Following a whistleblower report that the White House is ignoring a court order to stop its attempts to manipulate mail-in-ballots, Eugene and Symone come to the conclusion that, “These norms ain’t working!” Then the duo is joined by best-selling author and “The Atlantic” staff writer Clint Smith to discuss the current assault on Black political power in the U.S., how racist iconography like Confederate statues help shape public policy, and how the triumphs of Black American resistance have become a source of inspiration around the globe. “ The most remarkable thing about all of it,” says Clint, “is that it was ordinary people who abolished slavery. It is ordinary people in Japan who are fighting to abolish nuclear weapons. It is ordinary people on the streets right now who are trying to imagine what life after this moment will look like, and who are trying their best to push us out of this moment that we're in.”

As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.

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The Democratic Party is overperforming and polling well all over the United States, but the candidates winning primaries look a little different than expected. And the map keeps changing. While the DNC struggles with debt, senatorial candidates like Angie Nixon in Florida and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan beat very well-funded primary opponents. And they did so while supporting policies Americans for a long time have considered socialist. Symone and Eugene welcome friend of the show and fundraising-wizard Rufus Gifford to debate what makes a Democratic candidate viable, why donors are not giving to the DNC like they used to, and how the Democratic party should start thinking about who their presidential candidate will be in 2028 right now.

Editors' note: an early version of this story named David Crowley as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Michigan rather than Wisconsin. The file has been updated to correct this error.

As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.

Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content.

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For a special live taping of Clock It, Symone and Eugene traveled down to the ATL to kiki in front a standing-room-only crowd of journalists at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention. They enraptured the attendees talking about the role White House reporters should play. And they got into Trump ditching Air Force One – and all of the members of the media and the administration still on it – to jump on a decoy plane. As a special treat the hosts welcomed actress, activist, and media personality La La Anthony to the stage. The trio dove into La La’s ThreeSixty program, which is dedicated to mentoring and supporting young men incarcerated on New York City's Rikers Island. “These aren't bad kids that just wake up like, ‘I just wanna do bad today,’” La La said. “I've had the joy and the blessing to get to know them, get to work with them, get to be a piece in changing their trajectory and their life. And it's what I'm passionate about.”

As the 2026 midterm elections heat up, MS NOW is headed to the Lone Star State. Join more than a dozen of your favorite hosts - including Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jen Psaki, Michael Steele, Ali Velshi and more - in Arlington, Texas on September 26 for a day of community and conversation about the issues that matter most to you. Get your tickets at ms.now/together.

Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this and other MS podcasts without ads. As a subscriber, you'll also get exclusive bonus content.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.