Runaway Country with Alex Wagner

Misssisippi just elected a Democrat to the US Senate for the first time since 1982—their first Black senator since Reconstruction. How did Scott Colom win such an underfunded and under-discussed race in one of the reddest states in the country? His meaty media strategy played a big role. Alex sits down with the creator of Colom’s viral “Pick Another Protein” ad, Ryan Sayles, to get the backstory on how the video came to be, why he thinks it’s a national sensation, and why Colom is barely in it. Then she’s joined by some of the most powerful communicators in the game—influencer Carlos Eduardo Espina, No Lie’s Brian Tyler Cohen, Fox News’s Jessica Tarlov, and I’ve Had It host Jennifer Welch—to get into the myriad ways that Democrats broke through the noise this cycle and convinced voters to make a change.

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The midterm elections brought historic victories, jaw dropping flips from red to blue, and a resounding rejection of Trumpism. This week Alex speaks to Jamie Ager, the first Democrat to win in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district in 15 years. Then, she talks to Brian Tyler Cohen about the energy a new set of leaders could bring to the Democratic party, and the importance of embracing the big tent and broad range of views they represent. Finally, she hears from Senator Bernie Sanders on what message American voters sent to Washington on November 3rd, and what Democrats can realistically achieve with a majority in Congress while lame duck Trump is still in office.

Order Alex's new book, The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and The Raid On America's Courts and subscribe to her Substack here.

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As ballots start coming in, an increasingly desperate president is already meddling in the vote count. Alex sits down with Chris Hayes, host of MS NOW’s “All In,” to talk about the Alaska fiasco, how the media should be covering threats to democracy, and what might be waiting for us on the other side of Election Day. But first, how are state election officials responding to threats from the federal government? Journalist and author Barton Gellman has been reporting from the frontlines, and he comes on the show to share what, specifically, elections officials are worried about…and how they’re preparing for Tuesday.

Order Alex's new book, The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and The Raid On America's Courts and subscribe to her Substack here.

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With the midterm elections only two weeks away, a lot of Democrats are feeling giddy about the prospects of flipping both houses of Congress. This week, Alex breaks down why overconfidence can be a risk, and why this will be a state by state, issue by issue battle until the end. She’s joined by Alex Seitz-Wald, Deputy Editor of the Midcoast Villager, who gives a local perspective on why the Senate race in Maine is still anyone’s call. Then Crooked media’s Nate Silver, author of the Silver Bulletin and co-host of Still Counting, joins to break down the latest polling and how it compares with elections past.

Order Alex's new book, The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and The Raid On America's Courts and subscribe to her Substack here.

Become a subscriber to Crooked Media! It’s the best way to directly support us as we build an independent, pro-democracy media company. Subscribers get exclusive benefits, like bonus podcasts, newsletters and more. 

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Just when you thought he could sink no lower, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is now planning to livestream a public execution, carried out by American soldiers. Paul Rieckhoff—host of the Independent Americans podcast—shares how Hegseth’s murderous theatrics are sitting with veterans, his reaction to thousands of troops deploying to the Middle East, and why he thinks the war in Iran will only end when Trump leaves office. Then, Alex puts it all into context with Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan: why the US is signing diesel deals with Russia, how Republicans are ramping up Islamophobia ahead of the midterms, and why on earth Trump is still listening to Bibi Netanyahu.

Order Alex's new book, The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and The Raid On America's Courts and subscribe to her Substack here.

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Polls show Democratic candidates are leading or tied in several deep red states—places the left never thought they could win. So how optimistic should Democrats be that the midterms won’t just deliver a blue wave, but a full-on red collapse? To understand how bad all this actually looks for Republicans (and whether we can really trust the polls), Alex speaks to Charlie Cook, founder of the Cook Political Report. But first, what’s the mood like on the ground in Nebraska, where a leftward tilt appears to be on the horizon? Jane Kleeb, Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, joins Alex to discuss what’s prompting people to defect from the GOP in red states, how big the Democratic tent can stretch, and whether it’ll all be enough come Election Day.

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Order Alex's new book, The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and The Raid On America's Courts and subscribe to her Substack here.

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As the electoral landscape is turning blue, Donald Trump is seeing red. To sooth his wounded ego, the White House is running pro-Trump ads during NFL games, illegally rescinding hundreds of millions of dollars from federal agencies, and threatening the Kennedy Performing Arts Center with demolition for not adding Trump’s name to the facade.

To understand the cost of the president's flailing narcissism, Alex chats with Leonard Slatkin, the former conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra—now on involuntary tour since the Kennedy Center's closure.

Then, she is joined by historian and On Tyranny author, Timothy Snyder, to discuss what else we can expect from this late stage autocrat.

Order Alex's new book, The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and The Raid On America's Courts and subscribe to her Substack here.

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President Trump’s acrimonious relationship with the press reached new heights after he banned MS NOW, Politico, and CNN from the White House — and other media organizations banded together to suspend the White House press pool.

This week Alex speaks to April Ryan, the longest serving Black White House correspondent and author of “Notes On A Blacklash: When A Black Woman Goes Viral”, about her own experience being a target of Trump’s verbal abuse and why it took the press so long to fight back. Then she speaks to Dan Pfeiffer, Pod Save America co-host and author of The Message Box newsletter, about whether this show of unity comes too little, too late.

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Less than two months before the midterms, the Supreme Court made a shockingly good decision and rejected a Trump rule that would have restricted mail-in ballots and possibly disenfranchised millions of voters. But Trump and Republicans are not done messing with the integrity of America’s elections.

This week, Alex is joined by Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, to discuss the gargantuan effort to defeat Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting. Then she’s joined by Kate Shaw, co-host of Crooked’s Strict Scrutiny, to talk about the desperate need for Supreme Court reform, and how we ended up in this right wing nightmare of a justice system.

Pre-order Alex's new book, The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and The Raid On America's Courts and subscribe to her Substack here.

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Nate Silver, Clare Malone, and Galen Druke discuss the most competitive Senate races heading into the midterms in this excerpt from their new podcast, Still Counting. To hear the rest, head over to Still Counting and subscribe! New episodes drop every Wednesday evening.

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