Political Theater

This 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 discuss those big moments and their public health and political effects in the latest podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Native 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, discusses the significance of Haaland’s stewardship of the department that holds vast sway on land use, energy and Native American issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One 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

Look 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 partisanship and punishing problem solvers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’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 2022. Jim Saksa talked to Dean and her son Harry Cunnane about their new book, “Under Our Roof.” And then we discuss with Saksa and Bridget Bowman about where Dean fits into Pennsylvania politics on the latest Political Theater podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Showtime’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

Amid 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 Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro about how to fund what Congress needs to stay safe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Documentary 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 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

Presidential 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

As 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 about what to expect from President-elect Joe Biden after he is sworn in.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As 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 $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan. Jennifer Shutt has the details on that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

These 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 McPherson, Jim Saksa and Chris Marquette break it down for us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We 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 Roll Call’s Todd Ruger reports on how GOP lawmakers’ refusal to say who perpetrated the attack help fuels the false narrative that left-wing groups were responsible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With 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, speaks to Shawn Zeller and Niels Lesniewski on what may be in store for this Congress, and CQ Roll Call's Ellyn Ferguson takes a look at some new findings about Tom Vilsack, the nominee to head the Agriculture Department. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If 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 Roll Call's politics editor Herb Jackson and Chief Correspondent Niels Lesniewski on the events of the week and what comes next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The shock of the violent overrunning of the U.S. Capitol this week featured a lot of people knuckling down, thinking on their feet and doing their jobs amid a dangerous and unpredictable situation. Katherine Tully-McManus recalls the strange and stirring moments in the Capitol as she evacuated with U.S. Senators, staffers and fellow journalists. Niels Lesniewski, meanwhile, details his thinking as he covered the implications of Congress having to possibly meet off-site, and what may come next in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's incitement of a mob. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wednesday's joint session of Congress will be a long, potentially tortuous affair to count the Electoral College votes that certify Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election. Republicans plan on objecting to the proceedings and forcing what could become a days-long affair that usually takes under an hour. They don't have the votes to overturn the certified results from states. But it's going to take a long time to get through. Katherine Tully-McManus and Niels Lesniewski explain what to expect and why this is happening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 117th Congress is under way, and it is already weird. A time usually filled with ceremony, celebration and at least a faint trace of optimism is clouded over by the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, the spectacle of members of Congress attempting to overturn the results of certified elections and the uncertainty of who will even be in charge of the Senate, depending on the results of two dramatic runoffs in Georgia. Jim Saksa and Stephanie Akin discuss the spectacle that has already defined the beginning of the new year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While many of us might want to put 2020 in the rear view mirror, CQ Roll Call's three award winning photographers documented the year that was from impeachment (remember that?), the pandemic, Black Lives Matter and so much more. Jason Dick sits down with Bill Clark, Tom Williams and Caroline Brehman. They pick out their favorite photo and explain why and what went into getting the image. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're looking at a dispute that is threatening the delicate coronavirus relief bill negotiations that are also tied to a Friday at midnight government funding deadline. The GOP wants to limit Federal Reserve lending programs that would tie the hands of a Biden administration. Also, we examine what energy and environment policy will look like as President-elect Biden's Cabinet comes into focus. CQ Roll Call's Jim Saksa hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among the accomplishments of President Donald Trump is a crash-course in civics that showed the public that a lot of government business and transparency happens because of good will and cooperation, not statute. In the wake of Trump's busting so many norms about the presidency, there is discussion about what Congress can do to more clearly define presidential power in areas like releasing tax returns, congressional subpoenas and the pardon authority. CQ Roll Call Senior Writer Todd Ruger discusses how future presidents could be affected.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Electoral College certifying Joe Biden’s victory, and Senate Republicans acknowledging that fact, is the presidential race finally over? Not a chance! Katherine Tully-McManus discusses possible challenges to the congressional counting of electoral votes. Meanwhile, Biden picks Pete Buttigieg for Transportation Secretary and then heads to Georgia to stump for the Democrats in key Senate races coming up in less than a month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're delving into why White House officials and members of Congress may be at the head of the line to get a COVID-19 vaccine. CQ Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski has more. We'll also explore what Biden's Cabinet nominees may face if the Senate doesn't flip to blue. Shawn Zeller explains. Katherine Tully-McManus hosts this special edition of Political Theater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump loved to hate the swamp, or official Washington. President-elect Joe Biden is bringing a different approach by bringing on a group of no-drama experienced government hands to run the executive branch. Niels Lesniewski discusses. And Ben Hulac outlines some of the outgoing administration's "midnight rules" and how they could affect the incoming administration, and the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President-elect Joe Biden's picks to head the the Agriculture Department and HUD follow a fairly familiar pattern: a former farm-state governor for Ag and a former mayor for HUD. But the president's supporters expect his administration to aggressively address equality issues in a hyper-partisan environment, and Ag and HUD are two departments at the forefront. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The incoming Biden administration continues to come into focus. The president-elect's nomination of retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to be Defense secretary, who would be the first Black man to head the Pentagon, also means Biden passed over a woman long considered a frontrunner for the job: Michelle Flournoy. And as a recently retired officer, Austin requires a waiver from the House and Senate, CQ Roll Call Senior Staff Writer John Donnelly discusses the nomination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Political Theater's The Transition, Congress is still in a tug of war over a possible COVID-19 aid package. CQ Roll Call's David Lerman talks about where things stand. Then, we turn to CQ Roll Call health reporter Mary Ellen McIntire, who breaks down who President-elect Joe Biden wants on his team to lead the country out of the pandemic and why. Katherine Tully-McManus hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the holiday season is upon us, so too is a time honored tradition. Congress working at the last minute to shore up must-pass bills. CQ Roll Call's Jim Saksa talks with budget tracker David Lerman on the latest on appropriations and a COVID relief package. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Bendat has literally written the book on our Inauguration Day traditions and history. And one thing he is pretty confident of predicting: between Donald Trump's propensity for antics and the ongoing pandemic, the Jan. 20 inauguration of Joe Biden is going to be one we'll remember. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is very good at putting off its most important business until the end of the year. The current spending measure funding the government expires on December 11. And with the economy starting to show signs of strain, lawmakers are offering their own proposals for a COVID relief package that they hope to pass in the coming weeks. The two big ticket items might end up in one big year end measure. But a lot could happen before we get there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first full official day of the transition from the Trump administration to the Biden administration featured President-elect Joe Biden introducing several of his Cabinet picks in Wilmington, Del., a group of veteran hands that epitomizes what could be called his Dare to be Dull approach to governing. Plus, Todd Ruger discusses changes atop the always-in-the-spotlight Senate Judiciary Committee, and Lindsey McPherson on how the pandemic is changing plans for the swearing in of the new Congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're delving into President Donald Trump's latest moves to block President-elect Biden from moving forward, why foreign policy towards Europe may be thorny, and how a big infrastructure bill could be on the table. CQ Roll Call's Jim Saksa hosts with contributions from Niels Lesniewski, Rachel Oswald and Jessica Wehrman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a COVID-19 vaccine in sight, it's more important than ever the Trump administration and the team of President-elect Joe Biden coordinate on the pandemic. But that's not happening. Sen. Chris Murphy discusses how the Trump team is briefing senators, but refuses to bring Biden into the discussion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Marchick, director of Center for Presidential Transition, has a traffic report for us: If the Trump administration doesn’t start doing its part in the transition, the backups could soon threaten the public's well being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President-elect Joe Biden has poached the first member of Congress for his administration — Louisiana Democrat Cedric Richmond. The lawmaker will become a senior adviser to the president and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. CQ Roll Call's Jason Dick reports on why Richmond could be among the most influential staffers for Biden. Plus, Katherine Tully-McManus walks us through a busy orientation day on Capitol Hill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President-elect Joe Biden says that "more people may die" if President Donald Trump doesn't soon share what the current plans are to combat COVID-19 and distribute vaccines. Also, a first look at who may be named to be Director of National Intelligence. CQ Roll Call's Katherine Tully-McManus speaks with Niels Lesniewski on the latest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a little over a week, President Donald Trump has launched legal action to try to counter election results, fired the Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and other top tier civilians at the Pentagon. CQ Roll Call's Jason Dick talks with Todd Ruger and John Donnelly to examine these latest moves and what they mean for the nation's stability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump might be holding off on his participation in the transition process, but Congress is not. New members report to Capitol Hill this week for orientation, and Katherine Tully-McManus and Mark Satter talk to us about some of the demographic shifts in the freshman class. Jim Saksa also reports on how the incoming Biden administration might have to wait until next year to find out whom to even negotiate its economic proposals with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're looking at the fallout from the Trump administration fueling the myth that the president didn't lose the election. President-elect Joe Biden and his team can't get national security briefings, or funds usually associated with setting up shop to become president. There are also more than a dozen congressional seats still waiting to be called. Host Jim Saksa speaks with CQ Roll Call's chief correspondent Niels Lesniewski. And then we turn to what the transition will mean for farmers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President-elect Joe Biden launches his transition with a marquee roster to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. We also look at what is likely to happen to immigration policy and the fate of the Senate's majority. CQ Roll Call's Katherine Tully-McManus hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the time of this recording, five states have still not been called in the presidential election, with former Vice President Joe Biden leading in three of them. Then there is the Senate. With two runoff elections set in Georgia in January, chamber majority will be uncertain until then. CQ Roll Call's Jason Dick, Niels Lesniewski and Stephanie Akin report in this special edition of Political Theater as election week continues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The country is on edge as battleground states continue their vote count in the race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden for the presidency. But that has not stopped Trump’s campaign from filing several lawsuits in hopes of gaining an edge in the final results. But what about all these lawsuits? How likely are they to affect the outcome? CQ Roll Call senior writer Todd Ruger discusses them and what we can expect in the next few days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you like tidy stories, then 2020 is not for you. As election officials continue counting votes for the presidency and Senate and House races, it's tough to get a handle on just what happened: Why were polls off? Who will win? Will each party need to do some soul searching or will they pretend it's all good? Rodell Mollineu of ROKK Solutions and Liesl Hickey, of Ascent Media join the podcast to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With only days to go before Election Day, my colleague Shawn Zeller was thinking about the last 4 years and whether the way President Trump has governed will have a lasting impact on the presidency. Here is his podcast where Shawn speaks with presidential historian David Greenburg on what the future holds for the presidency.