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PODCAST

The Playbook Podcast

POLITICO’s Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns bring their fresh insight, analysis and reporting to the biggest story driving the day in the nation’s capital.

news politics

All Episodes

13:52

June 3, 2025: Trump turns the screws

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/06/03

President Donald Trump is calling. Will Senate Republicans answer? As the GOP homes in on the votes needed to pass the all-important reconciliation bill through the upper chamber, the president is escalating both his outreach to and pressure on holdouts. But what the White House is saying and what those last few Senate Republicans really want may be in conflict. Playbook managing editor and author Jack Blanchard and chief correspondent Dasha Burns discuss the latest. Plus, Chinese President Xi

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15:15

June 2, 2025: Antisemitic attack spurs new...

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/06/02

Yesterday in Colorado, a man shouted “Free Palestine” as he attacked a group of elderly demonstrators who had gathered to peacefully advocate for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. The episode is at once the nation’s latest paroxysm of antisemitic violence and the newest flashpoint in the debate about immigration: the alleged assailant was reportedly in the country illegally, having overstayed a visa. Chief Playbook correspondent Dasha Burns and author and managing editor Jack Blanchard join

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45:36

New from Politico: The Conversation with Dasha Burns

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/06/01

Listen to the first episode of Politico’s new podcast, The Conversation with Dasha Burns. Dr. Mehmet Oz, former TV host and Pennsylvania Senate candidate, is one of America’s most famous physicians. Now he’s running the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which means he’s in charge of programs that provide health care for about half of all Americans. He sits down with White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns to discuss potential Medicaid cuts, his big plans to lower drug pricing, why he’s

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14:12

May 30, 2025: How 2026 looks from a key battleground

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/30

It’s a swing state with an open U.S. Senate seat, several competitive House races, an open gubernatorial seat — oh, and a potential leading 2028 candidate serving as governor. You may call it a political wonk’s dream; we call it Michigan. This week, as the battleground state’s political stars descended on idyllic Mackinac Island, the trends that will likely define 2026 across the nation came into full view. Live from the Mackinac Policy Conference, Playbook contributing author Adam Wren and

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17:20

May 29, 2025: Trump vs. the courts — again

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/29

President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda has largely relied on one central claim: that America faces a national emergency that justifies the president taking extraordinary measures. Yesterday, a federal court blew a hole in that rationale in a ruling striking down his tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners while teeing up yet another looming Supreme Court showdown. On issue after issue, the legal system has proven to be the one reliable restraint on Trump’s policy ambitions. And on issue after

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11:49

May 28, 2025: Trump’s big crypto play

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/28

Even as President Donald Trump himself has a (relatively) quiet couple days, the gears of his administration continue to turn, and the pairing of his political and personal interests continues, brazenly and in the public. Today, Vice President JD Vance will deliver the keynote address at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Las Vegas. A few hours later, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. will speak at the same event, which comes just one day after Trump’s media company announced it intends to raise billions to

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16:03

May 27, 2025: Inside Trump’s ‘destabilize and...

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/27

The biggest story in Washington today isn’t really in Washington; it’s about how Washington is affecting pretty much every place else. With Congress out on Memorial Day recess, the focus in D.C. today is all international — from Iran nuclear talks to trade negotiations with the European Union to the war in Ukraine to Gaza to King Charles’ visit to Canada. And there is a fairly consistent through line connecting it all, chief Playbook correspondent Dasha Burns tells managing editor and author Jack

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13:01

May 23, 2025: Trump and the politics of payback

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/23

Revenge, the saying goes, is a dish best served cold. And this week, the Trump administration is serving up a veritable buffet. Whether blocking Harvard University from enrolling international students, launching a Federal Trade Commission investigation into Media Matters, or using the long arm of the DOJ to prosecute Democratic elected officials, President Donald Trump’s government is mounting a show of force against its perceived opponents. But how does this revenge tour align with what MAGA

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13:27

May 22, 2025: All the president’s memecoins

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/22

Tonight, Donald Trump goes where no president has gone before: to an invite-only dinner for investors in a cryptocurrency bearing his name. The unprecedented event is the latest in a pile of entanglements that raise serious questions about palm-greasing and profiteering — from deals for Trump-branded golf courses to the $400 million jet Qatar gifted to the administration for use as Air Force One. Playbook managing editor and author Jack Blanchard digs into it all with contributing author Adam Wren

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12:08

May 21, 2025: Defending a legacy, Biden edition

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/21

Former President Joe Biden is trying to lay low. But with the conversation in Washington dominated by the fallout from his cancer diagnosis and the continuing revelations from Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book “Original Sin,” his every move is fodder for more discussion — welcome or not. Playbook contributing author Adam Wren joins managing editor and author Jack Blanchard to dig into it all. Meanwhile, the GOP megabill continues to progress through the House, as GOP leadership eyes the

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14:39

May 20, 2025: The book Washington can’t stop talking...

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/20

The year’s most anticipated book in Washington has finally arrived: Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s “Original Sin” dropped overnight, just as Joe Biden’s physical and cognitive health as president is the topic dominating the D.C. discourse. And the din of that conversation is likely to only grow louder. Partly, that’s because the Biden story isn’t going away. But it’s also because Republicans are eager to keep the focus there rather than the politically risky proposed cuts to Medicaid that have now

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12:36

May 19, 2025: Biden’s cancer diagnosis rocks DC

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/19

Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. This news comes just days before the release of a hotly anticipated book that promises to reveal information about the former president’s alleged cognitive decline and the lengths that White House staffers and others in his inner circle went to conceal it. Also, President Donald Trump has a diplomatic double-header today with calls to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

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15:23

May 16, 2025: Dems reckon with Biden book fallout

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/16

As a new book about former President Joe Biden’s cognitive health steamrolls its way through the Washington conversation, a new litmus test is emerging for Democrats with national ambitions: Did Biden, in fact, decline in mental acuity while in office? National politics correspondent and contributing Playbook author Adam Wren joins Playbook deputy editor Zack Stanton to talk it through. Plus, President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East trip, and the GOP mega-bill is teetering as hard-line

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16:46

May 15, 2025: Why today’s SCOTUS blockbuster is so...

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/15

Today, the Supreme Court hears arguably the biggest case of the term. But precisely what is being decided is up for debate. There’s a constitutional question about birthright citizenship. And then there’s a procedural question with wide-reaching implications: Can lower-court judges block federal policies with nationwide injunctions? Depending on how the high court rules, one of the main impediments preventing President Donald Trump from implementing his policy agenda could disappear. Playbook

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14:01

May 14, 2025: The book Joe Biden doesn’t want you to...

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/14

It’s Washington’s buzziest new book, and Joe Biden would probably prefer not to talk about it. And there’s a reason for that: It has ignited a ferocious discourse about the former president’s mental acuity and alleged decline and prompted uncomfortable questions for his former staffers and aides about who knew what and when. Playbook managing editor and author Jack Blanchard and chief Playbook correspondent Dasha Burns talk about the D.C. zeitgeist and how it all unfolded. Plus, Trump remains in the

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14:53

May 13, 2025: Trump’s Saudi spectacle

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/13

President Donald Trump’s well-known love of pomp and grandeur will be on full display today as he makes an official state visit to Saudi Arabia. The kingdom’s royal family is all too eager to woo Trump — especially as other regional powers, like Qatar, very publicly make entreaties — so they’ve pulled out all the stops for a major gathering of business leaders as well as a banquet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. What are insiders looking for from the trip? Playbook managing editor and author

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19:26

May 12, 2025: Trump's high-stakes trip tees up...

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/12

It’s the start of a frenzied week for Washington, as President Donald Trump embarks on his first overseas trip of his second term and congressional Republicans unveil sweeping new proposed cuts to spending and taxes (and, likely, Medicaid). Add in a few major geopolitical issues — the end of talks between U.S. and Chinese leaders in Geneva and the start of talks between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul — and you’re beginning to get the shape of it.What do you

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11:16

May 9, 2025: Red, white smoke and blue

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/09

It takes a lot to rip the news cycle away from President Donald Trump. But yesterday, that’s precisely what happened. Shortly after the president unveiled a major new trade deal with the U.K. — something the White House was eager to shine attention on — white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney. Meet the new pope: Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV. And just as soon as his name was uttered, he was dragged into a partisan battle over his real or imagined

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14:21

May 8, 2025: Trump lands a trade deal

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/08

Last night, President Donald Trump teased an announcement the White House had been waiting for: Trump’s first trade deal since his sweeping tariffs upended the global economy. Who answered Trump’s call? The United Kingdom, the latest chapter in the so-called “special relationship” between the two nations. What does it mean for Trump, for the economy, for the US-UK alliance and for Europe as a whole? Playbook managing editor and author Jack Blanchard and POLITICO White House bureau chief Dasha Burns

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12:17

May 7, 2025: Washington reaps the whirlwind

The Playbook Podcast ·

2025/05/07

This morning, Vice President JD Vance will speak at a meeting of world leaders convened in Washington by the Munich Security Conference. The speech is amid a backdrop of rising tensions between India and Pakistan, a Russia-Ukraine war that is dragging on, and seemingly endless tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Back home, officials are bracing both for Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell’s decision on whether to cut interest rates — and President Donald Trump’s reaction to the

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2,098 results

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