How Trump 2.0 Built a Vote Purging Machine with Abby Vesoulis Artwork

Unruly Subjects

Unruly Subjects is Chenjerai Kumanyika’s podcast where he goes off script to make space to think through the week’s politics, culture, and struggles together with family, friends, and interesting people. The show is created in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Support Unruly Subjects at Patreon.com/UnrulySubjects

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Unruly Subjects

How Trump 2.0 Built a Vote Purging Machine with Abby Vesoulis

January 22, 2026 • Season 1 • Episode 6

This week, we feature an interview with Mother Jones reporter Abby Vesoulis, who recently co-authored with Ari Berman the report “Your Private Data Is Building Trump’s Voter Purge Machine”. Vesoulis breaks down the Trump administration’s plans for election interference via voter suppression, the Department of Justice’s role in purging voters, and how we can try to fight back ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

Also, Chenjerai previews a longer interview with veteran labor organizer and strategist Bill Fletcher Jr. about the purpose and power of general strikes. They discuss this in the context of the ongoing nurses strike in New York City and the statewide walkout planned in Minnesota this Friday, January 23rd in reaction to the violent ICE escalations that are ongoing in Minneapolis.

☎️ There’s still time to respond to our UNRULY HOTLINE question: Have you ever had a job that you would describe as a scam? Maybe it’s a role that was clearly bad for society. Or maybe work that was just alienating. Call us here if you had (or have) a job you want to tell us about: 215-436-9212

Writer and scholar Leigh Claire La Berge will join Chenjerai on an upcoming episode to discuss the hotline responses. She’s the author of Fake Work (Haymarket Books), a memoir that looks back at her stint as a management consultant in the late 90s.

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Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Grizzly Beatz

Unruly Subjects is created in partnership with Rowhome Productions

Further reading & sources from this episode

NYC Nurses Strike

https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/01/20/nysna-nurses-strike-mamdani-sanders/

AARP calls for accountability over DOGE sharing Social Security data

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5699159-aarp-demands-doge-accountability/

ICE out of Minnesota