The Dispatch

Content note: this episode includes discussion of child sexual abuse. The Dispatch is The Mayday Network’s rapid response show covering the stories we think you should care about. Michelle Kinney and Julie Roginsky react to the ad from Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for Ohio governor that features Democratic nominee Amy Acton’s estranged mother, and to Ramaswamy’s decision to put four million dollars behind it. They walk through Acton’s story in her own words, her brother’s rebuttal ad, J.D. Vance’s response to reporters, and a resurfaced Ramaswamy clip mocking his opponent. Then Michelle takes a step back to show how campaigns got here, from Lee Atwater’s 1981 interview and Reagan’s “welfare queen” to the Willie Horton ad, the Max Cleland attack, and the Swift Boat ads. Michelle and Julie, who have both made negative ads, talk about the line they won’t cross and why it matters for both parties. They also play James Talarico’s hopeful Texas ad as a contrast, and close with new polling, voting reminders, and what’s coming next on The Mayday Network. 0:00 Welcome 0:42 The Ramaswamy ad and how we got here 1:34 Content note 2:34 Julie on Roger Ailes, Willie Horton, and the road to today 4:24 Who Amy Acton is 6:15 Who Vivek Ramaswamy is 9:41 The ad 10:47 What the ad leaves out, and Acton’s brother responds 12:36 Amy Acton responds 13:52 Julie on ads that backfire, and on parenting 19:07 J.D. Vance’s response to reporters 20:33 A resurfaced Ramaswamy clip 25:56 Context on the arrest warrant and the sheriff who signed it 26:58 Pritzker, Megyn Kelly, and the reaction 35:42 How the ad was tested, and how it leaked 36:27 Michelle and Julie on making attack ads and where they draw the line 39:32 Lee Atwater’s 1981 interview 42:35 Reagan and the “welfare queen” 46:07 The Willie Horton ad 48:30 Max Cleland and the 2002 Georgia Senate race 54:41 The Swift Boat Veterans ads against John Kerry 57:08 Julie on Fox News, Swift Boat, and who spoke up 1:06:50 Excusing bad behavior on your own side 1:09:26 James Talarico’s Texas ad 1:15:37 “The white hoods are in the window display” 1:16:44 Trump at 34 percent, and the Texas Senate polling 1:17:19 Voting reminders 1:19:25 Program notes: Ken Harbaugh on Pax Americana, and what’s next Follow The Mayday Network for more commentary, analysis, and rapid response — new content every day. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-mayday-network/id6754000270 | Spotify (search “The Mayday Network”) | Substack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetwork | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheMaydayNetwork | Threads: https://www.threads.net/@TheMaydayNetwork | Website: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com Part of The Mayday Network, an independent, women-led independent media where politics meets culture.

Recorded live on Tuesday September 29, 2026 -- Julie Roginsky and Michelle Kinney are joined by Ben Lazarus, one of the best Democratic pollsters in the country, for real hopium about the midterms. Ben explains why a red wave is off the table, how a collapse in Republican turnout could make the blue wave much bigger, and why Trump's numbers are softening even among his own base. They dig into why polling is so hard, how pollsters account for voters who won't take surveys, and why data centers have become a potent issue in some of the reddest parts of the country. Then it's a lightning round on Michigan, Minnesota, and Texas, plus a case for funding state legislative races, where every dollar goes furthest. Julie and Michelle close with the Cornell case (more on this later) and the Joe Biden story in The Atlantic. Follow The Mayday Network for more commentary, analysis, and rapid response — new content every day.   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-mayday-network/id6754000270 Substack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetwork Website: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com Support our friend and grassroots activist Blue Moreno, who flies all around the country every election season to knock doors in crucial races: https://bluemoreno.com/hats The Mayday Network is an independent, women-led independent media where politics meets culture. 0:19 Welcome and intro 1:04 Ben's midterm outlook: is a blue wave coming? 6:36 Why polling is so hard 15:04 Trump's softening support among Republicans 19:30 Gas prices and swing districts 22:00 Does money still matter? 27:45 Why data centers are a political problem 35:00 Voter distrust of both parties 42:55 Finding the "double haters" 47:00 The horseshoe effect and 2028 50:10 Lightning round: Michigan, Minnesota, Texas 1:02:04 Blue Moreno hats and voting reminders 1:04:40 The Cornell case 1:11:20 Joe Biden in The Atlantic

