The Dispatch Podcast

Many polls are telling the same story: Americans don’t want either Joe Biden or Donald Trump for president. And yet a rematch seems all but inevitable. Mike Warren is joined by Steve, Jonah, and Chris Stirewalt to commune in despair. Plus: -Pence’s overdue attack on populism -Great white sharks with Hitler’s brain -Eric Adams: migrant issue ‘will destroy New York City’ -9/11 anniversary and easy e...

Steve and Jonah join Mike as he takes over the host’s chair in this week’s Dispod. The trio discuss China’s version of manifest destiny and: -Biden’s economic outreach -Big dollar donors desperately scanning the Republican field -Kari Lake being a loser (and proud of it) -Mob rule of institutions -Vivek: worth voters' time? Show Notes: -Jonah's China piece for The Dispatch -Scott Lincicome’s newsl...

South Korea, Japan, and the US are facing growing tensions against North Korea and China. The trilateral relationship was on full display in a show of strength at Camp David on August. 18th. TMD Reporter Mary Trimble speaks with Michael Beckley, an associate professor of political science at Tufts University and a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, to explore the thre...

Sarah, fully ready for her hiatus, is joined by Steve, Jonah, and Dispatch Politics reporter Audrey Fahlberg for a dispiriting recap of the first GOP primary debate. Also: -Vivek Witherspoon's moment -A crummy night for DeSantis -Death of Wagner leader Prigozhin -Biden's response to Maui -Not Worth Your Time (?): Jonah's writing Show notes- -G-File: Who Will Stop Him? Learn more about your ad choi...

Artificial intelligence has become a common weapon in political information warfare. The Morning Dispatch reporter, Grayson Logue, is joined by Darrell M. West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the co-editor-in-chief of TechTank, to explain the unique threat that A.I. poses. -West's profile at Brookings -TechTank Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris joins Sarah and Jonah to discuss the upcoming GOP primary debate. How much will the candidates praise the guy they're primarying? Will there be anything to talk about besides the hedonic treadmill of indictments? Can any candidate successfully be a gateway drug out of Trump? Also: -Biden's shrinking incumbent advantage -Republican Party as a suicide pact -Jonah goes Schlappian on third parti...

Not since Abraham Lincoln has a 3rd party candidate been successful, but political nonprofit No Labels thinks the time for change is near. No Labels chief political strategist Ryan Clancy joins Sarah Isgur to discuss why he thinks there's a moderate majority in America that's ready to bust the two party system. Show notes - -No Labels' website -No Labels on North Carolina ballot Learn more about y...

A "reserve army of voters" rejected a proposal to change the constitutional amendment process in an Ohio special election. What does the abortion proxy war for mean pro-life politics and the legacy of Dobbs? Sarah is joined by Steve and Jonah to discuss. Also: -DeSantis campaign reset -Will the GOP debates matter? -Revisiting the Dean Scream -Are adult sites worth your time? Learn more about your...

Israel is undergoing a sea change. The battle over a judicial overhaul hides much deeper national schisms. The Times of Israel Senior Political Analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins Senior Producer Adaam James Levin-Areddy to try and make sense of the mess. Will the reform fix or break Israeli democracy? Why doesn't Israel have a constitution? Why are elite military volunteers joining the protest? Does B...

Sarah, Steve, and Jonah discuss Trump's indictment for the listeners not privy to niche legal podcasts. Can special counsel prove Trump's intent? Will Trump voters care? Also: -Addressing stupid arguments -Jonah's grudge against lawyers -NYT Siena Poll on Trump indictment -Fitch downgrades our credit score -(Not?) Worth Your Time extended Show notes: -The Collision newsletter -David Brooks: What i...

Steve is back to monitor the Dispod as the Sarah, Mike, and David discuss Hunter Biden plea deals and GOP primary wackiness, but the conversation eventually derails into UFO territory. Tune in to hear the four discuss: -The wackiness of the GOP primary field -Ron DeSantis going bonkers with RFK Jr. potential appointments -UFO marketing campaign for skeptics Show Notes: -Check out Mike and Sarah's ...

It’s the never-ending story with Trump’s ongoing legal battles, but how exactly will the latest investigation impact Trump’s 2024 campaign? Kevin Williamson and Mike Warren join Sarah Isgur to break down the latest in MAGA land and: -Kevin McCarthy’s lack of self-respect -Ron DeSantis, so hot right now? -The trouble with RE-words -Nerds throwing punches -Barbie’s CCP map Show Notes: -Sarah and Mik...

