Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov

Jessica Tarlov is joined by The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell, host of the Focus Group podcast, and NYT bestselling author of How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time — for a wide-ranging conversation 22 days before the midterms.

They open with Ukraine and Russia, where Trump is claiming there is now an “energy ceasefire” — even as senators from both parties call on him to reverse plans to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel. Sarah breaks down the current state of the Ukraine war, whether Trump really thought a Putin energy deal would go over well domestically, and what Trump’s weekend comments that Ukraine needs a new president mean for the relationship with Kyiv and America’s allies.

Sarah also talks about how all of this information means an opportunity for Democrats, and whether they can capitalize on it in the midterms.

Elon Musk is running a misinformation operation at home. Election officials in Colorado and Washington have warned about misleading texts from Musk’s America PAC asking voters to confirm “ballot requests” they never made. The PAC also runs VoteSafe.org, a registration site that collects and may share users’ personal information. And Musk amplified a false claim — pushed by conservative commentators including Spencer Pratt and GOP strategist Caroline Wren — that Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico had been at an Ohio mental health facility rather than recovering from the flu at home. Both Talarico’s campaign and the facility denied the claim.

Federal agents raided the Washington residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) Monday as the Trump administration investigates her immigration paperwork — 22 days before the midterms, raising immediate questions about DOJ policy against election-period interference. No findings of wrongdoing have been announced, and Rep. Omar denounced the raid as the “weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies.”

There is ongoing controversy over whether the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will be livestreamed — which would make it the first military execution since 1961. Trump has said he hasn’t made a final decision after the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced their intentions, and Vice President Vance is now distancing himself from Hegseth’s position.

The White House has a new press secretary: conservative lawyer and commentator Katie Zacharia, who takes over from Karoline Leavitt. The Bulwark reported that Zacharia deleted past social media posts ahead of her appointment, including one that called for the suspension of habeas corpus. Sarah assesses the pick — and the stakes of the press secretary role — as Trump heads into lame duck territory.

Find Sarah’s work at thebulwark.com, and pick up How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time wherever books are sold.

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Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov open Thursday with the Michigan Senate race, where Republican nominee Mike Rogers has released a new ad declaring that Canada is "not our enemy" and calling for an end to the tariffs — a sharp reversal from his position just weeks ago when he called those same tariffs "necessary." Rogers is now trailing Abdul El-Sayed in a race that could decide overall Senate control. Is this enough to convince Michigan voters — or is the flip too late and too transparent?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a trip to San Diego this week to welcome home the USS Abraham Lincoln, working out with Marines in a clip that went viral. The visit comes after Hegseth dismissed reports of food shortages and crew fatigue during the Iran war deployment as "completely misrepresented." Could this election’s October surprise be military action in Iran?

Iowa Democratic candidate Rob Sand heads into the final stretch of the governor's race with a double-digit lead: a new poll has him at 55% to Republican Zach Lahn's 43%, with Kalshi giving Sand an 89% chance of winning. The two met in a debate this week and things quickly got heated — with Sand accusing his opponent of not really living in Iowa. Scott and Jess break down how the Sand campaign is running — and what a Democratic flip in Iowa would mean for the national map.

Fox News just turned 30 years old — and its ratings dominance has never been stronger, with the network averaging 1.69 million total-day viewers in 2025, compared with 551,000 for MSNOW and 432,000 for CNN. Fox News now captures over 50% of the total cable news audience. Should more Democrats follow Jess's lead and engage with the network?

And finally: a wave of movies about tech CEO is hitting theaters: Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning drops Friday — about Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, a Sam Altman biopic starring Andrew Garfield just premiered, Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk documentary premiered at Venice, and A24’s much-anticipated Elizabeth Holmes film called You Can See Everything is on the way. Is Hollywood just out of original ideas — or is the timing of all these releases saying something about where the culture is right now?

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Jessica Tarlov and Aaron Parnas are back for Raging Perspective with three weeks until the midterms.

Trump is teasing a "midterm surprise" that he says could make history — hinting that OMB Director and Project 2025 architect Russell Vought is behind a major announcement coming in the next few weeks. This comes as 42% of Trump's 2024 Latino voters now say they're disappointed or regret their vote. Aaron breaks down what the surprise might be, voter dynamics heading into the final stretch, and his concerns about the possibilities of AI-generated content impacting the election.

France is in its third week of escalating student protests over the state of public schools. Yesterday's demonstrations were among the most violent yet — the Prime Minister has suspended high school classes for the rest of the week, and police have fired tear gas and water cannons at students blockading schools. Any takeaways for American politics?

