The Dispatch Podcast

As the Biden administration seeks to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September, the Taliban is already on the offensive. How should the United States respond? And how should the United States take care of the thousands of Afghans who have aided the United States against the Taliban? The gang discusses. Then, David brings up interesting statistics regarding how often each Supreme Court...

Mo Elleithee, a longtime Democratic operative and executive director of the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service, joins Sarah and Chris Stirewalt to break down the results of the latest GU Battleground Poll. They talk about the implications of voters’ concerns about division, the nuanced differences between attitudinal and issue polling, and how the parties’ messaging on issues they...

The critical race theory battle has quickly invaded school boards all across the country - but is everyone arguing in bad faith? The gang considers the politics of CRT and the role of legislators in regulating public school curriculum. Plus, Sarah points out the flaws in issue polling and why we should be skeptical of the results. Finally, foreign policy galore. What should Biden say to Putin? Is...

Purdue University President and former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels joins Sarah and Steve to talk about the state of higher education in America, wokeness on college campuses, and the national debt. Daniels explains Purdue’s new civics literacy test for all new students at the university, discusses his 2021 commencement speech and bringing back America’s “spirit of adventure,” and chats about riding...

With President Biden’s domestic agenda breaking down as he heads off on his first foreign trip, the gang talks about what it will take to get anything done in Washington. One person responsible for a great deal of stress for President Biden is Sen. Joe Manchin. Is he helping or hurting the Democrats? Plus, as U.S. forces begin to withdraw from Afghanistan, Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David worry what...

The politicization of the China lab-leak theory has only gotten worse as more and more information surrounding it comes out. To talk about why that is, and the merits of the theory itself, is Josh Rogin of the Washington Post. Rogin has been doggedly reporting on this very subject and even wrote a book about it. Show Notes: -Chaos Under Heaven by Josh Rogin -Josh’s Twitter page -Josh’s Washington...

Last week this podcast talked about Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko scrambling a military jet to force down a Ryanair flight carrying a dissident journalist. Now, as more reporting reveals how involved Russian President Vladimir Putin was, Steve asks whether President Biden should be holding a summit with Putin in a few weeks. Also in the foreign policy vein, Jonah laments the fact that t...

King of the gun beat and founder of The Reload Stephen Gutowski joins Sarah and Steve to talk about all things gun related on today’s episode. The topic of guns induces plenty of passion, and comes with plenty of stereotypes and myths. Stephen, Sarah, and Steve talk about all of that, plus gun culture in America, the politics of guns, the NRA, and more. Stick around to the end to hear what Stephen...

With Biden’s legislative agenda coming up against many roadblocks in Congress, Sarah, Steve, David, and Jonah debate which one of Biden’s main objectives will actually be made into law. Then, the gang explains even though Florida’s new “anti-Big Tech” law is likely to be unconstitutional, it could be a political win for DeSantis and anyone else who hitches their wagon to taking on Big Tech. Also i...

After being the only candidate to run against Rep. Elise Stefanik in a bid to replace Rep. Liz Cheney as the No. 3 House GOP leader, Rep. Chip Roy joins Sarah and Steve in this week’s episode. This wide-ranging interview touches on the January 6 commission, how Republican voters perceive the party, the Cheney ousting, and potential 2024 Republican presidential candidates. Learn more about your ad...

The Israel/Palestine conflict has yet to cool down, but the rhetoric around the ongoing skirmish is heating up in the U.S. The gang talks about the pressure on Biden to help with the situation abroad. Plus, it seems as though a commission to look at the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 might not be getting much GOP support, if any at all. Sarah, Steve, David, and Jonah try to figure out who...

Minutes after New York Rep. Elise Stefanik was elected the House GOP’s new conference chairwoman, her predecessor, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney joined Sarah and Steve on today’s show to chat about the 2022 midterms, the future of the Republican Party, and the factors that precipitated her ousting from GOP leadership. Tune in to hear Cheney talk to our hosts about her relationships with her colleagues a...

