Political Theater
415 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 40 ratingsHave you ever asked, “WTF?,” about politics? Or, “who are these people making decisions about my life?” Political Theater pulls back the curtain on the stunts, antics and motivations that drive Washington. Host Jason Dick and the Roll Call team spotlight the spectacle, the players and what’s going on behind the curtain in Washington’s long-running drama: Congress.
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Episodes
The what-have-you-done-for-me-lately elections of 2021
November 03, 2021 15:30 - 23 minutesGubernatorial elections this week in Virginia and New Jersey showed a huge swing toward Republicans in two states previously thought of as solidly Democratic. The way politicians react to the elections will be hugely significant, and affect everything from the congressional agenda to 2022 recruiting and messaging. CQ Roll Call Elections Analyst Nathan Gonzales joins the Political Theater podcast for his takeaways on 2021's off-off year elections. 11:15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Joe Manchin: Man of the moment
October 27, 2021 19:36 - 26 minutesIn an evenly divided Senate, every senator has the ability to be a kingmaker. But West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin has taken it to the next level. At a time when Democrats in the majority are assembling their Build Back Better legislation, Manchin has had a huge influence on one of the most consequential pieces of it: How to address climate change. And it has placed him at odds with his party. On this episode, CQ Roll Call staff writer Ben Hulac details Manchin's effect on the party's polic...
Just what is wrong with Congress?
October 21, 2021 10:00 - 20 minutesThe legislative branch consistently misses statutory deadlines, lurching from crisis to crisis, all while sniping at one another in a way that would get most people fired from regular jobs. What are the long-term consequences of operating in perpetual crisis? Is there a way Congress could become boring and efficient? With us to discuss the branch most representative of the American public is Norm Ornstein, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a former Roll Call columnist and a ...
'Dopesick’ humanizes the overwhelming losses of the opioid epidemic
October 13, 2021 23:13 - 15 minutesThe team behind the Hulu mini-series “Dopesick,” discusses with Political Theater how they approached a story of monumental tragedy and loss, putting a human touch on the sprawling opioid epidemic that the United States is still in the throes of dealing with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The view from Howell: Michiganders weigh in on Biden agenda
October 07, 2021 12:00 - 18 minutesPresident Joe Biden took his pitch for enhanced infrastructure and social safety net spending to Howell, Mich., this week. CQ Roll Call Senior Writer Paul Krawzak also went there and spoke to people in that small town about how they felt about the president, his positions and politics more broadly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Supreme Court takes on big issues — and more scrutiny
September 29, 2021 21:13 - 29 minutesThe Supreme Court begins its new term on Oct. 4, and the stakes are sky high for the justices, who will hear cases that could usher in sweeping changes on abortion and gun rights, all amid a time of intense political pressure and scrutiny for the high court. CQ Roll Call senior writer and legal affairs correspondent Todd Ruger joins the Political Theater podcast to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Circus’ comes back to (this) town
September 22, 2021 17:21 - 26 minutesThe Circus is back in town. At least Showtime’s political documentary series "The Circus" is back, resuming its sixth season this past Sunday. And the show has no shortage of topics to explore. Just in the coming weeks Congress is staring at a possible government shutdown, a debt limit breach, the fate of President Joe Biden’s agenda, fighting the COVID-19 Delta variant. And more! Two of the show’s hosts, Mark McKinnon and Jennifer Palmieri join the Political Theater podcast to discuss what t...
Can Congress stay bipartisan on Olympic oversight?
September 15, 2021 21:21 - 18 minutesCongress is deeply split, but not when it comes to the Olympics. Former U.S. women's national gymnastics’ team doctor Larry Nassar’s serial sexual abuse of female gymnasts provoked bipartisan action to toughen oversight of the Olympics organizing committee and amateur athletics. But there are still unanswered questions about Nassar and how this happened. CQ Roll Call Chief Correspondent Niels Lesniewski discusses what happened in Congress to address the situation and what lawmakers and the Ju...
'Detainee 001’ and the untold story of the American Taliban, John Walker Lindh
September 08, 2021 04:00 - 26 minutesFilmmaker Greg Barker’s new documentary, “Detainee 001” comes at a turning point in U.S history and its timing could not be more ideal. The story of John Walker Lindh, the “American Taliban” makes for a poignant narrative as the United States stands on the cusp of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and has ended its war in Afghanistan. Barker discusses the Taliban, Afghanistan and the bizarre story of John Walker Lindh on this week’s episode of the Political Theater podcast. Learn more ...
