Presidential

The Washington Post's Presidential podcast explores how each former American president reached office, made decisions, handled crises and redefined the role of commander-in-chief. It was released leading up to up to Election Day 2016, starting with George Washington in week one and ending on week 44 with the president-elect. Hosted by Lillian Cunningham, the series features Pulitzer Prize-winning biographers like David McCullough and Washington Post journalists like Bob Woodward.

Rank #1: George Washington: The man, the myth, the legend.
Who exactly was our first president? Bob Woodward, Joel Achenbach and Julie Miller kick off our first episode of Presidential.

Rank #2: John Adams: The case of the missing monument.
In the second episode of Presidential, biographer David McCullough as well as noted art and architecture experts explore why there's no monument to John Adams in Washington, DC -- and how that omission shapes our sense of his legacy.

The New Washington

This limited-run series of interviews from the producers of "The Daily" takes you inside Trump’s Washington. From July through December of 2017, "The New Washington" delivered interviews with the political character you wanted to hear from most that week, with analysis and commentary from Michael Barbaro, Carl Hulse and their colleagues in the D.C. bureau of The New York Times.

Rank #1: Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The White House press secretary is one of the most visible jobs in American politics. Michael Grynbaum, a media correspondent for The Times, spoke with Ms. Sanders about growing up as the daughter of a prominent politician, inheriting her position after her celebrity predecessor Sean Spicer quit and trying to manage coverage of a tumultuous White House while mollifying a boss who believes he is his own best spokesman.

Rank #2: Senator Richard Burr.
The Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian tampering in the election is the premier inquiry on Capitol Hill. The Republican senator from North Carolina, the committee’s chairman, opens up about its progress, his relationship with President Trump and a distant relative who made his last name famous.

The Ticket: Politics from The Atlantic

Join Atlantic political correspondent Isaac Dovere on the road each week as he reports from around the country on the politics, policies, and personalities that are defining this crucial moment in American history. Each week brings you an intimate and surprising conversation with the names you know and names you may not know—but should.

Rank #1: The Great Recession, One Decade Later.
In December 2007, the U.S. marked the beginning of its longest recession since World War II. Now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency born in the ashes of the nation's economic downturn, is under new leadership that promises big changes. Meanwhile, a tax plan speeding through Congress could have far-reaching effects on the economy, well beyond taxes. On paper, the U.S. economy looks robust. But for whom, and for how long?This week, Annie Lowrey and Alana Semuels join our hosts to look at what's happened in the decade since the Great Recession, and what's happening now. What lessons have we learned from the crisis? And which are we doomed to repeat?Links:- "The Never-Ending Foreclosure" (Alana Semuels, December 1, 2017)- "The Great Recession Is Still With Us" (Annie Lowrey, December 1, 2017)- “The GOP Targets America’s Most Loved and Hated Tax Break” (Alana Semuels, November 2, 2017)- “The U.S. Isn’t Prepared for the Next Recession” (Annie Lowrey, October 31, 2017)- “Mick Mulvaney Is Pretending Everything's Totally Normal at Work” (Gillian B. White, November 28, 2017)- “Could a Tax Fix the Gig Economy?” (Alana Semuels, November 6, 2017)- “Trump Says His Tax Plan Won't Benefit the Rich—He's Exactly Wrong” (Annie Lowrey, September 29, 2017)- "Could a Memo by Christina Romer Have Saved the Economy?" (John Hudson, February 22, 2012)- “The Fight Over the CFPB Reveals the Broken State of American Politics” (David A. Graham, November 28, 2017)- "The Shadow of the Stimulus" (Ross Douthat, February 1, 2009)- "Return of the Shopping Avenger" (Jeffrey Goldberg, December 1, 2009)- The Half Has Never Been Told  (Edward Baptist)- The Unwinding (George Packer)- "The Nutshell Studies" (Katie Mingle, 99 Percent Invisible)- "The Reason This 'Racist Soap Dispenser' Doesn't Work on Black Skin" (Max Plenke, Mic.com, September 9, 2015) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rank #2: Is the Presidency Broken?.
“We are a president-obsessed nation, so much so that we undermine the very idea of our constitutional democracy,” writes John Dickerson in his May cover story in The Atlantic. “No one man—or woman—can possibly represent the varied, competing interests of 327 million citizens.” Have we heaped so much upon the president that the job has become impossible? Is Trump testing the office in valuable ways? And if the presidency is broken, how do we fix it?Links- "The Hardest Job in the World" (John Dickerson, May 2018 Issue)- “Scott Pruitt Bypassed the White House to Give Big Raises to Favorite Aides” (Elaina Plott and Robinson Meyer, April 3, 2018)- "Letter to Joseph Hooker from Lincoln, January 26, 1863" (Library of Congress)- Educated (Tara Westover, 2018)- Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It (Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik, 2018)- Lincoln in the Bardo (George Saunders, 2017)- “There’s Something Funny About Tiffany Haddish” (Caity Weaver, GQ, March 26, 2018) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Worldly

