What A Day

In American politics, candidates often say they care about kitchen-table issues and working-class voters. Yet, if you look at both parties' candidates, you'll find they are more alike than you think: the same five universities and four careers. Jane discusses how American politics keeps folks with a 9-to-5 out of the race with Nicholas Carnes and Noam Lupu, co-authors of "Keeping Workers Off the Ballot: How Democracy Undermines Working-Class Representation." Show Notes: Check out Keeping Workers Off the Ballot – tinyurl.com/yr7pkj2m Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected]

Executions are on the rise in the U.S., even as more Americans oppose the death penalty. An October 2025 Gallup poll found that 44% of Americans oppose capital punishment, the highest level since 1966. Recent headlines, including a proposed public execution by firing squad and the botched execution of Christa Pike, have brought the issue back into focus. Jane discusses the death penalty with Elizabeth Bruenig, a staff writer at The Atlantic who has covered the issue for years.

Nate Silver, statistician and host of Crooked Media's Still Counting, made a bold prediction about the 2026 Senate Midterm races today. Silver argues that Democrats have a 75% chance of winning the Senate, which feels VERY optimistic. Jane talks to Erinn Haines, co-host of Crooked's Long Play, who has been traveling through the South to talk to candidates and voters ahead of the election about whether Democrats can flip some historically red seats.

This weekend, Senator Bernie Sanders will rally with Florida Democratic State Representative Angie Nixon, who is challenging Republican Senator Ashley Moody for Florida's U.S. Senate seat. Running on a platform of lowering costs, raising wages, and putting everyday people first, Nixon joins Jane to discuss her campaign.

The midterms are just around the corner, and that means you’re probably seeing more political ads than ever in your mailbox and on your screens. But who’s funding those ads… and the campaigns they’re supporting? Jane speaks with Judd Legum, a contributor to the The Guardian newsletter How We Win, about dark money and the forces shaping our politics.