The first votes of the 2026 midterm elections will soon be cast in Texas, and the Senate primary race is shaping up to be messy for both Democrats and Republicans. The two blue candidates, U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett and state Representative James Talarico are each facing blowback for comments they made about race and identity. There’s also an intraparty fracture between the GOP’s establishment and insurgent wings exposing itself in the race between incumbent Senator John Cornyn and his challenger, Texas Attorney General and Trump ally Ken Paxton. We’ll unpack how unsettled party fault lines on both sides could impact the general election.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan package called the Housing for the 21st Century Act. Back in October, the Senate passed its own legislation called the ROAD to Housing Act. Both aim to boost housing supply and make buying more affordable for Americans. We’ll break down the policies and the politics.

The Winter Olympics are underway in Italy and some American athletes are feeling complicated about representing the United States. After 27-year-old skier Hunter Hess expressed his “mixed emotions,” President Trump responded by calling him “a real loser.”  That insult is common in Trump's playbook when talking to political foes. We’ll talk about whether that playbook is still effective, especially when Olympians are the target.

Producer: Robin Estrin

Host: David Greene 

Guests: 

• Elizabeth Bruenig, staff writer, The Atlantic - @ebruenig
• Will Swaim, host of National Review’s “Radio Free California;” president at the California Policy Center - @willswaim

This week, Congress ended a partial government shutdown, approving funding for several federal agencies through September. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees I.C.E and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, was not among those agencies. Democrats say they won’t fund the D.H.S without restrictions on federal immigration agents. In this shifting political landscape, how will congressional Republicans respond?

We’ll discuss the Democrats’ demands. How might congress realistically check President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, given the violent and seemingly indiscriminate tactics we’re seeing in Minneapolis and nationally? With the midterms looming, will it be possible for the two parties to come together and compromise?

Speaking of elections, President Trump this week repeated a call to “nationalize” elections, saying Republicans should “take over” voting in 15 states. Are free and fair elections under threat? 

Here's the Carter-Baker Commission report. 

Producer: Robin Estrin

Host: David Greene 

Guests: 

• Mo Elleithee, executive director at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service - @MoElleithee
• Sarah Isgur, senior editor at The Dispatch - @whignewtons

Protests and skirmishes between Minnesota residents and federal agents are still ongoing after the second shooting of a US citizen in Minneapolis this month. Thirty-seven year old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was killed by Border Patrol agents while filming immigration operations in the city. Following a weekend of inflammatory comments by DHS secretary Kristy Noem and other members of the Trump administration, the president has looked to turn the temperature down. He deployed ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to take command of operations in Minneapolis. The experienced immigration official acknowledged that “certain improvements could and should be made” to immigration enforcement in the area. But Homan insisted that more cooperation from state and local officials would be necessary before a reduction in federal presence. 

It remains to be seen whether the tonal shift or any changes in operations will be effective in the Twin Cities region. The situation has raised concerns among Congress that legislative action may be necessary. Senate Democrats worked toward a deal with the White House to avoid a government shutdown over DHS funding. While some initial framework has been drawn up, the two sides will continue negotiating new guardrails for ICE and Border Patrol. Will Congress step up for a rare check of the Oval Office?

Plus, we’ll answer listener questions about where executive power and America’s position as a world leader stand after a tumultuous start to 2026.

President Trump’s contentious relationship with NATO seemed set to reach its peak at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. European leaders formed a united front against his belligerence over American control of Greenland in recent weeks. The floating of a military attack or new tariffs on NATO members who opposed the move appeared to doom the longstanding alliance. However, upon his arrival, the president walked back any threats of military force and announced that there would be no new tariffs after working out a new agreement with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte. But does that mean the partnership between NATO and the US is back on steady ground?

This week marked the first year of the president’s second term in the oval office. It was an eventful year full of legal challenges, deployments, deals  and concepts of deals. The focus in the White House was on the execution of President Trump’s policies on border security and the economy. We’ll look back at how those policies have played out, and discussed what stood out about his first 12 months back in power.

Recent social media posts from the White House have come into the spotlight for their controversial language. Critics say the posts are a show of support for far right nationalist ideology. What’s driving the official government accounts to sounding so much more Trump-like than in his first term?

President Trump is threatening to enact the Insurrection Act and deploy National Guard troops in Minneapolis. The threat comes on the heels of continued protests over the January 7th killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent. The Trump administration claims Good was a “domestic terrorist,” while protestors call for accountability over the shooting. Our panel discusses the motivation for protestors and whether the  accountability they’re looking for is possible.

The president’s desire to show force isn’t limited to the nation’s borders. Vice President JD Vance met with Danish officials to discuss control of Greenland this week. After the meeting, President Trump insisted that all options remain on the table for the US to take control of the arctic nation - including military action. He is also considering US involvement in Iran to support civilians who are calling for the removal of the country’s government. Both moves threaten to upend the existing world order. Is that what Trump wants?

Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. As video of the shooting went viral, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem derided Good as a “domestic terrorist” in a statement to reporters. The mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, called the Trump administration’s take B.S., and for ICE to leave the city, while asking potential protestors to remain calm as they take to the streets. We’ll discuss whether the president’s policies played a role in heightening tensions between the public and federal agents.

Questions remain about the future of Venezuela after the United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio say the US will run the country, despite leaving Maduro’s government largely intact. In an interview with the New York Times, the president said American control of the country could last “years.”. Will the dramatic action taken by Trump’s administration help or hinder its push for control of the Western Hemisphere?

Can real solutions take a priority over messaging in American politics? Our panelists share their thoughts on a listener’s question.

2026’s first primary is just two months away. Both parties are trying to get voters to believe in their ability to address the affordability crisis. Republicans are combatting President Trump’s conflicting perspective on the economy. Democrats are hoping to solidify their voice for voters after struggling to find a message that connected with them in 2024. Our panel breaks down which races could help define their identities - and reshape Congress - in the year ahead.

Online prediction markets have reintroduced election betting to the American public. Companies like Kalshi and Polymarket have grown in popularity for allowing users to wager on everything from wars to the weather - as well as elections. Now, major media outlets are looking to embed their odds into their news coverage. Is there any upside to gamifying politics?

As one listener writes, admitting when you’re wrong is a key part of engaging with politics. So where did our panel miss the mark in 2025?

Foreign policy took center stage in the first year of President Trump’s second term, which may be a surprise after his America First focus in 2024. The president sought to ease tensions with adversaries while bringing an end to existing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Trump promised an isolationist shift after finding resolutions for those wars. Instead, the back half of 2025 saw the United States enter a new military campaign in the Caribbean and use geopolitics to project Trump’s political values abroad. 

Also, panelists Mo Elleithee and Sarah Isgur have had long careers in and around politics. But it wasn’t always their greatest obsession. Join host David Greene for insight into their perspectives on the changes they’ve seen over the last several decades -- and what they really love beyond politics.

2025 is set to end without the passage of a new health care bill. 

Congress had been working to hammer out new legislation before the holiday break. Democrats were pushing for an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that lowered the cost of health care premiums for millions of Americans. Those subsidies are set to expire at the end of 2025. 

House Democrats were joined in the fight by moderate Republicans who worried that skyrocketing healthcare costs would leave them vulnerable in next year’s midterms. GOP leadership pushed for alternatives that would increase the possibility of coverage without the extensions. 

Lawmakers will resume the fight in January, with votes set for the extensions desired by Democrats after a Republican proposal passed earlier this week. Will the pressure of the midterms lead to larger cracks between GOP members and leadership?

Midterms also have the potential to bring a new look to the Republican base. New polling from NBC News shows that the share of Republicans who identify as MAGA compared to traditional Republicans dipped from 57/43 in the spring to 50/50 as the year ends. Is this identity shift among voters a red flag for a party looking to increase turnout next November? And has the president lost some of his charm with Republican voters?

Plus, does either party really care about the national debt anymore? Our KCRW panel answers one listener’s question about a political argument that seems to have gone by the wayside. 

As peace talks between Russia and Ukraine continue, last week the White House released its National Security Strategy. The strategy, viewed favorably by Moscow, was critical of the European Union and views the suppression of far-right politicians as a threat to peace and democracy in the region, especially in resolving the war in Ukraine. A US-brokered peace plan would see Ukraine cede the Donbass region to Russia, a non-starter for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. President Trump sees it as the best way to end the bloodshed, but the plans have also concerned European leaders. What’s the president’s motivation for peace?

The National Security Strategy also outlined immigration as a threat to European democracy. There were warnings that Europe risked “civilizational erasure" if it failed to curb mass migration. What is the tie between peace and President Trump’s skepticism on migration?

Also, our panel answers your questions. 

Can you still be a fiscal conservative and a social progressive without contradicting yourself? What happened to virtue in politics?

At the end of a cabinet meeting this week, President Trump unleashed controversial comments about Minnesota’s Somali community. The president said he “[didn’t] want them in our country” and referred to Minnesota’s Somali-American congresswoman Ilhan Omar as “garbage”. His diatribe came as reports surfaced of ICE raids in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region targeting Somalis in the area. The Department of Homeland Security said that there would be increased focus on immigrant communities in the wake of the November 26th shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., which had no connection to Somali-Americans. Is the administration clouding legitimate questions about immigrant vetting with its actions?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continued to deny reports he ordered an illegal strike on a boat suspected of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean. Congressional Armed Services Committees have opened investigations into the attack. What could accountability look like legally and politically?

A new feature on X reveals where accounts on the app originated from . A number of popular accounts posting about American politics were exposed as foreign users. Is there any way to push back on the influence of foreign actors on social media?