the Wizards had won the first pick in the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Sunday, May 10, 2026.

The NBA Lottery, Those Nova Knicks, and Movies We Love to Hate The NBA Lottery, Those Nova Knicks, and Movies We Love to Hate

Arya Shirazi joins the show to talk NBA lottery and movies.

Dave Zirin

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks at a press conference with other members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Supreme Court decision in “Louisiana v. Callais,” at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 29, 2026.

Democrats After the Voting Rights Act—Plus, Jewish Anti-Zionism Democrats After the Voting Rights Act—Plus, Jewish Anti-Zionism

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Harold Meyerson argues Democrats remain likely to win the House in November, and Adam Hochschild talks about the Bund in prewar Europe.

Jon Wiener

Jeff Bezos at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.

Journalism in the Age of Oligarchy—With David Sirota Journalism in the Age of Oligarchy—With David Sirota

Danny and Derek speak with David Sirota, founder and EIC of The Lever, about journalism, independent media, and the consolidation of presidential power. 

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman arrives at court at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building on April 30, 2026, in Oakland, California.

Down With the AI Overlords—With Sarah Myers West Down With the AI Overlords—With Sarah Myers West

Tech expert Sarah Myers West discusses how AI is concentrating power among a handful of oligarchs—and how its future could be made more democratic.

x