DecodeDC
254 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 6 years ago - ★★★★★ - 1.2K ratingsA reliable, honest and entertaining podcast about Washington D.C’s people, culture and politics.
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Bonus: When Trump said, 'America first,' what did you hear?
January 20, 2017 21:39 - 7 minutes - 6.96 MBIn his inaugural address, President Donald J. Trump said America will be first. But what did people actually hear when he said that? DecodeDC was at the National Mall to ask inaugural attendees. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
177: What really happens at the inaugural
January 18, 2017 15:12 - 32 minutes - 30 MBThe Constitution requires only one thing for a person to become President of the United States--reciting an oath. But the inauguration has become a sort of spectacle that requires months and months of detailed planning. On the latest episode we go behind the scenes to understand what it takes to pull off the peaceful transition of power. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
176: What should Trump do to resolve his conflicts of interest?
January 11, 2017 14:34 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBEvery day, there are more and more questions about conflicts of interest and president-elect Donald Trump--questions about how Trump will handle his businesses interests, the role of his family and the investments of his Cabinet nominees. To sort out the ethical issues facing the Trump White House, we sat down with Richard Painter, who teaches law at the University of Minnesota and worked in the White House as President George W. Bush’s chief ethics lawyer from 2005-2007. See omnystudio.com/l...
175: It's almost moving day at the White House
January 05, 2017 15:16 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBJanuary 20th is Inauguration Day. It’s also moving day at the White House. Jimmy talks with Anita McBride, who was part of three presidential transitions, and with presidential historian Jeffrey Engel about when transitions don't go so smoothly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
174: That moment when Americans choose ignorance over money
December 29, 2016 14:24 - 19 minutes - 17.6 MBWhen it comes to American politics, many people will choose to give up money, rather than listen to the other side. That's the result of a new study by Canadian professor Jeremy Frimer, at the University of Winnipeg. On the latest DecodeDC podcast, Jimmy talks to Jeremy about a phenomenon he calls 'motivated ignorance,' and why Americans are choosing to remain, well, ignorant. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
173: You have no idea how much food you're wasting
December 22, 2016 14:55 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBAs you sit down for giant family meals this holiday season, here's something to keep in mind--every year about 40% of America's food goes uneaten. On the latest DecodeDC podcast, Jimmy chats with Dana Gunders, a leading expert on food waste, about who's to blame (hint: you) and the limits on what the government can and can't do about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
172: PolitiFact's Lie of the Year is a lie that keeps on giving
December 14, 2016 18:23 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBWhen it came time for PolitiFact to chose the “Lie of the Year,” for this bonkers year, editors had plenty to work with. On the latest podcast, Jimmy chats with PolitiFact‘s Angie Drobnic Holan about 2016's biggest political whopper, and what it was like being a fact-checker during an election when facts didn't seem to matter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
171: Trump's job promise — 24,999,900 to go
December 08, 2016 19:49 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBPresident-elect Trump is trying to make good on a big campaign promise--bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S. The Carrier deal announced last week seems like a good start. But a jobs program that boils down to a POTUS making deals with companies could have big economic ramifications. On the latest podcast, Jimmy talks with Adam Davidson, a writer for the New Yorker and former co-host of NPR's Planet Money podcast. Adam explains why President Trump won't be able to create 25 million jobs, ...
170: Can Trump live up to populist voters' expectations?
December 01, 2016 17:23 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBDonald Trump’s attacks on elites and us-versus-them rhetoric are classic populist themes. But what happens when populists actually take office, and suddenly joins the ruling class? John Judis, author of "The Populist Explosion,” helps us define populism and explains why Trump may not be able to live up to voters’ expectations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Revisiting Big Sugar's Secret Playbook
November 22, 2016 18:04 - 24 minutes - 22.6 MBHeading into Turkey Day, we at DecodeDC are thankful for you, our listeners, so we're going to spare your ears this week from another episode about electoral politics. Instead we're rebroadcasting one of our favorite shows about a different political topic--the politics of sugar. We hope you'll be able to use what you learn from this episode as fodder around the dinner table to change the topic of conversation when one of your family members starts talking about the election. See omnystudio....
169: What can President Trump do Day 1?