We live in a confusing time, bombarded every day with news from around the world that can be hard to follow, or fully understand. Let Worldly be your guide. Every Thursday, senior writer Zack Beauchamp, senior foreign editor Jennifer Williams, and staff defense writer Alex Ward give you the history and context you need to make sense of the moment and navigate the world around you. Produced by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Rank #1: The ideology behind the Toronto terror attack, explained.
Yochi, Zack, and special guest Dara Lind discuss Monday's bloody terror attack in Toronto, which was carried out by a member of a fringe anti-woman movement called "incel," short for "involuntary celibate." On Elsewhere, they talk about how French President Emmanuel Macron used an official visit to Washington to charm President Trump in private and then bash him subtly in public. Zack explains black pills, Dara says there's a cheat code for Donald Trump, and Yochi can't shake the mental image of Trump brushing dandruff off Macron's shoulder. References! Throughout the episode, we’re drawing on Zack’s explainer on incel. Here’s a good breakdown of Monday’s attack and how it unfolded. Zack mentioned that Reddit banned the first incel forum. Here’s some more information about that. Yochi talked about school shooters emulating the Columbine shooters, and the ways research around that topic might apply here. This New Yorker piece walks through that research. The response to Elliot Rodger written by the father of one of his victims. Watch President Macron and President Trump’s dandruff exchange.   You can also watch Macron’s full speech to Congress, or read some of the most interesting quotes from that speech and some analysis of his visit. Zack and Dara discussed Macron’s election. Here’s more background on that. Yochi mentioned awkward handshakes several times. Here’s a rundown of some of Trump’s many awkward handshakes. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 24/7, free, and confidential support for people in distress. 1-800-273-8255  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rank #2: The promise and peril of Trump’s North Korea meeting.
On a special all-North Korea episode, Yochi, Jenn, and Zack talk about CIA Director Mike Pompeo’s secret meeting with Kim Jong Un, the clearest sign yet that the Trump administration is serious about setting aside the belligerent rhetoric and having a historic face-to-face summit between Donald Trump and Kim. There’s no guarantee the meeting will happen, or that the two men will strike a deal. One thing is clear, though: The diplomatic push is the biggest and riskiest gamble of Trump’s entire presidency. Yochi tries to quote Jenn’s colorful language and fails, Jenn says “shit kickin’” like a true Texas girl, and Zack says a lot of funny stuff that got cut in editing. Links! The Washington Post piece that Jennifer referenced breaking the news that Pompeo met with North Korean leadership Yochi wrote a piece about what a war with North Korea would look like. Spoiler: It’d be grim. Yochi mentioned Zack’s piece about Trump’s policy contradictions Zack mentioned that National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was sometimes perceived as a moderate but also pushed for more hawkish approaches. Here’s some more context on that. Jenn mentioned that Tillerson and Pompeo had very different relationships with Trump, and went into what that might mean for their influence on his foreign policy choices. This article goes into that a little more. We have a lot of pieces about North Korean denuclearization at Vox, but here’s one from Jenn that talks about what that denuclearization might mean and walks through some of the possible trade-offs that might be made to get there. Jenn’s take was that some of the “madman” rhetoric out of the White House might have foreign leaders scared. Here’s the piece about Xi that she mentioned while defending that take, and another piece diving into the subject. She also mentioned interviews with a high-level North Korean defector. Zack sided with North Korea experts who are skeptical of the idea that North Korean leaders are scared of Trump’s rhetoric. Here’s a piece that outlines their pushback. The Washington Post piece we pulled the statistics on South Korean support for reunification from. Jenn touched on the differences between the current and previous presidents of South Korea. Zack spoke about political data from the US that suggests political identity is shaped early. Our daily Vox podcast, Today, Explained, also has some fantastic foreign policy episodes!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stay Tuned with Preet

Join former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara as he breaks down legal topics in the news and engages thought leaders in a podcast about power, policy, and justice.

