Oct 26, 2026 · 23 min
Michigan race tests turnout as protests spread across Europe
Countdown to the Midterms
The episode connects a decisive final week of midterm campaigning with widening economic unrest and new uncertainty around GLP-1 medications and pregnancy.
- 1Michigan’s nationally watched race enters its final week with record early voting and competing efforts to mobilize key constituencies.
- 2France’s cost-of-living protests have expanded beyond education grievances, prompting a major police response and inspiring demonstrations elsewhere in Europe.
- 3New guidance urges individualized medical advice on GLP-1 medications for people planning pregnancy, pregnant individuals, and those breastfeeding.
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The episode’s sharpest turn comes as France’s student-led demonstrations broaden into cost-of-living protests and spread across Europe.
The brief
The final full week of midterm campaigning centers on Michigan, where national attention, record early voting, and concerns about the economy and corruption are shaping the race.
Diana Paulson explains how Barack Obama and President Trump are helping mobilize opposing constituencies, while campaigns focus on turnout among Black voters in Detroit and Jewish voters weighing Abdul El-Sayed’s positions.
France’s protests began with student complaints about education conditions but broadened into anger over the cost of living, drawing large demonstrations and a major police operation in Paris.
Tom Soufi Burridge reports on whether French authorities are negotiating over education, wages, and inflation, as the movement inspires protests elsewhere in Europe, especially Italy.
Darien Sutton outlines new guidance on GLP-1 medications around pregnancy and breastfeeding, emphasizing limited human data, possible fetal-development concerns, and individualized medical advice.
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