Breaking: the Supreme Court just sided with the Trump administration, reviving DHS's flawed SAVE database and letting states use it to challenge and purge voters — including naturalized citizens — right as early voting is already underway in contested Senate races across North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Alaska, and Kansas. Julie Roginsky and Michelle Kinney break down what just happened, why it's timed for maximum midterm chaos, and the one thing you need to know if you show up to vote and get told you're not eligible: ask for a provisional ballot, and do not leave until you get it. The Dispatch airs live — new episodes every week on The Mayday Network YouTube channel, wherever you get your podcasts. Follow The Mayday Network for more commentary, analysis, and rapid response — new content every day. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-mayday-network/id6754000270 Spotify: search "The Mayday Network" Substack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetwork Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheMaydayNetwork Threads: https://www.threads.net/@TheMaydayNetwork Website: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com Timestamps: 0:00 Breaking: SCOTUS sides with Trump admin on voter database 1:56 What the SAVE database ruling actually allows 3:06 Why the timing hits swing-state Senate races right now 4:29 Julie: the Court is "the in-house general counsel for the Republican National Committee" 8:29 What to do if you're told you're not eligible to vote: demand a provisional ballot

Ellie Leonard joins The Mayday Network to discuss latest scoop from The Guardian on Brendan Carr's Sex Cult past. https://substack.com/@redpencilscript Per The Guardian, Trump's FCC Chair Brendan Carr — who is only 47, despite looking like he's been drafting broadcast regulations since the Reagan administration — spent nearly a decade, starting at age 17, inside a rogue Washington D.C. Alcoholics Anonymous group called Midtown. At the center of it was Michael Quinones, described by one former member as "the Epstein of AA." Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/sep/22/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-midtown-aa-group Brendan Carr, a MAGA extremist, has famously  threatened to withdraw broadcasters’ licenses over news coverage that he finds "unfair" to Donald Trump. One former member of the cult said “A man who has the power to control what types of stories the mainstream public have access to is a man who should expect the narrative of his own life to fall under scrutiny. The Mayday Network is fully independent — made possible by viewers like you, not a network or corporate backer. Every follow, subscribe, and tip helps us keep doing this every day. Follow The Mayday Network for more commentary, analysis, and rapid response — new content every day: 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-mayday-network/id6754000270 🎧 Spotify: search "The Mayday Network" ✍️ Substack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetwork 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheMaydayNetwork 🧵 Threads: https://www.threads.net/@TheMaydayNetwork 🌐 Website: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com Follow @TheMaydayNetwork for more. ⤴️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 – Intro +Welcome  Ellie Leonard 0:46 – Setting up Brendan Carr and why the FCC chair matters 1:25 – The "Midtown" AA group: sex cult allegations 4:00 – The French fry story: Carr as the group's "safe space" 4:32 – Parallels to Scientology and other high-control groups 9:41 – The real issue: sneaking fries treated as heroism, not complicity 10:38 – Epstein parallel: staff who saw abuse and stayed silent 14:33 – How addiction, isolation, and coercion made girls vulnerable 22:35 – Quinones's own words: the group leader's predatory quote 24:38 – Age-of-consent loophole allegedly exploited across state lines 27:44 – The moral case against Carr: sin of omission 29:32 – Carr's need for approval and his LSAT breakdown story 31:53 – MAGA as a replacement structure for his cult past 36:32 – Why community/belonging drives cult and MAGA adjacency 44:11 – Trump's naming obsession as a parallel authoritarian pattern 50:33 – Why this story isn't over — more accusers likely 55:16 – Personal stories: Ellie and Julie on normalized abuse growing up 59:16 – The arts/modeling pipeline and how predators used access as bait 1:11:07 – Christine Blasey Ford and the cost of speaking first 1:14:38 – Closing: Ellie's Substack, sign-off

