Democrats Win Big in Historic Rebuke of AI & Dutch Cinema Hypnotizes Moviegoers

Neil Freiman and Toby Howell opened by joking about election-night “mogging,” then explained that Collins Dictionary named “mogging” its word of the year. The term began in bodybuilding culture in 2016 and entered mainstream usage as meaning to outperform or outshine someone or something. They compared it with Dictionary.com’s “maxing” and joked that Neil no longer has to explain internet slang such as “clavicular,” “mid jester,” or “gooning” to his wife’s friends because Collins now provides a reference.

The hosts described the midterm results as a blue wave becoming a “blue tsunami,” with Democrats projected to win 55 Senate seats, at least 258 House seats, and governorships in states including Texas, Georgia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Toby said those victories put roughly half of proposed U.S. AI data-center additions at risk of stricter local rules; Texas alone represents nearly 30% of capacity expected online by 2028. Exit polls found AI and data centers were crucial for 23% of voters and crucial or major factors for 56%; 41 local moratoria were reportedly headed toward a 0–41 result.

Neil and Toby said technology’s political spending failed to deliver: Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz contributed more than $115 million, Greg Brockman directed about $50 million mainly to Republican campaigns, and Elon Musk spent $224 million on Texas races. They expected Democratic control to bring hearings and subpoenas for executives who supported Trump, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk joked that his “election interfering space lasers” failed and said data centers in space looked appealing. The hosts also predicted renewed antitrust scrutiny for Paramount’s merger and Alphabet, plus a boom in law firms’ “murder board” preparation for congressional hearings.

The hosts said futures briefly fell as the results came in, with Nasdaq futures down as much as 2.5% and Asian AI-related stocks also selling off, before reversing after Trump appeared to accept the results and investors bought the dip. They argued that a Republican president and Democratic Congress could create gridlock that markets view as certainty, limiting Trump’s deficit-expanding agenda. They cited the S&P 500’s record of finishing higher in the 12 months after every midterm election since 1950—19 out of 19 times. Defense stocks could suffer from spending pressure, healthcare could benefit from Medicaid changes, and banks could be hurt by bipartisan support for a 10% credit-card interest cap.

The California billionaire wealth tax, Proposition 40, appeared unlikely to pass, with Kalshi assigning it only a 4% chance that morning, giving tech billionaires one potential win. Nebraska voters rejected online sports betting measures despite more than $20 million from DraftKings and FanDuel. Washington, D.C., and Denver appeared poised to ban foie gras sales or production. In Idaho, voters were choosing a state gun; the Winchester Model 1873 lever-action rifle, known as “the gun that won the West,” led in unofficial results.

Google said it would turn off its AI tools by default in schools next year, but its vice president for education, Chris Phillips, said Search and AI are so integrated that schools banning AI would lose Google Search too. The hosts called this a “scholastic Faustian bargain,” noting Google’s leverage through Chromebooks, Workspace, and Google Classroom. Zoran Mamdani and former FTC chair Lina Khan accused Google of using search dominance to coerce schools into AI adoption. Google cited studies supporting AI learning tools, including an 8.1-point versus 5.3-point learning gain in a University of Tokyo trial and 1.2–1.7 years of equivalent progress in an eight-week, 1,700-student mathematics study in Syria.

Australian design company Canva announced layoffs affecting more than 1,200 employees, or over 20% of its workforce. CEO Melanie Perkins called the cuts the hardest moment in Canva’s 13-year history and said small changes were insufficient for the AI era. The hosts identified two pressures: AI makes Canva’s remaining employees more productive, while also allowing ordinary users to create designs without the platform. The cuts followed Canva’s $42 billion valuation and long-running IPO ambitions; the company will also move more staff toward Sydney and require hybrid employees to work in the office two or three days weekly.

Dutch cinema chain Pathé is recruiting 30 film fans for a November 9 experiment in which hypnotist Victor Kramer will conduct two sessions, including an individual online session, intended to make participants forget the plot of a favorite film. The group will vote among The Matrix, La La Land, and Interstellar. Toby called it a clever promotion for Pathé’s Rewind program, which returns older films to theaters, while Neil said he would choose Whiplash, The Prestige, or a mid-2000s comedy such as Superbad. Toby considered Infinity War, Endgame, and the Elizabeth Holmes documentary.

Toby recommended Chromograph, a $13 one-time iPhone photography app created by Knives Out director Rian Johnson and cinematographer Steve Yedlin. It shoots RAW images and applies the pair’s film color presets; Toby said its wedding photos impressed everyone who saw them. Neil recommended choosing one or two winter hobbies, starting with the YouTube guide “Knit Your First Sweater” from Handmade by Florence. He also suggested sourdough, indoor paddle, or an adult class, arguing that hobbies stick better when they extend something already enjoyed—such as paddle for a tennis player or breadmaking for someone who likes cooking.