The NPR Politics Podcast
Episodes
Tax Revenue Is Down, Spending Is Up, And The Deficit Is Bigger
14 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The federal government's deficit nearly tripled in the first nine months of the fiscal year, a surge that's bound to raise concerns about the country'...
Biden Scores Big Wins In Baltics
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The administration's policy goals regarding Swedish accession to NATO and more military aid for Ukraine were front and center at this week's summit of...
If Dems Hold A Primary In N.H., And Biden's Not On Ballots, What Could Happen?
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The incumbent president may not appear on New Hampshire's Democratic primary ballots this winter. After the party moved its first 2024 nominating cont...
Some Roads To The White House Still Go Through Iowa
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Republicans set Jan. 15, 2024, as the date for their Iowa caucuses, but candidates have already been camping out in the Hawkeye State trying to win he...
Businesses, Governments Clash Over How To Tackle Climate Change
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Companies are making investment decisions based on environmental, social and corporate governance factors, also known as ESG. Those financial choices ...
Government Mostly Can't Talk To Social Giants — That's A Problem
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The government's ability to fight disinformation online has suffered a legal setback that experts say will have a chilling effect on communications be...
With No Evidence Of Wrongdoing, House GOP Continues Biden Probes
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are a number of Republican investigations looking into President Biden and his son, Hunter, ongoing in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers s...
Georgia Used Terrorism Law To Detain Activists Protesting Police
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Atlanta, dozens of activists who oppose a new police and fire training facility are being accused of domestic terrorism. That has alarmed civil lib...
Mitch Landrieu, The Man Biden Hopes Can Rebuild America, Bring Broadband To Millions
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act is a $1.2 trillion law meant to spur a massive infrastructure renewal and rebuilding program complete with new bridg...
What VP Kamala Harris Told Us About Their Post-SCOTUS Strategy
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The administration sees outrage over Supreme Court rulings as a major force in animating their base voters ahead of next year's presidential election ...
SCOTUS Allows Refusal Of LGBTQ Couples, Reinstates Student Debt
30 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 along ideological lines that the First Amendment bars Colorado from "forcing a website designer to create expressive ...
Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action In College Admissions
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The ruling included two cases. The case concerning the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was 6-3 along ideological lines; in the Harvard cas...
Has Russian Infighting Weakened Vladimir Putin?
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After a Russian mercenary leader's forces marched toward Moscow Saturday over frustrations with Putin's top brass, the White House made clear the U.S....
Supreme Court Rejects Theory That Threatened Election Integrity
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The court ruled that state constitutions can protect voting rights in federal elections and state courts can enforce those provisions. Three conservat...
Will 2024 Republicans Support A National Ban On Abortion?
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It has been a year since the Supreme Court sent the power to legislate abortion access back to the states — upsetting a majority of the American pub...
Biden's Red Carpet For India's PM Sweeps Tensions Under The Rug
23 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is head of the world's largest democracy — but concerns over his human rights and freedom of speech records too...
Republicans Dominate Florida — Can They Export That Success?
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It used to be a swing state — but swelling numbers of conservative retirees and durable strength among Cuban-Americans have cemented Republican domi...
Abortion Access Remains Popular As Biden Preps New Initiatives
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
American voters, including the crucial swing demographic of women in small cities and suburbs, continue to express support for abortion access. That's...
Hunter Biden Probe Continues After Tax And Gun Charges, DOJ Says
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hunter Biden, the president's son, has been charged with federal offenses related to his taxes and business dealings, the U.S. Justice Department said...
Made In America? It's Trickier Than It Sounds.
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Made in America. It may be a catchy political slogan, but it's a lot more complicated than it sounds. So many things we use everyday come from China. ...
Trump's Indictment Could Lock Up Primary, But Lock Out Presidency
16 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows that after Donald Trump's historic indictment, 83 percent of Republicans think he should stay in the race —...
Wages Up. Inflation Down. Strong Economy? Depends Who You Ask.
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It is all in the numbers: the economy is doing really well. Workers are raises are outpacing inflation and unemployment is still near historic lows. B...
They Want To Pitch Grand Plans — Instead They're Talking Trump
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The big issues in the Republican presidential primary swirl around the fate of one man: Donald Trump. His primary opponents would love to sell voters ...
No Major Violence In Miami As Trump Pleaded Not Guilty
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The former president was greeted warmly by hundreds of supporters as he arrived at the courthouse to be processed and fingerprinted. He was not made t...