November 17, 2016 19:26 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBWhen Donald Trump is sworn in as President of the United States on January 20, 2017, the clock starts ticking on his political agenda. Trump's goals for his first 100 days in office include repealing and replacing Obamacare, deporting criminal undocumented immigrants and banning people from terror-prone countries from entering the U.S. Can he really do all these things? On the latest DecodeDC podcast we try to answer that question, and figure out what President Trump can do on his own and wha...
168: Trump is President-elect. Now what?
November 10, 2016 18:33 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBDonald J. Trump will be the 45th President of the United States. Let that sink in for a minute. On the latest episode of DecodeDC, we're checking back in with some of our favorite experts who've helped us 'decode' American politics to ask the question, now what? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bonus: Here's what it's like to lose your right to vote
November 07, 2016 21:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBWhile millions of Americans cast their votes on Election Day, one segment of the population will be left out. More than 6 million people have lost their voting rights because they committed a felony, and millions more can’t vote from prison. In fact, 1 out of every 13 African Americans has lost their voting rights due to felony disenfranchisement. But some states, like Virginia and California, are trying to change that. On this bonus episode of DecodeDC, Jimmy speaks with Terry Garrett, a for...
167: Meet the disgusted voter
November 03, 2016 15:30 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBIt's crunch time. Doomsday--er, Election Day--is almost here, so we're checking back in with our undecided voters. For the past few weeks DecodeDC reporter Miranda Green has been profiling four voters on the fence. She fills Jimmy in on their feelings of disgust toward the election, and the sense of unease after the news about the FBI's investigation into Clinton's emails. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
166: How the GOP lost the black vote
October 27, 2016 16:28 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBDonald Trump is on pace to lose the African American vote, and lose it bigly. So it’s useful to remember a time when black Americans were reliable Republicans. We talk with Leah Wright Rigueur, author of “The Loneliness of the Black Republican,” about what changed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
165: How to actually commit voter fraud
October 20, 2016 18:20 - 33 minutes - 30.3 MBIf you’re worried about voter fraud, there’s a good chance you’re worried about the wrong thing. We speak with Victoria Bassetti of the Brennan Center about the myth of widespread voter fraud, and a vulnerability that election officials do acknowledge: Absentee balloting. This episode is produced in conjunction with the Brennan Center and its new election podcast. Search for it on iTunes under the Brennan Center. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
164: Trump Foundation 101 -- Funny Money
October 13, 2016 16:19 - 32 minutes - 30 MBDonald Trump hasn’t given any money to the foundation that bears his name since 2008, and that’s just the beginning of the oddities surrounding Trump’s charitable giving. Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold has been digging into it, and you might by shocked by what he’s found. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
163: OMG we found actual undecided voters
October 06, 2016 18:17 - 33 minutes - 30.3 MBHow can a voter possibly be undecided? In an episode co-reported with Buzzfeed’s Meg Cramer of the No One Knows Anything podcast, we look at why so many voters are undecided this presidential election and what it’s like to be one of them. Jimmy also reveals that he likes 7-Eleven cheese dogs. Gross. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
162: Politicians really suck at immigration
September 29, 2016 15:23 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBHow do you run a business when Congress keeps getting in the way? That’s what farmers in Washington State are grappling with as Congress keeps punting on immigration reform. They are faced with a big labor shortage. That means crops—and profits—are left sitting in the fields. On the latest podcast, reporter Miranda Green explains to host Jimmy Williams how livelihoods are being affected on a daily basis by congressional inaction. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
161: Hillbilly Elegy explained — The forgotten Americans
September 22, 2016 16:23 - 30 minutes - 28 MBIn his new book “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis”, author J.D. Vance recounts his experience of growing up poor in the white working class communities of Appalachia. It’s not just a personal story but an examination of the culture from where he comes from, as Vance tries to understand why so today feel disillusioned and disconnected with American politics. This week on the podcast, Jimmy sits down with J.D. for a personal conversation about his family, community, a...
160: Trump and Clinton charities and the NY AG
September 15, 2016 15:15 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBA recent Scripps investigation found that the New York Attorney General has the power to force the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Health Access Initiative to publicly disclose the names of foreign governments and the millions they donate each year to the charities, but he’s not doing it. In this episode we speak with investigative reporter Mark Greenblatt, who pored through IRS tax returns and required NY charity filings and found that year after year the Clinton charities have ignored Ne...
