Playbook Deep Dive
490 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★ - 1.1K ratingsWelcome to Playbook Deep Dive, the stories behind the power. From Congress and the White House to bar stools and back rooms, POLITICO Playbook’s Ryan Lizza brings you interviews with the most compelling and important figures who explain what’s really going on in Washington.
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Episodes
Trump’s Guilty. Here’s what he shouldn’t do on appeal.
May 31, 2024 09:00 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBPOLITICO’s senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney and legal columnist Ankush Khardori debrief on what happened at the Hush Money trial, how Trump’s team may have hurt its own case, and what their best plan is to win an appeal after Thursday’s massive guilty verdict. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Kyle Cheney is a senior legal affairs reporter for POLITICO. Ankush Khardori is a columnist and senior writer for POLITICO Magazine. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio...
Inside Rick Scott’s quest to be the Senate’s Florida man
May 24, 2024 09:00 - 35 minutes - 33 MBSen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) joins host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss his entry into the Senate GOP leadership race to succeed Mitch McConnell. They discuss why Sen. Scott is running, what Donald Trump told him about his decision, his relationship with key Republicans such as McConnell and Susie Wiles, his policy agenda on foreign aid, abortion, entitlements, and Israel if he’s elected leader, Trump’s running mate choices, and the importance of having a purpose in life. Ryan Lizza...
America’s presidential debate boss thinks Biden upended tradition… and duped Trump
May 17, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 58.6 MBOn Wednesday morning, Frank Fahrenkopf received a letter from the Biden presidential campaign that ruined his day. Fahrenkopf is co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has produced 33 debates since 1988, the first election year it was in business. He was planning on four more this year: three with Biden and Trump as well as the quadrennial vice presidential debate. But the Biden campaign told Fahrenkopf that the president would not be participating in any of them. Instead...
“Political malpractice”: the Debate Commission chief thinks Trump blew it
May 17, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 58.7 MBOn Wednesday morning, Frank Fahrenkopf received a letter from the Biden presidential campaign that ruined his day. Fahrenkopf is co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has produced 33 debates since 1988, the first election year it was in business. He was planning on four more this year: three with Biden and Trump as well as the quadrennial vice presidential debate. But the Biden campaign told Fahrenkopf that the president would not be participating in any of them. Instead...
Mike Johnson told us what he really thinks about Joe Biden, Hakeem Jeffries and Donald Trump
May 10, 2024 09:00 - 45 minutes - 42 MBFresh off fending off a hard-right coup attempt, the House speaker opens up about his strategy and his future plans for the GOP Conference. Topics in this lengthy interview include: Johnson’s victory over the GOP radicals; Israel; Ukraine; January 6th; the Trump trials; abortion; and his relationships with key Washington leaders, such as Joe Biden, Hakeem Jeffries, Kevin McCarthy and, of course, Donald Trump. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Rachael Bade is a Playbook co-aut...
Rep. Jerry Nadler opposed the House antisemitism bill. Here's why
May 03, 2024 09:00 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBRep. Jerry Nadler, who has represented a big piece of Manhattan since 1992, is one of the longest-serving Jewish members of the House. He’s also a Columbia University alumnus: he was on campus in 1968 when police cleared Hamilton Hall of anti-Vietnam war protesters. Nadler is a close observer of the Middle East and the politics of Israel in the U.S. And he’s the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, where he’s long seen himself as a champion of civil liberties. All of this ba...
‘I used to be very combative’: How starring in ‘Civil War’ changed his politics
April 26, 2024 09:00 - 35 minutes - 32.9 MBThe biggest movie in the country right now is about a civil war — in America. If you see the film “Civil War” at a theater in downtown Washington, the scenes of the Lincoln Memorial exploding and the White House being attacked are jarring when you exit into the D.C. air. The movie is writer and director Alex Garland’s very in-your-face attempt to imagine the unimaginable in America — an authoritarian leader in the White House, intractable political differences being resolved through violen...
