Nov 3, 2026 · 12 min
Midterms test Trump, markets and Musk’s corporate ambitions
Election Day, Musk's power play and walker comes home
The episode connects uncertain control of Congress with election administration, market nerves, military escalation and an unusually ambitious corporate power play.
- 1Close Senate races, ranked-choice voting and legal challenges could leave control of Congress unresolved for days.
- 2The Supreme Court preserved California’s ability to count more than 20,000 disputed mail-in ballots.
- 3Elon Musk’s proposed SpaceX-Tesla merger raises questions about control, compensation and the realism of his goals.
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Karl Bushby returns to Hull after a round-the-world journey that stretched from a planned ten years to 28.
The brief
Americans vote in pivotal midterms shaped by cost-of-living concerns, Republican vulnerabilities and Democratic opportunities, with the result set to influence the next two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Control of the Senate may remain uncertain for days as close races, ranked-choice voting in Maine and Alaska, and legal challenges complicate the count.
The Supreme Court rejects an effort to block California from counting more than 20,000 disputed mail-in ballots, while markets wait for clarity on Congress and technology earnings.
Mike Dolan explains why investors are uneasy, as congressional uncertainty, technology-sector weakness and concerns about Apple’s earnings and margins converge on Election Day.
The episode then turns to U.S. strikes on Iran’s Qishim Island and Elon Musk’s push for more control of SpaceX and Tesla through a proposed merger.
Its human-scale finale follows Karl Bushby home to Hull after a journey that began nearly three decades ago and was prolonged by detentions, financial problems and the pandemic.
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