Abdul El-Sayed on how progressives can win back men and Democrats can take back the Senate

Today I’m bringing you a conversation I had with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who is one of the two Democratic candidates facing off in a primary tomorrow to represent Michigan in the US Senate.I talked to Dr. El-Sayed about a year ago for Carbon Bros., the miniseries I did with Amy Westervelt and Drilled. In this conversation, we get into why Democrats lost young men in 2024, and whether it’s possible to win them back. El-Sayed's argument is basically that corporations are engineering addiction—through things like sports betting, porn, social media—and that Democrats have failed to offer a compelling alternative vision of masculinity.El-Sayed wants Democrats to be authentic, bold, and willing to actually throw out the interests that are sucking dry the party, and that means getting rid of the super PACs corrupting our politics. At the same time, I think he’s shown a way to be authentic and even vulnerable while running a campaign that has become one of the most contested this cycle. Long before Hasan Piker was stumping for El-Sayed or Fox News was freaking out about him, I was talking with him about getting everybody healthcare and getting dirty money out of politics.I’d like to think, we’re early to these things here at Non-Toxic, but we tend to be right. Give it a listen. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nontoxicpodcast.substack.com/subscribe