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Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman break down the alarming institutional reaction to the Democratic victory in Virginia, where a circuit court judge barred the passage of redistricting despite a clear majority vote. They discuss how this bright spot for democracy was immediately met with a legal stay, reinforcing the reality that citizens may no longer be able to simply vote their way out of a system where the institutions have been co-opted to prevent actual reform.

The conversation turns to the Heritage Foundation’s white paper that provides a legal roadmap for the GOP to overturn future elections by targeting mail-in ballots in Democratic powerhouses like California and Illinois. Jared and Nick also analyze the wild coyote economy, where global energy shortages are leading to data rationing in the UK and a looming bailout for Spirit Airlines.

Finally, the team examines the bid to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell and takes a detour into Marvel’s Wonder Man to see if independent creativity can survive corporate capture. This comes even as the train is starting to really wobble on the tracks.