It's the Democracy, Stupid Featured Interviews

Edwin Eisendrath is joined by G. Elliott Morris, data-driven journalist, pollster, author of the Substack newsletter “Strength In Numbers” and the book “Strength in Numbers: How Polls Work and Why We Need Them.”

In the interview polling and election forecasts were discussed as useful but inherently uncertain measures of public opinion and electoral outcomes. Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
- Morris emphasized that polls help explain public attitudes beyond the horse race, while typical election polling error remains about three percentage points.
- Aggregating polls reduces individual-poll error, but shared nonresponse bias can affect the average; the direction of polling error cannot be reliably predicted.
- Morris described a broad anti-incumbent mood, tied to economic concerns and dissatisfaction with government priorities and policies.
- The U.S. House is forecast strongly toward Democratic control; the Senate is more competitive, with polling error potentially changing the outcome. 
- Morris and Eisendrath also discussed growing public dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court and skepticism that the forces behind the current Republican Party will disappear when Donald Trump leaves office.

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Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Jay Kuo, two-time Tony-winning co-producer and composer; CEO and founder of The Social Edge (a social media and digital publishing company based in New York City); author of The Status Kuo Substack newsletter; and member of the board of directors for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

The interview examined election integrity, accountability, and the reforms Democrats may pursue if they gain power. Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
- Kuo said challenges to mail ballots and claims about noncitizen voters could suppress turnout and undermine trust in election results.
- He urged early voting and said Democrats should aim to establish a clear lead before late-arriving ballots are counted. He is more cautious about the U.S. Senate than the House.
- Kuo argued that a future Democratic Congress should investigate corruption, including the conduct of Trump associates and corporate enablers, and raise the costs of cooperating with corrupt actors.
- He said opposition lawmakers have limited governing power and should make the case for replacing the party in power.
- He supports institutional reforms, including expanding the Supreme Court and reconsidering the filibuster, arguing that Republicans have already departed from established norms.
- He said Democrats should use electoral momentum for accountability and a progressive agenda while recognizing limits if they do not control the presidency and both chambers.

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Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Juliet Jeske, founder of Decoding Fox News, a crowd-funded media project. The conversation examined Jeske's monitoring of Fox News and how its coverage is shifting amid political and audience pressures. 

Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
- Fox News has reduced diner segments and voter panels, while remaining critical of the war and increasingly featuring nonpolitical subjects such as UFOs and crime.
- The network remains dominant in cable news but is losing viewers ages 25–54; coverage of political events has also become less extensive.
- Jeske described the network as struggling to address the gas crisis, the Iran war, and Trump’s relationship with Russia, while showing renewed support for Trump ahead of the midterms.
- Coverage of Ukraine remains divided, including on-air disagreement over responsibility for the war. 
- In addition to her Decoding Fox News project, Jeske also creates “Trump without Trump” clips, replacing Trump’s voice and obscuring his face while preserving his words accurately.
- She described building the project through research, a grant, and later audience-funded support.

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Edwin Eisendrath is joined by David Nir, publisher of The Downballot. The discussion examined how state and local election dynamics, campaign finances, and election administration shape the broader political landscape.

Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
- Candidate campaigns can buy broadcast advertising at legally mandated lowest rates; super PACs and other outside groups pay market rates, making candidate donations especially effective.
- Grassroots support for local candidates can have a larger impact in lower-budget races, while candidates running in heavily Republican districts can still narrow margins and offer voters a choice.
- Nir said polling remains uncertain, but special elections, primaries, fundraising, and the political environment point toward Democratic gains amid dissatisfaction with Republican governance.
- He noted that Republican candidates are defending fewer seats while Democrats are expanding the political battlefield.
- He said delayed counts and litigation are normal, and emphasized that election administration rests with thousands of state and local authorities rather than the federal government.

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Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Chicago Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward). The discussion examined Chicago’s parking-meter contract, federal policy impacts on cities, immigration, and bipartisan local governance.

Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Waguespack described the revised parking meter deal as financially imperfect but improved from the 2008 agreement.
- City Council members used their approval authority to require Stonepeak Partners to remove Omni Air from the transaction, while also negotiating profit sharing, an asset-transfer fee, and planning-related changes.
- The contract still has 57 years remaining. 
- Cuts to infrastructure funding, reduced ARPA support, Medicare and Medicaid pressures, and tariffs were described as threats to Chicago’s role as a national transportation and freight hub.
- The discussion emphasized that weakening roads, railways, airports, and transit systems raises costs for rural communities, farmers, businesses, and consumers nationwide.
- Chicago’s response to migrant arrivals and immigration enforcement was presented as a combination of municipal assistance, neighborhood support, and community organizing.

