Highway to Hill

Today on Highway to Hill : Charlie is joined by Avery Davis Roberts and Sarah Cooper of The Carter Center. Avery and Sarah are the director and associate director respectively of the Carter Center’s Democracy program . We talk about the work the Carter Center does around the world, their crucial nonpartisan election observation program, and why democracy and nonviolence still matter in a polarized...

Today on Highway to Hil l: The midterms are just a handful of weeks away, and that means it’s time to bring in the big guns (if the guns you are interested in are smart data analysis). We are so lucky to be joined this week by David Nir. David is the publisher of The Downballot, which is absolutely required reading if you’re an election nerd like we are. The Downballot is a nonpartisan source of i...

Today on Highway to Hill : It might be the end of the world as we know it, so we’re just gonna podcast through it. Alarm bells are ringing across the tech world about the potential extinction-level dangers of artificial intelligence. But with so much uncertainty in the air, Congress doesn’t seem likely to rise to the occasion and do something about it. What explains Congress’s lack of action, and...

Today on Highway to Hill: It’s almost time to close the book on 2026 primary elections to Congress; but don’t worry, an excruciating general election has only just begun. Charlie and SoRelle wrap up some primary season by taking stock of some final contests in Charlie’s beloved native New England, and try to measure just how big of a tent of candidates the Democrats have built in their quest to ta...

This week on Highway to Hill: SoRelle and Charlie are joined by a very special guest; our first journalist we’ve ever had on Highway to Hill, and someone whose name you will already know if you’ve ever read our show notes, because we are constantly relying on her great reporting. Nina Heller is a features reporter at CQ Roll Call, our very favorite Congress-focused news outlet, and she’s been nice...

Today on Highway to Hill : Congress is still in recess, but SoRelle and Charlie are busier than ever, because next week is (hold onto your hats) the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association. But it won’t just be schmoozing and cocktail parties; SoRelle and I are both presenting new research at this conference. So while Congress is away, we thought we’d share some new findings a...

Today on Highway to Hill : Congress, or at least part of it, is finally flexing their muscles, but are they actually lifting anything worthwhile? Oversight is one of COngress’s most important and underappreciated responsibilities, but how much power do they need in order to do it? We’ll put the recent hearings and contempt votes for Anthony Fauci into perspective, and try to find a happy medium be...

Today on Highway to Hill : We’re flying our primary colors today, as round one of the 2026 midterm election season begins to wrap up. Party primaries are deciding the nominees for some of the most important congressional races in the country for both the House and Senate. We’re gonna get into some of the major trends of the cycle, why so many incumbents are losing, and what precisely is dividing t...

Today on Highway to Hill : Congress is considering, for what feels like the billionth time, a ban on members’ abilities to trade stocks. But will a poison pill addition make it dead on arrival in the Senate? We’ll get into why members of Congress seem to insist on being able to trade while they’re in office, the competing reforms designed to address the issue, and why the real fix might actually g...

Today on Highway to Hill: We’re so lucky to be joined by Lee Drutman. Lee is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation; he’s the author of the excellent book “Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop”; and he’s the co-host of the Politics in Question podcast. Most recently, he was named one of the Washington Post’s “Next 50 people shaping our society in 2026”. This week’s syllabus 📚 * Lee’s “ Politic...

This week on Highway to Hill: We’ve been a little distracted by a lot of important but symbolic stuff over the past few weeks -- A250, reflecting pools, UFC fights, etc -- but Congress is still a lawmaking institution, so SoRelle and Charlie get to the bottom of all the lawmaking Congress did and didn’t do in between all the 4th of July fireworks; and whether fireworks on the House and Senate floo...

This week on Highway to Hill: Congress seems like it’s getting older by the hour, and some health and age issues from some high-profile members is giving us a fresh opportunity to talk about the age-old question: why is Congress so old? We’ll get into the polisci of why it’s so hard for young people to get elected; and with more than a few members serving well into their 80s and 90s, is it time to...

This week on Highway to Hill: This week, SoRelle chats with Jessica Seale of the Coastal Strategy Group , a consulting firm for Capitol Hill to talk about how Congress has (and hasn’t dealt with policy around artificial intelligence. Jessica has led comms departments and digital efforts in the US Senate and House of Representatives, and has held formal positions in the executive branch, including...