With so much going on in the news this week, it’s hard to pick one headline. Is it Liz Cheney being ousted from her leadership role for telling the truth? Or the fact that a major oil pipeline was attacked by ransomware? Or maybe the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine heating up and heating up fast? The gang discuss all of those topics and why a rise in independent voters may not actual...

With Rep. Liz Cheney’s days as the No. 3 ranking House GOP official numbered, Sarah and Steve are joined by The Dispatch’s own Haley Byrd Wilt and Audrey Fahlberg to talk about what that means for the party. Next Wednesday, the Republican caucus will meet and a vote to oust Cheney is expected to take place. The four lay out what they see happening on Wednesday and what they expect the aftermath ma...

The fight over who is in and who is out within the GOP leadership has reached a boiling point. Rep. Liz Cheney, who survived a vote in February to oust her from her leadership position, may not be there much longer. Sarah and the guys break down what’s happening and how much of a chance Cheney has to survive another attempt to replace her. Also, the special election in Texas shows a weak spot for...

Former President George W. Bush has done a number of interviews recently to promote his new book, “Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants,” but none have covered as many topics as Sarah Isgur and Steve Hayes covered with him on The Dispatch Podcast. President Bush touches on everything from his strategy going into painting a portrait, the impact immigrants have on the United States, t...

Today’s episode starts off talking about every political junkie’s favorite arbitrary threshold, a presidential administration’s first 100 days. Hear what everyone thinks are the Biden administration’s greatest strengths and weaknesses. The gang debates what’s the most important aspect of the John Kerry leaking info to Iran story and how the U.S. Census will affect our politics and our country goin...

Now that Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of murder, what happens next? Sarah flies solo on today’s podcast in an interview with former United States Attorney in the Office for the Eastern District of Virginia Zach Terwilliger to talk about just that. Sarah and Zach break down all of the legal jargon you may hear about this case and explain what to watch out for next in Derek Chauvin’s sentenci...

People across the political spectrum had all sorts of different reactions to Officer Derek Chauvin being found guilty on all three charges in the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Jonah says most of those reactions have been far from encouraging, “While a lot of the right-wing reaction makes me ashamed and embarrassed and infuriated and disgusted … a lot of the left-wing reaction, or a lot of th...

Sarah and David (who is stepping in for Steve this week) talk to the author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, Kristin Du Mez, about how the definition of masculinity for white Evangelical men has had a damaging impact on the whole country. “Once you have the eyes to see this, it’s hard not to see its pervasive reach,” she said. “The politics...

This week, the FDA decided to pause the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following reports that six women—of the nearly 7 million Americans who have received the J&J vaccine—developed serious blood clots after getting the jab. Is pausing the vaccine worth the tradeoffs? Will the FDA’s move fuel vaccine hesitancy? Sarah, David, Chris and Jonah give us the scoop. Today, our hosts also chat about New York T...

Are you a “scout” or a “soldier”? What do those terms even mean? In Julia Galef’s new book, The Scout Mindset, she argues the scout mindset is underrepresented in today’s world. “The scout’s role, unlike the soldier, is not to go out and attack or defend,” she says. “It’s to go out, and see what’s really out there as clearly as possible and to put together as accurate a map of the territory or a s...

If it’s a day that ends in “Y” in Washington, it’s probably a day during “infrastructure week.” The gang talks about President Biden’s infrastructure bill and debates whether or not it’s fair to call it an “infrastructure” bill. Plus, what should the U.S. do about the continued aggression coming from China and Russia, and the differences in voting laws in Georgia and Colorado. Finally, the controv...

In a wide-ranging conversation spanning from his time working in the Trump White House, to his early days as a leader in the House Freedom Caucus (which we learned was supposed to be called the “Reasonable Nutjob Caucus), Mick Mulvaney talks with Sarah and Steve about his life in politics. During the conversation, Mulvaney opines on John Boehner’s new book, what being chief of staff is actually li...

President Biden introduced a massive $2 trillion infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh, and the gang is wondering what type of fight the GOP is going to put up against the bill. Steve asks, “You’d think this might be something Republicans would object to and fight pretty strongly. Are you getting the sense that Republicans will do that?” To hear everyone’s dejected response to that question, just hit...