Rep. Tom Cole’s cigar diplomacy to secure Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan aid
April 19, 2024 09:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBAfter months of delay, this week House Speaker Mike Johnson advanced his much awaited version of the Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan foreign aid package. Standing between that legislation and the House floor: two very powerful committees. First, the House Appropriations Committee, which controls about a third of federal spending. And second, the Rules Committee, which controls access to the House floor, and which has become a problem for GOP leaders in this Congress. Johnson needed to pick th...
Michael Cohen on the first Trump trial: Prepare to be surprised
April 12, 2024 09:00 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBMichael Cohen may be the only person standing between Donald Trump and jail. Three of Trump’s four criminal trials — the ones in Washington, Florida and Georgia — seem hopelessly stalled. But on this coming Monday in New York, the hush money case is set to begin. Deep Dive guest and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is the star witness in the case. On this episode, he joins host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss how he will defend the assault on his credibility at the trial, why A...
Abortion will now be on the ballot in Florida. Here’s why that’s awkward for Biden.
April 05, 2024 09:00 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBOn April 1, the Florida Supreme Court issued a pair of decisions on abortion that led the Biden campaign to declare that Florida, which Democrats have lost twice to Donald Trump, was now “winnable.” The only problem with that? Some of Florida’s abortion rights advocates want the president to stay away. At issue is Amendment 4, a measure on November’s ballot that would enshrine abortion in the state constitution — and will also need Republican and independent votes to pass. On this episode ...
Inside the WSJ’s ‘very intense’ effort to free Evan Gershkovich
March 29, 2024 09:00 - 28 minutes - 26 MBA year ago today, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia and charged with espionage, an allegation he and the Journal said was absurd. The State Department declared that Gershkovich was “wrongfully detained,” an official status that commits the Biden administration to work for his release. Journal publisher Almar Latour has played a key role in the legal and diplomatic effort to free Gershkovich. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author...
The new politics of Israel dividing Biden’s Democratic Party
March 22, 2024 09:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBThe politics of the Israel-Hamas war have become one of the most divisive issues in the Democratic Party. Mark Mellman, the president of Democratic Majority for Israel – and a longtime pollster – joins host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to get into the weeds on the new politics of Israel within the Democratic Party. Other subjects covered include the polling data behind Biden’s age, Trump’s hold on the GOP, double doubters, abortion, the fate of Nikki Haley voters, and whether you shoul...
Kellyanne Conway’s advice to Republicans on abortion & TikTok
March 15, 2024 09:00 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBTikTok, abortion, and IVF: three of the biggest issues in American politics right now and Kellyanne Conway is in the middle of all of them. Conway has been advising Donald Trump and Mike Pence for years and lately she’s best known for urging the GOP to leave TikTok alone and moderate the party’s message on reproductive rights. On this episode of Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza has a spirited conversation with Conway at POLITICO’s Health Care Summit, where they recorded D...
The secrets of Jill Biden’s East Wing
March 08, 2024 10:00 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBFirst ladies are among the most powerful advisers in any White House and Jill Biden is no exception. On this episode of Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza is joined by NYT White House correspondent Katie Rogers, who recently published “American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden,” an authoritative account of how this century’s first ladies have influenced the nation. Ryan and Katie discuss Jill Biden and Melania Trump’s rol...
How Washington’s top book critic reads between 2024’s political lines
March 01, 2024 10:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBCarlos Lozada is a columnist for The New York Times, and before that, the longtime nonfiction book critic for The Washington Post. In 2019, Lozada won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism for a series of pieces that judges described as “trenchant and searching reviews and essays that joined warm emotion and careful analysis in examining a broad range of books addressing government and the American experience.” Well, he's now collected nearly a decade of such reviews in what he calls “The Washi...
Nancy Mace’s main character energy
February 23, 2024 10:00 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBRep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has a way of being in the middle of things, whether it’s standing up to Trump after Jan. 6 when many in her party kept quiet, helping overthrow House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, or warning Republicans about how they were wrong when it comes to the politics of abortion. But some of that drama is catching up with Mace back home in South Carolina, which on Saturday will be the center of the political world as voters head to the polls in the state’s presidential primary. Ma...