This week on Highway to Hill: A co-opted commission, a cage match at the White House, and the saddest state fair in history: It’s America’s 250th birthday this weekend, but exactly how we’re celebrating is getting a little confusing, and a lot upsetting. Charlie and SoRelle raise a very tentative glass to America by diving into how an anniversary we was really looking forward to has devolved into...

On this week’s episode of Highway to Hill: We are talking all about the boogey man of congressional politics: money. We’re joined by Michael Kistner, an assistant professor at the University of Houston, who has a wonderful new book out with University of Chicago Press titled, “Paying for the Party.” Michael’s research looks at how parties have institutionalized fundraising, evolving how Congress a...

Today on Highway to Hill : With a deal on the table -- or at least the concepts of a deal -- the War in Iran might be drawing to a close. What exactly is in this deal, and does Congress have any say in the matter? Plus, what’s the difference between a treaty and an executive agreement? The answer is actually super important! This week’s syllabus 📚 * “ A Look at the Text of the Agreement Between t...

On this week’s episode of Highway to Hill : With the massive amount of turnover in the Trump administration, Congress is on tap to fulfill one of its major constitutional responsibilities. What does “advice and consent” even mean for nominations to cabinet posts? What does the Senate do to figure out whether nominees are qualified? And where will the YOLO Republicans come down on two of Trump’s mo...

On this week's episode of Highway to Hill : Want to work on Capitol Hill but don't know how to break in? Charlie and SoRelle are joined by Tom Manatos, founder of Tom Manatos Jobs , to talk about how to actually get a job in Congress. Tom started his job board by cutting and pasting email listings back in the pre-internet days, and now it's become the go-to resource for Capitol Hill positions. Tom...

Today on Highway to Hill: We go into private eye mode as we try to locate some members of Congress who haven’t been showing up to work for quite awhile. Why do members of Congress miss votes in Washington, and what do they owe to their constituents? Plus, we break down what it means when the whole Congress goes on “recess”, and why a little R&R isn’t the worst thing in the world. This week’s sylla...

On this week’s episode of Highway to Hill : It’s party primary season across a whole bunch of states. Quite a few high-profile incumbents have been ousted or are clearly in trouble thanks to endorsements (or non endorsements) from Donald Trump. Is the president’s star power in the GOP enough to keep them save in the midterms, or is he just adding to the Republicans’ electoral problems? Plus, some...

On this week’s episode of Highway to Hill : After demolishing the East Wing of the White House last year, President Trump wants Congress to fund his massive ballroom project — to the tune of $1 billion. Charlie and SoRelle break down why Trump needs congressional approval (a judge ruled construction can’t continue without “express authorization”), how Republicans are trying to sneak ballroom fundi...

On this week's episode of Highway to Hill : The generative AI revolution is coming to Congress — or is it? Charlie and SoRelle are joined by Aubrey Wilson from POPVOX Foundation to break down how Congress is (or isn't) using AI right now. Why is adoption so mixed across offices, and what are the biggest barriers to using these tools safely and effectively? Aubrey explains how AI could help solve C...

On this week’s episode of Highway to Hill : The redistricting wars reach new heights as both sides notch victories in a chaotic week that included a major Supreme Court ruling on race and redistricting. Charlie and SoRelle break down the difference between reapportionment, redistricting, and gerrymandering (they’re not all the same thing!), explain packing versus cracking, and why we’re talking ab...

On this week’s episode of Highway to Hill: SoRelle is at a conference doing actual political science, so Casey Burgat steps in to help Charlie break down why Republicans are already talking about replacing Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — despite lifetime appointments. What’s driving this push? The nightmare scenario of getting “Ginsburg’d” if Democrats take the Senate in...

On this week’s episode of Highway to Hill : The vibes are bad in the House as multiple scandals collide. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales resign following revelations of sexual misconduct and worse — but what about Cory Mills and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who have actual legal charges against them and don’t seem to be going anywhere? Charlie and SoRelle break down the scandals, the reasons behind...