Ashley, Please

Your city council controls your rent, your zoning, your local budget, and your daily life. A 29 year old just ended a 30 year congressional career by showing up to the rooms most people skip. Here’s what that means for you.

The Supreme Court just changed asylum law, and the VP went to the Nixon Library and said Watergate was no big deal. This is your week in American politics.

Here's what you now know that most people don't: The presidential election is not where presidential power is decided. It's where it starts. Midterms are where it either survives or gets dismantled. And 40% turnout means most people are handing that decision to a minority of voters who showed up. That is not abstract. That is the story of every major legislative fight you've watched stall or explo...

How Congress actually works: committees, leadership, gridlock and why a story from this week is a perfect case study in all of it. The conversation also covers the challenges of teaching civics to different generations, the mechanics of Congress, the failure to extend FISA Section 702, engaging young people in politics, the legislative process, power dynamics, reaching different generations, and i...

The origin story. Why this podcast exists, what you're going to get out of it, and the college catchphrase that started it all. Ashley, Please — Meet Your New Favorite Civic Problem.

Welcome to Ashley, Please. The podcast for people who know politics matters but don't always have the time, energy, or emotional bandwidth to figure out what politicians are talking about. I'm Ashley Munson, and every week we're translating political jargon into plain English, exposing the fine print nobody reads, and connecting the dots between government decisions and your everyday life. Because...