This message comes from the podcast, Phela Kuti, Fear No Man, in a world that's on fire.

What can music do? Radio Labs, Jad Abamrod, tells the story of the Nigerian musician who created a new

musical language of resistance called Afrobeat. Listen wherever you get podcasts.

This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley.

This week, voters across the country went to the polls for a handful of special and local elections.

And the outcome is that Democrats won big and small races in what was seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump.

But while people were looking at governor's races

in New Jersey and Virginia and the mayoral race in New York, it was that ballot initiative in

California that may have the biggest preview of what's to come leading up to the 2026 midterm

elections. Proposition 50 allows California Democrats to redraw congressional maps

to potentially win five more seats. The measure passed by a huge margin, after which Governor

Gavin Newsom made it clear what he feels should happen next.

My call tonight in the spirit of Whitman, we talked about the powerful play,

goes on. We all must contribute averse. And so we need, we need the state of Virginia.

We need the state of Maryland. We need our friends in New York, in Illinois, in Colorado.

We need to see other states with the remarkable leaders that have been doing remarkable things.

Meet this moment head on as well to recognize what we're up against in 2026.

And let me make this crystal clear.

We can de facto end Donald Trump's presidency as we know it.

The minute Speaker Jeffries gets sworn in as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

It is all on the line, a bright line in 2026.

Even when the ballot is small, the stakes can still feel large, and they're often a preview of

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