Weekly Roundup: November 2

The weekly roundup of what we’ve done at Liberal Currents includes anticipations of and reactions to U.S. voters’ choice to put Democratic majorities in charge of Congress.

Articles:

“Callais Backlash: The South Votes to Escape the Past,” Alan Elrod: Pro-democracy voters delivered a resounding message that the South wants to move forward and not backward.
“The Goddess of the Nightclub,” Katherine Alejandra Cross: One of liberalism's duties is to guard the ability to create; to think, speak, sing, and dance freely.
“Democrats Just Made History,” Adam Gurri: The blue wave turns out to have been a blue tsunami.
“The Future of Brazil's Fight Against Neofascism,” Marcela Gottschald: Lula’s victory mattered, and has averted the worst outcomes. But neofascism has not been defeated in Brazil.
“Are You Tired of Winning Yet?,” Kiran Pfitzner: The Trump administration has chosen to forget that airpower provides no way to force a favorable peace.

Book reviews (new!):

“Announcing Our Weekly Books Newsletter” (Breakwaters #1), Guillaume A. W. Attia: Kim Phillips-Fein, Teresa M. Bejan, Sergio Luzzatto, Logan Wright, Minxin Pei, Odd Arne Westad, and Chen Jian.

Podcasts:

“Trump's Epic Defeat” (Neon Liberalism #98, with Andy Craig): The results in Mississippi and Texas are among the most revealing from the midterms.
“America Just Blue Itself: 2026 Election Roundup” (Half the Answer #113, with Greg Sargent): What were the most exciting moments of the blue wave?
“The Capitol Has Fallen” (Liberal Currents Live #15): No insurrection necessary.
“2026 U.S. Election Results Live: Liberals React to the Midterms” (Liberal Currents Live #14): Join us as we learn the results of the U.S. midterm elections.
“What Will Trump Try This Time?” (Half the Answer #112, with Adam Hochschild): How will or won't states be able to protect their voters and officials from interference?.

Editor’s Notes:

“Was Democracy Ever in Peril?”: The 2028 election just got drastically more secure.
“The Window for Reconstruction Just Opened Wider. Help Us Make It Happen.”: Yesterday's battle turned into a rout, and it has paved the way for winning the war.

Videos and shorts:

“Impeach and Remove the Bastards”: Adam Gurri discusses some commitments that Democrats must make.
“In Defense of Red Tape”: Christopher Whitaker says it is good—sometimes.

Riptides:

“Way, Way Too Big to Steal”: GOP circles Hegseth as Congress stirs to life (Thursday, November 5).
“The Midterms Are Here”: Dems in array behind El-Sayed, while Trump's DOJ is not so buttoned-up (Tuesday, November 3).

Some of what we’re reading elsewhere:

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries tells ABC’s “This Week”: “The so-called secretary of defense has abused his power, undermined our national security, and engineered this reckless and costly war of choice in Iran, which has skyrocketed prices on the American people and made the country less safe. Pete Hegseth has got to go."
Joshua Fechter for the Texas Tribune, on the future of local control in Texas: “With Democrats sweeping Republicans [from] statewide office and winning a surprise majority in the Texas House of Representatives, city and county officials across the state have found themselves unclenching from a yearslong defensive posture against attacks on their authority by state Republicans.”
Eli Saslow for the New York Times, on the emigration of astrophysicist Kelly Holley-Bockelmann: “The project was meant to be a collaboration between the United States and Europe, but the United States had fallen behind because of staffing and budget shortfalls at NASA. Trump had repeatedly tried to eliminate funding for the program, and Europe was making contingency plans to save the mission.”