The FBI just got hacked. Kash Patel's in Moscow doing shots. And Macron just told the world "no one is safe." We break it all down. To this community we've built here — especially today, thank you. Times like these are heavy, and having a place to process it with people who actually get it means more than you know. This show exists entirely because of you — no network, no corporate backing, just an audience that shows up, chips in, and believes independent media covering this moment matters. Every tip and subscription goes straight back into keeping this thing running: the tools, the platforms, the unglamorous stuff it takes to put a show up every single day. We built this with you, and we're so grateful you're here. The FBI got hacked — and not by a nation-state looking for money. A group called ShinyHunters (usually financially motivated, but not this time) breached the Bureau and is now sitting on agents' names, home addresses, phone numbers, and their spouses' information. No ransom demand, no clear ask — just full exposure of the people investigating everyone from the mob to Russian and Iranian sleeper cells, while Director Kash Patel is off doing shots and chugging beer with hockey players, headed to Moscow two weeks before an election, having previously taken $25K to star in a Kremlin-friendly documentary calling the Russia investigation a hoax. We trace how the US ended up this exposed: the early-2025 gutting of CISA, a week that included a DOJ-charged Russian assassination network on American soil, NATO shooting down a drone over Lithuania, a Russian warship flaring a Danish military helicopter, Emmanuel Macron warning the world "no one is safe," and drones shutting down Luxembourg's airport — home to NATO's Ukraine supply hub. Then: Trump's full UN General Assembly speech — confronting CNN's Kaitlan Collins on arrival, rebranding "artificial intelligence" to "Super Intelligence," threatening to "annihilate" Iran, and getting stone silence where he expected applause. The Mayday Network is fully independent and listener-funded — every subscription and tip covers the real cost of putting this show out every single day. Thank you for making that possible.   TIMESTAMPS 0:00 – Intro 1:08 – FBI hacked by ShinyHunters: agents' homes, families exposed 4:00 – "Completely incompetent": Cory Booker's exchange with Kash Patel 11:38 – Kash Patel's $25K Kremlin-friendly documentary payment 15:50 – Trump TV launches; CNN, MSNBC, Politico banned from WH 17:20 – How this admin gutted cybersecurity from day one (CISA breakdown) 19:45 – Why this matters: power grids, water systems, "Leave the World Behind" 20:40 – Newark & Philly airports grounded — coincidence? 22:00 – NATO, Poland, Lithuania warn of Russian hybrid war 25:00 – DOJ charges Russian assassination network operating in the US 32:00 – NATO shoots down drone over Lithuania; Russian frigate flares Danish chopper 36:00 – Germany's Merz: "Russia is waging war against the West" 41:00 – Poland's Tusk warns of false-flag attacks testing NATO 43:00 – Macron's classified briefing: "No one is safe" 48:00 – Switzerland overhauls its security strategy 50:00 – Drones shut down Luxembourg's airport — NATO's Ukraine supply hub 53:00 – Undersea cables: the vulnerability nobody's talking about 1:00:00 – Trump's DC "Arc": storing weapons and snipers, because sure 1:08:20 – Trump at the UN: confronts Kaitlan Collins on arrival 1:09:00 – Trump rebrands "AI" to "Super Intelligence" 1:12:00 – Trump on Iran: "annihilate" vs. rebuild 1:15:00 – Trump vs. the ICC 1:21:00 – Cuba delegation walks out of UN speech 1:27:00 – "I have made peace": the room that didn't applaud 1:30:00 – Closing thoughts: Gaia art installation at St. John the Divine