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Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Mark Jacob, author of the Stop the Presses newsletter on Substack, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, former Sunday editor at the Sun-Times, and co-author of several books on history and photography.

The conversation examined concerns about executive power, institutional checks, election integrity, defense leadership, media ownership, and the economic pressures affecting Americans.

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Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Russ Carnahan, chair of the Missouri Democratic Party and former member of the U.S. House and the Missouri House.

The discussion focused on Missouri Democrats’ election strategy, voter initiative power, redistricting litigation, and election security concerns. Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Carnahan said Democrats are contesting more than 97 perfcent of Missouri legislative seats, including many rural districts.
- Courts rejected a mid-decade congressional map and restored use of the 2022 maps after challenges involving the state referendum process.
- Missouri voters will consider a November measure intended to strengthen their ability to protect citizen initiatives. 
- Democrats are targeting the state auditor race, the Missouri Second Congressional District, and enough legislative seats to end the Republican supermajority.
- Carnahan said protecting Congressman Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City district from being divided remains a priority.
- He argued that Missouri could become competitive in future presidential elections if candidates campaign there.
- He described efforts involving polling place observers, early voting, volunteer organizing, and monitoring foreign interference.
- He said Missouri Democrats are also trying to reach rural voters affected by tariffs, beef and diesel costs, and rural hospital problems.

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Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Clay Wirestone, editor of the Kansas Reflector. Wirestone is also the author of "Opinionated: Kansas Journalists Who Proved Why Commentary Matters: Then and Now" (out September 29). 

The conversation examined Kansas politics, the competitiveness of its current statewide races, and the role of informed local opinion journalism.  Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Kansas retains strong Republican voting habits, but voters have rejected some Republican-backed positions, including abortion restrictions and school board agendas.
- Clay attributed this tension to Kansas’s longstanding Republican identity and its history as a progressive Republican state, alongside a pattern of electing Democratic governors.
- The U.S. Senate race between Republican Roger Marshall and Democrat Adam Hamilton was described as unexpectedly competitive, with recent polling favoring Hamilton.
- Marshall has faced criticism over limited town hall events and public campaigning, and damaging reporting about lawsuits involving former patients.
- The governor’s race may favor Republican Ty Masterson because Democrat Cindy Holscher lacks comparable campaign funding and has faced sustained attack ads.
- Clay argued that informed, locally grounded opinion is increasingly scarce but important for context, accountability, and community trust.
- His new book documents Kansas’s long tradition of influential commentary.

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Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Aisha Down, global technology reporter for the Guardian; her latest article is "Your AI doomsday questions answered: ‘What, if anything, can people like me do about it?’"

The conversation examined AI’s societal, political, economic, and democratic risks. Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Down argued that extinction narratives often rely on speculative scenarios and fail to account for practical constraints, while acknowledging risks from agentic systems, cyberattacks, biosecurity, and attacks on banks or universities.
- The discussion challenged anthropomorphic views of AI and questioned whether intelligence measured by high IQ translates into real-world agency or goals.
- Industry leaders may amplify claims about AI’s power to support valuations, delay IPOs, shape regulation, and encourage regulatory capture.
- Data centers and chip financing could represent a speculative bubble, with delays, interlocking companies, and debt creating unresolved financial risks. 
- AI is also accelerating surveillance, misinformation, and internet fragmentation, while health technologies and tools for treating cancer, paralysis, and other conditions offer significant benefits.

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Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org. She discussed voter registration trends, voting access, election safeguards, and trusted voter information ahead of the election.

Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Vote.org reported registration activity about three times higher than in the previous midterm cycle, with 18-year-olds representing about 35 percent of registrations through its platform.
- Interest was especially high in Texas, at roughly 30 times previous election-cycle levels, with additional activity in Kansas, Ohio, Michigan, and Maine.
- October deadlines and outreach through text and email were identified as important tests of whether the registration surge continues.
- Voters are encouraged to verify registration repeatedly at Vote.org, make a voting plan, and execute it early where possible.
- Hailey raised concerns about voter-roll changes, unprocessed Texas applications, polling place access for students, restrictive identification rules, and barriers to digital registration.
- Vote.org does not sell voter data and distinguishes its services from sites that combine voter information with behavioral data for targeting. 

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