On this episode of Start Making Sense, Harold Meyerson analyzes recent primaries, and Katha Pollitt tests AI’s ability to write poetry.
A voter fills out a ballot on Election Day for the midterm primary on June 9, 2026. (Sean Rayford / 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.
Democratic strength, and Democratic divisions, in primaries from L.A. to Maine—Harold Meyerson has our analysis of the week’s political developments.
Also: Can AI write poetry? Good poetry? Katha Pollitt decided to find out. She’s an award-winning poet herself, and a columnist for The Nation.
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Democratic strength, and Democratic divisions, in primaries from LA to Maine—Harold Meyerson has our analysis of the week’s political developments.
Also: Can AI write poetry? Good poetry? Katha Pollitt decided to find out. She’s an award-winning poet herself, and a columnist for The Nation.
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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.
Trump's efforts to interfere with voting, and with certification of the results, have not been successful. Rick Hasen of the UCLA Law School says “We're doing well on election protection”: the courts have been strong, the blue states have been a bulwark, and—most important—early voting has been big. Rick is also director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project and editor of the Election Law Blog.
Also: If the election goes roughly as the polls say it will, next Tuesday will mark the beginning of the end of the Trump era. Harold Meyerson comments, focusing on getting to 51 in the Senate—or, better yet, 52. Harold is editor-at-large of The American Prospect.
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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.