Grant Hermes

30% of all US presidents didn’t use their real names to run for office. The VP, Speaker of the House, and Senate Minority Leader don't use their given names either. Who decides what’s in a name for a politician, and when does it matter? NEW from me. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/whats-in-a...

Nevada Secretary Of State Cisco Aguilar on Make It Make Sense this week explaining how DHS and the DOJ got caught lying about noncitizen voters in his state. Full interview out now wherever you get your podcasts.

Blanche told reporters DOJ was not involved in the exact thing Trump said he ordered. The latest breach of the firewall of independence that’s burned for nearly half a century between DOJ and the executive, and it may have finally been extinguished. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/the-presid...

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar came on the show to talk about running an election under threat, DHS's 100% failure in his state, and how to get ready for more attempts from the administration to undermine the midterms. Link here: makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/were-runni...

How anti-trans rhetoric hijacked the Texas Senate race with @unclosetedmedia.bsky.social’s Spencer Macnaughton on the latest episode of Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes. Find it wherever you get your podcasts (also the links are in the bio)

"For a decade, the president’s own investigators have been making the case that American elections are secure, just not on purpose." Widespread voter fraud is the most debunked conspiracy theory in America, thanks to Donald Trump. New from me makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/the-most-d...

Katie Zacharia worked for a Chinese law firm that boasts it's "aligned with China’s national strategies." The White House is refusing to say whether she's been fully vetted, whether it raised concerns, or got her the job in the first place. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/the-white-...

“I should not regret a fair and full trial of the entire abolition of capital punishments." James Madison. The Framers, the 8th Amendment, and the Death Penalty. New from me. Also, the collective noun for Bostonians has always been "a lager." makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/when-is-pu...

Bad robots and broken promises. Automation was always the threat and the goal. @kedseconomist.com on the latest episode of Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes, OUT NOW wherever you get your podcasts.

"It would be martial law with our side in control of the armaments.” Mon: Trump heard a plan to seize ballots and ban machines Tue: His ally said Howard Lutnick can do it now Tue: Trump hinted OMB has a plan of its own New from me, for free. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/the-presid...

@profmmurray.bsky.social from @strictscrutiny.bsky.social on the show this week to talk about Sen. John Kennedy’s definitely very real not an act cartoon accent. Full episode at the links in the bio.

More coming in today’s episode but I just couldn’t shake this during the hearing today.

This week’s Civics breakdown comes after Trump’s new ad campaign. How is the government supposed to talk directly to The People? When does it become propaganda? When does public service become political? It turns out we don’t have very good answers. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/propaganda...

“These seem like ludicrous post-facto justifications invented... to rescue his flailing court cases, trying to assert authorities he does not have” @juliacurlee.bsky.social Still, national security justifications look like Trump's new midterm playbook makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/trumps-nat...

Trump is launching his own 24/7 state media on the White House site just days after banning CNN, MSNOW and Politico

A free press was so important to the Founders that they put it in the first thing they wrote. The right predates the Constitution and was part of the declarations of 10 of the 13 colonies. This week's Things You Forgot From Civics Class makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/why-you-sh...

The Trump Admin is gearing up to attempt to send federal agents to the polls. After Monday's SCOTUS ruling, they aren't hiding it anymore. New from me. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/troops-or-...

"This is Insane. If you signed up for a free event or even bought some 250th merch, your data was probably harvested by Trump’s campaign." Rep. Jared Huffman said. Dems say Freedom250 was just a front to take Americans' data, on the taxpayer's dime. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/they-threw...

Before the latest court order against USPS's rollout of a deeply flawed election mail system for the 2026 midterms, Whistleblower Aid's David Kligerman joined the Make It Make Sense podcast with @granthermes.bsky.social to discuss what's at stake.

On this federal holiday, Things You Forgot From Civics Class asks why we don’t have one for when we cast our ballots. Also, cake>stickers. Every time. New on the Substack for your Labor Day reading. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/why-isnt-e...

"What's the anatomy of the failure here and hold people accountable. One hopes one has to imagine, in some way, shape, or form, that this will be stopped." @wbaidlaw.bsky.social von the record about the USPS whistleblower just before today's ruling, makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/the-lawyer...

Always a pleasure to have @tiffanymuller.bsky.social on the show. Get the full episode here makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/the-candid... Or wherever you get your podcasts.

A new lawsuit from EPIC, being argued by @protectdemocracy.org and @citizensforethics.org alleges DHS never stopped work on its citizenship list, despite being told to do so by a federal judge. It just hid it better. New from me. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/a-judge-to...

The new rule uses an imaginary system on the back of an illegal database, compared against lists that states have 9 days to send in. Still, it says ballots won't be delivered if the rule isn't followed. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/the-post-o...

1) it was great talking with @granthermes.bsky.social about 2026 elex threats and prep, you should check it out! 2) re the below, it’s all predictable. The Administration deceives us with lies, tries and will fail to disrupt voting with USPS interference and more. Then deny results they don’t like.

@alexandrachandler.bsky.social and I were just a few days early on this conversation but what she said couldn’t have been more spot on

I had the pleasure of having @juliacurlee.bsky.social on the show a few weeks ago. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who believes in America as deeply as she does. This is a piece worth reading because her story is worth knowing. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

In which I use a college Greek life term for some of our most important government agencies. Blanche refused to pledge to keep the DOJ independent; it felt like a good time to go over how these agencies actually work and what independence really is. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/how-do-ind...

A very strong case for vaccines on today’s Make It Make Sense episode with @scottlgreer.bsky.social Get it wherever you get your podcasts.

I highly recommend reading this. Critical lesson for pollsters and campaigns alike: primary voters are really fucking old. Also, it's been a minute since I worked with the WI voter file, but it had north of 10% unknown ages when I did. That doesn't help.

AI-generated ads have swept the country this cycle. Most states don't have laws banning them, and on average, people can tell the difference between AI and the real thing half the time, leaving voters vulnerable to manipulation and lies. New from me makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/fake-it-ti...

“Facing an empty quiver, the administration has landed on an improbable plan: convince America’s automakers to trade bumpers for bombs. So far the automakers are saying almost nothing. Even if they said yes tomorrow, the math says they could not arrive in time.” open.substack.com/pub/makeitma...

CIA is barred from influencing our domestic politics. Not by custom, not by norm — by law. Congress should demand to know who wrote these docs, when, and who tasked them. Those questions have answers. None are secrets. I break it down with @granthermes.bsky.social and @stevencash.bsky.social

The Constitution bans poll taxes, in two places. If voter IDs cost money, how are they legal? It’s complicated…and annoying.

@thesteadystate.org is calling on Congress to investigate Trump’s election documents and presidential malevolence to borrow @juliacurlee.bsky.social’s phrase. Full podcast episode of Make It Make Sense with Grant Hermes is in the bio

Was the CIA used in Trump’s 2020 election lies? Steve Cash and @juliacurlee.bsky.social from @thesteadystate.org and @lawfaremedia.org on the show this week. 

With time and options running out, the administration is clearly banking on what has quickly become the High Court’s most potent pro-Trump summertime tool: the shadow docket. makeitmakesensepod.substack.com/p/the-white-...

New bills would make babies of undocumented immigrants and birth tourists "invaders" to deny them citizenship. Marauders of the maternity ward is next in the fight to end birthright citizenship. The Supreme Court case was just the start. mimsnewspod.substack.com/p/the-gops-i...