PREVIEW: The Friday Edition. - We see what we want to see.

Stark election outcomes encourage flawed thinking.

One of the great challenges of politics is trying to understand the country’s direction after a big election. Typically, that means deciphering voters — both as a monolith (“what do Americans want?”) and as blocs (“why are Hispanics breaking left?”). After the 2026 midterms, a lot of people are seeing what they want to see in the results. They start with their biases, pull in polling data, and build a theory that supports their priors. Some surely do this intentionally (in hopes of achieving a preferred political outcome), while others seem to do it subconsciously. Each narrative is as easy to tear down as it is to construct.

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Is election fraud dead?

In the latest edition of A Grain of Saul, Isaac discusses how post-election claims of widespread fraud have differed this year compared to past cycles. He writes:

Election denialism is pretty much dead. Could it be resurrected? Perhaps. But for now, there isn’t a single losing candidate in any race denying the results of their election, nor is the president shouting from the rooftops that this sweeping rebuke of his presidency was somehow rigged.

Read on to get Isaac’s full take on why this year is different .

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This podcast written by: Isaac Saul and audio engineered and edited by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75 and Jon Lall.

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