Air Date: 5/12/2026

Today we examine the redistricting scramble unleashed by the Supreme Court's gutting of the Voting Rights Act. We'll hear how Southern states moved within days to crack majority-Black districts, how Tennessee banned public input to rush through new maps, and why every governor's race, state legislative seat, and secretary of state contest in 2026 is now a redistricting fight.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on Redrawing Congressional Maps and Testing Trump's Power - PBS Newshour - Air Date 5-4-26

KP 2: Louisiana Is Ground Zero for Voting Rights, Abortion Pill Access Part 1 - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 5-7-26

KP 3: Elie Mystal Supreme Court Gutting Voting Rights Act Is About Again Making US an Apartheid State Part 1 - The Dean Obeidallah Show - Air Date 5-1-26

KP 4: Did Trump's Supreme Court Rig the Midterms Part 1 - Pod Save America - Air Date 5-1-26

KP 5: What Stacey Abrams Thinks About a Recent SCOTUS Decision and the Voting Rights Amendment Part 1 - Soundside - Air Date 5-5-26

KP 6: 'Foolish' Lone Tennessee Dem Rep. Speaks Out Against GOP's Redistricting Push - Ana Cabrera Reports - Air Date 5-6-26

KP 7: Backtalker Kimberlé Crenshaw on New Memoir, Voting Rights, Critical Race Theory & Clarence Thomas - Democracy Now - Air Date 5-6-26

KP 8: What Stacey Abrams Thinks About a Recent SCOTUS Decision and the Voting Rights Amendment Part 2 - Soundside - Air Date 5-526

(00:53:57) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

How One Senate Rule Is Destroying Voting Rights

DEEPER DIVES

(01:05:18) SECTION A: THE RULING & THE LAW

A1: SCOTUS 86s Voting Rights Part 1 - #SistersInLaw - Air Date 5-2-26

A2: The Death Of The Voting Rights Act EXPLAINED Part 1 - Why, America? with Leeja Miller - Air Date 4-30-26

A3: SCOTUS 86s Voting Rights Part 2 - #SistersInLaw - Air Date 5-2-26

(01:24:35) SECTION B: HOW WE GOT HERE

B1: John Lewis and the Struggle for Voting Rights - Equal Justice Initiative - Air Date 3-9-26

B2: Tennessee GOP Just Embraced Jim Crow 2.0 to Silence Black Voters Just as Trump Demanded - The Dean Obeidallah Show - Air Date 5-7-26

B3: Louisiana Is Ground Zero for Voting Rights, Abortion Pill Access Part 2 - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 5-7-26

B4: What Is the Supreme Court Actually Trying to Do - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 5-2-26

(02:02:53) SECTION C: THE STATES SCRAMBLE

C1: 'If You Can Keep It' The Supreme Court And The Voting Rights Act Part 1 - 1A - Air Date 5-4-26

C2: Did Trump's Supreme Court Rig the Midterms Part 2 - Pod Save America - Air Date 5-1-26

C3: 'But Do You Trust Them' Hayes Questions Timing of FBI Raid in Virginia - All In W/ Chris Hayes - Air Date 5-6-26

C4: Trump Pushes to Take Over Elections, Punish His Enemies Pulitzer Prize-Winning Reporter Ned Parker - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-8-26

C5: BREAKING Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Voter-approved House Map - Ana Cabrera Reports - Air Date 5-8-26

C6: 'If You Can Keep It' The Supreme Court And The Voting Rights Act Part 2 - 1A - Air Date 5-4-26

(02:43:06) SECTION D: WHAT COMES NEXT

D1: Fighting for Our Voting Rights! - Practivist Pod - Air Date 4-30-26

D2: The Death Of The Voting Rights Act EXPLAINED Part 2 - Why, America? with Leeja Miller - Air Date 4-30-26

D3: Louisiana Is Ground Zero for Voting Rights, Abortion Pill Access Part 3 - Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 5-7-26

D4: Elie Mystal Supreme Court Gutting Voting Rights Act Is About Again Making US an Apartheid State Part 2 - The Dean Obeidallah Show - Air Date 5-1-26