159: The buying and selling of America's experts
September 08, 2016 15:50 - 25 minutes - 23.2 MBCorporate America has found a new way to exert its influence: think tanks, the non-profits dedicated to independent, scholarly research. That’s according to a recent investigation by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting and The New York Times. This week on the podcast, reporter Brooke Williams explains how this new type of backdoor deal-making is blurring the lines between scholars and lobbyists. Williams details how a $15 million donation by JPMorgan Chase to the Brookings Inst...
158: The biases that keep Native Americans from the polls
September 01, 2016 17:56 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBWhen the two U.S. Senate candidates went to bed on election night 2002 in South Dakota, it looked like the Republican would be the winner. But then late results came in from two Native American reservations, and Democrat Tim Johnson won re-election. It’s this potential power of the Native American vote to swing local and state elections that voting rights activists in South Dakota are trying to unlock. And they argue the state has spent decades trying to block that power. In part two of our i...
157: A dash of salt with your politics
August 25, 2016 17:13 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBSalt is a magical substance. An essential nutrient, it was once even used as currency. So what’s behind the push to get food makers to reduce sodium — one of salt’s components — in Americans’ diets? In partnership with the Gastropod podcast, we look at the science and history of salt, and explain how and why the government is trying to lower sodium intake. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
156: The battle for Native American voting rights
August 18, 2016 17:15 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBWhen San Juan County, Utah made the move to all mail-in voting in 2014, it seemed like a great idea. The county is almost 8,000 square miles with about 15,000 residents and voting by mail meant you no longer had to travel to a polling place. But for residents of the Navajo reservation, about half the county’s population, that change actually made voting more difficult. Gone were the six in-person polling places on the reservation and gone were the translators to help the many Navajo-only spe...
155: Trump's money fantasy
August 11, 2016 16:04 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBHow does Donald Trump figure his net worth? It depends on his mood. So says Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist, David Cay Johnston. In his new book, "The Making of Donald Trump," Johnston combs through his findings after 28 years of reporting on Trump. On the latest DecodeDC podcast, Johnston tells Jimmy Williams about Trump’s business dealings with the mob and his ruthless mentality toward others. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
154: The scary link between slavery and the Second Amendment
August 04, 2016 18:17 - 26 minutes - 24 MBYou may think the founders gave us the right to bear arms as a way to defend against government tyranny. But in this episode, Carl Bogus, a professor at Roger Williams University School of Law, tells Jimmy that that's not entirely true. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
153: Why small-dollar donors won't save politics
July 28, 2016 22:31 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBThroughout his campaign for the Democratic nomination, the "small donor revolution" became a rallying cry for Bernie Sanders and his supporters. While counteracting big money with the little guy sounds like an appealing idea, it ain't that easy. And it doesn't always produce the best candidates. On the latest podcast, host Jimmy Williams chats with Victoria Bassetti of the Brennan Center for Justice about her study into why small donations aren't the solution to money in politics. See omnystu...
152: Meet the magician behind the Democratic convention
July 27, 2016 15:52 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MBSo what's it like to run an event with tens of thousands of people for four straight days? That's what host Jimmy Williams asks Matt Butler, the number two guy in charge of this year's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. We take you behind the scenes (we literally did this interview behind the stage) of all the bells and whistles that go into running a convention. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
151: Convention Parties 101: An insider's perspective
July 22, 2016 14:57 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBIf you've been tuning into the political conventions, you've been watching a staged performance. But behind the scenes there's a different show going on, one that you can only access through money or power. On this episode, host Jimmy Williams explains how the money game being played in Cleveland is different than past years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
150: Inside Trump's Brain Trust
July 21, 2016 19:17 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBNow that Donald Trump has the nomination, what's the game plan to win the general election? That's the question DecodeDC host Jimmy Williams poses to Kellyanne Conway, a top advisor to the GOP nominee. We bring you this podcast from Cleveland, Ohio at the Republican National Convention. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
149: Why Trump Won
July 19, 2016 02:07 - 24 minutes - 22 MBThe day no one thought would actually happen has arrived. As the Republican National Convention kicks off this week, Donald J. Trump, real estate magnate-turned-reality TV-star-turned-birther-turned-presidential candidate will formally accept the Grand Old Party's 2016 presidential nomination. By all accounts, Trump is the most unlikely candidate to receive a major party nomination in recent memory, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have seen it coming. This week on the podcast, host Jimmy ...