Trump — Facing Federal Indictment — Is Greeted Like A Rock Star
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Crowds in Georgia and North Carolina greeted the former president with tremendous enthusiasm, undeterred by the Justice Department's allegations that ...
Donald Trump Charged With 37 Federal Crimes
10 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Prosecutors say that the former president kept classified documents that he was no longer allowed to possess after leaving office and stored them in w...
SCOTUS Strikes Down Alabama Maps That Limit Black Voter Power
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
By a vote of 5-4, a coalition of liberal and conservative justices essentially upheld the court's 1986 decision requiring that in states where voting ...
Mike Pence, Chris Christie Are Running — Can They Topple The Don?
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Former vice president Mike Pence and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie were both early, key allies of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential ca...
Who Should Decide What's Taught In Schools?
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Schools remain a fixation of conservative political messaging. A new NPR-Ipsos poll asked teachers, parents of school-age children and the general pub...
Putting The 'Ex' In Texas? AG Ken Paxton Faces Permanent Removal
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Texas' top law enforcement official, Attorney General Ken Paxton, has been removed — at least temporarily — from his post by fellow Republicans, f...
How A Beloved Anti-Voter Fraud Tool Fell Victim To Conspiracies
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A rare bipartisan success story, the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, quietly helped to clean up voter rolls and catch fraud for n...
At Last, We Can Stop Writing "Debt Ceiling" In Our Headlines
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden is expected to sign the debt ceiling agreement into law as soon as Saturday, after bipartisan majorities in both chambers of Congress ...
Unpopular, Biden Keeps Notching Wins. Here's His Reelection Plan.
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The early days of the campaign will be easier for Biden this time around: he's got all the advantages of incumbency, including a relative risk-free pr...
Water Shortages Force Farmers To Reckon With Changing Climate
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Droughts, worsening fire seasons, temperature swings and monsoons all impact farmers' businesses, food production, utility costs and livelihoods. The ...
Lawmakers Created A Needless Crisis. They're Close To Solving It.
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Democrats took a big gamble: they chose not to raise or eliminate the debt ceiling when they had full control of government, betting that it could cre...
A Reporter's Tour Of The US Capitol
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join us on an audio tour of the U.S. Capitol complex, through Senate office buildings, press work stations, the Capitol subway, and the House floor —...
Looming Default, SCOTUS Shadow Docket, And 1000 Daily Episodes
26 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The fiscal parameters of a deal to avert self-inflicted financial catastrophe have been largely hammered out by House Republicans and the White House ...
Touting Record In Florida, DeSantis Enters Presidential Race
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Florida governor made his campaign official on Wednesday night, in a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk beset with technical issues. Quickly attr...
Voters Question Biden's Mental Fitness For Second Term
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll shows more than six in 10 Americans are concerned about President Biden's mental fitness, but his app...
The Ever-Growing 2024 Republican Primary Field
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Scott, the junior senator from South Carolina, kicked off his presidential campaign in North Charleston on Monday, and Florida governor Ron DeSant...
Debt Dilemma, Debate Deepen
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After cutting short his trip to Asia, President Biden returned to Washington to meet with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to try and ha...
Our Interview With GOP Presidential Hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vivek Ramaswamy is a 37 year-old investor and pharmaceutical entrepreneur who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. A self-described nati...
Return Of Nuclear Fears Shapes World Leaders' Summit In Japan
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As world leaders convene in Japan for the G7 summit, contemporary concerns including climate change and Russia's invasion of Ukraine are on the agenda...
Lawmakers Want To Be Proactive On Artificial Intelligence Regulation
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
OpenAI head Sam Altman appeared before a Senate panel this week to talk about his ChatGPT product and the future of artificial intelligence. Lawmakers...
N.C. Legislature Poised To Overturn Governor's Veto Of Abortion Ban
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, vetoed a bill banning abortion in North Carolina after 12 weeks. But as Republicans hold supermajorities in both houses o...
Bipartisan Senators Try To Regulate Social Media. Will They Succeed?
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Four senators — two Democrats, two Republicans — are joining forces on a bill to regulate how social media companies can interact with users under...
Debt, Ohio & A Really Old Dog
12 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lawmakers have yet to reach a deal to avert U.S. default, which could come as soon as next month. In Ohio, Republican lawmakers are attempting to amen...
The Dwindling Pot Of Money That Could Plunge Seniors Into Poverty
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Social Security provides retirement money to U.S. workers who have paid into the system via taxes. The program could be forced to cut payments within ...
Trump "Sexually Abused" E. Jean Carroll In 1990s, Jury Says
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode includes discussion of sexual violence.Jurors found former President Donald Trump liable for battery and defamation in the civil lawsuit ...