Was the sad, messy end in Afghanistan inevitable?
September 01, 2021 19:16 - 26 minutesPresident Joe Biden this week declared that the longest war in U.S. history was over, and that after evacuating thousands of Americans and Afghan allies, there was no vital national security interest that justified staying in Afghanistan. But after 20 years, the withdrawal of troops and civilians this summer was messy, and deadly. CQ Roll Call Senior Defense Writer John Donnelly, joins us to discuss how much of it was standard operating procedure and a lack of good options for the U.S. missio...
The politics of public health
August 25, 2021 04:00 - 23 minutesHealth inequities between different racial and ethnic groups existed well before COVID-19, but the pandemic has revealed just how stark the disparities are. Throw in the politicization of science, and the United States has a big mountain to climb to conquer the virus. Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and former health commissioner of Baltimore sits down with guest host Sandhya Raman to unpack where we are and what can be done. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Everything you wanted to know about Title 42 but didn't know to ask
August 19, 2021 15:03 - 24 minutesA little known public-health directive, Title 42, allows border agents to swiftly “expel” migrants who cross the border —without considering their asylum claims. It was implemented in March 2020 as COVID-19 cases spread across the U.S. This expulsion policy was criticized by presidential candidate Joe Biden, but President Biden has embraced it. At least for now. Special host Suzanne Monyak unpacks the politics of this thorny immigration policy with Cris Ramón, an independent immigration consu...
What’s so special about special elections?
August 09, 2021 17:59 - 29 minutesSpecial elections to the House this year have offered more evidence that local and state contests have been nationalized, even down to the intra-party primary contests for safe seats. CQ Roll Call Politics Editor Herb Jackson and Inside Elections Reporter and Analyst Jacob Rubashkin join Political Theater to discuss what we can learn from special election results so far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
‘Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union’ explores path, legacy of 44th president
August 04, 2021 04:00 - 28 minutesThe HBO documentary series “Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union,” arrives at a tumultuous time in American politics. It explores the formative years and presidency of Barack Obama, an era that seems both faraway and contemporary, with race relations continuing to define the public sphere. The three-part series premieres on HBO and HBO Max on Aug. 3, just in time for Obama's 60th birthday this week on Aug. 4. As part of the American Film Institute's AFI Docs 2021 documentary film festiva...
The ADA at 31: Still striving to remove barriers
July 28, 2021 18:47 - 23 minutesThis week, the White House celebrated the 31st anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, touted as a bipartisan success that has delivered for Americans, and hinted it could be used to help secure voting rights. CQ Roll Call Chief Correspondent Niels Lesniewski joins the Political Theater podcast to talk about the law, and the challenges remaining. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How DACA went from temporary plan to forever battle
July 22, 2021 04:00 - 22 minutesInitially conceived as a temporary solution for vulnerable immigrants, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has become an intractable political battlefield as Congress continues to punt, year after year, a comprehensive overhaul of the country's immigration program. The latest chapter has underscored the fragility of even a government policy that has been around for almost 10 years: A district court judge in Texas last week struck it down, blocking new applications but allowing ...
Trump, voting access defining 2022 midterm election outlook
July 13, 2021 21:19 - 28 minutesMidterm elections have patterns, but the political calculus we use sometimes needs a little adjusting. A delayed redistricting cycle, former President Donald Trump’s influence over key Senate and House races and changes to several states’ voter access laws make the 2022 campaign particularly hard to gauge. Nathan Gonzales, elections analyst for CQ Roll Call and the publisher of Inside Elections, joins the Political Theater podcast to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....
The Supreme Court: It’s all about the politics
July 07, 2021 18:00 - 32 minutesSupreme Court justices like to portray themselves as legal actors, not political ones, but the high court has never been able to stay out of the public arena. That was certainly the case for the term that just ended, and it will certainly be the case for the term to come. CQ Roll Call senior writer Todd Ruger discusses the court’s recent decisions, its upcoming ones and the effect that Congress and the president have on the institution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...