Jim Himes on satellites, space nukes and Section 702
February 16, 2024 10:00 - 45 minutes - 41.9 MBRep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, joins host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss everything you might want to know about Russian space weapons, Section 702 reforms, and the behind-the-scenes action at the Intelligence Committee during a week of extraordinary volatility. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Jim Himes is the representative for Connecticut's 4th district. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Ke...
Chris Murphy's untold border bill backstory
February 09, 2024 10:00 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBSen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) was the Democratic lead on the much anticipated bipartisan border legislation that was supposed to sail through the Senate and unlock funding for the war in Ukraine. But everything went sideways this week when Republicans, at Donald Trump’s insistence, abruptly turned against the bill. On this episode of Deep Dive, Sen. Murphy tells host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza what really happened behind the scenes in the negotiations that assembled the bill and how thin...
How the border is splitting Biden’s closest allies
February 02, 2024 10:00 - 59 minutes - 54.5 MBCongresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) discusses the unique role she plays as one of President Joe Biden’s campaign co-chairs who is also opposed to some of the key policies he is pursuing on immigration and in the Middle East. On this episode, she tells Deep Dive host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza: - Her views on Biden’s border policies and the senate bill - Her own ideas of what a winning immigration policy looks like - Her concerns about Biden’s policies in the Middle Eas...
Meet the pollster who is getting under the Democrats’ skin
January 26, 2024 10:00 - 42 minutes - 38.6 MBMark Penn is best known for two things: his devotion to centrist politics and his former role as the top pollster and strategist for Bill and Hillary Clinton. Lately, he’s added a third: a barrage of polls that show a large majority of Americans are crying out for an alternative to Trump and Biden. On this episode of Deep Dive, he talks with host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza about his relationship (or lack thereof) with No Labels – a group promoting a third-party candidacy – the recent...
Is this the end of the New Hampshire primary as we know it?
January 19, 2024 10:00 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBJoe McQuaid, the longtime publisher of The New Hampshire Union Leader – the 161-year old conservative paper that has operated like a Republican party boss for many decades – joins Deep Dive to tell host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza everything you need to know about Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, including whether or not Nikki Haley can win, if she’ll get the Union Leader’s endorsement, and whether New Hampshire’s primacy in American politics has come to an end. Ryan Lizza is a Playboo...
Joe Biden called David Axelrod a ‘prick.’ It won’t shut him up.
January 12, 2024 10:00 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBDavid Axelrod, the former top Obama strategist, has been offering some tough medicine to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. In November, he suggested Biden think long and hard about running for reelection. He has been withering about Biden’s skills as a candidate and communicator. He is deeply concerned about the president’s age. And unlike other Democrats in the anti-bedwetting set, Axe has been clear that the party should be freaked out by the polls. On this episode of Deep Dive, he join...
How Trump and Biden could blow it in 2024
January 05, 2024 10:00 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBAs the Iowa caucuses near, Playbook’s Ryan Lizza and POLITICO Politics Bureau Chief Jonathan Martin go deep on what we know – and what we’ll soon find out – about Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and Ron DeSantis’ campaigns. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Jonathan Martin is politics bureau chief for POLITICO. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
The most unlikely ingredient to a successful career in Washington
December 21, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBArthur Brooks ran the American Enterprise Institute for more than a decade. Now, he’s a fulltime happiness scientist. Here’s his guide to making it in Washington without sacrificing your humanity. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Arthur Brooks is the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Nonprofit and Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and the author of "Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier". Kara Tabor is a producer fo...
How Hunter Biden, Jack Smith, and Trump’s legal troubles are setting the stage for 2024
December 15, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBA week of new developments in impeachment, Donald Trump’s D.C. case, and Hunter Biden’s congressional inquiry showcased how the collision of law and politics will determine much of Republicans’ and Democrats’ political fortunes in 2024. POLITICO legal editor James Romoser and national correspondent Betsy Woodruff Swan join to discuss the implications. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. James Romoser is the legal editor for POLITICO. Betsy Woodruff Swan is a national corresponde...