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2020 Election is “rounding the corner” — sorry, I could not resist — but here we are, just a few days out from Nov. 3, which means that it’s almost Halloween. And what better way to recognize the spooky nature of All’s Hallows Eve than to discuss the scary worst-case scenarios for the elections! Disputed counts! Lawsuits! Candidates refusing to concede! States sending multiple sets of electors to be counted! Runoffs! The House and Senate refusing to seat members. On the latest Political Theater Podcast, Jason Dick speaks to CQ Roll Call Politics Editor Herb Jackson and CQ Roll Call Legal Affairs Senior Writer Todd Ruger discuss the terrifying tumult. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brent Roske is a political animal, but it wasn’t supposed to be that way. A veteran Hollywood creative type, his series “Chasing the Hill,” about a fictional congressional campaign, was supposed to get it out of his system. It just lit the fire though, and he went on to run for Congress himself, move to Iowa, start a political talk show, Roske on Politics, and get involved in political strategy. And now, with several competitive races in the Hawkeye State in 2020, he’s doing what he does best: Getting politicians to open up in the public sphere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology increasingly defines modern life, and that is especially so in political campaigns. But for all the sophisticated polling models and ways of raising money in politics, a new organization is betting that a very old school way of doing things will help boost turnout. Senior staff writer Bridget Bowman joins Political Theater to talk about Vote Tripling, a group that's using behavior science to drive voter turnout for Democrats, and how it might affect some key races in the battle for Congressional majorities in the Senate and House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The vice presidency is a strange office, a hybrid of both the executive branch and the legislative branch, someone who breaks ties on Senate votes and can preside over the counting of his own electoral votes in a joint session of Congress. So Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris carried with it more significance as we brace for a possibly disputed election, a Supreme Court nomination fight and, oh yeah, health and age questions surrounding their running mates. Niels Lesniewski and Nathan Gonzales are on the show to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As if the 2020 presidential campaign wasn’t already tense enough, we now have a high-profile Supreme Court confirmation fight playing out in the Senate. But things will look and play out differently for the nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. CQ Roll Call senior writer Todd Ruger and staff writer Katherine Tully McManus walk us through what we can expect in the weeks ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We thought we were in the home stretch of the 2020 campaign season, with the primaries over and early voting beginning, and then on Sept. 18, another political earthquake shook us when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. Niels Lesniewski and Bridget Bowman discuss what we know, what we don’t know and what we’ll be watching in the coming days and weeks about the latest Supreme Court news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve been anywhere near cable news or social media in the last few months, you have probably seen an ad by the Lincoln Project. The group of Republicans who have aggressively gone after President Donald Trump on cable news and social media. Lincoln Project Senior Advisor Kurt Bardella, explains what motivates the group, what they hope to accomplish and the pushback they've gotten from their GOP brethren. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you ran for Congress in 2018, there was a pretty good chance you are part of a political documentary. First came “Knock Down the House,” which featured a (then) little known candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and now comes “Surge,” which follows women who ran against veteran Republican incumbents. Political Reporters Bridget Bowman and Kate Ackley spoke to Rep. Lauren Underwood, a star of “Surge,” and filmmakers Wendy Sachs and Hannah Rosenzweig about their new movie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the few things that is not different about this year’s political conventions is that the parties are providing valuable national airtime to candidates for Congress whom they want to see succeed. Who shows up, and who doesn’t, provide context for those House and Senate races, even if some of that context is, quite frankly, mystifying. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We don’t need hindsight to see that 2020 is a year unlike any other in recent memory. The coronavirus pandemic has touched every fiber of our lives and woven itself inextricably into the fold of presidential politics, including the national conventions blanketing the airwaves this week and next.  Usually, the Republican and Democratic parties live up to their collective nouns and really get down at these weeklong rallies, but that’s a no-go with a pandemic raging. Instead of convening in person, the conventions are going virtual. It’s yet another wholly unconventional move made this year that still somehow feels inevitable and even downright sensible. The conventions haven’t served their original purpose — actually picking a presidential candidate — since 1952. Both parties shifted to letting primaries and caucuses select their electoral champions — a move begun during the Progressive Era that accelerated in 1968 following the chaos that unfurled outside of the DNC in Chicago when several nights of protests led to a clash between police and demonstrators. The last time there was even a specter of doubt about who’d be the nominee was in 1980, when Ted Kennedy made a late push to replace President Jimmy Carter on the Democratic ticket. So perhaps it makes sense to finally drop the pretenses and hold an eight-hour infomercial over four nights. In a way, it’s a callback to an earlier time — campaigns used to regularly buy up prime-time, hourlong blocks on the networks to make televised appeals to the electorate. The pandemic has brought the parties full circle. To talk about this year’s decidedly different DNC, we spoke with Julia Terruso, 2020 presidential campaign reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer. We also talked about the state of the race in Pennsylvania, the keystone battleground state for the Biden campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kamala Harris' historic run as vice president comes at a time of big societal and generational changes. Roll Call columnist Mary C. Curtis, who covers the intersection of politics, culture and race, discusses the significance of the California Democrat's spot on the 2020 ticket with Joe Biden. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress has a record number of women in its ranks, and it doesn't matter if they are Democrats or Republicans, junior members or elected leaders: They share a common set of experiences about being talked down to, overlooked or outright scorned. Heard on the Hill's Kathryn Lyons spoke to some of them and recounts their stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jamaal Bowman isn’t your average middle school principal. That’s because the 44-year-old recently beat veteran Congressman Eliot Engel in the Democratic primary in New York’s 16th District. He's part of a changing of the guard of younger, minority politicians who are on their way to Congress. Clyde McGrady discusses his recent conversation with the educator-turned-prospective lawmaker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since Rep. John Lewis' death on July 17, his colleagues have paid tribute and remembered him in ways big and small. And his own words, like the ones we gathered here, make a fitting memorial to a figure whose public service crossed boundaries and generations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The struggle to ensure people have access to the ballot box is one that G.K. Butterfield and his family have been involved in dating back to the early 20th Century. The North Carolina Democrat’s history in Wilson, N.C., is indelibly shaped by his immigrant father and his decades-long advocacy on behalf of Black suffrage in a place notoriously resistant to it. It extends through Butterfield's own place in the Civil Rights Era, and continues to the present day with his own legislative priorities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It doesn’t matter if you went to Morehouse, or if you were an undercover CIA officer or even a police officer yourself, if you are a Black man, odds are your interactions with the police are more dangerous and memorable than for others. CQ Roll Call’s Clyde McGrady interviewed three members of Congress who reflect on what it was like for them and what was different for them in their encounters with law enforcement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Filmmaker Dawn Porter had a unique challenge in making a documentary about Rep. John Lewis, the Georgia Democrat who recently turned 80 and has been a civil rights hero for more than half a century. How do you say something new and interesting about someone so familiar? She talks about that and more on the latest Political Theater podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is a third-generation Washingtonian who has been witness to the biggest turning points for the Capital city’s long struggle for civil and political rights. One thing has been constant, though: Citizens of the District of Columbia — federal tax paying citizens — have been denied full voting representation. This week, the House will vote on a bill granting Washington full statehood. That’s the first time that will happen in almost 30 years. And the bill’s sponsor, Eleanor Holmes Norton, talks about it on the new episode of the Political Theater podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been five years since the deadly, racist-motivated shooting at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. But the scars are still present in the current debate over racial justice, Black Lives Matter and the legacy of white supremacist ideology. Roll Call columnist Mary C. Curtis discusses how the tragedy in Charleston still resonates as the United States grapples with its ugly history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It might not seem like it, but we’ve come a long way as a country in the last couple of weeks. On May 25th, George Floyd, a black man, died at the hands of Minneapolis Police officers, an all too familiar scene. But this time feels different, in the streets, in the Capitol and everywhere you look. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Filmmaker Dawn Porter's new documentary "John Lewis: Good Trouble" arrives at a time when racial justice is on everyone’s mind. Protests over the death of George Floyd have broken out in major U.S. cities. John Lewis’ life has been all about, in his words, getting into the right kind of trouble, good trouble, protesting for civil rights, the right to vote and justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social media was supposed to connect people by bringing them into a common shared space to exchange views, jokes and news. It has become a dominant force that enhances political and cultural divides, and that is largely a result of its founders being people who never learned how to get along with others, like in a bar, says podcaster and author Brandon Wetherbee. If social media was run like a bar, a place where people gathered and where everyone has to respect each other or get thrown out, things might be very different. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This isn't the first pandemic the United States, and Washington, has grappled with in the last century. But there are some key differences in our culture, like our ability to eliminate much of the risk of disease to public health. And there is one constant: Congress finds a way to meet amid the outbreak, for better or worse, and no matter who got sick, including speakers, vice presidents and rank-and-file members. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The comedian and ‘The Daily Show’ correspondent dives into her new podcast ‘That Black Ass Show’, how she keeps her comedy personal and why she still has to wait to be seated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're less than six months away from Election Day and the political dynamics have changed little: Donald Trump is a slight underdog for re-election, control of the Senate is a toss-up and conditions favor Democrats to retain the House. CQ Roll Call Elections Analyst Nathan Gonzales explains why not even a pandemic can change the basic facts about the 2020 campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The coronavirus pandemic has upended daily life as we know. But the coronavirus might have met its match in some truly indelible parts of our culture: full service gas stations in New Jersey, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. And voting in person in Congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart was the first member of Congress to disclose he had COVID-19, and he tells Political Theater about those first scary days of self-quarantine, how grateful he was to his neighbors for their kindness and continuing to work to tackle the pandemic as a lawmaker while recovering from it himself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What lessons did the U.S. government learn from its success in clamping down on the 2014 Ebola epidemic in fighting the coronavirus pandemic? “We did basically everything that was on the ‘don’t’ list,” Reid Wilson, author of "Epidemic: Ebola and the Global Scramble to Prevent the Next Killer Outbreak," says on the latest Political Theater podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we started realizing how significant the coronavirus pandemic was shaping up to be, we wanted to cover not just the story, but how we covered it. At Political Theater, that meant keeping an audio diary. But sometimes, even when you work in an audio medium, that is easier said than done. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress has worked hard to address the human and economic costs of the coronavirus pandemic. Amid this work, some senators have gotten testy on the floor, leading to what looked like a meltdown in relations. But this is what actual debate in the Congress looks like, according to James Wallner, senior fellow at the R Street Institute and a former aide to several senators. It's just been so long since we've seen an earnest debate, it feels weird. And it's leading to positive results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are 24 men named Mike on the Hill. It’s the most popular name up there, followed closely by John. To put that into context, there are more men named Mike than there are GOP congresswomen. What does data like this tell us about congress? Heard on the Hill reporter Clyde McGrady and Data editor George Levines join the podcast to talk about their project on the most popular names in congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new documentary, "Slay the Dragon" explores what happens when voters fight back against gerrymandering. Jason Dick is joined by the directors of the film Chris Durrance, Barak Goodman, and one of the film's main subjects, Katie Fahey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Margaret Cho has been called a political comedian, but to her political comedy is just a part of the authenticity she strives for. On this episode of Political Theater she joins Heard on the Hill reporter Kathryn Lyons to talk about her development as a comedian and where politics fits in, the democratic presidential candidate she thinks could do a 'mean foxtrot' and what she hopes 2020 will bring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So it turns out Super Tuesday was pretty spectacular. Race dynamics changed dramatically, several marquee House and Senate races were set up and the stage is set for a long series of primary battles reaching into the summer. CQ Roll Call Politics Editor Herb Jackson helps break it down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything is bigger in Texas, and Texas is even bigger when it's part of Super Tuesday. And while the Democratic presidential primary gets a lot of attention, we like congressional politics even better. Bridget Bowman discusses the most influential and interesting Democratic and Republican primaries coming up on March 3, including what she learned in her recent reporting trip to the Lone Star State and what else we should pay Super attention to among the more than 100 contests that day. Among the highlights: $200 sheet cake, the fate of Jeff Sessions and the un-gerrymandering of North Carolina. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taco trucks, cookies and a ‘Battle Born’ caucus interview with Julián Castro: CQ Roll Call reporter Niels Lesniewski joins Political Theater to share some of the moments he caught on tape during his long weekend in Nevada, where the state was holding early caucuses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With populist leaders like President Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders leading their parties' primaries, it seems people are fed up with their current institutions. But what does it mean for the future? Joining us to chat about populist movements and their potential outcomes is Daron Acemoglu, an economics professor at MIT and co-author of "The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Hampshire's 2020 Democratic primary was the mirror image of Republicans' 2016 primary. We're still lacking clarity even as the the field winnows. One thing we do know, according to Reuters political correspondent Amanda Becker, is that the candidates are preparing for a long slog and expect a lot of twists and turns as they head to Nevada, South Carolina and Super Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump's State of the Union was a master class in deploying conservative rhetoric, entertainment kitsch and Americana tropes before a televised audience. Alyssa Rosenberg of the Washington Post discusses Trump's gifts as an entertainer and how he uses it to maximum effect in the political arena. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Less than one week to go, and it's anyone's guess who will win the Iowa Caucuses. What's the biggest thing on Iowans' minds as they decide? Impeachment? Electability? Personal likability? Caucus expert and political scientist David Redlawsk , who has spent the last six months on sabbatical in Iowa, talks us through what to expect on Feb. 3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special edition of Political Theater, PhD drop out and comic Maz Jobrani takes Heard on the Hill's Kathryn Lyons "back to school" to talk Trump hecklers, the candidates he likes in 2020 and what it's like to be in the fake West Wing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a lot to learn from covering the White House for four years. For former CQ Roll Call White House correspondent John T. Bennett, that included the president's aides looking into that "Hakuna matata" thing, whether the president's accessibility is a double-edged sword and how to stay sane in a crazy environment. Now as Bennett takes on a new assignment with the Independent of London, he shares some of the biggest lessons of life in the Executive Mansion.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's Democratic presidential debate in Iowa was the last chance for the significantly winnowed field to make a big impression -- not just before the Feb. 3 caucuses but also before the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Herb Jackson and Jason Dick break down the biggest takeaways as candidates tried to get in one last look, and what voters can expect as the trial drags on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senators are getting a little antsy waiting for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to deliver articles of impeachment of Donald Trump so they can start a trial. We spent the first full day Congress was back in the Capitol talking to Senators, and we got an earful of their frustrations, suggestions and theories about what happens next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Jon Stewart’s smirk to a scrum at the Iowa State Fair to the frenzy surrounding former presidential aide Hope Hicks, CQ Roll Call photographers explain their favorite images of 2019, how they got them and what goes into getting the shot they need. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrat Sherrod Brown was first elected to the House in 1992 and just won a third Senate term in 2018. Perhaps aware of the history that surrounds him and his own place in it, he has a new book out, Desk 88. That is where he sits in the Senate, and the book is a series of portraits of the senators who sat there before, a list that includes Hugo Black, Bobby Kennedy and George McGovern. Political Theater spoke with him about the likely coming impeachment trial, when the senator would be expected to sit in Desk 88 and consider whether to remove President Donald Trump from office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is not shy about using his namesake McConnell Center at the University of Louisville as a platform for showcasing his allies, adversaries and his own ability to steer the national conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 It is tempting to read into 2019's off-year elections for clues into next year’s big political brouhaha. Since President Donald Trump campaigned in many of this year's races, some key data points have emerged: a growing rural-suburban partisan divide and the president's tendency to make things about himself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new movie "The Report" turns to real life to create art. The film is based on the Senate Intelligence Committee's torture report of 2014. Senate investigators took seven years to detail the CIA's use of its "enhanced interrogation techniques" on suspected terrorists. The political thriller is based on efforts led by Intelligence Committee staffer Daniel J. Jones, who joins the podcast this week along with the film's director and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns and CQ Roll Call reporter Niels Lesniewski, who covered the release of the actual Senate report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2020 elections are shaping up as the most significant in memory, but predicting them is a handicapper's nightmare. Nevertheless, CQ Roll Call Elections Analyst Nathan Gonzales gave it a whirl, offering these four scenarios: 1) Eviction at 1600 2) Blue Washington 3) Status Quo 4) Red Revival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One year out from Election Day 2020 and Senate Republicans and House Democrats find themselves in parallel universes. The GOP is on defense in Senate races, where more Republicans are on the ballot, and it's the opposite in the House, where many Democrats who won in hostile territory in 2018 find themselves in tough races. CQ Roll Call’s campaign team, Simone Pathé, Bridget Bowman and Stephanie Akin, run through the 10 most vulnerable members of both the House and Senate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every impeachment inquiry has its own distinct identity. CQ Roll Call contributor Finlay Lewis discusses the first impeachment inquiry he covered, that of Richard Nixon in 1974, and how it contrasts with the 1998 impeachment of Bill Clinton, and how those stack up to the current one of President Donald Trump Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The memorials for the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings illustrate the unique way the nation remembers figures like him, a tradition of grieving both in public and private in places important to the deceased. Longstanding rituals in the Capitol, and in also in his hometown of Baltimore, give his family, friends, colleagues and constituents a way to celebrate his life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republican senators up for re-election in swing states have a delicate balance to strike. They need to get almost all Republican voters in their column while reaching out to independents and Democrats. And President Donald Trump does not make that easy. CQ Roll Call Elections Analyst and Inside Elections Publisher Nathan Gonzales explains the politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hot topics? The Supreme Court’s got ‘em this term. LGBTQ rights. Guns. Immigration. With the High Court's new term starting Monday, CQ Roll Call legal affairs reporter Todd Ruger joins the podcast to take a closer look at the biggest cases they will consider and how the justices have become political fodder themselves in the 2020 race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The conventional wisdom is that impeachment could imperil Democrats in 2020. But beware the conventional wisdom, and relying on dated data and small sample sets, like 1998's impeachment of President Bill Clinton. CQ Roll Call's elections analyst Nathan Gonzales joins the show to explains why he thinks things might be a little different for democrats today than they were for republicans in 1998.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden is among the most recognizable politicians. But even he was an upstart once. In 1972, he was just a 29-year old lawyer running an uphill race against a veteran senator. And, improbably, he won. Here's the story of that seminal campaign Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lobbying firms on K Street and trade associations used to be a sure bet for retiring members of Congress. Not anymore. Julian Ha, a recruiter on K Street and advisor of FiscalNote the company that owns CQ Roll Call, joins the podcast along with CQ Roll Call senior writer Kate Ackley to talk about the current state of lobbying positions for former lawmakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When voters in North Carolina's 9th district vote in the Sept. 10 special election, the 2018 election cycle will finally conclude. Democrat Dan McCready is making it a competitive race against Republican Dan Bishop in a GOP district. Why? Simone Pathe and Nathan Gonzales explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you plan for the unplanned? That was the challenge for advance teams paving the way for the recent G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, and for President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to Poland and, until recently, Denmark. That includes CQ Roll Call White House Correspondent John Bennett, who helped plan press logistics for the trips, and was as surprised as anyone at the way things worked out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Politicians and pundits are fond of saying that Washington has never been more polarized and that the Senate in particular may never recover from hyper-partisanship and rule-bending. But it is assistant Senate historian Daniel S. Holt's job to remind us all that Senate disputes could result in pistols at dawn instead of dueling tweets.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For all its quaintness and fun, the Iowa State Fair does a pretty good job of approximating politics at the national level, be it questions about electability and charisma or trade and agricultural policy. Political Theater also gives our hits and misses, surprises and letdowns, of our time in Iowa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iowa plays a big role in presidential politics because of its first in the nation caucuses. Even by that standard, though, this time around feels busier, and the Iowa State Fair has been flooded with candidates for offices from the presidency on down. We talked to David Redlawsk, a political psychologist who is spending his ENTIRE sabbatical in Iowa, about why this is all happening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes, there are lot of politicians who attend the Iowa State Fair to court voters. But there is so much else to this unique event, from the almost 70 fried foods on a stick, to giant slides, sea lions, butter cows and butter Big Birds; even arm wrestling. A day in the life of the Iowa State Fair with Political Theater.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political Theater is heading to the Iowa State Fair to check out how the 2020 races for president, Senate and four competitive House races are shaping up in this bellwether state. Why Iowa? Because that's where the candidates are! Here’s what we’ll be looking for in our trip to the Midwest, including what fried foods on a stick we might eat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you make a story about data interesting? That was the challenge of documentary The Great Hack. Filmmaker Karim Amer discusses the challenges and human tragedies behind chronicling the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mueller Report might animate members of Congress and political operatives, but when it comes to drawing people to the bar in D.C., it's no contest: They'd rather be watching The Bachelorette. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does President Donald Trump attack his opponents so viciously, sometimes using racist tropes? Because it’s effective. And Republicans know that. Our conversation with Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution is about Trumpism, norms and how it all fits into a political strategy. “I think you’ll have Trumpism without Trump to some extent at least, even if Trump is voted out of office in 2020," Hamid tells host Jason Dick. “Why? Because Trumpism is effective. And Republicans see that. And that’s why they’re so afraid, I think, to really stand up against Trump because they feel something intuitively and instinctively that the Republican base is changing. And this is what in part the Republican base wants and what they respond to." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry Reid might have retired from the Senate in 2017 and started battling cancer in 2018, but the former Democratic leader doesn’t seem to be the retiring type, especially when it comes to Nevada politics. “I’m a political junkie to say the least,” he tells CQ Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski in a wide-ranging interview in Las Vegas that we've excerpted for this edition of the Political Theater Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new film “Mike Wallace is Here,” shows how legendary journalist Mike Wallace shaped modern journalism and politics. But this world is one where journalists are in danger and their credibility is in question. What happened? Director Avi Belkin discusses the arc of Wallace’s career, and where things started to shift. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A North Carolina House race is dividing the GOP in Washington, D.C., reports CQ Roll Call's senior political reporter Simone Pathé. And Clyde McCrady talks about the emotional House hearing on reparations and why it was a significant moment in U.S. history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Senate starts to debate one of the most consequential policy bills, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the chairman of the committee that is managing the Pentagon policy bill, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma,  talks to Political Theater about working with Democrats, throws shade on some lawmakers on his committee and provides his take on Iran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was on when Beto O'Rourke, center fielder for the Los Diablitos de El Paso, jumped up on hay bale when filmmaker David Modigliani, first baseman for the Texas Playboys Baseball Club, knew he could make a movie about the 2018 Texas Senate candidate and now one of nearly two dozen Democrats running for president in 2020. "I was playing first base, he got a single and he was, like, 'Hey, I am running for Senate,' '' recalled Modigliani while talking about making "Running with Beto" on the latest Political Theater podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is a successful politician without being a typical one. He's proudly uncharismatic, relatively unpopular in his home state of Kentucky and embraces his self-styled role as the Grim Reaper of legislation. So why does he keep winning? In this episode, senior Senate reporter Niels Lesniewski explains how McConnell uses his negatives to win.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything about Werner Herzog becomes theater. His documentary “Meeting Gorbachev” combines his iconic narrative style, never-before-seen footage of the last days of Soviet rule and the personal side of the last Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev. In this podcast, Herzog muses on how "deeply involved in all these events" he himself was and how “I never would have dreamt I would have spoken to Gorbachev himself." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For pure Political Theater, it will be hard to beat Pennsylvania during the 2020 campaign. The Keystone State will be, well, key to an Electoral College victory. President Donald Trump knows it. That may be why he has visited it six times since taking office, including to Montoursville in the north central part of the state on May 20. He won’t be alone, though, because the current Democratic frontrunner, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., was born in Scranton, represented neighboring Delaware in the Senate for decades and opened his official campaign headquarters in Philadelphia on May 18. Pennsylvania has long been a swing state in presidential politics, and Democrats’ ability to flip several Republican seats in 2018 paved the way for them retaking the majority in the House. CQ Roll Call’s White House reporter John Bennett was on the road at the president’s rally, interviewing voters, taking the temperature of a Republican friendly party of the state.  A little later on in, we’ll switch gears for an At the Races segment and talk to politics reporter Simone Pathé about the politics of impeachment. It’s all the talk on Capitol Hill, but do Democrats want to go there?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five Democratic freshmen, all women with military or intelligence backgrounds, are banding together to help each other fundraise for their 2020 races. They all flipped Republican districts in 2018, and they know winning districts like theirs is the key to holding and expanding the House majority in 2020. After a few months in Congress, they've figured out who are the "workhorses" and who are the "show ponies," in the words of Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin, and they're tired of the latter getting all the attention. Along with Slotkin, Reps. Elaine Luria and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania are fighting to hold the majority. CQ Roll Call's senior political reporter Simone Pathé tells us how they are trying to get re-elected in this Political Theater podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A documentary about the late Notre Dame president Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, a real life "Forrest Gump" who challenged presidents and popes in the last half-century, resonates in today's turbulent times, the director of the film tells CQ Magazine managing editor Mike Magner, who grew up hearing about Father Ted's work and causes. The film, directed by Patrick Creadon, explores the challenges Father Ted faced with Republican and Democratic administrations in advancing civil rights.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political gerrymandering is losing friends fast, at least in the courts. Ohio and Michigan recently got smacked by federal judges for rigging the maps in favor of Republicans and states like Maryland are under court order to draw more politically neutral lines. Almost of all these fights end up in the same place, the Supreme Court. And a divided set of justices could decide by next month whether the high court is willing to shake things up by defining what exactly constitutes an unconstitutional gerrymander. CQ Roll Call campaign reporters Simone Pathé and Stephanie Akin are our guides through the maze of maps on the latest Political Theater podcast.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Penny Lane’s documentary “Hail Satan?” is among the most entertaining civics lessons to come around in a long time. Chronicling in jaunty manner the origins and growth of the Satanic Temple, which the IRS just recently recognized as a bona fide church, Lane’s movie shows how the Temple has enforced the First Amendment’s separation of church and state across the country. Lane, the director of “Our Nixon,” and “Nuts,” discussed her new movie, the underlying issues and just how much resonance it has in our religiously charged times. (Anyone catch that National Prayer Day at the White House?)      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anytime Attorney General William Barr talks about the Mueller report it’s a big deal. It's a bigger deal in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Add a leaked letter, a bunch of presidential candidates on the committee and all kinds of almost Shakespearean context, and you've got a lot of political theater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you listen to this podcast, you know Jason Dick loves movies, especially if they relate to politics. So on occasion, we’re going to bring you conversations with directors and actors — and even some movie reviews — for all the political movie-lovers out there. In this episode, we talk with Rachel Lears, director of the Netflix documentary “Knock Down the House,” which profiles four congressional challengers in 2018 and how they fared (spoiler alert: one of them is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). Lears and one of the candidates, Amy Vilela, discuss the movie, how campaigns work and the relationships that developed along the way in this bonus episode of Political Theater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  Democrats continue to throw their hats into the 2020 presidential race, and veteran strategist Rodell Mollineau thinks that’s a healthy way to work out the party’s message during a “once in a generation time” for them. “I’m all for this,” he says. Mollineau, a founder of American Bridge and Rokk Solutions, and previously a staffer for Senate majority leaders Tom Daschle and Harry Reid, discusses with Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales the burgeoning field, what an ideal ticket would look like and learning from 2016’s mistakes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before the late Sen. Ernest “Fritz” Hollings was elected to what would become a distinguished congressional career, the South Carolina Democrat reversed himself on the defining issue in Southern politics: segregation.  Running for governor in 1958, Hollings opposed integration of public schools, a keystone battle in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision desegregating public schools. But by the end of his term, he said it was time for the South to change, taking a step out of line with many of his Democratic colleagues in the region.  “He had made the turn, and to his credit, [in] 1962 in the South,” Kirk Victor, co-author of Hollings’ book “Making Government Work,” says in the latest Political Theater podcast. “The Legislature would’ve followed him either way. Any which way he went.” Hollings, who died on April 6, was laid to rest in his native South Carolina on April 16.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Washington might be Hollywood for ugly people, but every once in a while Hollywood pretties the place up. That was certainly the case when the cast of “Queer Eye” came to the Capitol to advocate for the Equality Act, to the delight of many staffers, members and tourists. Jennifer Shutt discusses how the celebrity advocates used their powers for policy purposes.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate has changed its rules again and it will result in less debate on many judicial and executive nominations. Who cares? The public should, if it wants a responsive government at least. James Wallner of the R Street Institute and CQ Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski discuss the ramifications. "No one can be bothered to care about the rules, '' Wallner laments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call senior political reporters Bridget Bowman and Simone Pathé explain the political ramifications, if any, on the conclusion of the Russia election interference report of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Ben Masters began the 1,200-mile journey along the Rio Grande to film his new documentary “The River and the Wall,” he had no idea the border wall would dominate politics the way it does today. Nor did he think, as he spoke with such locals as Beto O’Rourke and Will Hurd, that their voices would resonate so far beyond the border. Now the movie, making festival rounds and set for a May 3 release, profiles the debate deftly and shows off the unparalleled beauty of the region as Masters and four friends traverse the border on bike, foot, horseback and canoe.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the president of the United States labels you the enemy of the people, what’s a young, aspiring journalist supposed to think? While recognizing that journalism is in a crisis, Christina Bellantoni, a professor of journalism at the University of Southern California and a former editor of Roll Call and at the Los Angeles Times, says the era of fake news is actually bringing out the real value of journalism and helping to motivate the next generation to seek the truth.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrats love it. Republicans hate it. K Street really hates it. The White House wants to veto it. Everyone’s talking about HR 1, House Democrats' overhaul of campaign finance, election and lobbying laws. CQ Roll Call’s Kate Ackley says Democrats “ran on this messaging” in 2018 and are arguing it deserves to be a top priority “so that we can unrig the system.” Republicans across the board have rallied against it. What's going on? We break it down on the latest Political Theater Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Apollo 11 Moon landing is one of mankind’s iconic stories. So how, with the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing coming up, does the documentary “Apollo 11” tell the story in a new way? For director Todd Douglas Miller and his team, it started with archival footage, some of it never seen, at the National Archives and other audio and visual files around the country. Miller discusses his new film, how it came together, both in middle of the politically tumultuous 1960s, and now, in politically tumultuous 2019.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sure, as one cable news talking head says, Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony on Wednesday is “very, very explosive” and spread out over “several, several hours” but does it change the political parties’ 2020 strategy? Roll Call political reporters Simone Pathe and Bridget Bowman discuss.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Take one congresswoman from Hawaii, one tech entrepreneur and one South Bend mayor, add in 7 percent of the U.S. Senate and you still don’t have even half of the potential Democratic field of presidential candidates. Why is everyone running for president? And what kind of effect will that have on down-ballot races for Congress, state houses, and governor’s mansions, not to mention the legislative agenda on Capitol Hill? Inside Elections Reporter/Analyst Leah Askarinam helps us sort through the expanding field on the latest Political Theater Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, Julian Ha of Heidrick & Struggles said the swamp was “constipated,” as the lobbying world continued adjusting to the Trump administration and Congress. And now? Things are starting to flow again. Ha and CQ Roll Call lobbying reporter Kate Ackley discuss the state of lobbying, 2019 edition.