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
- 1941
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
February 21, 2025: Will DOGE bite Republicans?
Warning signs are flashing for congressional Republicans as President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency project escalates its slash-and-burn approach to federal budget cuts. In deep-…
00:07:40 |
Fri 21 Feb 2025
February 20, 2025: Washington’s newest power couple
Day in and day out, the most consequential stories in Washington right now seem to include two key players. One is obvious: President Donald Trump. The other is Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man …
00:07:55 |
Thu 20 Feb 2025
February 19, 2025: Trump and Musk head to Hannity
In last night’s interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk tried to rehab Musk’s image and reinforce that Trump runs the show. Beyond that, not much else happened. As…
00:09:19 |
Wed 19 Feb 2025
February 18, 2025: Who holds the keys to Ukraine‘s future?
The biggest story in Washington today isn’t even in Washington. Today, top officials from the U.S. and Russia will meet in Saudi Arabia to talk about a future peace plan for Ukraine. But, officials f…
00:10:06 |
Tue 18 Feb 2025
February 14, 2025: One ‘big, beautiful bill’ takes one big leap forward
Late last night, the House Budget Committee approved GOP leadership’s voluminous one-bill budget plan — a giant step toward fulfilling President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, but one that sets them u…
00:10:43 |
Fri 14 Feb 2025
February 13, 2025: Why the Trump-Modi meeting matters
Today, President Donald Trump will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House — the latest high-stakes meeting between the leaders of the world’s two largest democracies. On the agen…
00:10:45 |
Thu 13 Feb 2025
February 12, 2025: Dueling budgets and DOGE fights
There’s one thing dominating the discourse in Washington today: Money. Dueling Republican budgets face big days on Capitol Hill, new inflation numbers drop this morning and President Donald Trump cou…
00:08:31 |
Wed 12 Feb 2025
February 11, 2025: Trump’s bureaucracy bulldozer
In the few weeks since President Donald Trump returned to office, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency panel has implemented significant changes within the federal government. Strong favor…
00:07:38 |
Tue 11 Feb 2025
February 10, 2025: Trump’s picks are sailing through the Senate
As soon as tomorrow, Tulsi Gabbard is likely to sail through confirmation as Director of National Intelligence. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation is likely to follow later this week. Just weeks ag…
00:09:40 |
Mon 10 Feb 2025
February 7, 2025: Reconcilable differences split the GOP
The Republican battle for the upper hand in the reconciliation debate is in full swing today. House GOP leaders are set to finally unveil their plan. Senate Republicans descend on Mar-a-Lago to woo P…
00:08:37 |
Fri 07 Feb 2025
February 6, 2025: Elon Musk’s ‘fork in the road’ has arrived
As Elon Musk wages war on the bureaucracy, federal workers face a time for choosing: At midnight tonight, the self-styled “early buyout” offer to federal employees expires, marking a potential hinge …
00:10:03 |
Thu 06 Feb 2025
February 5, 2025: Trump targets trans student athletes in new EO
This afternoon, President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order that would effectively ban trans women and girls from participating in women’s sports. The move would reverse a change to…
00:09:55 |
Wed 05 Feb 2025
February 4, 2025: What’s at stake during today’s Trump-Netanyahu meeting
Today, President Donald Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his first visit from a foreign dignitary during his second term. There’s a lot at stake for both leaders —…
00:10:23 |
Tue 04 Feb 2025
February 3, 2025: The trade war begins
On Saturday, President Donald Trump signed an order to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on energy products from Canada. Those new actions go into effect at midnig…
00:09:07 |
Mon 03 Feb 2025
January 31, 2025: The ‘Midwestern nice’ battle for the Democratic Party
As the tragedy at Washington Reagan National Airport dominates the policy conversation in DC, the political conversation is quickly turning to the pivotal Democratic National Committee meeting tomorr…
00:10:20 |
Fri 31 Jan 2025
January 30, 2025: Tragedy on the Potomac
In what appears to be the most serious aviation disaster in the U.S. in more than a decade, last night, a regional passenger jet collided with an Army helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National …
00:09:40 |
Thu 30 Jan 2025
January 29, 2025: RFK Jr. hits the hill
Today, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services faces what’s expected to be a contentious Senate hearing. Health care reporter Daniel Payne joins Playbook …
00:08:08 |
Wed 29 Jan 2025
January 28, 2025: Trump's legislative wishlist
President Donald Trump was short on procedure and long on demands in addressing House Republicans at the annual House GOP policy retreat last night. Today, lawmakers will be strategizing about how to…
00:08:33 |
Tue 28 Jan 2025
January 27, 2025: House GOP retreats and regroups
This afternoon marks the start of the House GOP retreat in Florida, where Republicans will strategize about how to get President Trump’s legislative agenda passed in Congress. The biggest task for th…
00:08:15 |
Mon 27 Jan 2025
January 24, 2025: Will Trump and Newsom play nice?
Today, President Donald Trump plans to take his first trip outside Washington since taking office, visiting North Carolina and California to assess disaster recovery efforts. California Bureau Chief …
00:10:34 |
Fri 24 Jan 2025
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