Rank #1: That Time President Trump Fired Me (with Leon Panetta).
On March 11, 2017 President Donald Trump fired US Attorney Preet Bharara. Preet tells the story in detail for the first time. Then, a conversation with former Secretary of Defense and former CIA Director Leon Panetta about how to clean up a chaotic White House, trade Russian spies, and stand up for what’s right, even if it means defying a president.

Rank #2: Taylor's Testimony & Full Circle (with Cameron Douglas).
On this week’s Stay Tuned, "Taylor's Testimony & Full Circle," Preet answers your questions about:-- The White House’s position not to comply with subpoenas issued in the impeachment inquiry-- Bill Taylor’s explosive testimony and what it means for the articles of impeachment-- The Republicans’ reaction to Taylor’s testimonyCameron Douglas, the son of Michael Douglas and grandson of Kirk Douglas, served almost eight years in federal prison for drug trafficking, a business he entered to support his addiction to cocaine and heroin. He joins Preet to discuss his battle for sobriety and freedom in his new, brutally honest memoir, Long Way Home.To hear bonus clips from the interview, try two free weeks of CAFE Insider membership.Sign up to receive free references and supplemental materials for Stay Tuned episodes, a weekly newsletter, and updates from Preet.As always, tweet your questions to @PreetBharara with hashtag #askpreet, email us at staytuned@cafe.com, or call 699-247-7338 to leave a voicemail. 

Can He Do That?

“Can He Do That?” is The Washington Post’s politics podcast, exploring the powers and limitations of the American presidency, and what happens when they're tested. Led by host Allison Michaels, each episode asks a new question about this extraordinary moment in American history and answers with insight into how our government works, how to understand ongoing events, and the implications when branches of government collide.

Rank #1: Will President Trump's immigration ban survive?.
Is President Trump's executive order temporarily barring entry into the U.S. from seven majority-Muslim countries within the bounds of presidential power? With Marc Fisher, Post senior editor and author of "Trump Revealed," we answer that and more.

Rank #2: Republicans’ defense of Trump grows frantic. Will it work?.
Reporter Toluse Olorunnipa explains what GOP lawmakers were trying to achieve Wednesday when they protested in the basement of the Capitol. What role do House Republicans play in defending the president and how much is White House guidance informing them?

The Weeds

In politics, you’re often told not to get lost in the weeds. But we love the weeds! That’s where politics becomes policy – the stuff that shapes our lives. Every Tuesday and Friday, Matthew Yglesias is joined by Ezra Klein, Dara Lind, Jane Coaston and other Vox voices to dig into the weeds on important national issues, including healthcare, immigration, housing, and everything else that matters. Produced by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Rank #1: A Weeds farewell to Paul Ryan.
Jane, Ezra, and Matt consider Paul Ryan’s legacy and new research on crime and the minimum wage. References and further reading: Ezra’s piece on House Speaker Paul Ryan’s legacy Matt’s essay following the announcement of Paul Ryan’s retirement Ted Cruz’s confusing tweet of Beto O’Rourke speaking on the shooting of Botham Jean A white paper examines the effects on criminal recidivism when states increase minimum wages Annie Lowrey’s piece in the Atlantic on a jobs guarantee  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rank #2: Kentucky, the Rust Belt, and the Big Picture on Trade.
Sarah, Ezra, and Matt talk about what Obamacare-using Trump voters are hoping for, which regions really need help, and a massive overview of the evidence on globalization and inequality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Civics 101

What's the difference between the House and the Senate? How do congressional investigations work? What is Federalist X actually about? Civics 101 is the podcast refresher course on the basics of how our democracy works.

Rank #1: Electoral College.
When we vote for a president, we're not really voting for a president. Today in our episode on the Electoral College, we explore the rationale of the framers in creating it, its workings, its celebrations, its critiques, and its potential future. This episode features the voices of Northwestern Professor of political science Alvin Tillery, University of Texas Professor of political science Rebecca Deen, and former 'faithless elector' Christopher Suprun.

