Runaway Country with Alex Wagner

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. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends or wherever you listen to podcasts.You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

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.Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.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.You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

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.Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends, on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel.You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.

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.You can request a transcript by emailing [email protected]. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.