The ICE raids are on the ballot this November. But does any of it actually move voters? Political journalist Astead Herndon has spent a decade asking voters what they really believe, and his answers aren’t comfortable.

John Carlos Frey talks with Herndon, host of Vox’s America, Actually, former host of The Run-Up at The New York Times and a CNN political analyst. Herndon argues that President Trump tried to “soft steal” the midterms before they started, through redistricting, fights over mail ballots and pressure on states over voter rolls.

On immigration, Herndon says the crackdown isn’t winning votes and is driving a backlash, including among the Latino voters who swung toward Trump two years ago. He explains why he sees Latino voters as the swing voters who decide general elections. They also discuss what could happen if Democrats win big and the administration refuses to accept it, why the press has lost the public’s trust, and why Herndon now thinks the country needs a constitutional convention.

https://www.vox.com/authors/astead-herndon

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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Days before the midterms, a coalition of Los Angeles business, faith and civic leaders went inside the county’s vote count to answer one question: will your vote be counted?

Miguel Santana, CEO of the California Community Foundation, returns to The Raid to talk with John Carlos Frey about "A Count You Can Trust", the nonpartisan coalition he co-chairs with former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He explains why the lead can change even after election night, as it did in the mayoral primary that the Trump called, rigged.
They also discuss the fear building in California before Election Day. Santana describes a federal challenge to Los Angeles County voter registrations, made in the middle of the election without evidence, and arrests of people accused of illegal voting, carried out in front of cameras.
Santana, who was born in East Los Angeles, says he now carries his passport, and he worries those images will reach Latino voters in places where a few votes could decide a race.

https://www.acountyoucantrust.org/

California Community Foundation: https://www.calfund.org/

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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A 143-year-old city hall in Limoges, France goes up in flames. Within hours, Vice President J.D. Vance shares the video and tells Americans, “This is the future if congressional Democrats win.” The next morning, President Trump posts, “France is burning,” and blames immigrants.

John Carlos Frey treats the claim like a case and follows the evidence. French authorities have not linked immigrants to the rioting. He lays out why the claim is false, why it’s scapegoating, and how it follows the same playbook used during the 2025 ICE protests in Los Angeles, now aimed at American voters weeks before Election Day. Then he asks the question the administration won’t answer: millions of people are gone, so why hasn’t your life gotten better?

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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John Carlos Frey sits down with Aaron Parnas, the former public defender turned independent news creator with millions of followers on TikTok and one of Substack’s top newsletters, The Parnas Perspective.

Parnas started posting when Russia invaded Ukraine and his six-year-old cousin was sheltering in a bathtub in Kyiv. He had a million followers within a week. Today he talks about why legacy media “sane-washes” this administration, and he breaks down the raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home three weeks before an election she’s on the ballot for. He also lays out his “Jurassic Park” theory: a White House that tests every fence in the Constitution looking for a weak spot.

A spirited conversation between two journalists from different generations sharing consensus about the immigration raids and the state of media today. A must watch!

https://aaronparnas.substack.com/

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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Fear is keeping people from the polls. On this episode of The Raid, investigative journalist John Carlos Frey talks with former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa about A Count You Can Trust, a new nonpartisan coalition he co-chairs to explain how votes are counted and correct false claims with facts.

Villaraigosa has been on the ballot 21 times and says he has never seen tension like this. With talk of ICE agents at voting centers, an immigration enforcement surge in Los Angeles, and claims from Washington that California’s elections are rigged, he explains why so many voters, Democrats and Republicans alike, are worried, and why Election Night leads can flip once mail-in ballots are counted.

He walks through every way to vote without setting foot in a polling place, how to check your registration and track your ballot, why L.A. County, which counts more votes than 41 states, takes time to finish, and how anyone can watch the count in person. He also explains how you can join the coalition. His message: vote for whoever you want, but vote, because your ballot will be counted.

https://www.acountyoucantrust.org/

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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John Carlos Frey talks with Nick Miroff, staff writer at The Atlantic, 2026 Pulitzer Prize finalist, and George Polk Award winner, about what’s really happening inside ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.

He explains why the White House keeps doubling down on mass deportation, including how a pause on ICE traffic stops was reversed within 24 hours. He also walks through his reporting showing that violent crime is falling fastest in the same sanctuary cities the administration is targeting.

A candid conversation with two top journalists about the mass deportation machine.

https://www.theatlantic.com/author/nick-miroff/

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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John Carlos Frey sits down with Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice, to talk about what mass deportation is doing to immigrant families, U.S. citizens, and the country itself.

Cárdenas came to the U.S. from Bolivia at 14. Today she’s having the same conversation with her own U.S.-born kids that Latino families across the country are having: what to do if ICE pulls you over. Her cousin now carries a copy of her U.S.-citizen daughter’s passport, just in case. Relatives with legal status ask whether carrying their papers is enough.

They talk about racial profiling and whether this crackdown is about enforcement or about who people are. Despite everything, Cárdenas practices what she calls “the discipline of hope.”

https://theraidpodcast.org/

https://americasvoice.org/staff/vanessa-cardenas/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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In 2018, Jess Morales Rocketto helped put people in the streets of hundreds of cities to stop family separation. Now she says the deportation machine has gotten smarter, and that pushing back still works.

John Carlos Frey sits down with the organizer behind Families Belong Together and the co-founder of Maremoto, which builds Latino power through politics, media and culture. Morales Rocketto began her career in anti-genocide activism. She explains why she believes the United States is at stage four or five of the ten recognized stages of genocide, what has changed since 2018, and why public resistance in Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Chicago made a difference.

ABOUT THE GUEST
Jess Morales Rocketto is co-founder and executive director of Maremoto. She co-founded Families Belong Together, Care in Action and Supermajority, served as political director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and worked on the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris. TIME named her to its 100 Next list in 2019. She is from Norwalk, California.

https://www.instagram.com/jesslivmo/?hl=en

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.