Rank #2: Episode 2: White House Press Corps.
What's it really like for a journalist stationed at the White House? We go inside the press briefing room with NPR's Senior White House Correspondent, Scott Horsley. Civics 101 is a production of NHPR www.nhpr.org #civics101pod

Crooked Minis

Crooked Minis takes a step back from the chaotic breaking news to offer a new series every month that explores an issue or event that reflects cultural, political, or societal changes in America and need more than a 10-minute conversation and a split-second news cycle to unpack.

Rank #1: The World As It Is: Writing for Obama.
In a special series for Crooked Conversations, Ben Rhodes takes a deeper dive into some of the issues and themes that he deals with in his memoir "The World As It Is" about his 10 years working as Deputy National Security Adviser to President Obama. In the first of these conversations, Ben talks to Jon Favreau and Cody Keenan about what it was like to write speeches for a president who already had a strong voice.

Rank #2: Why are Republicans beating Democrats at the Internet? .
Crooked Contributor Symone Sanders talks to Guy Cecil, chairman of Priorities USA, about how Democratic super pacs are investing in digital ads and pulling out of TV, as well as what this means for the midterms in advance of 2020.

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, Justice, and the Courts

A show about the law, and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America.

Rank #1: Amicus: Revenge of the Octogenarians.
On Ep. 3 of Amicus, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick talks with the New Yorker’s Jeffrey Toobin about his recent interview with President Obama on Obama’s judicial legacy. Then Dahlia welcomes Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer who won last year’s DOMA case U.S. vs. Windsor, and who’s now fighting for same-sex marriage in the South. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rank #2: Rapper's Intent.
Dahlia Lithwick talks to rap music scholar Charis Kubrin about Elonis v. U.S., and about how courts are using rap lyrics in criminal proceedings. She also hears from Sam Bagenstos, who argued this week’s pregnancy discrimination case Young v. United Parcel Service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FRONTLINE Dispatch

An award-winning, original, investigative series made by the team behind the acclaimed PBS documentary show, FRONTLINE. From the long and deadly arm of 9/11, to a police shooting in West Virginia with a startling twist, to what life is really like for children living in a Kenyan refugee camp, each episode follows a different reporter through an investigation that sometimes is years in the making. The FRONTLINE Dispatch – because some stories are meant to be heard. Produced at FRONTLINE’s headquarters at WGBH in Boston and powered by PRX. The FRONTLINE Dispatch is made possible by the Abrams Foundation Journalism Initiative.

Rank #1: Living With Murder: Part One.
At 15, after committing a brutal murder, Kempis Songster was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But now he has a chance to be free, thanks to a series of recent Supreme Court rulings that found the sentences of thousands of inmates who, like Songster, committed their crimes as juveniles, to be unconstitutional. This episode produced in collaboration with Transom.org.

Rank #2: Boom Town.
In 2016, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake hit the small town of Cushing, Oklahoma, severely damaging the town. Cushing isn’t the type of place that’s supposed to have such a problem with earthquakes. Until about 2009, they only had one or two a year. But in the last few years, tied to an increased use of wastewater disposal (a by-product of the oil industry) the number of earthquakes has risen dramatically, and now Cushing, along with much of Oklahoma, shakes hundreds of times a year. Cushing is a major hub of American oil — known as “the pipeline crossroads of the world,” the Keystone pipeline and many other major pipelines run beneath it, and above ground, the town stores tens of millions of barrels of oil in its tank farms. Oil is the town’s economic lifeblood, and so the big quake, and the question of who to hold responsible for it, caused real division between neighbors. In this episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch, reporter Sandy Tolan goes to Cushing to find out how the earthquakes impact a town built on oil. This story was produced by Jamie York and Sophie McKibben. Find us on the web at pbs.org/frontlinedispatch

The Lawfare Podcast

The Lawfare Podcast features discussions with experts, policymakers, and opinion leaders at the nexus of national security, law, and policy. On issues from foreign policy, homeland security, intelligence, and cybersecurity to governance and law, we have doubled down on seriousness at a time when others are running away from it. Visit us at www.lawfareblog.com.