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump's State of the Union address touched on familiar themes and not so familiar ones like bipartisanship. Yet, the goal of many politicians Tuesday night was a 2020 campaign snapshot, complete with fundraising appeals and messaging. Roll Call senior political reporter Simone Pathé explains.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to both chambers of Congress on Feb. 5, he will not be the only star of the night. The Democrats seeking to replace him — and there are many —  could end up stealing the limelight, says Nathan Gonzales, publisher of Inside Elections and Roll Call’s elections analyst.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former Vice President Dick Cheney have in common? In addition to being political power brokers, films about them have now been nominated for Academy Awards, for the documentary “RBG” and feature film “Vice,” respectively. So politics, which has gotten a bit of a bad rap lately, (see shutdown, 2019, for more), can be both interesting, entertaining and profitable for Hollywood? Well, yes and no, says Renee Tsao, vice president of PR Collaborative, who discusses politics and movies on the latest Political Theater podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Politics never sleeps, not even during a government shutdown. That is especially true of Senate campaigns, because the unique nature of that chamber and its election cycle means folks need to be on their toes. Nathan Gonzales, the publisher of Inside Elections and Roll Call’s elections analyst, discusses which senators are the most vulnerable as the 2020 cycle ramps up, and how things like the current shutdown factor into political positions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Decide what kind of member of Congress you want to be,” says Tom Davis, the former congressman from Virginia. “Voters see through phoniness pretty quickly.” Davis, who chaired the Republican campaign committee and House Oversight panel and currently plies his trade at Holland & Knight, has a reputation as one of most principled and savvy politicians around. He has a few pointers for new members of Congress. After all, there are rookie mistakes, and there are rookie mistakes on the national stage, with consequences for constituents — and maybe your next election.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If it’s a new year in an odd-numbered year, then you’ve got yourself a new Congress. As the 116th Congress is sworn in, things are going to look and operate differently: A record number of women in the House and Senate, new ethics rules, divided government and hats — maybe— on the House floor! Also, amid it all, the 2020 presidential race is already well under way. Roll Call staff writer Katherine Tully-McManus breaks down the biggest changes for Political Theater.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether it was a cramped schedule, the funeral of a president, changes to the tax code or overall crankiness, the holiday party scene this year seemed a little, um, meh. Niels Lesniewski, Kate Ackley and Peter Cohn crash the party that is Political Theater to discuss the wine, song and and tax deductions of the Washington holiday party circuit.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There might be no better example of “political football” than what the Washington Redskins are doing by working with Congress, the White House and the D.C. City Council to secure a new stadium in the capital. And that’s just one of the political issues facing professional football, says Brandon Wetherbee, managing editor of the culture website Brightest Young Things and host of the podcast You, Me, Them, Everybody.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her new film, director and producer Alexis Bloom examines the life of the late Republican Party kingmaker and controversial Fox News leader who, before his death, was forced out amid multiple sexual harassment allegations. "He was a heat over light kind of guy,'' Bloom tells Political Theater of Roger Ailes. "He dealt in psychological tropes very deftly. He was ruthless.'' Even conservative political commentator Glenn Beck, once a Fox host, is astonished by Ailes' confidence in his own political influence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The results of the Mississippi Senate runoff election were not surprising. The Republican won. The Democrat lost. It is a Republican state. But the fact that we were talking about Mississippi at all in the late stages of the 2018 election season was a surprise. It also brings up questions about political trends in the South, race, history and culture. There is even a Clinton angle! And the not-overwhelming victory of Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith over Democrat Mike Espy portends profound questions for both parties. Roll Call Senior Political Reporter Simone Pathe and Inside Elections Deputy Editor Leah Askarinam go deep about the Deep South in the latest Political Theater Podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s my Representational Allowance? Why can’t I take pictures on the House floor? Where are the bathrooms? Newly elected lawmakers are participating in freshman orientation this week, and while it has a first day of school vibe, they should pay attention. It could save them some embarrassment, and maybe even avoid getting into hot water with the Ethics Committee or even federal authorities. Roll Call Staff Writer Katherine Tully-McManus runs down what the members-to-be are doing during freshman orientation, and why it matters.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every campaign season is defined by moments when the big picture starts to come into focus. A parade outside Kansas City where Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder is confronted about gun violence. A pizza parlor in New Jersey becomes an overflow town hall. Roll Call politics reporters Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman and elections analyst Nathan Gonzales discuss such moments during the 2018 midterms, as well as how to address the dreaded election hangover we’re all suffering.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a time when journalists around the world face threats and are characterized as the enemy of the people, the new movie "A Private War" arrives at delicate point. Director Matthew Heineman and star Rosamund Pike discuss their picture on the latest Political Theater Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Praising violence against reporters. Sending pipe bombs to public figures. Threatening political opponents. The fiery rhetoric is in full swing as the nation enters the homestretch of the 2018 midterm election. Is any of it changing voters’ attitudes or behavior? Roll Call senior political writer Simone Pathe and Inside Elections editor Nathan Gonzales discuss the effect of all the bad vibes on the electorate.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will appealing to Whataburger partisans get out the vote? What about a new Willie Nelson song? These are but some of the questions that will be answered by the Texas Senate race between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke.  That’s because some of the Lone Star State’s favorite sons, like country-music legend Nelson and filmmaker Richard Linklater, have come out strong for O’Rourke and are putting their artistic talent where their mouths are. Will it make a difference, though? Leah Askarinam from Inside Elections and McClatchy’s Alex Roarty, who grew up in Houston, discuss the race, whether famous Texans will help O’Rourke and what sort of downstream effect the race has on competitive House races. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The Front Runner” is not going to tell you how to feel about politics. The new film, starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by him and Matt Bai and Jay Carson, tells the story of the short-lived 1988 presidential campaign of Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., who went from being the presumptive favorite to win the presidency to political oblivion within the span of a few days, felled by a scandal fueled by the senator’s extra-marital affair. “You could see the seeds of politics we’re dealing with now,” says Carson, a former Capitol Hill staffer. The central tenet of the film is that few people — the candidate, his staff and family, journalists, etc., — were prepared for what happened to Hart, and they made the best decisions they could at the time in what would help define the electoral and political process for years to come. “We’ve created a process that rewards a bit of shamelessness, that both attracts and rewards candidates that who will do anything to get or hold office,” Bai adds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In upstate New York, two Republican House freshmen are fighting for their political future against two Democrats who hope that kitchen sink issues like health care will power them through.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Minnesota is suddenly the center of the political universe and voters there are more focused on health care and the economy than the latest scandal in Washington. And they'll have a lot to say in the midterms because the Land of 10,000 Lakes is hosting a governor's race, two Senate races and four competitive House races that will go a long way to determine the congressional majority next year. Roll Call Senior Political Reporter Simone Pathé spent six days covering six races and 12 candidates there and explains on this week’s Political Theater podcast why both Republicans and Democrats consider Minnesota a bellwether state.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the middle of a singularly rough Supreme Court nomination fight, the business of the high court goes on. The fate of Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s second nominee to the court, is still up in the air. But the direction of the court, regardless of what happens with Kavanaugh, seems to be moving inexorably negative, at least politically, say CQ legal affairs writer Todd Ruger and senior writer Kate Ackley.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Beto O’Rourke has gained rock star status as an insurgent liberal candidate running against the established Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, but, but, but, says Nathan L. Gonzales, Roll Call’s elections analyst and the publisher of Inside Elections, O’Rourke’s rise to national prominence did not happen overnight or come out of nowhere.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Democrats are trying to make the most of the Supreme Court nomination hearing of Brett Kavanaugh looking to bolster support for the midterms and the 2020 presidential election. Leah Askarinam of Inside Elections tells us which Democrats are likely to gain from the strategy and whether it will affect Republican turnout.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. John McCain had countless interactions with members of the press during a career on Capitol Hill that spanned more than three decades. CQ's Patrick Pexton and Megan Scully along with Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski share personal anecdotes that reveal a more personal side to the late Arizona senator. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pro tip: Don’t put in writing your complaints that your campaign treasurer won’t dish out petty cash for your personal use. That’s just one of the details outlined in the federal indictment against Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife Margaret. They are in hot water over their alleged misuse of campaign finance funds, a pattern of using that cash for personal use, including for their kids’ tuition, family vacations and even dental work, and passing off purchases as charitable actions. The California Republican was already facing a potentially tough re-election race before the indictment hit on August 21. Roll Call’s Katherine Tully-McManus and Inside Election's Nathan Gonzales work through the legal and political ramifications on the latest Political Theater podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For actor Ben Foster, veterans’ re-entry to civilian life is part of what he says is “a continuing conversation” he says is important. It shows in his body of work, including his latest movie, “Leave No Trace,” which he discussed with Political Theater host Jason Dick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering discuss their documentary "The Bleeding Edge" about the medical device industry and its unknown dangers. The movie comes as Congress again considers repealing the tax on medical devices, says CQ health editor Rebecca Adams.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 24, 1998 changed everything on Capitol Hill. The shooting and ensuing deaths of two Capitol Police officers left a scar on the close-knit community and began a ramping up of hardened security around the legislative branch that continues today. Roll Call Senior Editor David Hawkings covered the event, and Roll Call multimedia reporter Thomas McKinless produced a documentary about the episode with fresh eyes. They discuss what they remembered, and what they learned on the latest Political Theater Podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Midterm elections typically have lower voter turnout than presidential ones. If that turns out to be the case in 2018, it won't be because of a lack of cash or candidates. In short, the midterm cycle is awash in campaign money. Breaking down some of the gobsmacking amounts and what it means for the control of Congress are Roll Call political correspondents Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman on the latest Political Theater podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Filmmaker Kimberly Reed grew up in Montana with little anticipation her home state would be ground zero for a massive fight over money in politics. But her new documentary, “Dark Money,” tells a tale worthy of any Western, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle fight for their own prerogatives in the face of out-of-state interests gunning for them.  