# 'BradCast' 7/27/2026 (Thom Hartmann on the Fourth Rise of U.S. Oligarchy and the 2026 Election That Could Begin to End It) Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bradcast-w-brad-friedman-1088547/bradcast-7-27-2026-thom-hartmann-on-the-fourth-rise-of-u-s-oligarchy-and-the-2026-election-that-could-begin-to-end-it Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bradcast-w-brad-friedman-1088547/bradcast-7-27-2026-thom-hartmann-on-the-fourth-rise-of-u-s-oligarchy-and-the-2026-election-that-could-begin-to-end-it.md Podcast: [The BradCast w/ Brad Friedman](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bradcast-w-brad-friedman-1088547) Published: 2026-07-28T02:04:00+00:00 Episode link: https://BradBlog.com/audio/BradCast_BradFriedman_ThomHartmann-4thOligarchRise-MidtermElections_072726.mp3 Audio file: https://BradBlog.com/audio/BradCast_BradFriedman_ThomHartmann-4thOligarchRise-MidtermElections_072726.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-bradcast-w-brad-friedman-1088547/episodes/bradcast-7-27-2026-thom-hartmann-on-the-fourth-rise-of-u-s-oligarchy-and-the-2026-election-that-could-begin-to-end-it Duration seconds: 3482 ## Resource On today's 'BradCast': The Trump Administration has appealed to the US Supreme Court to block a ruling striking down his unconstitutional executive order requiring the US Postal Service block delivery of vote-by-mail ballots in states that refuse to play by Trump's unlawful rules. Progressive radio host THOM HARTMANN discusses his new article detailing cycles of oligarchy through U.S. history, and how each time, pro-democracy Americans have joined forces to defeat them. Hartmann explains that November 2026 elections offer the next opportunity to stop the 'fourth assault on American democracy' and details potential Republican schemes to hold on to power, block Democrats from taking control of Congress, and much more. Callers weigh in. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-bradcast-w-brad-friedman-1088547/episodes/bradcast-7-27-2026-thom-hartmann-on-the-fourth-rise-of-u-s-oligarchy-and-the-2026-election-that-could-begin-to-end-it/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bradcast-w-brad-friedman-1088547/bradcast-7-27-2026-thom-hartmann-on-the-fourth-rise-of-u-s-oligarchy-and-the-2026-election-that-could-begin-to-end-it.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.