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.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 6 minutes
- Episodes
- 1944
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
Aug. 17, 2021: Biden’s big bet on Afghanistan
Before President Joe Biden took the podium to address the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan on Monday, senior Obama White House advisor David Axelrod was on CNN giving him some free advice: “You…
00:05:40 |
Tue 17 Aug 2021
Aug. 16, 2021: Biden’s stubborn streak paved the way for havoc in Afghanistan
Every biography or deep profile of President Joe Biden emphasizes his stubbornness, the chip on his soldier, his lifelong desire to prove doubters wrong — whether it was overcoming a stutter, or demo…
00:06:32 |
Mon 16 Aug 2021
Aug. 13, 2021: Census senses shifting demographics
Zach Montellaro, a POLITICO campaigns reporter and expert in (among other things) redistricting, writes in with a special dispatch today:
Thursday brought the Census Bureau’s long-delayed release of …
00:05:25 |
Fri 13 Aug 2021
Aug. 12, 2021: Pelosi's summer squeeze
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling the House back from summer recess Aug. 23 to vote on the party’s $3.5 trillion budget, but she has a problem: Six moderate House Democrats, our ace House reporters Sar…
00:05:36 |
Thu 12 Aug 2021
Aug. 11, 2021: A warning sign for Democrats on climate policy
We have liftoff. Early this morning, in a 50-49 vote along party lines, the Senate passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that outlines the Dems’ policy agenda.
We stayed up late watching the Senat…
00:05:37 |
Wed 11 Aug 2021
Aug. 10, 2021: The latest Democratic feud to watch
It’s about time. After months of haggling, the chamber is expected to pass the BIF today at 11 a.m., then move fairly quickly to consider Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget resolution. Majority Leader C…
00:04:34 |
Tue 10 Aug 2021
August 06, 2021: McConnell’s Herschel Walker problem, part II
Days after Mitch McConnell's political flacks complained about our reporting detailing the GOP leader’s concerns about Herschel Walker running for Senate in Georgia, CNN has a story confirming the sc…
00:06:36 |
Fri 06 Aug 2021
August 05, 2021: Schumer double dares McConnell on the debt ceiling
Chuck Schumer is about to double-dog dare Mitch McConnell and his members to vote against a debt ceiling increase this fall. Just weeks after the minority leader implored his counterpart to tack a de…
00:07:55 |
Thu 05 Aug 2021
August 04, 2021: Reports of Trump’s demise are exaggerated
Mike Carey might have been on the ballot, but in the Buckeye State on Tuesday night Donald Trump was just as much the winner. The former president’s candidate prevailed in a 10-way primary to replace…
00:07:13 |
Wed 04 Aug 2021
August 03, 2021: What to watch for in tonight’s special elections
The two special election primaries for Congress in Ohio today offer windows into each party a little more than six months into President Joe Biden's tenure — and Donald Trump's post-presidency.
And, …
00:05:24 |
Tue 03 Aug 2021
August 02, 2021: All eyes on Senate as AOC calls Dems ‘cowards’
All eyes are on the Senate again this week.
On Sunday night, a little past 9 p.m., the bipartisan infrastructure bill finally hit the Senate floor. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced the legisl…
00:07:47 |
Mon 02 Aug 2021
July 30, 2021: Sinema’s vacation plans and Manchin gets booed
Sen. Krysten Sinema is not letting BIF or the reconciliation bill get in the way of her summer plans.
When Chuck Schumer announced earlier this month that he might keep the Senate in session into Aug…
00:05:46 |
Fri 30 Jul 2021
July 29, 2021: McConnell’s Herschel Walker problem
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to flip the chamber in 2022. But one potential obstacle keeps coming up time and again: multiple Donald Trump-inspired candidates who might sweep their GO…
00:05:44 |
Thu 29 Jul 2021
July 28, 2021: The return of masks, and the beginning of mandates
In the special election runoff in Texas’s 6th District, Jake Ellzey defeated the Trump-endorsed candidate, Susan Wright. It's a pretty rough outcome for Trump in a district where his super PAC spent …
00:06:00 |
Wed 28 Jul 2021
July 27, 2021: Kevin McCarthy's all-around tough day
This is going to be an all-around tough day for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — and to a large degree, it’s a self-inflicted predicament.
The House’s Jan. 6 committee makes its debut this morn…
00:04:22 |
Tue 27 Jul 2021
July 26, 2021: What the BIF and Bennifer have in common
Earlier this year, two of the most unlikely pairings in America started on a journey that we here at Playbook have been watching closely: Bennifer and BIF.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's first clan…
00:05:21 |
Mon 26 Jul 2021
July 23, 2021: The biggest winner of the infrastructure fight
No matter what happens to BIF, Pete Buttigieg has already won.
The Iowa caucus winner-turned-Transportation secretary has redefined the backwater Cabinet position where Democrats typically plant thei…
00:06:17 |
Fri 23 Jul 2021
July 22, 2021: What's next for the Jan. 6 committee
It should be among the most important oversight investigations Congress has ever conducted. But the select committee on Jan. 6 hasn’t even had its first hearing and it’s already consumed by drama aft…
00:06:39 |
Thu 22 Jul 2021
July 21, 2021: ‘Reckless tax and spending spree’ — The GOP battle plan takes shape
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wanted today to be the GOP’s moment to put up or shut up on the bipartisan infrastructure deal. But based on our conversations with sources involved Tuesday night…
00:06:06 |
Wed 21 Jul 2021
July 20, 2021: RIP BIF?
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework has had an entire political life that few pieces of legislation enjoy: a much-ballyhooed agreement after months of closely watched discussions, a ceremony at t…
00:05:54 |
Tue 20 Jul 2021
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