Decluttering the Capitol of its white supremacists
June 29, 2021 19:54 - 21 minutesJust before the Independence Day recess, the House is moving anew to remove statues of people in the Capitol who were part of the Confederacy or were otherwise white supremacists. Host Jason Dick and CQ Roll Call staff writer Chris Marquette discuss the long debate over such figures, why they are so divisive and what happens next to replace them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When 60+ votes isn’t enough in the Senate
June 24, 2021 16:52 - 22 minutesWhy does something that seems pretty common sense and has wide bipartisan support get stalled in the Senate? A case study is the current debate over how to address military sexual assault, an issue the Pentagon has grappled with for years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Late spring fever: Congress emerges from pandemic depths
June 15, 2021 23:30 - 18 minutesThis week, the House and Senate were both in session for the first time since before Memorial Day, and it feels like Spring Fever, with pandemic precautions mostly being cast aside. CQ Roll Call Staff Writer Jim Saksa has been there for the most moribund times of the pandemic, and now, a kind of Great Reopening. He gathered sound, wrote a couple of stories, caught up with folks from the Before Times and talks about it with host Jason Dick on this edition of Political Theater. Learn more about...
Why is West Virginia the center of the political universe?
June 09, 2021 17:14 - 22 minutesFor a small state, West Virginia has outsize political influence. The Mountain State's two senators, Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Shelley Moore Capito, are in the middle of the biggest debates on the congressional and White House agenda. Andrea Billups, news director at West Virginia Public Broadcasting, explains why these two politicians are so effective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
‘The Courier’: How friendship trumped Cold War politics
June 01, 2021 19:26 - 20 minutesThe United States and Russia have a tense political relationship, which will be on display later this month when President Joe Biden has called Russian leader Vladimir Putin meet for a summit. But the two countries don't have to look to far in the past to see that when genuine relationships on both sides prevail, everyone wins. Director Dominic Cooke discusses this dynamic and how he portrays it in his new movie “The Courier,” a retelling of how two spies helped defuse the Cuban Missile Crisi...
"I have to be an optimist"
May 26, 2021 17:29 - 25 minutesThis week marked the one year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, a year defined by a subsequent international reckoning on racial justice, a debate about overhauling police departments and an election that brought social and cultural issues violently into the foreground. Mary C. Curtis, host of the Equal Time podcast and a Roll Call columnist discusses where we are, where we've been and where we might be headed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
"There’s a number of people who still take it for granted"
May 20, 2021 16:21 - 26 minutesFew political issues are as polarizing as abortion, and now abortion opponents are on the cusp of a potentially epic win after decades of incremental gains. History professor Jennifer L. Holland discusses the politics of abortion rights, which are in focus after the Supreme Court announced it will hear a challenge to a new Mississippi law that severely restricts the procedure, and will likely be decided shortly before next year's midterm elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...
When the theater of politics turned all politics into theater
May 13, 2021 04:00 - 25 minutesWhen we started this podcast in January 2018, we were not thinking about whether it would make it to 200 episodes. Then again, we didn’t think we get reprimanded by Werner Herzog, either. So, borrowing from the “How it Started, How it’s going” meme, here’s Episode 200! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
History and drama: Republicans’ 2022 balancing act
May 06, 2021 15:11 - 21 minutesHeading into the 2022 midterm elections, history and redistricting favor House Republicans. But even with built-in advantages, there are some wild cards to consider, particularly former President Donald Trump’s effect and some internal party drama that threatens to spill into public view. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
He's not gonna wait
April 29, 2021 16:32 - 24 minutesMark McKinnon, long-time political adviser and current co-host of the Showtime political documentary series The Circus joins Political Theater to discuss President Joe Biden’s approach to the art of the possible, the president's move from transitional to transformational figure, the “Manch Cam” focus on West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin III and how politics has “snorted a bag of methamphetamines.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Bonus episode: Equal Time with Mary C Curtis: DNC Chair Jaime Harrison
April 28, 2021 04:00 - 22 minutesJaime Harrison gained national attention last year when he broke fundraising records running against South Carolina incumbent Senator Lindsey Graham. While Harrison didn't win the election, his candidacy gave notice that the Old South is now the New South. Curtis sits down with the DNC Chair and talks race, his grandfather's life lesson, and what 2022 -- yes 2022 -- may hold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The future of the Democratic Party
April 21, 2021 13:16 - 16 minutesIt's no secret that in the corridors of power there is a struggle for the soul of the Democratic Party. While Joe Biden won the presidency, there certainly wasn't a blue wave. Moreover, House Democrats lost seats, and while they hold a slim-majority in the Senate, infighting in the party has presented challenges in President Biden's agenda. CQ Roll Call's Shawn Zeller speaks to Donna Shalala and Ben McAdams, Democrats who lost their seats, to talk about why and what's next for the party. Lear...