148: Kids are terrified of Donald Trump
July 14, 2016 19:17 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBKindergartners having nightmares of Donald Trump. Second graders wondering if their families will be deported. Muslim students being called terrorists. This is the trickle down effect of the 2016 presidential campaign in schools, and it’s happening across the country. That’s according to a survey of 2,000 teachers released by the Southern Poverty Law Center, titled “The Trump Effect: The Impact of the Presidential Campaign on our Nation’s Schools.” On the latest DecodeDC podcast, host Jimmy W...
147: Learning To Love The F Word: Federalism
July 07, 2016 17:04 - 22 minutes - 21 MBThis ain't your daddy's federalism. Heather Gerkin of Yale Law School tries to convince Jimmy that even though federalism (or states' rights) was used in the past to keep segregation in place, today it can be used to knock down discriminatory laws. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
146: Closet Partisans and the Myth of the Independent Voter
June 30, 2016 17:25 - 22 minutes - 21 MBPeople really don't like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. But will that matter come election time? Probably not. Are voters ditching the parties in droves to declare themselves independents? Not really. Take everything you think you know about this election cycle and throw it out the window, says Alan Abramowitz, a professor of political science at Emory University. On the latest DecodeDC podcast, Abramowitz strikes down some of the conventional wisdom surrounding the 2016 campaign, and inst...
145: Political consultants win even when they lose
June 23, 2016 16:39 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBEvery campaign season has its winners and its losers - but there are some people who win no matter what happens. Political consultants are considered a necessity in today's elections, and about half of all money spent in campaigns is going through consultants, whether their candidate wins or loses. Adam Sheingate, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, explores the world of political consultants in his new book "Building a Business of Politics: The Rise of Political Consulting and the Trans...
144: #LoveWins
June 15, 2016 17:49 - 35 minutes - 32.4 MBNearly a year after the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land, the main plaintiff in the case, Jim Obergefell, has released a new book called ‘Love Wins.’ On the latest DecodeDC podcast, host Jimmy Williams talks with Obergefell about the book, his relationship and marriage, the legal road to the Supreme Court and other plaintiffs in the case. We should note that this interview took place before the Orlando massacre, where 49 people were killed for being gay or trans, gay ...
143: Make conventions great again
June 07, 2016 17:11 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBBernie Sanders isn't giving up. The Vermont senator is vying for a contested convention in Philadelphia this July, even as Hillary Clinton has reportedly reached the golden number of delegates to win the Democratic nomination. As is par for the course this election cycle, the convention this summer could be full of surprise, drama and who knows what else. In fact, it could mark a return to the very theatrical conventions of decades past, like in 1952, where both the GOP and Democrats had cont...
142: Pissed off millennials are taking on the Democrats
June 02, 2016 17:54 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MBCan you feel the Bern yet? With the California primary less than a week away, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders continues to battle erstwhile frontrunner Hillary Clinton despite a clear deficit in delegates. The longtime independent has staked his campaign on grassroots support from middle and working class voters, but it's a different electorate that has kept him afloat: snake people--er, millennials. This week on the podcast, host Jimmy Williams and Scripps campaign reporter Miranda Green dig...
141: The alter egos of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton
May 26, 2016 16:46 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBOne grew up the daughter of a Navy petty officer in 1950s suburban Chicago, the other spent formative years in Indonesia before being raised by his grandparents in Hawaii. Their experiences couldn’t have been more different but over the last eight years, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have become the twin pillars of the Democratic Party. Once rivals, then colleagues, it would seem that there’s not much daylight between the President and his former Secretary of State on major foreign policy ...
140: What's behind the split in the Democratic Party?
May 19, 2016 17:56 - 25 minutes - 23.8 MBDick Durbin is a four-term senator and the Democratic whip, whose job is to keep the party together. So what does he make of the fact that the GOP has its presidential nominee while the Democrats are still fractured? ”It’s a split that can help us,” he says. This week on the podcast, we speak with the senator about the biggest lesson he’s learned from the 2016 campaign so far. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
139: Big Sugar's Secret Playbook
May 12, 2016 19:19 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBQuick, what do these things have in common: Cocoa Pebbles and Winston cigarettes? One answer might be that Fred Flintstone is their biggest fan. Another might be that they’re highly addictive. And that’s not the only thing they share. When former dentist Cristin Kearns was told at a conference that sugary sweet tea was a healthy choice, she went searching for evidence that the sugar industry was trying to spin the science. What she found was a strategy to push products and influence policymak...
