Was This Summer the Worst?

Sarah and Beth are back together after summer break, and they're starting with the question everyone seems to be asking: was this summer the worst? They work through the cyclospora outbreak and what it means to not trust the salad or the information about the salad, the storms that keep coming, the war narrative that changed every forty-eight hours, and the new polling showing Trump losing ground with his strongest supporters. They dig into what the Michigan Senate primary did to Haley Stevens and what that says about the people who cover politics, why AOC calling Woke 1.0 crazy might be a gift to the Democratic Party, and why data centers can go up in months while a bridge takes ten years. Then, because dark times have always made good music, they hand out the first-ever Pantsuit Politics Music Awards — song of the summer, album of the summer, and new and noteworthy. We are in Minneapolis on August 29 — in-person tickets close Wednesday morning, and virtual tickets are buy one, get one free: https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/p/2026-events Support the show and get access to News Briefs, Spicy Live bonus episodes, and community: https://pantsuitpolitics.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices