Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Thanks to today’s partner FemTech
The US midterms are hours away, and it’s shaping up to be one helluva ride.
Trump, unsurprisingly, is on the ropes, with increasing cost of living struggles facing Americans, as well as a deeply unpopular war in Iran. But will he interfere if the result doesn’t go his way? It’s not so silly to think so.
Then there are the candidates that are ruffling the President in a bigger way than ever before. Take, Abdel El-Sayed, the Democrat from Michigan who’s serving up the most epic counter burns to Trump’s baseline racism, while staying resolutely on policy message. He’s a rare find in politics, and he’s got the vote of women all-but tied up. (His bench-pressing videos on Instagram are also a nice extra).
And then there are the women to follow, with 2026 boasting a record number of women on the ballot. Freja Salt gives us a rundown on what to expect.
Outside of US politics today, we share this piece from Mariam Veiszadeh who opens up about her nine-year-old son’s nightmares about Pauline Hanson. She reflects on what it means when a politician’s rhetoric about race and belonging seeps into our children’s lives, and why the normalisation of this kind of politics should unsettle us all.
And Rita Nasr shares more on the immense load carried by the sandwich generation (mainly women), whose financial futures are in jeopardy.
More on site!
Tarla Lambert-Patel
Editor in Chief & Co-Founder
The Key Quote
By combining mammogram images with a woman’s age, our machine-learning model can predict her risk of cardiovascular disease. It’s early work, but it points to a way of reaching women who are often missed by traditional screening.
Associate Professor Clare Arnott
Professor Arnott, who leads the Cardiovascular Program at The George Institute, said promising new research could help reach women who are often missed in traditional screening methods, by combining routine mammograms with other heart scans to combat cardiovascular disease in women.
On Women's Agenda Today
Abdel El-Sayed is giving us the kind of political content we didn’t know we needed
El-Sayed keeps the focus exactly where it belongs: on the regular people he’s running to represent. It’s a tight, unflappable strategy. Read more +
My 9-year-old son had a nightmare about Pauline Hanson. That should worry all of us.
From playground taunts to parliamentary rhetoric, racism is shaping the lives of migrant and refugee Australians. Read more +
Could Trump interfere in the US midterms – and what checks and balances could stop him?
Trump faces growing scrutiny over whether he will interfere in the US midterm elections and challenge results if Republicans lose. Read more +
The stakes are high for women in the US midterms. These are the candidates to watch
Women are running in record numbers in the US midterms, with several candidates poised to make history across key races. Read more +
The invisible labour propping up Australia is costing women their financial futures
Women continue to shoulder unpaid care responsibilities, often sacrificing career progression, financial security and retirement savings in the process. Read more +
The Key Figure
1,000 per 100,000
The number of Australians that suffer from Anorexia or Bulimia, the highest rate in the world. Published in JAMA Psychiatry, the analysis estimates that 18.1 million people worldwide were living with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa in 2023, up 71% since 1990. Forecasts indicate this will rise to 21.8 million by 2050. Australian numbers are more than 4 times the global average.
The win
British adventurer Karl Bushby has arrived back at his childhood home in England after walking around the world
The journey, initially expected to take 10 years, lasted 28 years after multiple delays and setbacks. Karl Bushby has hacked through jungles in Central America, crossed the ice between Alaska and Russia and last month swam across the English Channel on the final stretch of a voyage made entirely under his own steam. Hundreds of cheering supporters greeted the 57-year-old in the square of his home city of Hull on Monday morning, local time. He then headed for his family home where his mother, his 36-year-old son and a 12-year-old granddaughter were waiting.
On The Women's Agenda Podcast
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