Political Theater

Jason Dick chews over the midterm results by considering Roll Call Factba.se’s tabulation of how Democrats and Republicans fared in every county that has a Cheesecake Factory. Factba.se founder Bill Frischling and producer extraordinaire Alan Tuszynski help nibble over the trends.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick talks with former Roll Call Editor in Chief Christina Bellantoni, now director of USC Annenberg's Media Center, about her students' recent political reporting trips to Iowa and Texas, where the battle for the House and Senate majorities could be decided.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick talks with the latest Roll Call on the Road mission crew, Mary Ellen McIntire and Tom Williams, about what they learned on their reporting trip to Pennsylvania, including interacting with candidates from Scranton to Harrisburg, as well as Sha Na Na frontman and Social Security advocate Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, who is trying to fire up voters.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me...

Jason Dick talks with Alex Gibney about his new film “Musk,” a documentary about Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. It’s an exploration of how one person accumulated so much power — in the White House, over AI, space exploration, transportation, robotics and more — and asks the question: What will he do with it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick talks with Roll Call campaign writers Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire about their on-the-ground reporting as the midterm general election kicks into high gear; the latest batch of polling in key races; the crazy money being raised and spent; why we're still not done with redistricting, and what to expect from their forthcoming Most Vulnerable Incumbents list.  Learn m...

Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales dive into what they learned now that the 2026 congressional primary season is over, whether re-redistricting and midterm conventions will be the new norm, if we can trust polls and how, ultimately, it might still be the economy, stupid.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress avoided a shutdown fight until December, but passed on several sticky problems it will need to address after Election Day. CQ Roll Editor in Chief Jason Dick and CQ Roll Call Budget Editor David Lerman outline the major fights looming in November in a very special Political Theater and CQ Budget podcast collaboration.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Political Analyst Susan Davis discuss congressional efforts to address affordability with CQ Roll Call leadership Staff Writer Savannah Behrmann for the Roll Call/535 Policy Podcast Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Political Analyst Susan Davis discuss surface transportation reauthorization legislation and other transportation-related issues with CQ Roll Call transportation Staff Writer Kelly Livingston for the Roll Call/535 Policy Podcast Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Editor in Chief Brody Mullins discuss the bipartisan legislative efforts on permitting reform with CQ Roll Call Energy and Environment Staff Writer David Jordan for the Roll Call/535 Policy Podcast Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Editor in Chief Brody Mullins discuss major cryptocurrency legislation in the 119th Congress with CQ Roll Call Financial Services Staff Writer Mark Schoeff Jr. for the Roll Call/535 Policy Podcast Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Molly Reynolds discuss how history will view the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., how congressional illnesses are starting to affect the institution, why things are getting stuck in both chambers, and what a weird time it is for the legislative branch.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick talks with film legend Sean Astin, the president of SAG-AFTRA, about his deep connections to Washington, D.C., public service, the issues he is advocating on Capitol Hill and meeting the moment at a pivotal time in human history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Brandon Wetherbee discuss the big UFC bout at the White House, the relationship between President Donald Trump and combat sports and entertainment and the expansion of Brandon's media empire, Recommend If You Like.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick talks with filmmaker Rory Kennedy about her new documentary, "Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing," a sequel to her 2022 "Downfall: The Case Against Boeing" and how, despite a very public airing of the company's quality control failings after numerous crashes, so little has changed and who is to blame.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick talks with Sky Sitney about this year's DC/DOX documentary film festival, which brings a slate of more than 100 nonfiction movies about Billie Jean King, Earth Wind and Fire, AI, a Washington Commanders superfan, Sea Monkeys and even Yugoslavian leader Josip Tito's parrot.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales talk about Super Junesday, with its reality-tv-infused results in California, missing persons intrigue in New Jersey and dusting of Rep. Dusty Johnson, among many, many results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been a weird election cycle, and one only has to look at Roll Call's Most Vulnerable Incumbents list to see the multiple storylines playing out. Jason Dick talks with Mary Ellen McIntire and Daniela Altimari about who's on the list, who's leaving the list and why making a House list is so difficult. (Spoiler alert: It's redistricting) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

Jason Dick talks with Mark Kassen, the director, writer and star of the new movie "PH-1," a contemporary political drama whose mix of mystery, social media and taut pacing make it a pretty good encapsulation of our fraught time.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick talks with George Condon, long-time White House reporter, historian and a past president of the White House Correspondents Association, about Saturday's White House Correspondents Dinner, putting the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump into the context of the century-old event. They also talk about The Great Ribber. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

Real estate magnates, secret societies, alternative means of communicating, psycheledic drugs used as therapy? It's not our world; it’s the world of Thomas Pynchon’s ”The Crying of Lot 49.”Jason Dick, Sean Carswell and Alan Tuszynski discuss Silent Tristero’s Empire and whether we’re living in it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Molly Reynolds discuss the Brookings Institution’s latest update to Vital Statistics on Congress, the recent resignations of two members of the House for alleged misconduct and whether the legislative branch is truly representative of the U.S. population. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Jessica Wehrman wonder what members of Congress are doing on their two-week recess, coming as it does while the Homeland Security Department isn't being funded by Congress, as well as what they did, and observed, on recent trips back home to Arizona and Ohio, respectively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales talk about what we learned from March's congressional primaries in Texas, North Carolina, Illinois, as well as special elections and what to expect as the primary season takes a little break before revving back up in May.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Brody Mullins talk about the ongoing disruption of politics, business and journalism, how history repeats itself, Brody's book and podcast, "The Wolves of K Street" and his new podcast, "The Deciders," which focuses on the lobbying and influence world.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices