
Premature Elation; The US midterms are NOT a done deal
From Quiet Riot by Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith, Kenny Campbell
May 1, 2026 · 42 min · Season 3 · Episode 42
About this episode
The episode discusses the threats to the upcoming US midterm elections posed by the Trump administration, featuring insights from data scientist Christina Pagel.
The stakes are too high to allow even a hint of complacency to creep into our thinking about the upcoming US 2026 midterm elections. This is one of the most powerful and malicious administrations in US history - the same lot who tried to overrun the Capitol in order to overturn the 2020 result. To treat them as an inert substance that will not fight tooth and claw is naive and dangerous. The chaos and confusion sown daily by Trump acts as a screen, behind which the wider project is eating away at any notion of free and fair elections.Alex Andreou invites data scientist Professor Christina Pagel to discuss all the ways in which the Trump administration is trying to rig that existential election - from blatant gerrymandering and voter suppression, to more subtle legal strategies, media and corporate control, and the erosion of democratic norms ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** • Find out more about the Trump Action Tracker. • Check out Christina's substack. • You can listen to Alex's new Podyssey Storytime, on Arachne the Spider Woman, here. • Listen to…
People in this episode
Host: Alex Andreou
Guest: Christina Pagel
Topics covered
- US midterm elections
- Trump administration
- voter suppression
- gerrymandering
- democratic norms
- political strategy
Keywords
- midterms
- Trump
- elections
- gerrymandering
- voter suppression
- democracy
- politics
Sponsors
KO-FI.COM
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Trump Action Tracker, Podyssey Storytime, Behind The Lines
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