It became clear pretty early on election night that Democrats would take commanding majorities in both chambers of Congress. By the next day, it was apparent the party had ridden the biggest electoral wave in half a century or more.
But while the campaign is finally over, the battle to define the midterms has just begun.
Jerusalem Demsas was able to drag her co-host Matt Yglesias out of the Twitter trenches just long enough to record a podcast about it. They discussed why Republicans are blaming the midterms entirely on Iran and whether Democrats will follow through on their affordability promises.
Check out the full episode for more takes. You can listen to the ad-free version of this episode here if you are a paying subscriber or listen with ads wherever you get your podcasts.
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Corrections:
Around 10:25, Jerusalem says that Faiz Shakir founded the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP). He actually co-founded a different progressive group, More Perfect Union, and later served as interim executive director for AELP.
Around 53:35, Jerusalem suggests that Democrats won Nebraska’s elections. While they did flip Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, they lost all the statewide races.
Around 54:05, Matt says we had “flips of governor’s mansions in two states that have banned abortion.” In 2026, Democrats flipped the governorships of Georgia, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, and Nevada. Of those, only Texas has a complete ban on abortion. Georgia and Iowa both have strict bans after six weeks of pregnancy.
Around 1:08:27, Jerusalem says that Elon Musk has set up contracts to avoid leaving his wealth to his children. Musk has asked the mothers of his children to sign agreements with confidentiality clauses, and he has said that he doesn’t intend to automatically leave shares of his companies to his children. But the agreements themselves do not contain anti-inheritance clauses.
Around 1:11:49, Matt says the period studied by the peer review paper is 1850 to 1950. The examined period actually ends in 1940.
Show notes:
“Long tweet” by JD Vance referenced by Matt:
Abundance, book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson referenced by Jerusalem: Goodreads page
S.5653 - Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026: Bill text
“Voters Say It Is Their Top Concern. Why Aren’t Politicians Acting on It?” op-ed by Matt: The New York Times article
Bo French tweet referenced by Matt:
“The Indian Question,” podcast with Chris Rufo and Lomez referenced by Matt: YouTube video
60 Minutes episode in which Ross Douthat recently interviewed President Trump: Transcript, video
H.R.6644 - 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act: Bill text
Anti-Fascist Economics: In Defense of Affordability, Dignity, and Democracy, book by Isabella Weber referenced (derisively) by Matt: Goodreads page
Peer Review section: “The Rise and Fall of the Economic Elite,” study by Priti Kalsi and Zachary Ward: Working paper
“What is the True Rate of Social Mobility in Sweden? A Surname Analysis, 1700-2012,” study by Gregory Clark referenced by Matt: University of California, Davis, study
“Nonsense and Sensibility,” article by Jerusalem Demsas: The Argument article
Sense and Sensibility, book by Jane Austen that had a recent cinematic adaptation: Goodreads page, IMDb page
“Why Is There No Jacquerie in “Pride & Prejudice”?” article by Brad DeLong referenced by Matt: Grasping Reality article
Transcript
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