The BradCast w/ Brad Friedman

On today's 'BradCast': Civil rights activist and icon Dolores Huerta passed away today at the age of 96. A federal judge warned the Justice Department to stop threatening election officials; a different judge ruled that Donald Trump's US Attorney in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, was unlawfully appointed. Fox 'News' ratings are plummeting. The critical midterm elections are less than a week away, with polling showing very tight races in multiple contests that will determine control of the US House and Senate. Salon's HEATHER DIGBY PARTON and ‘DRIFTGLASS’ of The Professional Left Podcast bring analysis, context, history and hilarity in analyzing the broader trends and undercurrents at play in these crucial elections; voters' focus on 'corruption'; the perilous post-election period; what may unfold over the next two years in America; and much more.

On today's 'BradCast': Preliminary results in Israel's parliamentary elections indicate 'no clear winner'; far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have lost his coalition's governing majority, and his party may follow Donald Trump's playbook by blaming 'election fraud' for his losses. The corrupted Trump Justice Department continued its efforts to manufacture doubt, demanding Washington State segregate the ballots of 400 alleged noncitizen voters. Anthropic's AI chatbot reportedly accessed Georgia's voter data due to an unrepaired flaw in the state's voting systems. A furious judge again blocked the Trump administration from taking further action to alter the historic, public D.C. golf course. U.S. House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a disturbing report detailing new rape allegations against Trump and his pal, pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Plus Desi Doyen has our new 'Green News Report.'

On today's 'BradCast': Some encouraging developments in the global fight against fascism -- voters in Serbia finally ousted rightwing authoritarian strongman leader, Aleksandar Vucic. Voters in Brazil re-elected President Lula de Silva, blocking rightwing strongman Flávio Bolsonaro, son of imprisoned authoritarian Jair Bolsonaro. The rightwing Trump Administration launched unprecedented lawsuits against California and Alaska, attempting to pre-emptively upend the 2026 midterm election results. Attorney THERESA J. LEE of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project discusses the two cases, which are clearly intended to "manufacture doubt" and create pretext to challenge the results; how the Trump Justice Department's actions are deeply destructive to democracy; preparations underway now to ensure election integrity; how citizens can help protect the vote; and much more. Trump's Justice Department indicted former FBI Director James Comey for a third time.

Encore: original airdate 10-14-2026. On today's 'BradCast': Inflation and prices are soaring, higher than during the Biden Administration, mostly due to increased cost of energy caused by Donald Trump's War on Iran. Voters are increasingly leaning toward Democrats in deep 'red' states. Trump's Justice Department launched a new pretext to interfere with California's elections, threatening unspecified consequences if state officials don't withhold ballots based on dubious claims of non-citizen voters on the rolls. A new report confirms that damage to the Reflecting Pool was the fault of Trump's no-bid contractor, not by 'vandals.' LAIKEN JORDAHL of the Center for Biological Diversity explains the Trump Administration's latest plan to bulldoze thousands of protected saguaro cacti on tribal lands in Arizona to construct his ineffective border wall; the administration's broader attacks on Americans' beloved public lands; and much more.

On today's 'BradCast': Republicans clearly believe high-quality polls indicate trouble for them in US House races, as Donald Trump ramps up his overtly criminal efforts to weaponize federal agencies in hopes of stealing the midterm elections. Troubling reports of flipped votes on touchscreen voting systems are likely not evidence of hacking. Voters should vote on a hand-marked paper ballot, if possible, and immediately report any problems to election officials. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) warned of an unusually high rate of absentee ballot rejections after the GOP-controlled state elections board made last-minute changes. A judge blocked the Justice Department and DHS from using flawed, inaccurate databases to target voters. The corrupted rightwing US Supreme Court blocked New Hampshire students from using their student ID for voting purposes. Plus Desi Doyen has our new 'Green News Report.'