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Air Date: 5–9-2026

Today we examine how political violence has always been woven into the fabric of American life and who gets to decide what counts as violence in the first place. We'll hear about presidential assassinations, the assassination of Fred Hampton, the MOVE bombing in Philadelphia, and the long history of state-sanctioned violence. And I'll discuss the only real way to bend the curve back away from endemic violence in the US.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: The Real 'Political Violence' in America - Taylor Lorenz - Air Date 9-12-25

KP 2: The Largely Forgotten History of Philadelphias Police Bombing of Black Organization MOVE - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 5-17-25

KP 3: America's History of Assassinations and Political Violence - Front Burner - Air Date 7-16-24

KP 4: America's Addiction to Gun Violence, Racism, and White Rage Will Be Its Downfall Part 1 - The Chauncey DeVega Show -Air Date 9-19-25

KP 5: "Slow Civil War" Author Jeff Sharlet on the Growing NormalAation of Violence at Home & Abroad - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-27-26

KP 6: The World Is Broken and on Fire. Use Your Anger to Remake It for the Better - The Chauncey DeVega Show - Air Date 3-25-26

(00:50:50) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Why Billionaires Now Fear Civil War

DEEPER DIVES

(01:04:57) SECTION A: THE FRAMING WARS

A1: The White House Correspondents Dinner Shooting: What the "Political Violence" Framing Is Hiding - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 4-26-26

A2: Who's to Blame for Political Violence? - WSJ Opinion: Free Expression - Air Date 9-17-25- Air Date 9-17-25

A3: We're MASSIVELY Overstating Our Political Violence Problem — and That's Dangerous! | Sean Westwood - People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast - Air Date 9-16-24

A4: Assassination Nation – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor - The Bunker – News Without the Nonsense - Air Date 4-27-26

(01:32:09) SECTION B: THE LONG AMERICAN TRADITION

B1: The Pen or the Sword? How Lincoln and John Brown Disagreed on Achieving Emancipation Part 1 - History Unplugged Podcast - Air Date 2-23-21

B2: A History of US Political Violence - Americast - Air Date 11-2-22

B3: The Pen or the Sword? How Lincoln and John Brown Disagreed on Achieving Emancipation Part 2 - History Unplugged Podcast - Air Date 2-23-21

(01:52:52) SECTION C: STATE VIOLENCE AND ANTI-BLACKNESS

C1: WATCH: "The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther" - Democracy Now! - Air Date 12-4-14

C2: America's Addiction to Gun Violence, Racism, and White Rage Will Be Its Downfall Part 2 - The Chauncey DeVega Show -Air Date 9-19-25

(02:12:44) SECTION D: THE RIGHT-WING ENGINE

D1: Political Violence In The U.S. Part 1 - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 6-16-25

D2: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism - The Lawfare Podcast - Air Date 5-25-23

D3: Political Violence In The U.S. Part 2 - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 6-16-25Political Violence In The U.S. The NPR Politics Podcast Jun 16, 2025

(02:36:23) SECTION E: THE SYSTEM AND WHAT COMES NEXT

E1: Assassin Nation with Patrick Blanchfield - The Dig - Air Date 12-18-24

E2: Holding Out for a Hero Feat. Hasan Piker - Chapo Trap House - Air Date 4-27-26

E3: The Cole Hard Truth - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 4-28-26

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Air Date: 05-06-2026

Today we examine how the U.S. war on Iran is producing an economic crisis with echoes of the 1970s stagflation era which explains why Trump is now less popular on inflation than Jimmy Carter. We'll also be exploring various element of the structure of our economy, including how GDP became a deeply misleading measure of welfare, why consumer spending increasingly goes toward things people don't want to buy, and how gambling and junk fees are literally counted as economic growth.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: Simply Wrong GOP Lawmakers Caught LYING About Gas Prices Part 1 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-30-26

KP 2: Economic Implications of the U.S. War on Iran Part 1 - Economic Update with Richard Wolff - Air Date 4-14-26

KP 3: These Georgia Swing Voters Do Not Like the Iran War - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-16-26

KP 4: Monday Morning Economy Politics Inflation Soars Part 1 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 4-13-26

KP 5: Fiasco for Trump as Leaked GOP Memo Warns of Epic Midterm Bloodbath - The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent - Air Date 5-1-26

KP 6: From Safety Net to Power Base Reclaiming Economic Power for Working People (with Jamie Keene) Part 1 - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 4-21-26

