Dominant Media’s Massive Blind Spots, the Key Midterm Ground Game, and James Rosen on Trump, Obama, and Scalia

Next Up with Mark Halperin

MK Media

News, Daily News, Politics

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2026

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Mark Halperin argues in his reported monologue that too many journalists cover “politics” instead of “campaigns, leaving their audiences largely unaware of what really wins and loses elections. The vast majority of news coverage focuses on surface narratives and political gossip, leaving consumers in the dark about the asymmetrical campaign advantages that are the obsession of the pros. From data operations and AI-driven voter targeting to fundraising strategy and digital advertising, he explains how the craft of campaigning creates the edges that separate winners from losers — and determines who governs. Then author James Rosen joins to discuss why Justice Antonin Scalia remains one of the most consequential Americans of the last century. They explore Scalia’s originalism revolution, the controversy surrounding Bush v. Gore, and how Scalia’s legal philosophy still shapes the Supreme Court today, before ending on a lighter note with Rosen’s spot on Obama and Trump impressions and his deep knowledge of Beatles trivia. Cardiff: Get fast business funding without bank delays—apply in minutes with Cardiff and access up to $500,000 in same‑day funding at https://Cardiff.co/MARK Acre Gold: Start building physical gold with simple monthly payments and enter to win two Ancient Collection gold bars at https://GetAcreGold.com/MARK Bank On Yourself: Discover the retirement plan banks Don't want you to know about—get your free report at https://BankOnYourself.com/Mark

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back. It's next up. I'm Mark Kalpren Heather and Chief of the Two-Way interactive platform where you can enjoy live video performances by my colleagues and myself. And I'm your host here for this hour. A really great show today. James Rosen, he's the chief Washington correspondent for Newsmax,
0:22.1	and an author of a lot of books.
0:24.1	His new one is a second book in his plan three volume set,
0:29.3	Biography of Justice Scalia.
0:31.7	And you don't have to be a fan of Scalia or of the law
0:35.6	or really history even, although you should be, to enjoy this book.
0:40.6	It's gotten raved reviews.
0:41.6	It's an inside look at the life and mind and the impact of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia.
0:47.1	And this volume covers the first half of Scalia's nearly 30 years on the high court.
0:54.4	James is just a great writer, and it's a great book, and we're going to talk to him about
0:58.4	Scalia, who will also save a little time to let you hear some of his extraordinarily good
1:02.9	impressions of some leading American iconic figures.
1:06.3	And then some Beatles trivia.
1:07.7	James loves the Beatles.
1:08.5	I love the Beatles.
1:09.4	I am not his match in Beatles
1:11.0	trivia. So if you love the Beatles, you're going to hear some tough questions for James and
1:15.9	for the other contestants, you'll see. And you'll love it. I think you'll love it. James is just such
1:23.4	an interesting guy. And he brings to life Scalia in the the book and he will for us here. Before he
1:29.2	Joneses, though, up next is my reported monologue on reporting about the midterm elections and
1:35.5	about things we cover here in general. Some people call it politics. I call it campaigns,
1:41.9	and I'll explain why that's next up.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from MK Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of MK Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.