Joe Biden's bold moves on race relations
April 14, 2021 17:09 - 27 minutesThe United States is amid a period of self-reflection and contentious debate on race relations and President Joe Biden is leaning into it. Rashawn Ray, a scholar at the Brookings Institution and sociology professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, discusses Biden’s practical and personal approach to race relations, from executive orders to listening, from promoting legislation to grieving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The future of the GOP
April 07, 2021 04:00 - 24 minutesRep. Mike Johnson is emblematic of the Republican Party of which he is now, in his third House term, and a leading member. He joined fellow Republicans in January in backing the former president's campaign to overturn state election results. More than 60 percent of voters in his northwest Louisiana district voted for Trump and Johnson views Trump as the party’s most important voice. He sits down this week with CQ Roll Call's Shawn Zeller, in for Jason Dick, who originally had this conversatio...
Governing in a hurry: The fleeting nature of unified control
March 31, 2021 18:59 - 26 minutesUnified control of the White House and Congress does not happen all that often. We are in one of those periods now, with President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats in the majority in the House and Senate. And they are pursuing policy like they know they know their time is limited. Political Theater host Jason Dick discusses why unified control is so rare and what are the political consequences with Molly E. Reynolds of the Brookings Institution and CQ Roll Call Politics Editor Herb Jackson....
11 years later, the Affordable Care Act is still ‘a big f-ing deal’
March 24, 2021 18:28 - 27 minutesThis week marks the 11th anniversary of Barack Obama’s signing of the Affordable Care Act, something Joe Biden, then the vice president, now the president, famously described as a “Big F-ing Deal.” He was right. It is one of the signature moments in American health care policy, along with the passage of Medicare and Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Political Theater host Jason Dick and CQ Roll Call Health Editor Rebecca Adams discus...
What Deb Haaland at Interior means for Native Americans
March 18, 2021 04:00 - 18 minutesNative Americans have long had a contentious relationship with the Interior Department. Now one of their own is at the helm of it, Deb Haaland, an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna. It was only in 2018 that the New Mexico Democrat made history as one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. Now she is the first Native American to head a Cabinet department. Carla Fredericks, executive director of the Christensen Fund and an expert on indigenous people’s rights, discuss...
Making sense of Congress, one year into the pandemic
March 11, 2021 05:00 - 26 minutesOne year into the COVID-19 pandemic, Political Theater takes stock of the changes in Congress and how it operates, which of those will be lasting, which are fleeting, and what are some of the lingering uncertainties of political life as lawmakers figure out how to keep responding to the pandemic and its challenges while keeping safe and trying to get us to the next phase of our lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
If you want partisanship, you’ve got it
March 03, 2021 05:00 - 21 minutesLook no further than Congress to hear gripes about gridlock and the lack of bipartisanship. But based on whom the voters are sending to Washington, it’s not a big shock: Barely a statistically significant number of members of Congress represent House districts or Senate seats that voted for someone in the other political party for president. CQ Roll Call Elections Analyst and Inside Elections Publisher Nathan Gonzales and Political Theater host Jason Dick discuss a trend that is pushing the p...
‘Mad’ about you: Madeleine Dean’s Philadelphia story
February 24, 2021 19:23 - 29 minutesIt’s been a busy few years for Rep. Madeleine Dean, the Pennsylvania Democrat elected to the House in 2018. The lawyer and professor was part of a historic wave of women elected who put the chamber back in Democratic control. She wrote a book with her son about his opioid addiction. She served as an impeachment manager for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. And she is now being mentioned as a possible Senate contender for the seat that retiring Republican Pat Toomey is vacating in ...
Maybe everyone just wants to move on
February 17, 2021 20:14 - 23 minutesDespite the high drama and hard feelings associated with the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, it’s unclear it will have an effect on the political coin of the realm: The next election. Senior politics correspondent Bridget Bowman and Political Editor Herb Jackson discuss some of the remaining questions about whether their votes during this latest impeachment round will come back to haunt any senators or members of the House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me...
Political Theater goes to 'The Circus'
February 10, 2021 20:50 - 28 minutesShowtime’s political documentary series “The Circus” wants to capture, in the words of co-host John Heilemann, the “big, giant chaotic, nightmarish stew” of our politics. At Political Theater, we’re pretty down with that. Heilemann and co-host Jennifer Palmieri join the podcast to discuss their approach to the Jan. 6 insurrection, the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, political violence and democracy’s “second chance.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Just how long will the U.S. Capitol look like a militarized zone?