The US Is Flirting With Financial Calamity: What You Need To Know
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Congress has long directed the government to spend more money than it collects in taxes. That means the government has to borrow money to meets its ob...
White House Message To Migrants: "The Border Is Not Open"
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As a major pandemic-related immigration policy is scheduled to end, the Biden administration is warning the tens of thousands of migrants hoping to cr...
Jan. 6 Militia Leader Convicted Of Seditious Conspiracy
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A jury in Washington, D.C., has convicted former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio and three others of seditious conspiracy, handing the Justice Depa...
Republican Statehouses Are Flexing Their Muscles To Rein In Cities
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Statehouses have long passed legislation in order to curtail or overrule local governments, but there is a renewed focus in many Republican-controlled...
Title 42 Is Set To End. What Happens Next?
03 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The public health policy was implemented by the Trump administration as a way to limit migration to the United States during the pandemic, and the Bid...
Kids' Leading Cause Of Death? Guns.
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode discusses gun violence and contains mentions of suicide and the sound of gun shots. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide...
Who Funds 'No Labels' Push For More 2024 Choices? They Won't Say.
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Roughly half the country believes that neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump should seek the presidency in 2024 — though both men are. A group called N...
Unlike Trump, Folks Who Don't Like Biden May Vote For Him Anyway
28 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Both men are strikingly unpopular — two-thirds of Americans don't want Trump to run for president again and just 41 percent approve of Biden's job p...
House Republicans Have Passed a Debt Limit Bill. Now What?
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was able to narrowly pass a bill to temporarily raise the debt limit. But it was paired with spending cuts and policy cha...
President Biden's Push to Make Things In America Again
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A core tenet of President Biden's economic agenda has been protecting American industry. He argues a strong manufacturing sector is good for the econo...
What To Expect From Biden's 2024 Reelection Campaign
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden announced his reelection bid in a video released early Tuesday morning. We break down the issues that he chose to highlight, the polit...
At Iowa GOP Conference, Trump Is Still Running The Show
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Republican presidential hopefuls flocked to Iowa this weekend for a chance to make their pitch to a key block of primary voters: conservative Christia...
Roundup: Ron DeSantis Wants GOP Backup; John Fetterman Gives A Mental Health Update
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is mulling over a 2024 run for the White House — and he currently stands as the biggest threat to former President Trump i...
Is Friday Last Day To Access Medication Abortions? Up To SCOTUS
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court has three options: send the fight over mifepristone — a drug used for over half of U.S. abortions — back to a lower court, take ...
McCarthy Debuts Spending Cuts — But May Lack Votes To Pass Them
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he would agree to raise federal government's borrowing limit in exchange for cuts to discretionary, non-defense spen...
A $787.5 Million Check — How Fox News Ended Election Lies Lawsuit
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It remains to be seen whether Fox News will have to retract any of the baseless claims it broadcast about Dominion Voting Systems, which was suing the...
Meds, Money And High Drama At The Supreme Court
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court will decide how to move forward after temporarily halting a lower court's order which would have restricted access to the abortion m...
Senator Feinstein's Lengthy Absence Imperils Biden's Court Picks
14 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
California Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein's months-long recuperation from shingles has hamstrung the Judiciary committee and led some of her fellow l...
Leaked Docs Reveal Ukraine's Vulnerabilities, US Intel On Allies
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, Jack Teixeira, as a suspect in the leak of classifi...
Tim Scott Prepares To Join Expanding Republican Primary Field
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Scott, who serves as a senator from South Carolina, announced a presidential exploratory committee — a fundraising vehicle often used by candidates ...
Trans Americans Face Patchwork Of Differing Laws
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As many Republican-led states pass legislation restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors and adults, both the Biden administration and t...
Abortion Access May Be On A Fast Track Back To Supreme Court
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Two federal judges issued contradictory opinions related to a drug used in nearly all U.S. medication abortions last week. The Biden administration ha...
Black Democrats Fired By Tenn. GOP Peers After Gun Protest
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tennessee House Republicans voted to expel Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson after they led a protest on the floor of the chamber in response to a...
Fraud Risk? Candidates Pay Signature Gatherers To Get On Ballot
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Want to put yourself or your cause on the ballot? Generally, you need to gather signatures first in order to signal support for your message. Last yea...
It Happened Again: Abortion Access Propels Dems To Huge Win
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Liberal Janet Protasiewicz won her election to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court by more than 11 percent. The rout is the latest example of a powerful...
