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
January 23, 2025: Trump weaves through Hannity interview
Last night, in the first Oval Office interview of his second term, Donald Trump let loose on a range of topics — from wildfires in California and his pardons of Jan. 6 rioters to his near assassinati…
00:10:34 |
Thu 23 Jan 2025
January 22, 2025: Senate fires up the confirmation conveyor belt
With President Donald Trump’s inauguration in the rearview, his cabinet nominees are retaking the spotlight. This week, the Senate takes a closer look at Russell Vought, Pete Hegseth, Elise Stefanik …
00:10:20 |
Wed 22 Jan 2025
January 21, 2025: Trump’s avalanche of executive orders
President Donald Trump closed his first day with an unprecedented show of executive force, signing dozens of executive orders, including orders to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization…
00:15:14 |
Tue 21 Jan 2025
January 20, 2025: Trump resets Washington
It has arrived. Today at noon, Donald Trump will be sworn in for a second term as president — the culmination of a political comeback for the ages. But things will look different than we’ve come to e…
00:11:22 |
Mon 20 Jan 2025
January 17, 2025: What does it mean to be a Democrat in 2025?
In the final days of the Biden White House, all eyes are fixed on President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans’ total control of the levers of power in Washington. But what does the future hold for t…
00:10:15 |
Sat 18 Jan 2025
January 16, 2025: Why can’t Mike Johnson and John Thune just get along?
In public, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune get along just fine. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that all is not well: Capitol Hill’s two most powerful lawmakers …
00:10:02 |
Thu 16 Jan 2025
January 15, 2025: Team Trump tries to box in RFK Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, faces an uphill battle for confirmation. Among other things, Kennedy is a noted vaccine skepti…
00:08:19 |
Wed 15 Jan 2025
January 14, 2025: The cabinet confirmation showdown begins
This morning, the Senate will start confirmation hearings for Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Will any of Trump’s picks see resistance? Senate reporter Ursula Perano joins Playbook co-author Eugene Daniels…
00:12:36 |
Tue 14 Jan 2025
January 13, 2025: The final word on the Biden doctrine
This afternoon, President Joe Biden will deliver an address on foreign policy from the State Department—his first of two farewell speeches during the final week of his political career. Senior foreig…
00:08:05 |
Mon 13 Jan 2025
January 10, 2025: The clock ticks down on TikTok
Today, officials from TikTok will make arguments before the Supreme Court to save the app in the U.S. Though some have expressed interest in buying TikTok, the app’s fate seems largely sealed save fo…
00:10:46 |
Fri 10 Jan 2025
January 9, 2024: President Jimmy Carter’s legacy
Jimmy Carter’s presidency and life after leaving the White House will be honored in a ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral today where all five members of the so-called presidents club are e…
00:10:24 |
Thu 09 Jan 2025
January 8, 2025: Are Democrats veering right on immigration?
On Tuesday, 48 House Democrats joined every Republican to advance an illegal immigration crackdown known as the Laken Riley Act, in a sign that Democrats may be moving right on immigration. White Hou…
00:08:52 |
Wed 08 Jan 2025
January 7, 2025: What’s the plan for reconciliation?
The Republican House majority is narrow, and there are a lot of policy priorities President-elect Donald Trump would like to see addressed. But, his preference on how to best approach the budget reco…
00:10:02 |
Tue 07 Jan 2025
January 6, 2025: Congress is back in business
It’s Congress' first full week of 2025, and there is already a lot to do. The first item on the agenda is to certify the 2024 election results, exactly four years after pro-Trump rioters stormed the …
00:09:59 |
Mon 06 Jan 2025
December 23, 2024: Johnson caught between Trump and a hard place
A shutdown was avoided. But a new dividing line was drawn between President-elect Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson — one with wide-reaching implications for the future of Johnson’s speaker…
00:08:37 |
Mon 23 Dec 2024
December 20, 2024: Who’s to blame if there’s a shutdown?
At this moment, we are mere hours away from a government shutdown. How did we get here? Well, just take a look at House Republicans: After Speaker Mike Johnson’s initial spending deal was scuttled am…
00:09:24 |
Fri 20 Dec 2024
December 19, 2024: Musk and Trump try to kill the CR
We’re one day closer to a government shutdown, and the best chance to avoid one just went kaput. When the sun rose yesterday morning, it looked like a solution was nigh. But that all changed in a mat…
00:09:44 |
Thu 19 Dec 2024
December 18, 2024: Johnson's CR fight is only beginning
On Tuesday, we finally got the continuing resolution that Republicans on both sides of the Hill were quarreling over. But today, with the fine print coming into view, it doesn't look like a sure thin…
00:08:25 |
Wed 18 Dec 2024
December 17, 2024: Waiting, and waiting, for a CR
Congress is about to head out for holiday break, but there’s one problem: there’s still no sign of a continuing resolution that would fund the government through March. So, what’s the hold up? Jennif…
00:09:51 |
Tue 17 Dec 2024
December 16, 2024: 2024’s last item on the to-do list
In just five days, lawmakers will leave D.C. for a two-week break, but a bill to fund the government is still pressing. With resistance mounting from GOP representatives in farm districts, House Spea…
00:07:01 |
Mon 16 Dec 2024
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