Rank #1: Quite a Week.
This week, Roger Stone was convicted on seven counts by a jury in the District of Columbia, and three State Department officials testified before the House Impeachment Committee. There's been a lot going on, and Benjamin Wittes assembled an all-star, all-Lawfare crew to talk through it all. Quinta Jurecic, Margaret Taylor, Susan Hennessey, Scott R. Anderson, and David Priess make appearances to talk about different aspects of the week's events. They talked about the Stone verdict, the impact of the testimony on the Hill, the impact on the State Department as it watched its senior officials testify against the president, what to expect next, and how this impeachment fits in with historic impeachments.

Rank #2: Alex Stamos on the Hard Tradeoffs of the Internet.
In this episode of Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn Douek and Kate Klonick spoke with Alex Stamos, the director of the Stanford Internet Observatory. Prior to joining Stanford, Alex served as the chief security officer at Facebook, and before that, as the chief information security officer at Yahoo. They talked about Alex's experience at Facebook handling 2016 election interference, as well as his work on cybersecurity, disinformation, and end-to-end encryption.

It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders

A talk show with a heart. Each week, Sam interviews people in the culture who deserve your attention. Plus weekly wraps of the news with other journalists. Join Sam as he makes sense of the world through conversation.

Rank #1: Coming Out.
To mark National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11, Sam examines the history, meaning and future of coming out with University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor Marcia Gallo and E. Patrick Johnson of Northwestern University. He also shares coming out stories from listeners and swaps stories with NPR film critic Bob Mondello. Tweet @NPRItsBeenaMin with feels or email samsanders@npr.org.

Rank #2: Why 'Friends' Remains So Successful — And So Divisive — Even In 2019.
The NBC sitcom 'Friends' has been around for 25 years, and its popularity endures. Netflix says 'Friends' was the second most popular show on its streaming platform this year, based on minutes watched, and the show has also struck a chord with a younger generation. What is it about 'Friends' that resonates with viewers, and what does it say about us? Sam Sanders spoke to listeners, reporters and a critic to find out what it is that people love — and despise — about Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross.

Pod Save the People

Organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson explores news, culture, social justice, and politics with analysis from fellow activists Brittany Packnett and Sam Sinyangwe and writer Clint Smith III. DeRay also dives in deep with experts, influencers, and diverse local and national leaders to better understand the issues. New episodes every Tuesday.

Rank #1: BONUS POD with Edward Snowden.
DeRay speaks with Edward Snowden about his perspective on Trump's decision to fire FBI Director Comey, the intersection of race and surveillance, the relationship between the police and the government, and his thoughts about his own status returning to America.

Rank #2: We’re Not Going Anywhere.
In the Season 2 premiere, DeRay, Brittany, Sam and Clint are back together for the weekly news. Brené Brown and DeRay are together in Houston to talk about trauma, activism, addiction, and Beyoncé.

Majority 54

Jason Kander is an army veteran from Kansas City, Missouri and the first millennial elected to statewide office in the United States. He's traveling the country to help the 54% of us who didn't vote for Donald Trump talk to those of us who did about the most divisive issues in our country. 

Rank #1: Public Education.
This week I spoke to my friend Steve Droske, an elementary school principal, about the way public education gets treated by politicians. This episode is pure fire! We covered everything including: Betsy Devos, teacher pay, school choice and much more!Be sure to listen to the very end for a behind the scenes conversation where Steve talks about the fear of using his platform.Important links:@droskes@Majority54@JasonKanderhellomajority54@gmail.com

Rank #2: Gun Sense in America.
I have an F rating from the NRA. They’ve spent millions against me. The leaders of the NRA hate me, but they loathe Shannon Watts. And I have a feeling you’re gonna love her. We closed 2017 by talking to a life-long activist and imploring you to deepen your involvement, so it makes sense to open 2018 talking to someone who grabbed an oar a few years ago and hasn’t stopped rowing since.Shannon founded Moms Demand Action, one of the most effective groups working to reduce gun violence, the day after the tragedy at Sandy Hook. Today, Moms Demand Action has a chapter in every state and is effecting change at the local, state and national level. As you’ll learn, the work they do is inspiring, and so is a conversation with Shannon.Important Linkshttps://momsdemandaction.org/ https://www.risetorun.org/@shannonrwatts@Majority54@JasonKanderhellomajority54@gmail.com