November 4 – Bob Shrum with Lynn Vavreck with Larry Mantle
What Just Happened? Making Sense of the 2026 Midterms
Bob Shrum
Robert M. “Bob” Shrum is the Director of the Center for the Political Future and the Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics at the University of Southern California, where he is a Professor of the Practice of Political Science in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He is a former political consultant, who has worked on numerous Democratic campaigns, including as senior advisor to the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004 and to the Gore-Lieberman campaign in 2000. He has been described as “the most sought-after consultant in the Democratic Party.”
Lynn Vavreck
Lynn Vavreck is Professor of American Politics, UCLA and author of the definitive books on the 2012 and 2016 Presidential elections. Political consultants on both sides of the aisle refer to Vavreck’s work on political messaging in The Message Matters as “required reading for presidential candidates.”
Larry Mantle
Larry Mantle has been the host of AirTalk with Larry Mantle on NPR-member station KPCC, 89.3 FM, since April 1st, 1985. AirTalk is the longest-running daily talk show in Southern California.