KP 7: Simply Wrong GOP Lawmakers Caught LYING About Gas Prices Part 2 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-30-26

(00:56:48) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Trump's Iran War Is Crashing the Economy And It's Time To Get Ready

DEEPER DIVES

(01:05:14) SECTION A: THE PUMP AND THE WAR

(01:28:41) SECTION B: LIES, SPIN, AND THE ROARING ECONOMY

(02:00:33) SECTION C: THE BOOMCESSION

(02:39:10) SECTION D: WHAT THIS COSTS REAL PEOPLE

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Air Date: 05/01/2026

The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we open with Jesse Jackson's death as a reckoning with the multiracial coalition America chose not to build, trace the American playbook from the 1953 Iran coup to Cuba to the current war on Iran, examine how the same logic of control operates at home through AI monopolies, sports money, and captured courts, and close with the religious and labor traditions that have always driven change — plus Orbán's defeat in Hungary as proof that authoritarian projects don't last forever.

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(00:01:19) #1775 - Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition and the Remaking of American Politics

(00:23:12) #1776 - Trump's Pharaoh Complex, Our Flawed Constitution, and the 250th Anniversary

(00:45:27) #1777 - How Christian Nationalism, Oil, and Zionism Built The War Against Iran

(01:06:48) #1782 - Cuba's Crisis: Trump's Deadly Embargo, Blackouts, and Dream of Regime Change

(01:29:45) #1785 - Iran and the Chain Reaction: The War Nobody Thought Through (Or, Bomb First, Think Never)

(01:51:40) #1778 - AI, the Pentagon, Labor and Capitalism: The Fight Over Who Controls the Future

(02:15:29) #1781 - Your Team Is a Hedge Fund Now: How Gambling and Billionaires Captured American Sports

02:29:38) #1783 - The Ideology of a Cancer Cell: AI, Surveillance, and Silicon Valley's Psychopath Problem

(02:51:36) #1784 - Who Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who Decides

(03:17:49) #1779 - Community After God: Why the Left Needs What Church Provided

(03:43:07) #1780 - Cynicism Is a Scab: Hope, Solidarity, and the Labor Fight That Never Stopped

(04:09:26) #1786 - Defeating Viktor Orbán in Hungary and the Authoritarian Playbook Worldwide

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Air Date: 4–29-2026

Today we explore the extraordinary clash between Pope Leo XIV and the Trump White House — a feud involving military threats, medieval papal history, and an American-born pope who refuses to back down. We'll hear why analysts say MAGA's religiosity is pure aesthetic, and what that hollowness means for the millions of Americans still taking their faith seriously.

Full Show Notes

Transcript

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: "Two Versions of Christianity": Pope Leo Calls for Peace as U.S. Uses Religion to Justify Iran War - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-1-26

KP 2: What's Driving the Surge of Catholic Converts? Plus Gabriel Salguero - The Holy Post - Air Date 4-1-26

KP 3: What's Behind a Growing Rift Between Conservative U.S. Catholics and the Vatican - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 12-16-23

KP 4: Why Are US Catholics Like That !? - The Kavernacle - Air Date 4-16-26

KP 5: Pope Bob Vs. Trump World Part 1 - Conspirituality - Air Date 5-22-25

KP 6: Did Trump Officials Threaten the Vatican' The Avignon Papacy Warning Explained - SWAJ with Brad Onishi and Dan Miller - Air Date 4-11-26

KP 7: Republicans .0002 Seconds After the Pope Says Anything - Man Carrying Thing - Air Date 4-18-26

(00:47:36) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Pope Leo vs. Trump: The Catholic Opening Democrats Are Blowing

DEEPER DIVES

(00:56:09) SECTION A: TRUMP AND COMPANY'S LOVE/HATE PAPAL RELATIONSHIP

(01:39:29) SECTION B: ANTI CATHOLIC SENTIMENT IN AMERICA

(02:05:17) SECTION C: THE POPE VS THE TRUMP

(02:49:26) SECTION D: SOME MISC HISTORICAL CONTEXT

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Composite image of Pope Leo XIV and Trump against the background of Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus.

Credit: Internal design. Components: 1. "Pope Leo XIV 3 (3x4 crop)" by Edgar Beltran, The Pillar via Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Changes: Transparent background | 2. "Donald Trump" by Gage Skidmore, Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Transparent background | 3. Trump as Jesus, AI image, Truth Social, Public Domain

Air Date: 4/24/2026

Today we explore how Viktor Orban spent 16 years transforming Hungary into a blueprint for 21st-century autocracy, how that blueprint traveled directly to the United States and what Hungary's stunning defeat of Orban can teach Americans about fighting back against authoritarianism.

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Full Show Notes

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: If Hungary Can Do It Part 1 - Radio Atlantic - Air Date 4-16-26

KP 2: What Orban's Loss Means for Anti-Fascists; Iran's Endgame with Jason Stanley, Mohammad Ali Shabani Part 1 - The Majority Report - Air Date 4-14-26

KP 3: Viktor Orbán Part 1 - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - Air Date 3-30-26

KP 4: How Do Peter Magyar's Politics Differ From Orban's Right-wing Populism Part 1 - DW News - Air Date 4-13-26

KP 5: On Tyranny, Orbán, and Trump (with Timothy Snyder) Part 1 - Stay Tuned with Preet - Air Date 4-16-26

KP 6: They Actually Voted Him Out Part 1 - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 4-16-26

KP 7: Viktor Orban's Loss in Hungary Gives Us the Roadmap to Destroy MAGA! - The Dean Obeidallah Show - Air Date 4-12-26

(00:48:33) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Trumpism Won't End With Trump, Here's What Comes Next

DEEPER DIVES

(00:56:57) SECTION A: ORIGINS

(01:37:50) SECTION B: TACTICS

(02:03:08) SECTION C: INTERNATIONAL

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Photo of Hungary's out-going president Victor Orban standing with Trump in the White House while both display a thumbs-up. A "REJECTED" stamp is on Orban and a voting checkbox with an "X" in it is above him. A voting checkbox with a question mark in it is over Trump.

Credit: Internal design. Component images: Pixabay Photo Credit: "President Victor Orban and President Trump", White House Instagram, Nov. 7, 2025 | Public Domain

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Re-Air Date: 4-21-2026

Original Air Date: 1–18-2020

Today we take a look at The Afghanistan Papers which reveal in stark detail much of what the anti-war movement has known or strongly suspected since the beginning. Going beyond the scope of The Pentagon Papers of the Vietnam War era, The Afghanistan Papers feature interviews and documentation from top-ranking officials admitting from the start that they had no idea what they were doing in Afghanistan.

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Headlines: The Afghanistan Papers - Democracy Now - Air Date 12-10-19

Ch. 2: The "Pentagon Papers" Of Our Time with Craig Whitlock - On the Media - Air Date 12-20-19

Ch. 3: They Lied To Us All Along with Danny Sjursen - The Real News with Marc Steiner - Air Date 12-15-19

Ch. 4: The Truth About The War In Afghanistan with Craig Whitlock - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 12-16-19

Ch. 5: The Afghan Pentagon Papers - The Michael Brooks Show - Air Date 12-14-19

Ch. 6: The Afghanistan Papers - Eyes Left with Spenser Rapone and Mike Prysner - Air Date 12-16-19

Ch. 7: The Afghanistan Papers with Steven Miles - News Beat with Rashed Mian and Christopher Twarowski - Air Date 12-23-19

SHOW IMAGE:

"Afghanistan War Anniversary", Jayel Aheram on Flickr / License / Changes: Zoomed in and cropped

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Air Date: 4-8-26

Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:

• Ch. 1 - The history of the war on poverty in the U.S.
• Ch. 2 - How the wealthiest 9.9% are keeping the rest of us down with their heads in the sand
• Ch. 3 - The history and revival of the workers' education movement
• SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): How your class impacts your tastes.

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REFERENCES

How Inequality Was Redefined as "Poverty"—Letting Capitalism Off the Hook - The Nation

Talking of poverty: From the analytical to the political - Sage Journals

The 9.9 Percent is the New American Aristocracy - The Atlantic

To Build Working-Class Power, We Need a Workers' Education Movement - The Nation

BACKSTAGE

• Taste and Distinction: How Class Shapes What We Like - Thinking Sociologically

EXTRAS:

Best of the Left #1780 - Cynicism Is a Scab: Hope, Solidarity, and the Labor Fight That Never Stopped

BOOK: "We Do This Til We Free Us" by Mariame Kaba

(Buying through this link supports indie book stores and this show!)