With the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the high court’s role as the ultimate referee over money’s role in politics is back in focus. Reed and Campaign Legal Center founder Trevor Potter and CQ Roll Call campaign finance reporter Kate Ackley discuss the film, money in politics and the campaign landscape on this week’s Political Theater Podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call photographers Tom Williams @pennstatetom and Bill Clark @billclarkphotos describe their time covering Congress and how they came to take some of the most iconic Hill photos, featured in the new book Under the Dome by Political Theater host Jason Dick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York's Democratic primary has delivered the latest shock to the political system: the loss of House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joseph Crowley. Roll Call Elections Analyst Nathan Gonzales discusses how the results show the Democratic establishment just isn't what it used to be.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalists and lawmakers face off at the annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game, an event that Roll Call political Reporter Bridget Bowman and Texas Tribune Bureau Chief Abby Livingston say provides a respite from Capitol Hill partisanship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The annual Congressional Baseball Game has for years allowed lawmakers and staff a light-hearted outlet for their competitive drive. That changed a bit last year with a tragic shooting that ultimately helped cement the Capitol community, even though politics are never far removed. Roll Call Elections Analyst Nathan Gonzales discusses the game, politics and how it all fits on the latest Political Theater podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Republicans cancelled the August recess, citing historic obstruction by Democrats. But when you crunch the numbers, the delay tactics are far from historic, according to CQ Senate Managing Editor Ed Pesce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Netflix documentary series “Bobby Kennedy for President” marks the upcoming 50th anniversary of the late senator and presidential candidate’s assassination in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968. The four-part series by documentarian Dawn Porter shows the evolution of Kennedy from campaign manager, attorney general, senator and presidential candidate, and outlines the evolution of his political beliefs from rough-and-tumble family fixer and anti-communist to civil rights icon.  Porter discussed the series recently with the Political Theater podcast, including her own motivations for treading into a story many Americans may feel they know, and the result is a cinematic journey that feels fresh while also very much reflecting its own heady times.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump is a television fan and a polarizing figure in American culture. Two critically acclaimed television shows that just wrapped up their seasons reflect the political, cultural and economic anxieties of the era of Trump, CQ Staff Writer and cultural observer Clyde McGrady tells Jason Dick in this week’s Political Theater podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women were big winners in Tuesday's primaries as they are poised to change the midterm dynamics in states like Nebraska and Pennsylvania, explains Roll Call senior political reporter Bridget Bowman.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

West Virginia Republicans lined up for the right to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III, and after a knock-down, drag-out fight, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey emerged as the victor. Roll Call Senior Political Reporter Simone Pathe talks about her recent trip to the Mountain State and what it told her about the midterm fight ahead.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a bona fide pop icon, perhaps strange territory for an 85-year-old, diminutive, reserved constitutional scholar. In the latest Political Theater podcast, filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen speak about their documentary, “RBG,” including what it was like to be in the same theater when Ginsburg saw their movie at the Sundance Film Festival. The documentary opens in theaters on May 4. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republican Debbie Lesko won a close House race in an Arizona district that is usually very friendly to her party. As the midterm election season continues to heat up, Political Theater looks at the takeaways from this duel in the desert with Roll Call Elections Analyst Nathan Gonzales and Senior Political Reporter Bridget Bowman.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Members of Congress are the players we see on stage, but the production that is politics would go nowhere without the backstage people making up the staff — the chaplains, sergeants-at-arms, chiefs of staff and more who make sure the show goes on. Ed Pesce, the editor of CQ Senate and a former congressional staffer himself, talks about those dynamics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker Paul D. Ryan's announcement that he will not seek re-election once he finishes out his term has set off a scramble on several fronts including who will bring in the boatloads of cash that he raised for the GOP. CQ lobbying reporter Kate Ackley and Inside Elections' Nathan Gonzales explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump's desire to have the National Guard help patrol the Southern border is not all that different from actions taken by former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, but that does not mean there are not areas of concern about the action, says CQ's national security editor Megan Scully.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wondering what former members of Congress do after leaving Capitol Hill? Perhaps that's why the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress was formed, to keep tabs.  Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski attended the Association's recent Statesmanship Awards Dinner, where current and former members exchanged some fairly interesting ideas about Congress, and even gossiped a bit about the people who sleep in their offices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The opioid epidemic is a massive public health crisis that Washington is only now starting to grasp. Reid Wilson, national correspondent for the Hill, has a new book about the last time the U.S. government got things right in facing a deadly challenge, and it was only a few years ago.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The special election result in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District has rocked the political world on its heels, with Democrat Conor Lamb’s success in the heavily Republican region setting off a fresh round of speculation about the 2018 midterms.  Roll Call Senior Political Reporter Bridget Bowman, who reported from the area recently, was at the Capitol gauging reaction from members of Congress after the latest round of political jousting.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In light of Tuesday's 74th Annual Congressional Dinner, Political Theater talks to Washington Post humor columnist Alexandra Petri about when satire works and when it doesn't. Warning: we have politicians telling jokes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HULU’s new mini-series “The Looming Tower” traces the rising threat of Al Qaeda in the runup to the 9/11 attacks and is adapted from Lawrence Wright’s Pulitzer Prize winning book. For today’s audience, the series shows eerie parallels to conflicts within our government that are dominating our politics today. Actor Jeff Daniels portrays plays FBI Special Agent in Charge John O'Neill, a counterterrorism specialist who sounds the alarm about the threat posed by Osama bin Laden and who was killed at the World Trade Center in the 9/11 attacks.  “‘Looming Tower’ screams that we should be doing everything we can to be working together in a bipartisan effort to protect the people of this country,” he said.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among the stars at next month's Oscars will be Huntington Fire Chief Jan Rader, one of the subjects of the Academy Award nominated Netflix documentary "Heroin(e)". She's a first responder on the front lines of the opioid crisis, and she's taken her message on the issue not just to the screen, but also to Capitol Hill.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call Political analyst Stu Rothenberg explains why GOP gains in a generic ballot represent just a part of the overall political picture and political reporter Bridget Bowman previews Arizona's upcoming special election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Texas kicks off primary season in less than a month, and will shape midterm contests that could help determine majorities in the House and the Senate. Roll Call Senior Political Writer Bridget Bowman and Jason Dick run down everything from the marquee Senate race to the House campaigns that lawmakers will definitely be breaking a sweat over.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Terris, national political reporter at The Washington Post, discusses with Roll Call how President Trump used his State of the Union to build congressional coalitions, and whether the speech will help or hurt the legislative agenda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call political reporters Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman discuss the Senate Democrats up for re-elections in the 2018 midterms in states won by Donald Trump and how that dynamic played in the recent government shutdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The Final Year,” director Greg Barker’s documentary about a year in the life of the Obama administration’s foreign policy team, opens this Friday in theaters. For this week’s Political Theater podcast, the filmmaker and President Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes recount the story they tell through a human lens. “I wanted to give a sense that these complicated policy issues are, in fact, being grappled with and decided on by ordinary people,” Barker says. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Big Story Podcast is now Political Theater, in which we examine the spectacle of politics and how it fits, or doesn’t, into the nation’s culture.  Brandon Wetherbee, managing editor of the arts and cultural website Brightest Young Things, and co-author of “The Donald: How Trump Turned Presidential Politics into Pro Wrestling,” discusses the president’s approach to sports and how it relates to politics and the pursuit of power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The biggest tax overhaul in three decades, a record roster of judicial confirmations, strikes at Obamacare and a regulatory rollback: White House correspondent John T. Bennett reviews how the president ended up winning much of what he campaigned for, but remains at record low approval ratings. Can he sell his agenda to midterm voters? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call politics reporter Bridget Bowman, who is on the ground in Alabama, discusses how Democrat Doug Jones’ win is reverberating in the political sphere and how it could affect Congress in the coming year as lawmakers prepare for the 2018 midterm elections.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A week before Alabama's special election, Roll Call election analyst Nathan Gonzales  describes how he unearthed  an obscure political action committee supporting Roy Moore — just one more twist in a campaign where his alleged preying on teenage girls is the main issue, and has created a deep rift among his fellow Republicans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even though Democratic leaders snubbed President Donald Trump's invitation to the White House this week, it doesn't mean they don't want to negotiate with him. Roll Call's White House reporter John T. Bennett explains.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Allegations against current lawmakers, plus revelations of many taxpayer-funded settlements, are forcing leaders of both parties to confront the Hill’s backward culture before the election year, Roll Call columnist Patricia Murphy and reporter Simone Pathé explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call columnist Walter Shapiro and Leadership Editor Jason Dick discuss the political morass Congress finds itself in with the debate over state and local tax deductions.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the Democratic surge in the off-year voting gives the party reason to smile, the midterm election is a long way off. Roll Call reporters Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman detail what the results in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere mean for the Democrats' quest to take back the House.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ lobbying reporter Kate Ackley explains how K Street and the business community are shaping the much-anticipated GOP tax overhaul. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump's presidency has encouraged women to make campaign contributions in unprecedented numbers. Will more women run for Congress, too? CQ lobbying reporter Kate Ackley and Roll Call political reporter Simone Pathé explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do lawmakers read or understand the legislation they pass? They are about to pass a budget resolution they say isn't about the budget and passed legislation last year that defanged the DEA during an opioid epidemic. Roll Call Senior Senate Reporter Niels Lesniewski walks through what's going on.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call political reporters Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman explain how the primaries are shaping up ahead of the 2018 midterm elections amid a Republican Party civil war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Louisiana's Sen. Bill Cassidy, a key architect of the Graham/Cassidy health care overhaul proposal, tells CQ Roll Call that with some adjustments and time he believes he can gain enough support to pass the measure and end Obamacare. He talks to Roll Call leadership editor Jason Dick, political reporter Joseph William and CQ health reporter Mary Ellen McIntire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call lobbying reporter Kate Ackley and executive talent-hunter Julian Ha discuss the job market for lawmakers and staff members in the Age of Trump. "I think the system is constipated,'' says Ha. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alabama's Senate contest Tuesday is the first election skirmish in this year’s Republican civil war. Appointed Sen. Luther Strange is the candidate of the party establishment yet has the backing of the outsider president, Donald Trump. But former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s controversial conservatism has the ear of many Trump diehards. A preview from reporters who’ve seen the contest up close, Roll Call's Bridget Bowman and The Economist’s James Astill​. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent spate of lawmakers have announced they're retiring from Congress, and they are likely to be followed by others, says Roll Call elections analyst Nathan Gonzales. Senior political writer Bridget Bowman and leadership editor Jason Dick discuss who else might retire, and how will that affect Capitol Hill? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hill Republicans lambasted President Barack Obama’s deportation protections for 800,000 young people brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents, but now they sound willing to heed President Donald Trump’s invitation to turn the DACA program into law. What’s changed? CQ Roll Call immigration reporter Dean DeChiaro and education reporter Emily Wilkins explain.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Philadelphia's suburbs have long been political bellwethers, and any road to a House majority will likely run through them. Democrats are targeting three Republican House members in Philly's suburban districts. Roll Call Senior Political Reporter Bridget Bowman discusses the races with CQ Roll Call Leadership Editor Jason Dick on The Big Story Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. Jeff Flake's path to re-election is complicated. The Arizona Republican was potentially vulnerable even before President Donald Trump touched down in Phoenix to criticize him at a campaign style rally. Now Flake, who has argued for more civility in politics, finds himself in a big fight in both the GOP primary and, if he gets past that, a compressed general election. Roll Call Elections Analyst Nathan Gonzales discusses the 2018 Senate race in Arizona with Roll Call Leadership Editor Jason Dick on the Big Story Podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last weekend’s bloody Virginia demonstrations incited by white supremacists will focus new attention on how the Trump administration is altering the Justice Department’s approach to hate crimes and other civil rights issues, CQ legal affairs reporter Todd Ruger explains. It’s a big test for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, already under fire from the president and because of his own record on race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans competing for Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat in Alabama are striving to tell primary voters just how much they support President Donald Trump and, perhaps surprisingly, are using Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as a punching bag.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senators are heading home for summer break, after a health care implosion highlighted the partisan ill will that’s festered all year. Ed Pesce, who edits CQ’s Senate coverage, explains how hardline GOP procedural tactics have taken the chamber to a new low, and what could get civil deliberations back on track.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Democratic Party rolled out a new platform to win back voters, but is the reboot going to work? Roll Call Columnist Jonathan Allen, Senior Reporter Bridget Bowman and Leadership Editor Jason Dick assess the strategy.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call columnist Walter Shapiro and senior editor David Hawkings consider the Watergate scandal and what its rhythms reveal about why today’s GOP lawmakers are still taking a wait-and-see approach to the sprawling, sometimes confusing connections between the Russians and President Donald Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate will stick around Washington a little longer in August, shortening its recess to focus on an ambitious agenda. The list of things to do could include confirming the new FBI director. CQ Roll Call Senior Senate Reporter Niels Lesniewski and Leadership Editor Jason Dick break down what is doable.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell likened his search for 50 senators willing to vote for the same repeal-and-replace legislation to solving a Rubik’s Cube, a task not helped by many GOP skeptics getting besieged back home this July 4 recess. Roll Call reporters Bridget Bowman and Niels Lesniewski see no reason to predict the health care impasse is about to be broken. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate majority leader hasn’t abandoned hope of finding 50 votes for the year’s top GOP priority. But postponement over the July Fourth break won’t make it easier to bridge the gap between those focused on Obamacare’s repeal and those worried about too stingy a replacement, Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski and David Hawkings explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special election season is over, yielding an expensive status quo in the House’s partisan balance. But there are lessons to learn from these contests, including how they will affect the congressional agenda and what it means for the 2018 elections. Roll Call’s Simone Pathe and Jason Dick discuss the fallout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call political correspondent Simone Pathè explains how the most expensive House race in history, next week's contest to fill an open seat in suburban Atlanta, has already revealed plenty about the new congressional electoral landscape in the age of Trump.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a series of fits and starts, the Senate is starting to clear a path so it can consider legislation dismantling Obamacare, say CQ Roll Call's Jason Dick and Ed Pesce. They review how the Senate got there and what's next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even with the first all-Republican government in a decade, Congress has yet to send any meaningful legislation to President Donald Trump, say CQ Roll Call congressional leadership reporters Niels Lesniewski and Lindsey McPherson. They explain why health care, taxes, the budget and confirmations will likely remain stuck at least through the summer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrats heading into the 2018 midterm elections should pay attention to the party hubris that likely contributed to Hillary Clinton's presidential loss, says Jonathan Allen, CQ Roll Call columnist and co-author of the best-selling book "Shattered." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special elections are coming up in Montana, Georgia and South Carolina and candidates are trying to work around the seemingly endless White House drama, says CQ Roll Call’s @jasonjdick ‏and @Simone Pathé. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Republican effort to replace Obamacare has put some electorally vulnerable House Republicans on the defensive, CQ Roll Call political reporter Bridget Bowman says. And, health editor Rebecca Adams explains some members haven’t been accurate back home in explaining what would change. Meanwhile, the Senate debate looks to be long and complex, senior editor David Hawkings predicts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress struck a deal on a long-overdue spending bill to keep the government running, and all hell broke loose. CQ Roll Call’s Jason Dick, Niels Lesniewski and Walter Shapiro discuss how Washington’s dynamics prevent even a small victory party from breaking out.      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first 100 days of an administration have been used as a benchmark to gauge the progress made by a sitting president. Donald Trump’s first 100 days are punctuated by successes such as confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee and self-inflicted wounds such as the travel ban, says CQ Roll Call’s White House correspondent John T. Bennett. But what is most striking about Trump thus far, adds Bennett, is the difference between candidate Trump and President Trump.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump is moving on several fronts to deregulate environmental protection, prompting some states to intervene. But deep EPA budget cuts will get tamed by Congress, and the U.S. might stay with the Paris climate accord; even business leaders and conservative voters worry the anti-green push has gone too far, CQ Roll Call’s Mike Magner and Jeremy Dillon explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump has a blasé approach to the long list of complaints about his ethical conflicts and quandaries, and his GOP base hardly seems to mind, CQ Roll Call’s lobbying reporter Kate Ackley says. But all the questionable behavior by the president, his senior aides and his family are already giving Democrats on the Hill plenty of talking points for the midterm campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate is waiting for hundreds of high-profile nominations to lead the federal government and the U.S. court system, but it might be a long time before any of those people settle into their new jobs, says CQ Roll Call’s Senior Legislative Analyst Ed Pesce. Many must wade through the Senate’s approval process and that could turn the chamber into a "full-time confirmation machine,'' squeezing time needed for legislation.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Republican majority is preparing to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court confirmations if that’s what it takes to assure Neil Gorsuch is confirmed, says CQ's legal affairs writer Todd Ruger. But he and CQ Roll Call senior editor David Hawkings say using the so-called nuclear option could change centuries of precedent that make the Senate a place where bipartisanship still matters.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call's senior Senate reporter Niels Lesniewski leads us through a fascinating conversation on how the Senate leader's political machine wields power in ways that could have an impact on issues from health care to the Supreme Court. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call’s health editor Rebecca Adams breaks down why the Republican replacement for Obamacare is being attacked on all sides. And senior editor David Hawkings talks about the political consequences of the GOP’s current predicament. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call's leadership editor Jason Dick and senior political reporter Bridget Bowman explain the bumpy road ahead for Republican leaders as they try to sell their health care bill to their own members and the public.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump's well-received speech reflects three factions operating within the White House, says CQ Roll Call White House reporter John Bennett. But the president's ambitious goals are likely to encounter obstacles especially because - unlike his predecessors at this stage - Trump has yet to send one piece of legislation to Congress, adds Senior Editor David Hawkings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For four long months, Democrats have debated what to do to get out of the political wilderness. This weekend, the Democratic National Committee votes on who will be its next chairman, putting that person in a position to weigh in on the party's next move. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As they head back into their states and districts next week, lawmakers could continue to face angry voters at town halls over repealing the Affordable Care Act, says CQ Roll Call’s political reporter Simone Pathé and health reporter Erin Mershon. This and fear of a backlash in the 2018 elections, they explain, could further delay any action on the GOP’s six-year quest to repeal Obamacare. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's selectively applied rebuke of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren touched on volatile issues of race and gender, say CQ Roll Call's Leadership editor Jason Dick and policy Editor Catalina Camia.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate is known for its courtesies and decorum, but it’s just two weeks into the Donald Trump administration and the chamber has become as chaotic as it’s been in a long time, says CQ Roll Call’s senior editor David Hawkings. The carping and parliamentary brinkmanship over Cabinet nominees could bode ill for the legislative agenda ahead, say CQ Roll Call’s leadership editor Jason Dick and senior reporter Niels Lesniewski.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of the GOP retreat, CQ Roll Call's leadership editor Jason Dick and White House correspondent John Bennett provide insight into the awkward relationship developing between President Donald Trump and the Republicans who control Congress.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call Senior Editor David Hawkings and Leadership Editor Jason Dick examine the fallout from President-elect Donald Trump’s criticism of civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. In an unprecedented move, at least a third of House Democrats plan to skip Trump’s inauguration, says political reporter Simone Pathé. @repjohnlewis @rollcall @CQnow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call's Senate leadership reporter Niels Lesniewski walks us through how the GOP-controlled Congress can use the Congressional Review Act to rescind some of President Barack Obama’s last-minute regulations.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Donald Trump in the White House, Republicans in Congress may finally have the momentum to change immigration policy that could spell trouble for more than 700,000 "Dreamers," children of undocumented immigrants who grew up in the U.S., say CQ Roll Call reporters Jonathan Miller and Dean DeChiaro.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call's National Security reporter Ryan Lucas explains how Republicans and Democrats reach sometimes conflicting conclusions about whether the Kremlin tried to throw the election to Donald Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call’s Money and Politics reporter Kate Ackley digs into President-elect Donald Trump's web of potential conflicts of interest and his pledge to hand over his empire to his children. Meanwhile, Trump’s entangled interests have spurred Democrats and watchdog groups into action, says Senate Leadership reporter Bridget Bowman.           Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawmakers have until Dec. 9 to pass a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running until President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in. But Trump has asked that the temporary spending bill be extended to March 31, a delay that would keep government funding at current levels. That would, among other things, constrain the Pentagon, explain CQ Roll Call's Budget and Economics Editor Jane Norman and Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim. Listen to find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With control of the White House and Congress, Republicans can easily repeal big parts of President Obama’s health care law, but finding alternatives could prove to be a political minefield, say CQ Roll Call health reporter Erin Mershon and Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call columnists Patricia Murphy and Matt Lewis reflect on the nasty presidential campaign, how it changed some of the norms of politics and the role Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York could play as Democratic leader if Hillary Clinton wins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrats are poised to pick up House seats. If GOP losses are particularly heavy, then Republicans are likely to blame Speaker Paul Ryan, say CQ Roll Call’s Elections Editor Nathan Gonzales and reporter Lindsey McPherson.