Trump's Guide to Stealing an Election
Summary
On the Media examines the escalating threats to the 2026 US midterm elections, with legal expert Rick Hassan analyzing the plausibility of federal interference, ballot seizures, and the Supreme Court's recent ruling on mail-in ballots. The episode also explores the publishing industry's shift toward reissuing backlist titles, discussing why publishers favor lower-risk older books over new literary fiction in a climate of diminished critical coverage. Finally, the show investigates the pivotal yet often overlooked role of literary agents in shaping American fiction and protecting author inte…
Topics discussed
Intro: The big question of election interference
Fears of federal government interference in elections
Martial law proposals and the press's challenge
DOJ monitors, ICE agents, and the SAVE Act
Supreme Court ruling on mail-in ballot restrictions
Voter fraud myths vs. real administrative errors
Lobbying for national emergency to seize elections
The legal reality of seizing ballots and voting machines
Scenario: House Speaker refusing to seat Democrats
Assessing media coverage and closing the segment
Intro: Why publishers are reissuing old books
Case study: Reissuing 'I Who Have Never Known Men'
New imprints and the trend of 'new old books'
The economics of reissues vs. new authors
Risk aversion and the decline of book reviews
How reissues change the nature of book criticism
The loss of vibrant literary criticism institutions
Is the past better than the present in literature?
Intro: The hidden role of literary agents
History of agents and the invention of the book auction
Scott Meredith and the early slush pile scams
Irene Gallicchio and the rise of taste-making agents
Modern taste-makers like Nicole Araji
Self-publishing and the new algorithmic gatekeepers
Redefining gatekeeping as advocacy and closing
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