The first of four Maine Senate debates in just ten days took place last night. Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson went head to head on immigration, tariffs, and rising fuel costs. Aaron scores the debate and previews what he thinks might happen in November.

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is now distancing himself from Hasan Piker after campaigning with the controversial streamer throughout the primary — reportedly calling Piker directly and warning that his rhetoric was costing votes, asking him to tone it down. Smart move or too late?

New leaked audio from a Ken Paxton fundraiser has the Republican Senate nominee blaming the Iran war and rising gas prices for his campaign's struggles in Texas — telling donors that affordability is "by far our biggest problem" and admitting "I don't make the decisions." Is Paxton already playing the blame game?

And finally: Christian YouTuber Gabe Poirot went viral on Fox News for describing his 18 days in heaven during a coma after a 2021 skateboard crash, including his experience meeting Jesus. Aaron and Jess react. Plus, questions from the audience.

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Get your copy of I Disagree — the new book by Jessica Tarlov!

Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov open Tuesday with Trump's Nebraska rally — where the president made shocking comments about the Iran war that immediately drew national attention and outrage. Trump also mentioned one of his favorite topics — our own Jessica Tarlov. At the same event, Trump unveiled a new executive order aimed at lowering diesel prices. Will this be enough to sway farmers and other Republicans hit hard by soaring diesel prices — or does it fall short of what the inflation-frustrated base actually needs?

Trump's MAGA Inc. Super PAC has now agreed to pay for the repurposed Trump campaign ads that have been airing nationwide, which had been marked as paid for with taxpayer money — more than $10 million worth of ads on cable and network TV since September. Is this a rare admission of defeat, or damage control?

The main Democratic Senate Super PAC has been ramping up Epstein-related attack ads, with AdImpact counting 69 Epstein ads this cycle worth more than $36.6 million. New polling shows 44% of voters see Epstein as a serious campaign issue. Scott and Jess debate whether this is a smart closing-month strategy or a risky one for Democrats.

The Cornell Seven case is now sparking protests on campus. Thousands of students and faculty rallied at Cornell last night in response to the lawsuit over the school's handling of a 2024 sexual assault allegation. Attendees marched to university president Michael Kotlikoff's office, demanding his resignation and a ban on fraternities. Is this fundamentally a university management issue, a criminal justice issue — or both?

And finally: a measles outbreak is spreading across the Northeast. Pennsylvania has surpassed one thousand cases this year, and New York has declared a state of emergency, expanding vaccine access as health officials scramble to contain the spread. How serious is this — and what does it say about the public health infrastructure under RFK?

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Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov open the final month before the midterms with the big picture: Kalshi has Democrats at 64% to win majorities in both the House and Senate, and new polling shows Democrats leading gubernatorial races in Republican-held states including Iowa, Ohio, and even Texas. Trump has been out rallying — promising "nearly $100" to 20 million seniors on Medicare, and teasing a "big surprise" in November. Is the momentum firmly behind Democrats — and what exactly is $100 supposed to do for seniors? Scott adds just how bad an idea it is to hand out money that creates more debt for the country and the next generation of Americans.

The Iran war just reached British soil. The U.S. has abruptly pulled all B-1 bombers from a UK air base after commanders received urgent intelligence about an Iran-backed plot against the facility. British police had already arrested five men in vans near the base — later released on bail but still under investigation — and a dual British-Iranian national was separately arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. How serious are these threats — and does this change the calculus of the Iran conflict?

On Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Sen. Jeff Merkley introduced the Ban Flock Act — a bill that would bar federal agencies from using automated license plate readers and cut off federal grant funding to state and local governments with contracts for the technology. The same night, Sanders and AOC made a surprise appearance to introduce rock band The Strokes before about 40,000 fans in Queens. Are Bernie and AOC giving the people what they want — and will Bernie continue to be a major presence heading into 2028?

A new Supreme Court term begins today, with major cases on the docket including proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration, and the Trump administration's policy of detaining noncitizens without bond hearings. Justice Alito says he considered retiring this year but will revisit the decision in 2027. What does this mean for Republicans hoping to replace him with another conservative — and what happens if Democrats take back the Senate before he makes his exit?

And finally: a mysterious illness at a Russian laboratory that studies some of the world's deadliest pathogens has sparked a health scare. A 28-year-old lab technician has died from pneumonia of unknown origin, dozens of people are reportedly in isolation, and Russia's top infectious disease official has reportedly rushed to the region. What do we know?

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