The Dispatch Podcast

Mo Elleithee, founding executive director of Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service, joins Sarah to talk about the complexities of politics. Results from a new Battleground Poll are in, and it’s clear that most Americans believe that the state of our politics is “really bad.” What happened and what can we do to fix it? Also on the agenda: Alaska’s interesting nonpartisan...

Sarah and David are joined by The Morning Dispatch editors Declan Garvey and Esther Eaton to discuss the vivid testimonies during Thursday night’s January 6 committee hearing. Also on the agenda: In the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Republicans are wary of giving Democrats a win with a contraception bill currently on the Senate floor, and a same-sex marriage bill faces an u...

Images from the James Webb Space Telescope have taken the internet by storm, and Declan is here with two guests who worked on it for a fascinating conversation about its long journey into reality. Dr. John Mather, a Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the senior project scientist for the JWST, and Dr. Scott Acton, a physicist at Ball Aerospace and JWST’s Wa...

Sarah, David, and Jonah reflect on the problem of inflation, which surged to 9.1 percent this week and look ahead to the presidential race in 2024. Will there be a showdown between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump to win the Republican nomination? Our hosts wrap up with a discussion of shifting coalitions within the political parties.   Show Notes: -TMD: June’s Very Bad,...

Robert O’Brien, former U.S. ambassador and national security advisor to President Donald Trump, joins Klon Kitchen for a discussion of international politics from a bird’s-eye view. They discuss his time working for the former president, and the job of national security advisor. Plus: How can the United States protect itself from Chinese economic espionage? China’s threat to Taiwan? And what is th...

Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David discuss two major events from the last week, including the chaos across the pond with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation on Thursday morning. Near Chicago, at least seven are dead and dozens injured after the July Fourth shooting at Highland Park, prompting questions about whether red flag laws really work. An update on Ukraine is also in order, as wel...

Tim Miller, writer-at-large at The Bulwark, joins Steve to talk about his new book: Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell. Miller gives listeners a breakdown of the Washington, D.C. political culture and how it’s not what you might think. Plus: the book sparks a lively debate about the divides within the Republican Party, and whether there’s a way forward in the midst of the...

Jonah and Chris Stirewalt join Sarah to talk about the political aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization as states begin to grapple legislatively with the post-Roe era. Will we reach a consensus on what life means in the womb? Our hosts also discuss the nature of Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony during the surprise January 6 select committee hearing and the risks with the Democrats...

This is the audio version of the story documenting the creation and passage of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The story is based on more than 21 hours of interviews with more than two dozen people involved, including lawmakers, staff, and human rights advocates.   Show Notes: -PDF: How the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Became Law -Introduction and Part 1 -Parts 2 and 3 -Parts 4 and 5...

Sarah, Steve, and Jonah dive into a delightful political potpourri, tackling everything from the Biden administration’s possible gas tax holiday to immigration and the Georgia congressional runoffs. They also discuss the House Select Committee’s January 6 hearing on Tuesday, which produced some interesting testimonies.   Show Notes: -TMD: “Biden’s Mixed Messages on Oil” -Karl Rove in the Wall Stre...

Remember when filling up your gas tank didn’t cost the same amount as your weekly grocery bill? Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, and Skanda Amarnath, the Executive Director at Employ America, join Declan to discuss the oil and gas supply issues America faces. The Biden administration’s current approach to the sector doesn’t inspire much confidence prices will come do...

It’s been another week of interesting primary elections, and Sarah, David, Jonah, and Andrew discuss what we learned from Texas and South Carolina. Then our hosts dive into the details of the framework for a possible Senate gun bill and whether the House will learn to settle for compromise, not perfection. Finally, what are the key takeaways from the January 6 House Select Committee so far?   Show...

Thiru Vignarajah, former deputy attorney general of Maryland, joins Sarah to talk about all things Baltimore: violent crime, reforming police practices, and the Baltimore City state’s attorney race. Plus: What might help bring down gun violence in major cities?   Show Notes: -Justiceforbaltimore.com -French Press: Against Gun Idolatry -The Dispatch: Can We Make Red Flag Laws Work? Learn more about...

The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol held its first hearing Thursday night. Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David discuss its fact-based and substantive approach to investigating what happened at the Capitol riots, and whether the Republican Party will hold former President Donald Trump accountable. Then our panel turns to the question of political...

Chuck Todd, host of NBC’s Meet the Press, joins Steve to discuss the public’s eroding trust in politicians and the political system. An alarming Pew Research poll turns the conversation to how context and nuance have been lost in political journalism and campaign coverage. Steve and Todd also cover the Trump divide within the Republican Party, what the January 6 Committee might tell us this week,...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started almost 100 days ago. Our hosts are here to discuss the latest from the war and America’s role. Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David then turn to the gun debate at home: Will mass shootings in recent weeks produce different political results than past tragedies? Finally they preview next week’s January 6 hearings on Capitol Hill.   Show Notes: -French Press: “The Tide...

Edward B. Foley, professor and director of the election law program at Ohio State, and Nick Troiano, executive director of Unite America, join Sarah for a conversation about reforming primaries. What does primary reform look like? Their conversation covers political science, history, and math. That’s right math. Can math save democracy?   Show Notes: -Requiring Majority Winners for Congressional E...

On Tuesday, an 18-year-old gunman fatally shot 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Our hosts are here to discuss the latest updates and what comes next. Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David then turn to this week’s round of primaries. What did they learn? They finish by discussing the latest from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What does Russia’s Black Sea blockade mean...

Erick Erickson, host of the Erick Erickson Show, joins Steve for a conversation about what we learned from the primary election results in Georgia, and what it all means for November and beyond. Steve is then joined by Khaya Himmelman to discuss her fact check of Dinesh D’Souza’s new documentary film 2,000 Mules.   Show Notes: -Erick Erickson: “Trump's 2000 Mules Got Stuck in Georgia Clay” -Erick...

Following a man’s racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, in which he killed 10 people and wounded three more, our hosts are here to discuss what it means for our politics and culture. Sarah, Jonah, and Declan then discuss the baby formula shortage. How did the Biden administration drop the ball? And finally, reactions to the latest round of primaries around the country.   Show Notes: -The Disp...

Joining this week’s Dispatch Podcast with Sarah is former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Esper was also secretary of the Army during the Trump administration, and in his new book, A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times, he talks about the challenges that came with working under President Trump. In the podcast, Esper and Sarah discuss life on the inside of the...

The economic state of America, which technically may be improving according to the latest inflation numbers, is still not good. The gang (with deputy managing editor Michael Scott Reneau stepping in for Steve) discuss it and home in on why that’s bad news for Democrats. Plus, Tim Alberta of The Atlantic just wrote a profile of evangelical churches in America and it is so good Sarah, David, Jonah,...

There is no shortage of stuff to talk about in This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future, the new book by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, and Steve does his best to discuss all of it in this week’s Dispatch Podcast. As Steve says, “The book makes you feel like you are in the room.” The trio breaks it all down—from January 6, those now infamous K...

What are we to make the Justice Samual Alito’s leaked draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health? Our hosts are here to discuss as the politics of abortion take shape. Sarah, Jonah, and David then pivot to what they learned from Tuesday’s primary elections. And finally, what does all of this mean for Trump’s chances in 2024?   Show Notes: -David and Sarah’s podcast breaking down the Suprme C...

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney joins Steve for a discussion on the state of the economy and how to rein in inflation. Plus, the senator answers questions about canceling student debt, the Supreme Court abortion leak, J.D. Vance’s victory in Ohio, and the latest from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.   Show Notes: -Romney in the Wall Street Journal: “Biden’s Errors Worsen Inflation” -Capitolism: “Is President B...