Trump Pleads Not Guilty To 34 Felony Charges
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Prosecutors in New York allege Donald Trump falsified business records to conceal hush money payments made by allies, which prosecutors say was an eff...
Abortion Access Likely At Stake In Wisconsin's Supreme Court Race
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A race for one seat on the Wisconsin state Supreme Court has broken national spending records. The winner could be the key swing vote on cases decidin...
America's Presidential Indictment Era
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How will American politics change now that a former president, Donald Trump, is facing criminal prosecution for the first time in the country's nearly...
Trump Indicted By New York Grand Jury
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The indictment appears to be connected to hush money payments made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election. Da...
Americans Like It, Congress Ended It: Free School Lunch For All
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Now, states are beginning to take up the mantle in order to revive the initiatve supported by super-majorities of Americans. Teachers, parents and stu...
The American Trade-Off: Guns And Cars For A Much Shorter Lifespan
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2013, researchers published a landmark study on why Americans of all incomes and demographics die years before their peers in comparable countries....
How Will The U.S. Handle Israel's Democratic Crisis?
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a criminal corruption charges, has moved to weaken the country's court system. His plan is, f...
Can GOP Hopefuls Build A Winning Coalition Without Losing Base?
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Six in ten Americans say in a new NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll that they don't want Trump to be president again, but it's unclear whether the other GO...
Latino GOP Voters Embrace Culture War & New AI Makes Disinfo Easy
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely Republican presidential primary candidate, once strugged to win the vote of conservative Latinos in South Florida ...
Moving Cash Is Faster Than Ever. It Makes Bank Runs Hard To Stop.
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Top monetary officials including Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen say things have stabilized in the two weeks s...
TikTok CEO Heads To The Hill As Congress Mulls A Total Ban
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew is set to address the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday and is expected to tout the company's billio...
Trump Says He'll Be Arrested, Invites Protest, Derails GOP Confab
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The former president's announced on social media that he'd soon be arrested, apparently referring to an ongoing state investigation in New York over h...
US Still Has Lessons To Learn From Its Misguided War In Iraq
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's been twenty years since the U.S. launched a war in Iraq — a conflict justified by faulty intelligence. More than 4000 Americans died along with...
Roundup: Repealing Iraq War Approval; SCOTUS Has No Ethics Code
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A bill ending Iraq war authorizations has cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate and is expected to be taken up by the chamber for a final vote nex...
Abortion Access Could Be Limited Further By Mifepristone Case
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Was the FDA wrong to approve a drug that's used in nearly all medication abortions in the U.S. — and should the drug, mifepristone, be taken off the...
US Pulls Allies Closer As Its Drone Downed In Brush With Russia
15 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. and the United Kingdom will provide nuclear-powered submarine technology to Australia as part of a defense deal between the two nations. And,...
Donald Trump Likely To Be Charged Over Porn Star Hush Money
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Former President Donald Trump has been invited to testify before a New York City grand jury — a move that is widely understood to mean Trump could s...
Biden: Government To Ensure Customers Can Withdraw Money
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Biden administration has announced that customers of Silicon Valley Bank will have full access to their deposits, an extraordinary move by federal...
What Does Biden Care About Most? Look At His Budget Proposal
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden wants to raise income taxes on households earning more than $400,000 a year to shore up the social safety net, make community college ...
Politics Wins Over Principle As Dems Axe DC Crime Code Reforms
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In principle, Democratic lawmakers support the local Washington, D.C., government's power to make laws for the city's residents — who don't have vot...
Fox News Still Broadcasts Election Lies. It Could Cost Them.
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A billion-dollar defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against the broadcaster is tied to the outlet's full-throated embrace of former...
How Department of Agriculture Is Reckoning With Racial Inequity
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Black farmers have long struggled with discrimination, inequities that persist today despite federal efforts to address them. Now, the USDA is out wit...
We Traveled With Attorney General Merrick Garland To Ukraine
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. attorney general traveled to Ukraine to discuss war crimes investigations with top justice officials from around the globe. In an exclusive c...
Will Supreme Court Un-Forgive Student Debt? Seems Like It.
03 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Democratic lawmakers and Republican activists both met for messaging conferences this week. The Supreme Court's conservative majority appears poised t...
Tucker Carlson Has Exclusive Access To Jan. 6th Security Tapes
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy provided access to the footage to Carlson, who has frequently used his Fox News show to spread conspiracies about ...
Cooperation To Confrontation: Why US China Strategy Changed
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A new House panel kicked off a series of hearings focused on what lawmakers describe as the threat posed by China's government to the United States. T...