February 04, 2021 05:00 - 26 minutesAmid a pandemic, an impeachment trial, an economic crisis and the fallout over the Jan. 6 armed attack on the Capitol, Congress is trying to figure out how much enhanced security, and in what form, is necessary to protect lawmakers, staff and eventually the public, who at some point will be let back onto the complex. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton speaks to us about balancing the needs of security and access. And Katherine Tully McManus talks about her discussions with House Appropriations C...
Errol Morris on documentaries in the age of COVID-19 and chaos
January 27, 2021 19:33 - 21 minutesDocumentary filmmaker Errol Morris discusses his latest movie, "My Psychedelic Love Story," history as chaos, whether Donald Trump believes his own lies, the power of first person narrative and whether any of us can ever be reliable narrators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Transition: The ‘Against all odds’ inauguration
January 20, 2021 22:39 - 20 minutesThe presidency of Donald Trump is over. The presidency of Joe Biden has started. The inauguration happened -- against all odds, is how one staffer succintly put it. Despite a pandemic, an attack on the Capitol, unprecedented security and uncertainty, the show went on. Listen to the members of Congress, guests, volunteers, staffers and our own team about the long transition that is now, officially, over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Transition: A new chapter for ‘America's Big Day’
January 19, 2021 20:25 - 17 minutesPresidential inauguration historian Jim Bendat discusses the unprecedented preparations of Wednesday's inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, from the unnerving amount of security in the wake of the Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol to Donald Trump's decision to snub the ceremony, from the symbolism of some of the performers to the importance of persevering in democracy's rituals amid tragedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Transition: Where do we go from here?
January 15, 2021 22:19 - 26 minutesAs Washington gears up to host the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States next week, the country is on edge. After the insurrection on January 6 on the Capitol and lawmakers, security officials are leaving nothing to chance. The city is in lockdown. So on the last Friday of President Trump's term we ask what next? CQ Roll Call's Jim Saksa speaks to election analyst Nathan Gonzales about the future of the GOP. We also speak to chief Washington correspondent Niels Lesniewski ab...
The Transition: The ‘Who’s on First’ impeachment trial
January 14, 2021 23:11 - 20 minutesAs the baseball and life philosopher Yogi Berra said: It’s like déjà vu all over again! Why? Because it’s January and we’re preparing for an impeachment trial. But who would preside over a second impeachment trial for Donald Trump — if he's not president anymore? It's not necessarily the chief justice of the United States. These are the kind of questions we turn to CQ Roll Call Senior Writer Todd Ruger for. Oh, and that other guy who’s part of the transition: Joe Biden? He has a brand new $1....
The Transition: "It was surreal": A second impeachment in the time of COVID-19
January 13, 2021 23:56 - 25 minutesThese days, every day feels historic. But Jan. 13, 2021 is a big one: The House impeached President Donald Trump for a second time. That's the only time a president has been impeached twice. During a pandemic. That's new, too. With thousands of National Guardsmen stationed inside the Capitol, protecting lawmakers against a repeat of the violent attack on Jan. 6. And Capitol Police face the music, with an inspector general report looking into what happened during that Jan. 6 riot. Lindsey McPh...
The Transition: Chaos and mistrust on Capitol Hill
January 12, 2021 23:11 - 22 minutesWe are learning more about what law enforcement knew before the insurrection at the Capitol last week and it’s not a pretty picture. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the FBI wrote a stark report warning of violence but no one seemed to pay attention. And the Capitol Police, the lead law enforcement agency in charge of protecting lawmakers on the Hill, is in disarray, CQ Roll Call’s Chris Marquette reports in this special episode of Political Theater. Then, what’s in a word or two? CQ...
The Transition: Congress in turmoil
January 11, 2021 22:53 - 22 minutesWith less than 10 days before Joe Biden gets sworn in as president, Congress is reeling from the assault on the Capitol and what it will mean to govern. House Democrats introduced impeachment again on Monday, this time charging President Trump with "inciting violence against the government of the United States.” While Republicans blocked another measure that would have called on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment. Katherine Tully-McManus, who was at the Capitol during the siege...
The Transition: President Trump's death rattle
January 08, 2021 23:03 - 23 minutesIf anyone thought 2021 would come in like a lamb this week's events prove otherwise. Insurrection, treason, 25th amendment are all terms being tossed around in reaction to President Trump's rally cry to incite his followers to descend on the Capitol. What's next for Trump? The Dems and the GOP? Not to mention that President elect Joe Biden is less than 2 weeks away from being sworn in and is beginning to announce concrete plans for when he takes his office. Jim Saksa hosts and speaks to CQ Ro...