138: The Trump Effect
May 05, 2016 17:52 - 29 minutes - 27 MBAnd then there was one. Following the Indiana primary earlier this week, Ted Cruz made the inevitable but shocking decision to suspended his presidential campaign. Less than 24-hours later, John Kasich followed suit. That makes real estate developer and reality tv star Donald Trump the presumptive Republican nominee. But the one remaining candidate for the GOP has divided the Republican party in two. This week on the podcast, we ask supporters on both sides what’s next for the GOP? On one sid...
Bonus: Conversation with Norman Mineta
April 29, 2016 21:45 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBIn 1942, Norman Mineta and his family were forced from their home in San Jose, California and into an internment camp in Wyoming. The Minetas were among tens of thousands of Japanese-Americans subjected to internment in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor Mineta left the camp in 1945 and went on to become the first non-white mayor of San Jose. Then, as a congressman from California, he sponsored legislation that paved the way for reparations for thousands of Japanese-Americans. And as George W. Bus...
137: The Supreme Court's Loaded Gun
April 28, 2016 17:33 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBMore than 70 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision often regarded as one of the worst in its long history. In Korematsu v. United States, the court validated putting American citizens in internment camps during wartime, based on their race or ethnicity. The decision came in the wake of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which came after the Pearl Harbor attack and granted the U.S. military the power to ban tens of thousands of American citizens of Japanese...
136: Martina Navratilova stick to tennis? "No chance"
April 21, 2016 17:58 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBShe’s made millions of dollars, achieved world-wide fame and yet, former world number one tennis pro Martina Navratilova likes to spend her days tweeting about...politics. The tennis legend is a self-identified liberal, and two major events affected her politics and how she sees the world. At age 18, she defected from the then-Communist country of Czechoslovakia. She’s also an openly gay woman. “I was political when I came out of the womb, I just didn’t know it,” says Navratilova. On the late...
135: No taxation without....special interests
April 14, 2016 18:33 - 23 minutes - 21.5 MBWhen Ronald Reagan signed the 1986 Tax Reform Act into law, the Republican president hoped that the law would simplify the tax code and close loopholes. Reforming the tax code had been Reagan’s number one domestic priority during his campaign and it took him more than two years of wrangling members of Congress, even pushing past a blockade by House Republicans. But according to Pam Olsen, whose résumé includes stints at the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department, says the Tax Reform Act did the ex...
134: Running as a Woman
April 07, 2016 16:00 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBWhen Hillary Clinton first ran for president in 2008, forecasters and prognosticators quickly seized on what they perceived as a concerted effort to project an image of strength, in part by de-emphasizing her gender. But eight years later, her 2016 campaign seems to be embracing her potentially historic election as the country's first female president. This time, so goes the story, Clinton is "running as a woman." This week on the podcast, we sit down with Corrine McConnaughy, a political sci...
133: The FEC is a watchdog that doesn't bite
March 31, 2016 18:15 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MBThe 2016 presidential election is on track to becoming the most expensive campaign in U.S. history. But the the Federal Election Commission, charged with regulating how that campaign money is raised and spent, may be the least understood and most ineffective agency of them all. On the latest DecodeDC podcast, host Jimmy Williams sits down with three people who have all been part of the FEC. They explain that from the start, the agency had a built-in partisan divide that made decision making d...
132: Who's caring for the vets?
March 24, 2016 18:15 - 41 minutes - 38.1 MBOn the latest DecodeDC podcast, host Jimmy Williams sits down with Scripps Investigative Reporter Mark Greenblatt about his 6-month-long investigation into problems at the Cincinnati VA. Greenblatt teamed up with WCPO reporter Dan Monk, who together connected with more than 30 whistleblowers. They discovered that a new solution created to solve the VA wait-time scandal that left some veterans for dead back in 2014, may be causing new problems for veterans and hospital staff alike. From staffi...