John Bresnahan has covered Congress for decades, recently as Politico’s Capitol Hill bureau chief and now as co-founder of Punchbowl News. He describes what he saw from inside the building as a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol this week — and what implications the searing event could have going forward. Support this show and all of The Atlantic's journalism by subscribing at: theatlantic.com/supportus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 08, 2021•26 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast The House majority whip from South Carolina gave Joe Biden the key endorsement of his candidacy. What does the civil rights veteran want to see from his party — and the President-elect — in 2021? How will Democrats bridge the divide between progressives advocating for change and Biden preaching a ‘return to normalcy?’ And with Clyburn chairing the new president’s inauguration committee, what does he expect from a very unusual transfer of power? This interview was recorded as part of an Atlantic ...
Dec 17, 2020•20 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast As conspiracy theories about the Georgia vote count have escalated into threats, a state election official rebuked President Trump and blamed him for the environment voting administrators now face. Despite being a lifelong Republican, Gabe Sterling worries about where he finds his party. The president and Georgia’s elected Republicans seem to be in open war with one another. How far could the dangerous rhetoric take things? And what does it mean for Georgia's run-off elections in January to deci...
Dec 04, 2020•25 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast A quarter-million Americans have now died of COVID-19. The spread of the virus is as bad as it’s ever been. And it’s almost certainly going to get much worse. But with the president abdicating responsibility and refusing to begin a transition, it feels as if we’re headed into unthinkable danger without any sense of who’s in charge. Staff writer Ed Yong wrote about America’s unpreparedness for a pandemic in 2018 and his reporting has led the conversation about the coronavirus for months now. He j...
Nov 20, 2020•33 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast The Virginia Congresswoman shares her concerns over President Trump’s post-election actions and what she considers the lessons of 2020 for her fellow Democrats. Before coming to Congress as part of the Democratic wave in 2018, Spanberger spent her career as an undercover operative in the CIA. She talks about what it was like going from a false alias to a congressional seat, why she ran in the first place, and what she thinks when people compare her group of friends in Congress to the ‘Squad.’ Su...
Nov 13, 2020•36 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast Between the pandemic and President Trump, election night this year will be unlike any other. As usual, television news networks are the narrators of our democracy, but what will they do if the president claims an unconfirmed victory? With the stakes so high, will they apply the lessons they learned these past four years? CNN’s Brian Stelter shares his thoughts on broadcasting the president’s words live, how important the Fox News alternate universe will be, and what television news’s future is i...
Oct 29, 2020•28 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast The man who wrote The Art of the Deal reflects on Donald Trump, his presidency, and what the coming weeks could bring. Schwartz says Trump’s “primary motivation is dominance” and “there is nothing Trump fears more than failure.” And with the election little more than a week away, Schwartz thinks Trump believes he’s going to lose, “probably even more than he did four years ago.” Support this show and all of The Atlantic’s journalism by becoming a subscriber at theatlantic.com/supportus Learn more...
Oct 23, 2020•32 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast The former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic nominee discusses President Trump, the pandemic, and election disinformation. Support this show and all of The Atlantic’s journalism by becoming a subscriber at theatlantic.com/supportus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 09, 2020•41 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast With the election only weeks away, President Trump is down in the polls, sowing doubt about the integrity of the vote, and refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. When he accepted his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention on August 24th, Trump summarized his position: “The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election.” What happens if a president loses reelection, but won’t accept the outcome? Staff writer Barton Gellman tried t...
Sep 30, 2020•24 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast In 2016, the Green Party won more votes in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin than Donald Trump’s margins for victory. As a result, many Democrats blamed the progressive party for Clinton’s electoral college loss and have worked this year to keep the party from competing in key states. Following Democrats’ challenges over paperwork issues, courts in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania removed Green Party names from presidential ballots this week. Howie Hawkins, the Green Party’s nominee for president ...
Sep 17, 2020•26 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Elected at 31, Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor is a young Black progressive and the face of a new Democratic party in the Midwest. With the nation’s attention on the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Barnes joins Isaac Dovere to discuss President Trump, the Milwaukee Bucks, and what he thinks Democrats need to do to win in November. Support this show and all of The Atlantic’s journalism by becoming a subscriber at theatlantic.com/supportus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...
Sep 03, 2020•31 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast Only a few years ago, Chad Mayes was the Republican leader in the California Assembly. Now, he’s out of the party. Ahead of next week’s Republican convention, he joins Isaac Dovere to discuss the state of the GOP, running an independent, and the long impact of Donald Trump. “California really was the canary in the coal mine. If you go back to the 1990s, where California was then—it's what the country is going to be 20 years from now. I've tried to tell my colleagues across the country that if yo...