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long before the polls close, 29 nominees for open seats are all but certain to win and they could end up as half or more of the House’s Class of 2016. CQ Roll Call’s senior editor David Hawkings and Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim examine the newcomers and explain how demographics assure more diversity on Capitol Hill next year.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S.-backed military campaign in Iraq to drive the Islamic State from the city of Mosul is expected to succeed, but it could open the door to a host of problems the next U.S. administration will have to tackle, says Paul Salem of the Middle East Institute. In a conversation with CQ Roll Call’s National Security reporter Ryan Lucas and Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim, Salem explains the complications hindering stability in Iraq, including the conflict in Syria, where U.S. diplomatic efforts face challenges from an assortment of players, including Russia and Iran.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans are polling to see if their House and Senate candidates have been tainted by Donald Trump’s crude comments about women captured on video, says CQ Roll Call’s Elections editor Nathan Gonzales. Political Reporter Simone Pathe is watching the most vulnerable House Republicans and Missouri’s Sen. Roy Blunt, whose surprisingly competitive race is trending in the wrong direction for the GOP.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call Columnist Walter Shapiro, CQ Policy Editor Catalina Camia and CQ Roll Call’s News Director Steve Komarow weigh in on the vice presidential debate and what Tim Kaine and Mike Pence must do to elevate Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A deal to fund the government until Dec. 9 all came down to House Republicans giving in to Democratic demands to help Flint, Michigan, address its contaminated water crisis.  CQ Roll Call’s Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim and Budget and Economy editor Jane Norman break down the late night deals and what happens after the government once again runs out of money on Dec. 9.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the clock ticking, CQ Roll Call explains the obstacles lawmakers must overcome to reach a temporary solution to fund the government beyond Sept. 30, when the fiscal year ends. Proposals such as one introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz could derail negotiations, says CQ Roll Call’s Budget and Economics editor Jane Norman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created after the 2008 financial crisis just fined Wells Fargo millions of dollars for creating unauthorized accounts for 1.5 million customers, but Republicans in Congress want to strip it of its powers. Listen to CQ Roll Call’s Financial Services reporter Doug Sword and Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim explain why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A scoop by CQ Roll Call’s defense reporter John M. Donnelly reveals how the U.S. military bureaucracy treats the fallen differently, shortchanging some surviving families of benefits. At issue, says Donnelly, is how members of the National Guard and Reserves, who are increasingly called to fight the nation's wars, are categorized in payroll. The family of one reservist killed in a military plane crash could receive hundreds of dollars less per month than a second reservist killed in the same crash--merely because of the arcane payroll distinction. Congress could fix the problem with $2 million, a tiny amount in an annual defense budget of more than $600 billion.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Though Congress and the Obama administration are still fighting over how to respond to the Zika virus outbreak, the gridlock hasn’t kept government scientists from trying to develop an effective vaccine. But with available funds expected to dry up around December, there’s bound to be a reckoning, just as lawmakers are deciding broader questions about government spending and plans to keep federal agencies running. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is grappling with a plethora of technology-related legislation that appears to be headed nowhere fast, in part because of concerns over security and privacy. As CQ Roll Call's Adriel Bettelheim explains, the Internet of Things Caucus hopes to provide a bridge for understanding the issues at stake when it comes to technology policy – and find areas where lawmakers can work together, says CQ Roll Call’s technology reporter Alisha Green. #DarrellIssa #SuzanDelBene Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many have asked what it would take to remove Donald Trump from the GOP ticket and nominate a new presidential candidate. CQ Roll Call’s senior Senate reporter Niels Lesniewski and managing editor Adriel Bettelheim lay out how it could be done. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement has become a thorny issue for presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her Democratic Party, says CQ Roll Call’s trade reporter Ellyn Ferguson, who explains in detail what’s at stake. Donald Trump’s and Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign rhetoric has emboldened anti-TPP activists, who have turned a usually wonky debate to a national conversation that transcends party politics.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Texas Sen Ted. Cruz has cast a shadow over the last day of the Republican National Convention after he was booed off stage Wednesday night for refusing to endorse Donald Trump for president. This memorable moment also overshadowed the acceptance speech of Trump’s vice presidential nominee Mike Pence. CQ Roll Call’s Elections Editor Nathan Gonzales says Trump’s onetime campaign foe “overplayed his hand, he looks like a sore loser.’’ It’s a sentiment echoed by others as Trump is set to accept the GOP’s nomination for president. Gonzales is also Editor & Publisher of The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report. @nathanlgonzales, @cqnow, @rollcall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is going on a seven-week summer break without resolving critical issues from funding the government beyond Sept. 30 to paying for a response to the Zika virus. “There is no agreement yet on a fiscal 2017 plan,’’ says CQ Roll Call’s Budget & Economy Editor Jane Norman.  Along with Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim, Norman talks about the issues that have created the gridlock and the Band-Aid plans that may be used in September to avert a government shutdown in a highly charged election year.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is going on a seven-week summer break without resolving critical issues from funding the government beyond Sept. 30 to paying for a response to the Zika virus. “There is no agreement yet on a fiscal 2017 plan,’’ says CQ Roll Call’s Budget & Economy Editor Jane Norman.  Along with Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim, Norman talks about the issues that have created the gridlock and the Band-Aid plans that may be used in September to avert a government shutdown in a highly charged election year.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gun legislation is posing a real challenge for House Speaker Paul Ryan. Last month it was a Democratic sit-in demanding votes on gun control measures that disrupted regular order in the House. Now, as CQ Roll Call editors Adriel Bettelheim and Catalina Camia explain, it is Republican objections to gun-related legislation backed by their leadership that is tying the Speaker’s hands. Listen to find out why. @cqnow, @rollcall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Working on Capitol Hill may sound glamorous, but for many congressional staffers their salaries don’t match the importance of their jobs. A Roll Call analysis shows stagnant salaries - starting at around $35,000 a year - lag far behind living costs in the nation's capital - a phenomenon that could lead to brain drain on the Hill. CQ Roll Call’s Chief Content Officer David Ellis discusses the issue with Phyllis Jordan, congressional editor of Roll Call, and reporters Rema Rahman and Sean McMinn. via @cqnow @rollcall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite dire warnings that the mosquito-borne Zika virus is poised to become a public health threat, the Senate was unable to overcome partisan bickering to allocate money toward prevention efforts.  Lawmakers, however, voted to help Puerto Rico avoid defaulting on its $72 billion debt. CQ Roll Call’s Adriel Bettelheim and Jane Norman explain what happened and why. @CQNow, @RollCall  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to The Economist Washington Bureau Chief David Rennie describe the potential economic consequences to the U.S. economy of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union and the parallels between Brexit voters and supporters of Donald Trump.  "The last thing the American government needs right now is global turmoil in any significant economy, '' Rennie says. Britain's investments in the United States amount to half a trillion dollars, Rennie says in his discussion with Chief Content Officer David Ellis and CQ Roll Call's Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim.  @cqnow, @rollcall, @DSORennie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawmakers in the House and Senate remain divided over gun control in the aftermath of the June 12 Orlando attack. But, as CQ Roll Call's Adriel Bettelheim and Niels Lesniewski explain, that isn't hurting either side's political campaigns.   @cqnow, @rollcall  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call's Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim and CQ Magazine Deputy Editor Jason Dick break down how so-called ''poison pill'' amendments get the majority party in Congress to sink its own legislation. Yes, your read right. Though it's a time-honored tactic, such make-or-break amendments are flying with greater frequency in an election year with few viable pieces of legislation in either the House or Senate. And they are disrupting Republicans’ hopes of restoring regular order and transparency to the budgeting process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As President Barack Obama heads to Japan for a summit of leaders of the Group of Seven, the world's biggest economic powers, CQ Roll Call's foreign policy reporter Rachel Oswald and Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim dissect the significance of the visit, the president's stop in Hiroshima and why Japan worries more about Trump than China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Watching Consumers’ Online habits to Set Insurance Rates   State lawmakers across the country are growing concerned about a new practice by the insurance industry:  setting prices based on their customers’ retail shopping habits and Internet search histories. CQ’s Clyde McGrady reports that con­sumer groups have pushed legislators and regulators to stop insurers from figuring out the highest amount they can charge policyholders before a customer will switch companies — based on person­al data insurers buy from online snooping services.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She’s from Nevada, via Brooklyn, N.Y., carries two pistols at all times, supports gay rights, Ted Cruz for President and helped negotiate the end of a deadly standoff over federal land in Oregon. And she’s running for Congress in one of the most heavily contested House races in the nation, where, apropos of a Las Vegas-based district, it’s anyone’s guess who has the edge. She’s Nevada assemblywoman Michele Fiore, one of CQ Roll Call’s 25 Most Influential Women in State Government.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Champions of clean energy often look to California and other blue states for leadership on  green issues, but lately the state that is the king of wind power is a decidedly red one in the heart of Middle America. To be sure, Iowa’s success with wind was helped in no small part by its geography. Iowa’s flat topography enables better and more frequent wind gusts. But Iowa also adopted some of the nation’s first policies to promote renewable energy. Now, the Energy Information Administration says  Iowa gets almost a third of its electricity from wind, more than any other state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three congressional oversight hearings and at least four visits by lawmakers to Flint, Mich., have provided little traction for legislation to address the water crisis there. And, as CQ Roll Call reporters Stephanie Akin and Jeremy Dillon explain in a CQ State Report podcast, folks in the struggling city are growing weary of politicians and bureaucrats pointing fingers of blame at each other.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The handful of red state governors and lawmakers who have been willing to expand Medicaid under the 2010 health care law have tried to put their own spin on the program – and one of their favorites has been pushing recipients to find jobs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s good news and bad news for state treasuries – and a surprise about what can happen when states raise taxes on high-income households whose earnings are impacted by the ups and downs of Wall Street.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A controversial federal program that over the years has sent billions of dollars to state and local police was halted in December after Congress raided the fund associated with it -- and cops are now crying foul. The payouts came from a Justice Department fund created via civil asset forfeiture -- a practice that allows law enforcement to take money and property from people who may not even be charged with a crime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a movement by states to prohibit mental health professionals from providing so-called gay conversion therapy. In just the last two years California, New Jersey, Illinois, Oregon and Washington D.C. have banned the treatment. At least 13 states are considering legislation banning conversion therapy for minors, according to CQ StateTrack data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new Democratic Governor, John Bel Edwards, and the Republican Legislature are going to have to work together to clean up a mess that even some Republicans in the state say was created by Edwards predecessor, Republican Bobby Jindal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices