The NPR Politics Podcast

Brittney Griner, American Jailed In Russia, Freed In Prisoner Swap

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Griner, a prominent basketball player, had been convicted of bringing hash oil into the country. President Biden secured Griner's release by commuting...

Is Raphael Warnock A Good Model For Swing-State Democrats?

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The senator has a moderate tone, progressive policies and deep roots in his community. His campaign focused on speaking to voters of all stripes while...

Will Arizona Officials Face Charges For Vote Certification Delay?

06 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Under a court order, officials in Republican-controlled Cochise County, Ariz., finally certified their local midterm elections results after they miss...

With Iowa No Longer First, Campaigns Will Have To Evolve

05 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As Democrats plan for a presidential campaign season without Iowa at the top of the calendar, we look at the impact the decision could have on the sta...

Whither, Iowa? Dems Consider Shaking Up Primary Season

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Democratic National Committee is meeting this week in Washington to decide whether Iowa should still have the first caucus in the party's presiden...

Will Georgia Voters End Joe Manchin's Reign As King Of The Senate?

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

All eyes are on Georgia's Senate runoff election as Democrat Raphael Warnock fights for his first full term. He's up against Republican Herschel Walke...

Why Biden And Congress Are Trying To Stop A Railroad Strike

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Railroad unions rejected a Biden-brokered deal to prevent a national strike over concerns that it did not include paid sick leave. Now, the president ...

Here's How Republicans Pulled Off Big Upsets In New York State

29 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

GOP candidates there embraced "bipartisan" messaging and capitalized on redrawn maps to flip four House seats from Democratic control in New York. Dem...

Rural Voters, Latino Voters Defy Easy Narratives in Midterms

28 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Pennsylvania, Democratic candidates managed to turnout their rural supporters while many rural Republicans stayed home. And long-term under-investm...

Weekly Roundup: November 25, 2022

25 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The 2022 election season is winding to a close. What can Democrats and Republicans learn from their candidates' successes and failures in this midterm...

Spare A Thought For Sparing Turkeys?

24 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's a holiday tradition unlike any other — the annual pardoning of Thanksgiving turkeys. But not everybody is a fan of giving the birds clemency, e...

How Do Election Polls Work?

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our colleagues at Planet Money had a simple question: how do pollsters do their work ahead of elections? They went to Marist College — home of the M...

Democrats Race Against Time

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When the new Congress takes office in January, Democrats will lose control of the House of Representatives. Until that happens, they have a slew of le...

Misinformation's Limited Impact On The Midterms

21 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Election observers were concerned misinformation would have an outsized impact on the 2022 elections, as it did in 2020. But, that ended up not being ...

A New Special Counsel Will Oversee Investigations Into Donald Trump

18 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Attorney General Merrick Garland has named Jack Smith, the Justice Department's former public integrity chief, to oversee the investigations into the ...

After 20 Years, Nancy Pelosi Will Step Down As Top House Democrat

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pelosi, 82, is honoring a pledge she made in 2018 to pass the baton after another two terms at the party's helm. She says she will remain in Congress ...

Voters Say They'd Prefer New Faces To A 2020 Biden-Trump Rematch

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Former president Donald Trump, 76, has now filed to run for president again in 2024. President Biden, 79, also appears likely to run for reelection. I...

Let's Talk About Kevin McCarthy, GOP Pick For House Speaker

15 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The California Republican got his start in national politics as a self-styled "young gun" whose inveterate politicking has allowed him to outshine his...

Biden Touts Senate Control After Meeting With China's Xi

14 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tensions appear lower between the U.S. and China following a meeting between the leaders of the two nations. Both described the talks as frank and pro...

Roundup: Outstanding Races

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Republican nominee Blake Masters lags incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly in Arizona, as we wait for that race to be called. GOP election officials the...

Election Deniers Running To Oversee Voting Mostly Lost

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Michigan's Jocelyn Benson and Minnesota's Steve Simon beat election deniers to oversee voting systems in their states. A key race in Arizona remains u...

Far-Right Losses And Abortion Politics Blunt Republican Gains

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Democrats outperformed expectations last night. Despite Biden's unpopularity and big economic headwinds, abortion politics and the unpopularity of Tru...

Election Night : What We've Seen So Far

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The balance of power will take time to sort out, but here are some firsts you can talk about around the water cooler Wednesday: Vermont becomes the fi...

What To Watch For On Election Night

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

More than 40 million Americans have already cast ballots in the 2022 midterms, but be prepared: results may not come quickly Tuesday night. We take a ...

Here's How Inflation Became The Biggest Story Of The Midterms

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Trump and Biden signed off on historic amounts of stimulus money that helped the country's economy weather the pandemic, but — on top of supply chai...

What Young Voters Talk About: Abortion Access, Democracy, Money

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Biden gave a speech Wednesday night on the health of democracy — it's one of many things on the minds of young voters this election cycle, alongside...

Nevada, The Most Interesting Senate Race You Haven't Heard About?

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, the first Latina U.S. senator, is in an extremely close race against Republican Adam Laxalt, Nevada's former Attorney...

More Voters Trust Republicans To Address Elevated Crime Rates

01 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Violent crime remains higher than it was pre-pandemic and Republican candidates are blanketing suburban airways with ads about the issue. It has led m...

Cindy Axne Rode In On 2018's Blue Wave. Now, Is The Tide Going Out?

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rep. Cindy Axne was elected in a Democratic wave year from Iowa's 3rd congressional district. Now, she faces a tough reelection fight against Republic...

Pelosi's Spouse Attacked, Pennsylvania Senate, Train Labor Dispute

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A man broke into the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacked her husband. The speaker was not home at the time and her husband is expected to ...

How Armed Observers And Felony Convictions May Shape Ballot Access

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Arizona, rampant voter fraud conspiracies have led people — some armed — to observe ballot boxes and polling sites, sometimes leading to confro...

The Races Are In North Carolina, But The Politics Are National

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

North Carolina has a number of high-profile races that will help to determine control of Congress — but, as is the case in much of the country, loca...

As Heating Costs Increase, New Hampshire Senate Race Tightens

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

New Hampshire is a must-win state for Democrats in their campaign to keep control of the Senate. Sen. Maggie Hassan narrowly won her last race in 2016...

Some GOP Candidates Are Struggling. Can Mitch McConnell Save Them?

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

More than $1.6 billion has been spent or booked on TV ads in a dozen Senate races, with $3 out of every $4 being spent in six states — Georgia, Penn...

The Center Of The Political World (Georgia) & Future Of Democracy

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In a live show on Thursday, October 20th, at the Buckhead Theater in Atlanta, political correspondent Susan Davis, White House correspondent Tamara Ke...

Fight Inflation Without Recession? How Two Top Economists See It

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Protect jobs or how much you can buy for a dollar? It's up to the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank, to strike a balance. Larry Summers, who ...

Homeland Security Staff Want Biden To Oust Watchdog, A Trump Pick

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Joseph Cuffari, the Trump-appointed leader of the Department of Homeland Security's watchdog agency, has been in office for three years. During that t...

Election Vendor Faces Charges After Conspiracy Group's Allegations

18 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Prosecutors in Los Angeles say Konnech, a small company that makes software for scheduling election workers, has illegally given its contractors in Ch...

New Culture War Cudgel: GOP Ads Blame Opioid Crisis On Migrants

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Addiction deaths remain a major problem in the U.S. as the public health focus has shifted to COVID-19. But as midterm voting continues, Republican ca...

Roundup: Saudi Arabia Cuts Oil Production & LA City Council

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The White House has accused Saudi Arabia of helping Russia fund its war in Ukraine by pushing up oil revenues after the OPEC+ group of oil producers, ...

The Jan. 6th Committee Voted to Subpoena Donald Trump. So, Now What?

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol held its final scheduled hearing today. What did we...

The White House Is Holding Policy Briefings For TikTok Creators

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The administration is trying to explain its policies to a core part of the Democratic base: young voters. A third of young people say they prefer to g...

Meet The Republican Candidates Who Could Unseat Swing-State Dems

11 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There is a month left before the final vote is cast in the 2022 midterm elections. Can Republicans succeed in taking full control of Congress? We brea...

The Secret History Of Jane Roe

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Family Roe is journalist Joshua Prager's sweeping look at the life of Norma McCorvey — better known as Jane Roe — and America's long fight ove...

Roe Is Done — Here Are The Next Supreme Court Cases To Watch

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The high court, which now includes Biden nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, will hear cases that will determine the future of affirmative action, voting r...

Doom And Boom: We Break Down What's Happening In The Economy

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Stock markets have had a tough year and inflation has remained stubborn, but the value of the U.S. dollar is strong compared to other currencies and t...

Computer Chips, Made In America?

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

President Biden sees large-scale capital investment by the U.S. government as the way to revive the anemic American manufacturing industry. The CHIPS ...

Race And Crime: Republicans Try To Shore Up Suburban Support

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Democrats see Wisconsin as their best chance to unseat an incumbent Republican senator. But Sen. Ron Johnson has managed to close the gap with Democra...

Biden Reverses On Debt Cancellation For Hundreds of Thousands

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In a remarkable reversal, the U.S. Department of Education has quietly changed its guidance around who qualifies for President Biden's sweeping studen...

Weekly Roundup: September 30th

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The scope of Hurricane Ian's damage remains to be seen, but millions were left without power and much of Florida's west coast saw devastating floods. ...

Brazil's President Sows Distrust In Election — Sound Familiar?

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As Brazilians head to the polls to vote for president, they're being deluged by a wave of falsehoods that echo Donald Trump's claims of a stolen elect...

Oath Keepers Militia Members Face Seditious Conspiracy Charges

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jury selection has begun in the trail of five members or associates of the far-right group over their alleged role in the Jan. 6th riot at the U.S. Ca...

Final Jan. 6 Hearing Is Coming — Here's Everything We've Learned

27 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The ninth and final scheduled meeting of the House committee investigating the January 6th, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol will occur in the coming w...

How Did Russia's War On Ukraine Drive Up U.S. Energy Bills?

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

European utilities, which used to purchase lots of natural gas from Russia, are buying from the United States instead. That has driven power costs hig...

Weekly Roundup: September 23rd

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Puerto Rico has — five years after Hurricane Maria killed thousands — again been hit by a devastating storm. Trump was broadly criticized for a mi...

Trump Faces Setbacks In Mar-a-Lago Case — And More Litigation In New York

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A panel of judges from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the Justice Department to resume reviewing classified documents seized at Mar-a-L...

Biden: Russia's Invasion "Should Make Your Blood Run Cold"

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

President Biden's annual remarks before the United Nations General Assembly were designed to rally people at home and abroad to continue their support...

So... Is The Pandemic Over? Is That Even The Right Question?

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

President Biden told 60 Minutes that the pandemic is basically over. Hundreds of Americans are still dying every day, but most Americans are essential...

One Roadblock To Immigration Fix? GOP Politicians Love The Optics

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Though both parties have agreed for decades that the U.S. immigration system is in dire need of reform, the optics of border-crossing migrants have be...

Weekly Roundup: September 16th

16 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Abortion access and inflation are the top issues driving the midterms, but they're motivating very different sets of voters. And an under-discussed fo...

Obama's Speechwriter On The Power Of Presidential Rhetoric

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Cody Keenan talks to NPR's Tamara Keith about writing for Barack Obama, the impact of Donald Trump's rhetoric and whether a president needs to be a co...

Abortion Is Top Of Mind In Ohio's Closely-Watched Senate Race

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Tim Ryan are contesting Ohio's open Senate seat. Social issues including abortion are top-of-mind and the race is s...

As Political Violence Rises, Biden To Host Unity Conference

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rates of political violence, armed protest, hate crime and white supremacist activity all became more prevalent during the Trump administration. Can a...

Fight Over Trump's Confidential Docs Remains Ugly And Tedious

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump's legal team and the Justice Department disagree over who should review the documents, what that review should entail and who should foot...

Congress Will Vote On Same-Sex, Interracial Marriage Rights

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With their base energized after the Supreme Court struck down national abortion access protections, Democrats are pushing to vote on a marriage bill a...

Pandemic, Polarization, Prosecution: New Ballot Box Politics

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Veterans' groups, students and attorneys are mobilizing to work at polling sites as health and political concerns have strained staffing in localities...

Donald Trump's Republican Doubters Warn Of "Lame Duck" Limits

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump's GOP critics have begun to suggest that Republicans should nominate a fresh face, someone eligible for reelection after 2024. It's the k...

Trump's Request For Independent Document Review Approved

06 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Judge Eileen Cannon, who was appointed by former President Trump, has handed the former president a big, if temporary, win. She says an independent ar...

Fighting Back Against Election Lies

05 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Research from the Voting Rights Lab, a nonpartisan group that tracks election laws, surveyed voters on their attitudes toward election systems and pro...

Biden Says Election Lies Undermine U.S. Democracy

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

President Joe Biden delivered a speech warning that American democracy is endangered by Donald Trump and those of his supporters who push conspiracies...

White House Climate Official Ali Zaidi On Biden's Climate Law — And What's Next

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. just passed its first major climate legislation. NPR's Asma Khalid sat down at the White House with Deputy National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi...

Did Trump Team Withhold Documents From Investigators? DOJ Says Yes

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Justice Department says that Trump's representatives claimed they turned over all remaining classified material at kept at Trump's estate during a...

To Build Support Among Voters Of Color, Republicans Open Dozens Of Community Centers

30 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Voters of color still overwhelmingly support Democrats, but Republican in-roads at the margins can have a big impact in states like Georgia, Florida, ...

Democrats Build Momentum — But Midterms Are Usually A Nightmare For Party In Power

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Even as Democrats see their support swell, they are still in real danger of losing control of the House to Republicans. The sitting president's party ...

Mar-a-Lago Affidavit Released; Combatting Election Security Disinformation

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Justice Department released a redacted affidavit justifying the FBI search of former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. What's in it, ...

Need To Claim Student Debt Relief? Here's What We Know

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The federal government will forgive federal student loan debt – up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, and up to $10,000 for others who qualify. W...

Should Trump Make It Official? Depends If He's More Worried About The FEC Or DOJ

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Trump has gobs of money is his political action committees and as long as he's not officially running for office he can basically spend it however he ...

The Dire Reality In Afghanistan A Year After The U.S. Withdrawal

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Biden administration concluded the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan a year ago this month. What has happened to the tens of thou...

Democrats Claw Back Ground In Fight For Senate Control

22 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Touting Biden's recent legislative achievements and decrying the Supreme Court's abortion decision, Democratic Senate candidates see opportunity just ...

Inflation's Impact On Florida Voters

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pinellas County, on Florida's west coast, is unique: it backed the winning presidential tickets in 2012, 2016 and 2020, throwing support to Barack Oba...

Black Voters Say New Congressional Maps Water Down Their Influence

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

November's midterms will be the first general election to use the new set of congressional maps drawn after the 2020 census. In Florida and Tennessee,...