Why James Lankford expects a border breakthrough
December 08, 2023 10:00 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBThe GOP’s lead negotiator on the embattled Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and border security supplemental believes that a compromise will happen. But do his Democratic colleagues in the Senate and his fellow Republicans in the House agree? Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. James Lankford is the senior U.S. senator from Oklahoma. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Steve Scalise reveals what’s really happened since McCarthy’s fall
December 01, 2023 10:00 - 32 minutes - 29.7 MBHouse Majority Leader Steve Scalise illuminates what happened behind closed doors after Kevin McCarthy’s ousting as well as what to expect next on impeachment; why he will vote against expelling George Santos; and how Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to use immigration to tame hardliners when it comes to the spending showdown with Joe Biden. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Steve Scalise is the House Majority Leader. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is...
Why the era of the ‘Emerging Democratic Majority’ is collapsing
November 17, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBJohn Judis and Ruy Teixeira, co-authors of “The Emerging Democratic Majority,” are back with a new book that argues that the Democrats are imperiled by a “shadow party” that is forcing them into “radical” positions on cultural issues and diverting them away from their core economic issues. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. John Judis is editor at large at Talking Points Memo and co-author of "Where Have All the Democrats Gone?" Ruy Teixeira is a Senior Fellow at the American...
Why US politics has become must-see TV abroad
November 10, 2023 10:00 - 56 minutes - 52.1 MBAustralian TV hosts Chas Licciardello and John Barron explain how American politics has influenced culture and government in their homeland; and which single feature of Australian politics could fix many of America’s biggest problems. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Chas Licciardello is a comedian and co-host of Planet America. John Barron is a journalist, broadcaster and co-host of Planet America. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior produce...
Why Democrats keep stubbing their toes on the working class vote
November 03, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes - 44.1 MBOn this week’s episode of Deep Dive, Pulitzer Prize winner David Leonhardt joins host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to talk about his new book and what it says about how Democrats can save their relationship with working class voters. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. David Leonhardt is a senior writer for the New York Times and the author of "Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream." Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senio...
The GOP’s new strategy to win on abortion
October 27, 2023 09:00 - 52 minutes - 48 MBSince the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in June 2022, the GOP has repeatedly paid a price electorally for its stance on abortion. The chaos has been dispiriting to the anti-abortion activists who helped engineer the Dobbs decision in the first place. And now they think they have a new political strategy to get Republicans out of their defensive crouch and to start winning again on this issue. The woman leading this effort is Marjorie Dannenfelser, the head of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life Ame...
How GOP moderates have Jim Jordan pinned
October 20, 2023 09:00 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBHost and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza joins Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) to learn how he and other GOP moderates, institutionalists, and Biden-district Republicans have organized against Jim Jordan’s campaign to be speaker of the House… and what the endgame is for Republicans to escape this mess. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Mike Lawler is the representative for New York's 17th district. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLI...
Biden deputy national security adviser lifts the fog of war in Israel
October 13, 2023 09:00 - 31 minutes - 29 MBJon Finer, President Joe Biden’s principal deputy national security adviser, opens up to Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza about how the administration is approaching some of the thorniest problems related to the war in Israel, including: striking the right balance between supporting Israel and expressing concerns about an extreme response; Biden’s warnings to Iran; and whether America should now consider itself at war with Hamas. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITIC...
How to fight a president, please a billionaire, and save a newspaper
October 06, 2023 09:00 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBMarty Baron ran The Washington Post’s newsroom for nine years. In that time, Marty clashed with then-president Donald Trump. He pacified rebellions from his younger and increasingly more ideological staff. And he partnered with Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos to take on arguably the biggest disrupter of all: technology. He’s written about all of this — and a lot more — in his new book, "Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post." Today, Marty is joining Playbook co-auth...
How the UAW strike swallowed Biden, Trump, and the 2024 campaign
September 29, 2023 09:00 - 40 minutes - 37.3 MBThe center of presidential politics this week was the swing state of Michigan. Trump won the longtime Democratic stronghold in 2016, and Biden won it back in 2020. It will be pivotal again in 2024. And that’s why both candidates flew to metro Detroit on consecutive days this week to insert themselves into the United Auto Workers’ strike against the so-called “Detroit Three” — General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, the company that owns Chrysler. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and...
Katherine Clark names the Democrats’ price to save Kevin McCarthy
September 22, 2023 09:00 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBAfter losing a series of votes this week to avoid a government shutdown, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has effectively lost his majority. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza asks the number two Democratic leader in the House, Minority Whip Katherine Clark, what price McCarthy will have to pay for Democrats to lend their votes to passing a CR and fending-off a potential challenge to his speakership. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITIC...
Who’s really in charge? McCarthy, moderates, or the Freedom Caucus?
September 15, 2023 09:00 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBIt would be easy to look at the House of Representatives and assume that the members of the Freedom Caucus — and not Speaker Kevin McCarthy — are the ones who are actually in charge. But is that actually true? On this week’s episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks with one of the top House moderates, Ohio Congressman Dave Joyce. Joyce is the Chairman of the Republican Governance Group, the pre-eminent faction for GOP centrists; and he’s also a senior appr...
Revelations about Biden’s White House from the first inside account
September 08, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 59.3 MBWhat makes President Joe Biden? We’re all pretty familiar with Vice President Biden and Senator Biden. But in his latest iteration as commander-in-chief, it hasn’t been as easy to see inside his mind. Cracking into Biden’s brain and inside the White House has been a challenge for the media. He’s surrounded by a tight “clan” of family and advisors who have achieved Biden lifer status — and they don’t often leak. It consists of his sister Valerie, and the five advisers known as the Quint: S...
Behind the scenes at the GOP debate with Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier
August 25, 2023 09:00 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MBOn Wednesday night, eight Republican presidential candidates gathered in Milwaukee for the first GOP primary debate. There was a lot on the line for each of them. But there was also an enormous amount at stake for the news organization that hosted the debate: Fox News. Consider the cross currents that the two Fox moderators, Martha McCallum and Bret Baier, had to deal with: First there was Trump, who refused to participate and lashed out at Fox and its talent, including Baier, on social m...
How Doug Burgum plans to disrupt the GOP debate & scale his campaign
August 18, 2023 09:00 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBThis coming Wednesday, something big is happening in Milwaukee: the first Republican presidential debate. On this week’s episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host & Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks with North Dakota Governor & GOP presidential candidate Doug Burgum about how he hatched one of the most innovative schemes in memory to qualify for Wednesday's GOP debate; how he’s preparing to compete on the stage with big leaguers like Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump – if Trump shows up; how his ba...
How to beat Trump in Iowa – and survive the state fair
August 11, 2023 09:00 - 54 minutes - 50.4 MBThis week, almost every Republican running for president is headed to the Iowa State Fair, famous for its fried Twinkies and statues of farm animals made out of butter and — every four years — extremely embarrassing photos of candidates eating unwieldy treats. The Iowa State Fair also kicks off a new more intense period of the Republican primary season as nationally televised debates begin this month and the five month countdown to the Iowa Caucuses begins. Iowa’s importance in presidenti...
What American leaders don't get about the new Europe
August 04, 2023 09:00 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBIn 2023, there are two Europes: the Europe of the museums and the beaches – and the real Europe as lived by its people. And that Europe has changed dramatically in recent decades. The end of the Cold War collapsed many of the continent's political barriers. European unification brought countries as diverse as Ireland and Bulgaria under one umbrella. And more recently, a boom in migration, especially from the Islamic world, has changed Europe’s demographics and brought a host of opportunitie...
What Republicans, Democrats, and the Pentagon don’t want to hear about the NDAA
July 28, 2023 09:00 - 44 minutes - 40.9 MBThis week, the action in the Senate was all about the annual defense authorization – the NDAA. Usually, the argument about what goes into this enormous bill that governs everything the military can and can’t do is a word soup cooked-up by defense nerds. You may recall things like SDI, the GWOT, and closing GITMO. All controversial in their own day, and all eventually resolved through the historically bipartisan NDAA process. But this time around, many in Washington are beginning to wonder...
Behind the scenes at DHS with Alejandro Mayorkas
July 21, 2023 09:00 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBWhen Alejandro Mayorkas was tapped to run DHS – the now 20-year-old behemoth with 260,000 employees created in the aftermath of 9/11 – Mayorkas said that he was determined to be the Secretary of Homeland Security, NOT the Secretary of Immigration. How’s that going? Yesterday, Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza sat down with him on the sidelines of the Aspen Security Forum to find out. Mayorkas’s department is charged with preventing foreign and domestic terrorist attacks. It m...
Lost & broken in Congress
July 14, 2023 09:00 - 46 minutes - 42.4 MB“Early one morning in April of 2016 I woke up and seriously contemplated the possibility that I would never be able to generate the strength, focus, and courage to get out of bed. The combination of crippling anxiety, chronic pain, muscle atrophy, and the fascinating mix of pharmaceuticals coursing through my body had, I feared, finally broken me.” Those are the words of Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, on the first page of his new book, ...
The British ambassador spills the tea on Biden, Sunak, & Ukraine
July 07, 2023 09:00 - 36 minutes - 33 MBThis weekend, President Joe Biden is headed to Europe. His first stop: the U.K. Biden is scheduled to meet with both His Royal Highness King Charles, an old acquaintance and fellow head of state; and the Right Honorable Rishi Sunak, Britain’s prime minister and a fellow head of government – who just visited Biden in Washington this past month. On the agenda for these meetings: climate change, the war in Ukraine, and the “Atlantic Declaration” – that’s the diplomatic term for Biden and Suna...
Rahm “the un-diplomat” Emanuel reports from Japan
June 30, 2023 09:00 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBIn American politics, there is a small group of leaders who are – to borrow a term from Hollywood – hit makers. Everything they touch seems to turn to gold. There is perhaps no better example of this in Democratic politics than Rahm Emanuel. For those who need a refresher, Rahm is a former Bill Clinton advisor, turned Illinois Congressman, turned DCCC chair, turned Barack Obama chief of staff, turned mayor of Chicago… and currently, he is Joe Biden’s ambassador to Japan. In his new posting...
How evangelicals are setting the stage for Trump's return
June 23, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes - 39.2 MBThe big debate in Washington this week is about realism versus idealism. It played out first in foreign policy, when Joe Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state dinner. Biden has made big claims about how democratic ideals are at the heart of American foreign policy; but he spent two days lavishing time and attention on Modi, who is persecuting Muslims and cracking down on public dissent from reporters and political opponents. Biden needs India to be an ally against Ch...
Why federal prosecutors may have handed Trump a huge gift
June 16, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 66 MBTimothy Parlatore spent over a year working for Donald Trump on a number of legal challenges, including the Department of Justice’s probe into Trump’s role in Jan. 6 and the investigation of all those documents stashed at Mar-a-Lago. Parlatore was inside the secret grand jury room in Washington. He oversaw the search for documents in Bedminster. He coordinated the former president’s response to Jack Smith’s subpoena for the national security files that eventually landed Trump in so much trou...
How gamblers, party animals, and true believers are hitting it big in Washington
June 09, 2023 09:00 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBBen Terris is a feature writer at The Washington Post, where he’s carved out a unique role: reporting on what he calls, “the weirdo beat.” While Ben’s colleagues focus on what’s happening on the main stage in politics, he keeps an eye on the freak show that’s happening just out of sight. This week, Ben published his much-anticipated book “The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind.” “The Big Break” has a novel ar...