Robert Tyler, senior policy advisory for New Direction, joins Dispatch executive editor Adam O’Neal to sample the different flavors of the European right. -America the good, America the bad -Is Italy's Meloni fascist? -Fusionism and the Czech Republic -Brexit and deregulationLike what we're doing? Please consider becoming a member of TheDispatch.com. You'll be getting a suite of newsletters (inclu...

Sorry, Steve Hayes. Sarah, Jonah and Mike start with Ukraine’s request for cluster munitions and the state of NATO. Jonah cynically uses Steve's absence to flex his juvenile humor chops. Spanish wine is wildly overrated. Then: -Pence campaign prognosis -A scavenger hunt to get on the debate stage -Ramaswamy's Mary Kay pyramid scheme -Sarah on Sesame Street -War of words and farting at RFK Jr. pres...

Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund, joins Executive Director Adam O'Neal to discuss how the U.S. and China manage their differences over Taiwan. Also: -Taiwan’s relationship with Trump and Biden -China’s military transformation -The significance of 2049 Show Notes: -Bonnie Glaser's profile for the German Marshall Fund -U.S.-Taiwan Relations: Wi...

The New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger joins Steve Hayes and Sarah Isgur in a special interview recorded from The Times' building in New York. They discuss Sulzberger's recent CJR piece on objectivity in journalism (and its discontents), digging into the historically hostile relationship between right wing media and The Times, the challenges of fighting "bias" in news, and the possible paths...

A deadly police shooting in Paris last week sparked days of riots across the country. Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, joins Dispatch Executive Editor Adam O’Neal to explain what led to the violence and where France will go from here. Show Notes: -Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry's profile for at The Ethics and Public Police Center -Reuters: France riots: Shot teenager'...

Will the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision in Harvard lead to a public backlash? What does the Coup That Wasn't tell us about Russia (and about Americans' changing perceptions of the war)? And will David French's recent New York Times piece about transgenderism in women's sports finally get him cancelled? Sarah, Jonah, and yet-uncancelled David French discuss. Like what we're doing? Plea...

The Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia is underway, but what would it take to bring these two nations to the negotiating table? Scholar, professor, and columnist Walter Russell Mead joins The Dispatch Executive Editor Adam O’Neal to share insights from his recent trip to Ukraine and: -The normalcy of life while in war -What a “successful” counteroffensive looks like -Opportunities for US -T...

Steve and Jonah join Sarah to talk about Hunter Biden's plea deal, how it reflects on Joe Biden and: -Sarah's first tattoo? -Voters react to Hunter Biden's prosecution -The illusory Biden tapes -Trump's legally dubious Bret Baier interview -Will Hurd jumps into the race -Is RFK Jr. a sign that nature is healing? -Biden Administration foreign policy -Titanic submersible Learn more about your ad cho...

Josh McKoon won his bid to become chairman of the Georgia GOP. McKoon inherits fractured relationships and a storied past between elected officials. Join Dispatch Politics Reporter Audrey Fahlberg for his strategy on unifying Georgia’s GOP, which includes: -Grassroots activism and big donor capture -Working with Kemp -Staying neutral during primaries -Firing Joe Biden -Topics of concern for GOP vo...

Classified documents stored in a Mar-A-Lago bathroom will live in infamy, but it’s not the only intelligence scandal among politicians: Biden, Pence, and Hillary Clinton have also made headlines for their intelligence information. Peter Meijer joins Mike Warren to break down the security issues with these documents and: -There are levels to this - Classified, confidential, secret, top secret. -Pet...

Sarah, Steve, and Jonah return to talk about Trump’s indictment in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Also: -Dispatch Editors: The GOP’s Trump Choice -But her emails -Conservatives should just say what they believe -Biden administration violates the Hatch Act -Pe-cahn or Pee-can -Biden’s estranged grandchild Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah invites Chris Stirewalt and Mike Warren on to analyze the state of the GOP primary field, as Mike Pence and Chris Christie officially join the race. Stay for the jocularity and: -RNC nominee “pledge” -Tim Scott vs. The View -House speakership fight -Stirewalt’s Shrimp Cocktail Crawl  -Who destroyed the Kherson dam? -Tucker Carlson’s anti-semitic Twitter show Learn more about your ad choices....

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently secured another election victory, leaving many in the West to question the country's diplomatic future. Dispatch Reporter Charlotte Lawson speaks with Eric Edelman, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Finland, and under secretary of defense for policy, to explain what's happening under the country's longest serving leader. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...