MIDTERMS: Will Talarico Take TEXAS? El-Sayed v. Rogers, Collins v. Jackson - EP65

Six days before the consequential midterm races and no one knows what will happen. Except us. We make our predictions on Senate races in Texas, Michigan, Maine, and Alaska, and compare our picks to the Polymarket odds. Texas gets a deep look at James Talarico vs. Ken Paxton, including Talarico’s p…

The Two-Party System CONTROLS Our Elections. It’s Time to FIGHT BACK (John Opdycke) - EP64

Open Primaries founder John Opdycke joins Chad Peace and Cara McCormick for a wide-ranging, no-bs conversation on where the reform movement actually stands, starting with Pennsylvania's open primary fight and then asking the question: are presidential primaries even elections in the first place? J…

California’s Election Will Be DECIDED by These Voters (NOT Who You Think) - EP63

California’s elections are right around the corner, and IVP's own polling proves that independents are the voters with the power to control the outcome. Chad, Cara, and Ethan dig into the data behind Prop 39's voter ID fight and why it's not the fair contest it looks like on paper. The crew opens …

How Trump’s LA Bombing “Troll” EXPOSES Our Broken Elections (Politics Explained) - EP62

A Trump rally clip has Los Angeles and San Diego in the crosshairs, and the most shocking part is that the crowd was cheering. Cara, Shawn, and Ethan break down what he actually said, what got cut from the viral version, and why both sides keep weaponizing clips like this to deepen the divide. The…

The Veteran Suing New York for the Right to Vote (Paul Rieckhoff) - EP61

Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Independent Veterans of America and now the face of a growing independent-veteran movement, just became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against New York State's closed primary system, and he's joined by his attorney (and IVP host) Chad Peace to explain why. Rieckhoff tel…

Trump & Mamdani Agree on This One Issue (NOT What You Think) - EP60

Trump and Zohran Mamdani just had round two at Gracie Mansion, all smiles and charm. The IVP crew says the real story isn't the photo op, it's the primary system that manufactured two "ideological extremes" who now have to govern together. Chad, Cara, Shawn, and Ethan open by unpacking why Trump a…

How California's Top-Two Primary Puts DSA vs. Democrats to the Test (Steve Peace) - EP59

California's top-two primary was built for exactly this moment: DSA-backed Democrats facing off against the party's moderate wing in front of the entire electorate, not just a partisan base. The man who wrote that law, former state senator Steve Peace, joins Cara McCormick to break down whether his…

How Trump's Own Mail-In Voting Rule Could BACKFIRE on Republicans - EP58

The fight over President Trump’s mail-in voting rule continues to escalate: a whistleblower leak says just one bad envelope could get an entire batch of mail ballots sent back, threatening to derail elections in states that already have ballots prepared for the midterms. Chad, Shawn, and Ethan dig…

The Democratic Party Told Him To DROP OUT. He Said No. (Antonio Villaraigosa) - EP57

When the polls said two Republicans might take the top two spots, California Democratic Party leadership went to work getting Democrats out of the governor's race. Antonio Villaraigosa was one of them. He said no - and he says the whole thing left a black mark on the party. The first Latino mayor …

The TRUTH About Trump’s New USPS Ballot Rule (It’s Complicated) - EP56

President Trump just handed the Postal Service veto power over your mail-in ballot, and Chad and Cara can't agree on whether that's chaos, overreach, or both. This episode, the crew untangles what the USPS's new ballot rule actually does, why the Supreme Court's ruling this week is more limited tha…