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Is the resistance to data centers a new kind of mass politics? David Wallace-Wells explains why the answer is “yes.” He’s a writer for The New York Times Opinion pages and author of the unforgettable book “The Uninhabitable Earth.”
Also: How to be a dissident in an age of fear – Ami Fields-Meyer has thought a lot about that. For starters: don’t start from scratch; don’t try to do it alone. Ami is co-author of the new book “On Courage.” Transcript HERE 9-9-2026
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The political surprise of 2026: the movement to block AI data centers – it’s popular among both Democrats and Republicans at the grassroots. But, in many places the building trade unions are opposing that movement – they want to build those data centers – and in some places, Democratic political candidates are standing with those unions. Harold Meyerson comments on this “trans-partisan” issue.
The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Trump could proceed with construction of his ballroom—they explicitly did not rule on the merits of the case, but on the issue of standing for the plaintiff. Robert Weissman has our analysis – he’s co-president of Public Citizen.
Also: The Democrats are now favored to win not only the House but also the Senate in November – they need to flip four seats, and their candidates are ahead in five. John Nichols explains. 9-4-2026
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The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Trump could proceed with construction of his ballroom—they explicitly did not rule on the merits of the case, but on the issue of standing for the plaintiff. Robert Weismann has our analysis – he’s co-president of Public Citizen.
Also: The Democrats are now favored to win not only the House but also the Senate in November – they need to flip four seats, and their candidates are ahead in five. John Nichols explains. 9-2-2026
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On Monday, the Postal Service announced that it would follow Trump’s executive order, which attempts to block voting by mail in states that do not provide its voter rolls for scrutiny by the Trump administration. As of today, Friday – 67 days away from the midterm elections: November 3, 2026 – the Postal Service is prohibited from following Trump’s unconstitutional order. Next: Tariffs on Canada, the Iran war and the reflecting pool – Harold Meyerson comments.
Also: The Supreme Court is not a Trump court – at least not on several issues – but where do they stand on voting rights? And what exactly did the court say on Monday about the postal service cooperating with Trump in his effort to restrict voting by mail? David Cole explains – he’s the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent.
Plus: From the archives: Viet Nguyen talks about his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer” – it opens in Saigon on the last day of the Vietnam war and follows a nameless spy who has infiltrated the South Vietnamese army and then flees with its remnants to America (originally recorded April 2016).
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The Supreme Court is not a Trump court – at least not on several issues – but where do they stand on voting rights? And what exactly did the court say on Monday about the postal service cooperating with Trump in his effort to restrict voting by mail? David Cole explains – he’s the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent.
Also: Colson Whitehead won two Pulitzer prizes for his novels, and then wrote three crime stories about Harlem – the latest is Cool Machine. John Powers comments–he’s critic at large for NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Transcript HERE 8-26-2026
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More progressive democrats have triumphed over AIPAC money — starting with the surprising victory of Aisha Wahab in Northern California – Harold Meyerson comments on how “AIPAC is on a negative roll”.
Also: Indivisible’s 2,500 local volunteer-led groups are preparing for a rapid response to any threats to free and fair voting around election day, starting with plans to promote early voting, and including preparations to mobilize large-scale protests if there are attempts to undermine the results. Leah Greenberg, co-founder and co-executive director, explains.
Plus: Vanita Gupta reviews the massive legal planning underway to defend the vote, the count, and the certification of the winners in the midterms – she was Associate Attorney General in the Biden administration, and has been working with the Senate Democrats’ Elections Task Force on planning and preparations for November.
Bonus: History on the March: A ‘Save Our Signs’ project update: Hundreds of volunteers have submitted 17, 236 photos of historic signs before the Trump administration removes them: the signs deal with things like slavery, women’s rights and climate change, among other topics the Trump administration doesn’t want people to know about. 8-21-2026
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Indivisible’s 2,500 local volunteer-led groups are preparing for a rapid response to any threats to free and fair voting around election day, starting with plans to promote early voting, and including preparations to mobilize large-scale protests if there are attempts to undermine the results. Leah Greenberg, co-founder and co-executive director, explains.
Also: Vanita Gupta reviews the massive legal planning underway to defend the vote, the count, and the certification of the winners in the midterms – she was Associate Attorney General in the Biden administration, and has been working with the Senate Democrats’ Elections Task Force on planning and preparations for November.
Transcript HERE 8-18-2026
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News from Wisconsin, one of the most gerrymandered states and a key to the national Democratic strategy; and from my home state of Minnesota, where Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan triumphed over opponent in the primary for state senate, Angie Craig, who out-spent her by 4 to 1 – Harold Meyerson comments.
Also: The ACLU is organizing thousands of volunteers, preparing to respond to 25 different ways Trump could try to subvert or sabotage the midterms. Deirdre Schifeling explains—she’s the ACLU’s Chief Political and Advocacy Officer. More info at https://www.aclu.org/campaigns-initiatives/people-power.
Plus: Howard Zinn’s book A People’s History of the US has sold four million copies—and now we have a biography of the author, written by Dave Zirin, The Nation’s longtime sports editor – his new book is The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn. 8-14-2026
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The ACLU is organizing thousands of volunteers, preparing to respond to 25 different ways Trump could try to subvert or sabotage the midterms. Deirdre Schifeling explains—she’s the ACLU’s Chief Political and Advocacy Officer. More info at https://www.aclu.org/campaigns-initiatives/people-power.
Also: Howard Zinn’s book A People’s History of the US has sold four million copies—and now we have a biography of the author, written by Dave Zirin, The Nation’s longtime sports editor – his new book is The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn.
Transcript HERE 8-11-2026
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Abdul El-Sayed’s first task is winning Black Detroit; next is making inroads in working class white Michigan. Harold Meyerson comments.
Also: A rehearsal for the election protection groups: the California sheriff 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.
Plus: From the archives: The Museum of Jurassic Technology is one of Culver City’s hidden treasures – David Wilson explains (originally broadcast 6-19-2001). 8-7-2026
“Start Making Sense” is The Nation magazine’s weekly podcast, hosted by Jon Wiener. It’s political talk without the boring parts.
New episodes posted every Wednesday morning. More info at https://www.thenation.com/content/start-making-sense/.