SOLVED! #36 - Bribery Jazz: Corruption is the Water We Swim In

SOLVED! #37 - Solidarity Forever: Boycotts, Strikes, & the Labor Movement We Need

TAKE ACTION:

MayDayStrong.org - May 1st - No Work. No School. No Shopping.

Stop Trump's Wars

REI Co-Op Members: Vote to Boycott

Greeley Meatpacking Workers (UFCW Local 7R) Strike Fund

No Kings - What's Next?

One Million Rising Trainings

In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach

How to Support Minneapolis Communities

Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

5calls.org

Air Date: 4/17/2026

Today we examine how the U.S. war with Iran has exposed the deep structural rot at the heart of American power, the global economic catastrophe quietly building beneath the surface, and the cuts felt at home in order to pay for it all.

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: Excerpt, "Cross of Iron" Speech, 1956 - Dwight D. Eisenhower

KP 2: White House Accidentally Releases Video of Trump Saying the Truth About War's Priority - The Briefing with Jen Psaki - Air Date 4-2-26

KP 3: Lets Talk About Fertilizer - Paul Krugman - Air Date 3-21-26

KP 4: Why Israels Bombing of Lebanon Means All Our Futures Are at Stake - The Independent - Air Date 4-9-26

KP 5: Will There Even Be a "Ceasefire"? - Drop Site News - Air Date 4-9-26

KP 6: The TV War That Backfired - Brendan Miller - Air Date 3-20-26

KP 7: Why the US Couldnt Force a Deal with Iran - LBC - Air Date 4-12-26

KP 8: Hormuz Crisis _Only Going to Get More Horrific Before It Gets Any Better__ Prof. Laleh Khalili - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-16-26

KP 9: Dwight D Eisenhower - Farewell Speech - Address to the Nation - Military Industrial Complex Warning - War and Military Documentaries - Air Date 1-17-61

(00:52:25) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Eisenhower Warned Us: Trump's $1.5T Military Budget Is Gutting America

DEEPER DIVES

(01:03:57) SECTION A: LEBANON UNDER ATTACK

(01:29:29) SECTION B: THE WORLD DEDOLLARISES

(01:49:40) SECTION C: WORLD ECONOMY IN PERIL

(02:21:45) SECTION D: THE MORAL ROT OF WAR PROFITEERING

(02:46:42) SECTION E: THE DAMAGE OUR MILITARY DOES

(03:06:15) SECTION F: MAKING CHINA GREAT AGAIN

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: A composite image showing a satellite image of the Straight of Hormuz behind a screenshot of Trump's post that says "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again…."

Credit: Internal composite design. Image: "Satellite image of the Strait of Hormuz." by Jacques Descloitres, NASA | Public Domain

Air Date: 4/14/2026

Today we examine the legal battles shaking the foundations of American citizenship and voting rights as Trump's legal team uses the courts as a weapon against democratic participation — and how advocates are fighting back. We'll hear about the three-D playbook of deceive, disrupt, and deny used by authoritarians and being deployed by Trump ahead of the midterms, and what ordinary people can do right now to protect their votes before November.

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Full Show Notes

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: SCOTUS Hears Birthright Citizenship Arguments - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-1-26

KP 2: Will SCOTUS Join the GOP War on Mail-in Ballots Part 1 - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 3-30-26

KP 3: Arizona Secretary of State Trump Is Trying to Pick His Own Voters by Restricting Mail-in Ballots - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-3-26

KP 4: Desperate Election STUNT in California BLOCKED by Supreme Court - Legal AF - Air Date 4-9-26

KP 5: Mark Joseph Stern of Slate on SCOTUS Arguments to Block Late Arriving Mail Ballots Part 1 - The Bradcast - Air Date 3-24-26

KP 6: Voting Rights & Wrongs, According to SCOTUS with Steve Vladeck - Stay Tuned with Preet - Air Date 3-25-26

(00:52:29) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Conservatives' Judicial Originalism Isn't Principle — It's a 40-Year Political Project

DEEPER DIVES

(01:07:20) SECTION A: BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

(01:39:42) SECTION B: ELECTION INTERFERENCE

(02:03:37) SECTION C: MAIL-IN VOTING

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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