The Odd Years is back with our first episode of this midterm year!

Political news and events seem to be breaking faster than the human brain can process, so we wanted to take a step back and talk to people with experience, insight, and perspective who can help us make sense of it all.

That is why we kicked off the inaugural 2026 episode with two political reporters who embody those traits: The Wall Street Journal's Annie Linskey and Puck's Peter Hamby. They are known for their smarts and scoops, but also their level headedness and ability to separate the buzzy from the newsworthy.

In this episode, Annie discusses Trump's rare backtrack on immigration enforcement in Minnesota. Peter's been doing a lot of great reporting and survey research on young voters and gives us a timely update on their views of Trump and how they see the potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates.

Plus, we talk about what we should make of Trump's talk of “nationalizing elections” and whether the Republicans proposed voter ID law could actually make it harder for their own supporters to cast a ballot.

We recorded this conversation on Tuesday, February 10.

You can watch part of the conversation our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thecookpoliticalreport

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