Aug 21, 2020•29 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast Susan Rice, the former U.N. Ambassador and National Security Advisor for the Obama administration, is considered a leading candidate to become Joe Biden's running mate. She joins to discuss statehood for DC, racism and sexism in American politics, and the formative experiences that made her who she is today — a person who may be the first Black woman on a national ticket. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 08, 2020•38 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast Florida congresswoman Donna Shalala was one of many first-time candidates in 2018. But unlike other freshman Democrats that flipped a district, she’d already had a decades-long career in public life. At age 77, she became the second-oldest person ever to win a seat in Congress. Besides serving as an early Peace Corps volunteer and co-founding EMILY’s List, Shalala was also the longest-serving Secretary of Health & Human Services in U.S. history. She discusses what the federal government should b...
Jul 24, 2020•29 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast The Alabama senator discusses the coronavirus outbreak in the South, new efforts to grapple with its Confederate legacy, and his hopes that this time of crisis leads to systemic change. Support this show and all of The Atlantic's journalism by subscribing at: theatlantic.com/supportus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 10, 2020•31 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast The 2016 Republican presidential candidate announces her intention to vote for Joe Biden, and the concerns about the country that led to her decision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 25, 2020•31 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast The second-highest elected official in New York City is a progressive activist who’s worked to change policing for years. He thinks this moment could be different, if Americans are willing to have an honest conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 13, 2020•24 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast The mayor of Dayton, Ohio, on how badly America's cities need a bailout—and how painful the impact could be if they don't get one. Support this show and all of The Atlantic's journalism by subscribing at: theatlantic.com/supportus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2020•29 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Senator (and doctor) Bill Cassidy discusses the coronavirus response, vaccines, and how states like his own Louisiana hope to reopen. Support this show and all of The Atlantic's journalism by subscribing at: theatlantic.com/supportus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 15, 2020•27 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast The governor of one of the hardest-hit states discusses the coronavirus response, how he thinks about reopening New Jersey, and his conversations with President Trump. (In fact, the president called him during taping.) Support this show and all of The Atlantic's journalism by subscribing at: theatlantic.com/supportus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 01, 2020•24 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast The former presidential candidate discusses universal basic income, coronavirus-linked bigotry against Asian Americans, and how the pandemic has accelerated the automation trends he's long worried about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 27, 2020•31 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Georgia politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams discusses elections in a pandemic, vice presidential aspirations, and Star Trek. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 24, 2020•33 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund discusses Wisconsin’s election debacle and how the coronavirus has become a new tool of voter suppression. Ifill says Wisconsin legislators “created a perfect storm where it didn't have to exist” and that the Supreme Court’s “terrible decision” allowing the election to proceed “consigned people to have to choose between their health and their right as citizens to participate and vote.” She describes how the current partisan debate around voter supp...
Apr 11, 2020•30 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Governor Gretchen Whitmer joins to discuss Michigan’s coronavirus response and her relationship with President Trump. Elected in the state’s 2018 wave election, the popular young governor is considered a potential running mate for Joe Biden. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 03, 2020•20 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Grace Meng represents New York in Congress. Her Queens district is at the center of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, where its hospitals face an ‘apocalyptic’ situation. She spent the day flying to and from Washington to pass the $2 trillion stimulus package. After landing back home, she spoke with Isaac Dovere about her constituents fighting against the coronavirus, having to risk exposure flying to Washington for the vote, and how politicians using the phrase ‘Chinese virus’ has impacted the peo...
Mar 28, 2020•22 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked everyone to stay home. He's issued PSA videos, with his mini donkey and mini horse, and from his jacuzzi, urging people to socially distance. Besides his celebrity, he of course also spent seven years governing California—a state that's no stranger to disaster. He calls Isaac Dovere to share his thoughts on this bonus episode of The Ticket: Politics from The Atlantic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 25, 2020•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Senator Sherrod Brown discusses the Trump administration's response to the pandemic and what he thinks Congress needs to do now. The progressive Ohio senator believes that, as Americans rely on expanded social insurance programs to weather this crisis, they'll value government taking on a bigger role in society. "I think you'll see the kind of structural change in our society that most of the country wants," he tells Isaac Dovere. "I think the public overwhelmingly agrees and sees more clearly n...
Mar 20, 2020•35 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Vann Newkirk joins Isaac Dovere to discuss Floodlines—the new Atlantic podcast about Hurricane Katrina—and what lessons the disaster response in 2005 has for the coronavirus crisis in 2020. (After their conversation, listen for the full first episode of Floodlines.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 13, 2020•50 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast The campaign manager behind Obama’s 2008 election breaks down the state of the Democratic party. What do Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden each need to do to win the nomination? And for an election Plouffe says has probably “the biggest stakes the country's ever known,” what do Democrats have to do to defeat President Trump? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 06, 2020•34 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Former Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri discusses the South Carolina primary, how 2020 is different than 2016, and how sexism still shapes American politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 29, 2020•34 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast