On this episode of Start Making Sense, John Nichols analyzes Tuesday’s elections, and Greil Marcus explains what’s missing in Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani votes at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School Tuesday, November 4, 2025, in Queens, New York.(Barry Williams / New York Daily News / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Democratic candidates won everywhere they ran on Tuesday – Abagail Spanberger and a Democratic state legislature in Virginia, Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, Gavin Newsom’s redistricting proposition in California, and of course Zohran Mamdani in New York City. Trump didn’t even campaign against any them. John Nichols has our analysis.
Also: Greil Marcus comments on the new film about Bruce Springsteen writing the songs for his 1982 album “Nebraska”, starring starring Jeremy Allen White of ‘The Bear.” The movie misses the context: working class decline in Reagan’s America. Greil Marcus is the author of two dozen books, including “Mystery Train,” which has just been reissued in a special 50th anniversary edition.
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Democratic candidates won everywhere they ran on Tuesday—Abagail Spanberger and a Democratic state legislature in Virginia, Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, Gavin Newsom’s redistricting proposition in California, and of course Zohran Mamdani in New York City. Trump didn’t even campaign against any them. John Nichols has our analysis.
Also: Greil Marcus comments on the new film about Bruce Springsteen writing the songs for his 1982 album Nebraska, starring starring Jeremy Allen White of The Bear. The movie misses the context: working class decline in Reagan’s America. Greil Marcus is the author of two dozen books, including Mystery Train, which has just been reissued in a special 50th anniversary edition.
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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.
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.