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The Economist
Bringing the House down: our American midterms model
26 minutes Posted Apr 23, 2026 at 10:08 am.
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Show notes

We examine what our forecast model predicts so far—and consider what might change its confident prediction for one house of Congress and toss-up call for the other. Our correspondent sits down with Steve Reich, a pioneering classical composer who is nearing his 90th birthday. And the surprising reason why firstborns tend to have more-successful lives.


Additional music courtesy of Steve Reich (Nonesuch Records), Erik Hall (Western Vinyl)


Guests and host:

  • Dan Rosenheck, data editor
  • Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
  • Ainslie Johnstone, data journalist
  • Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”


Topics covered: 

  • American elections, Congress, polling, gerrymandering
  • Steve Reich, contemporary classical music
  • birth order, statistics


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