The NPR Politics Podcast
Episodes
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...
Why Scientists, Lawmakers & Diplomats Care Where COVID Began
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Department of Energy has a new report which concludes with "low confidence" that the COVID-19 virus could have originated from a lab in Wuhan, Chi...
Train Wreck: Political Sideshow Descends On Ohio Crash Site
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After a train derailed in rural Ohio, the community is concerned about the near- and long-term health impacts of the hazardous waste that the train wa...
Will SCOTUS Remake The Web? And Dems' Tough 2024 Senate Map
24 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court heard two major cases that could ultimately make platforms like YouTube and Twitter liable for the content users share on their site...
DeSantis vs Trump Voters: Insights Into GOP Primary Divide
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden is gaining in popularity — how much of his decision to run again is driven by Vice President Harris' lackluster support among key gr...
J6 Trial: DOJ Alleges Cop Tipped Off Proud Boys Leader
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Members of the Proud Boys are on trial related to their alleged actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The actions of former p...
Have You No Sense Of Decency?
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. has entered an era of post-shame politics, where politicians are willing to endure embarrassment, criticism and negative attention in order t...
Biden's Surprise Visit To Ukraine
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden traveled to Ukraine on Monday on an unannounced trip to mark the anniversary of Russia's invasion of the country. But back home, more ...
These Voters Fret Biden's Age, Just Not Enough To Pick Trump
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A focus group of swing voters showed worry about President Biden's age — he'd be 82 at the start of a second term — but the voters said they'd sti...
Biden Says UFOs Are NBD—Plus Our Chat With Second Gentleman
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In remarks Friday, President Biden said the three aerial objects shot down by U.S. military were most likely tied to private companies, recreation or ...
Christian Nationalism's Foothold In American Politics
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution found that found more than half of Republicans believe the ...
GOP Targets Immigration Boss, Will Hold Hearings In Arizona
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy will lead fellow Republican lawmakers on a trip to Arizona this week, part of an effort by his caucus to boost the...
More UFOs Shot Down By US Air Force
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The United States military downed three more unidentified flying objects, though the Biden administration said it had no indication that the objects w...
U.S. Officials Allege Ballooning Chinese Espionage Threat
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
China has sent surveillance balloons over more than 40 countries across five continents and the Biden administration is in touch with other countries ...
The Fight Over The Farm Bill
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Farm Bill is a sweeping legislative package that funds an array of programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — formerly ...
From SOTU To Stump: Biden Heads To Wisconsin and Florida
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden is in Wisconsin Wednesday, touting the same broadly popular priorities he emphasized during Tuesday's State of the Union address. The ...
State Of The Union: Biden Touts Popular, Bipartisan Policies
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden kept a tight focus on broadly popular policies and bipartisan achievements in a State of the Union address that is likely to serve as ...
Top US Diplomat Cancels China Trip Amid "Spy" Balloon Fallout
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled his trip to China after the U.S. spotted a Chinese surveillance balloon near a military base in Montana. T...
Biden Intends To End COVID Emergency Declarations. Now What?
03 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was at the White House on Wednesday for talks as President Biden continues to insist that the U.S. payi...
House Republicans Begin Investigations Into President Biden
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The House Oversight and Judiciary committees, helmed by Repulican representatives James Comer of Kentucky and Jim Jordan of Ohio, will be the venues f...
Nikki Haley Will Seek The Republican Presidential Nomination
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador is going back on her pledge not to run against her former boss, Donald Trump. And aft...
Florida Election Workers Warn Chaos Is Coming Without Reform
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Recent changes to Florida's election laws institute new requirements that, as designed, could cause huge numbers of ballots to be rejected in the stat...
Can Facebook Still Be Trump's Fundraising Juggernaut?
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The site's parent company announced that Donald Trump would be able to return to the platform with new guardrails on his account. But will Facebook be...
Does Conservative Mean Whatever Donald Trump Says It Means?
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After extracting a slew of concessions from Kevin McCarthy during the Speaker vote saga, conservative House Republicans are now flexing their muscles ...
Mass Shootings And Extremism Are Top White House Concerns
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vice President Harris is in California after a number of mass shootings in the state. The US Secret Service is out with a report documenting trends in...
United States And Its Allies To Provide Tanks To Ukraine
25 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The move, announced by President Biden in a speech from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, is the latest in a continued escalation of military equ...
Dems Don't Love 2024 Senate Maps Like The GOP Does
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Democrats head into the 2024 elections needing to defend far more seats in the Senate than their Republican counterparts. With potentially vulnerable ...
FBI Searches Biden's Home; Harris Speaks Out For Abortion Rights
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The White House said FBI agents searched President Biden's Delaware home on Friday, finding more items with classified markings. The search took place...
Ruminations On Supreme Court Leaks, Classified Documents & Preferred Fonts
20 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Documents were at the heart of Washington news this week. A Supreme Court investigation into who leaked a draft opinion of the decision overturning Ro...
PPP Loans Provided Lots Of Cash Assistance With Few Questions Asked
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Payroll Protection Program was enacted during the pandemic to provide financial assistance to businesses that were closed, or operating at a reduc...
Much Ado About Debt
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress the United States would reach the statutory debt limit — commonly known as the debt ceiling — on J...
Proud Boys Members Face Seditious Conspiracy Charges
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Washington, D.C., members of the Proud Boys are on trial related to their alleged actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Cap...
The Fight To Keep Climate Change Off The Back Burner
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The world faces key deadlines for climate action in coming decades. But most of us are more focused on the short term — today, tomorrow, maybe next ...
A New Congress Takes Shape; Stefanik's Stock Rises; 'Spare' Sparks Drama
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With a narrow majority in the House, Republicans will need to find ways to work with Democrats — who still control the Senate and the White House. W...
Garland Appoints Special Counsel To Investigate Biden Document Storage
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After President Biden announced a second set of classified documents had been improperly stored at his Wilmington, Del., residence, Attorney General M...
Document Drama Differs Between Biden & Trump
11 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Both the president and his predecessor are facing investigations from the Department of Justice over the potential mishandling of classified documents...
Democrats' 2024 Primary Plans Get More Complicated
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Democratic National Committee announced South Carolina would supplant Iowa and New Hampshire as the first state in the party's 2024 nominating con...
Border, Drugs, Economy On Agenda As North American Leaders Meet
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden heads to Mexico City this week for two days of meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manu...
McCarthy Prevails, Becomes Speaker In Late-Night House Vote
07 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After 15 rounds of balloting, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was elected Speaker of the House. The series of votes were contentious at times, and McCa...
Is Kevin McCarthy On The Brink?
07 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The California Republican was able to win over some of his detractors today as balloting for the Speaker of the House entered a fourth day. However, n...
House Impasse Continues
06 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After more votes, the House of Representatives is no closer to electing a new Speaker. Republicans voted for other candidates as more House members of...
Six Ballots — None The Speaker
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Following three more votes on Wednesday, Republicans in the House remain divided on who should be the chamber's speaker. Support for Rep. Kevin McCart...
House Deadlocks In Vote For New Speaker
04 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The 118th Congress began its work today, and the first order of business for the House was to select a new speaker. However, after multiple rounds of ...
The Push To Redefine 'Black' And End Anti-Racist Voter Protections
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Code Switch, NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports on the effort by Republican officials in Louisiana to change how Black people are counted ...
"Can't Let It Go" Holiday Spectacular 2022
30 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The NPR Politics crew shares the things that they just can't let go of this year, politics and otherwise.This episode: political correspondent Susan D...
After Roe, The Supreme Court Seems Poised to Undo More Major Precedents
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Affirmative action, indigenous rights and election integrity could all be radically reshaped by the far-right court this term, as Chief Justice John R...
After Months Of Inflation, Where Is The Economy Heading?
28 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A huge number of voters indicated that the economy was their top concern in the midterm election — something that likely helped Republicans take con...
2022 Reshaped the U.S. Relationship With Russia, China
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. has dispatched billions in military aid to Ukraine to support its territorial defense after Russia invaded at the beginning of the year and j...
Belonging, Money, Duty? Inside Account Of Why GOP Pros Backed Trump
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Miller spent years working as a Republican political operative for candidates like Jeb Bush and Jon Huntsman, before breaking with his party over ...
Road To Partition
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a nation splits apart? It's a question many of us are asking ourselves today. It happened 75 years ago with Partition, when India an...
A Love Affair: American Politics And Country Music
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Politicians have long relied on country music stars to burnish their rural reputations — and country stars have long been political agitators. From ...
In Legal Limbo, Biden Has No Clear Path To An Immigration Fix
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Title 42, implemented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the pandemic, has been used by the Trump and Biden administrations to e...
Interview: Vice President Kamala Harris
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Her life is about to change: with Democrats expanding their control in the Senate, Vice President Harris tells NPR's Asma Khalid that she won't need t...
Jan. 6 "Ringleader": Lawmakers Advise Criminal Charges For Trump
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack advised four criminal charges be filed against former President Donald Trump over his role in the ri...
The Twitter Files, LGBTQ Legislation & The Definition Of Beer
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's roundup, we explore the political implications of Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter alongside the release of information regarding the c...
Do Voters Want Bipartisanship... Or For Opponents To Agree With Them?
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows that most voters want to see bipartisan compromise in Congress, but the survey also shows that Americans are ...
Kevin McCarthy Faces A Likely Bruising Path To Speaker Of The House
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It could be the most rancorous contest for Speaker of the House in the modern Congress — even though there is no clear alternative candidate. What w...
Military Sexual Assault Prosecution Reform Likely To Pass Congress
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The reform deal is one of many parts of this year's annual defense spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, which also includes raises f...
Biden Passed Lots Of Popular Legislation. He's Unpopular. What's Up?
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pandemic relief, gun control and the largest investment into climate change mitigation and adaptation have all been signed into law in President Biden...
Kyrsten Sinema's Break-Up With Dems Won't Change Much In The Senate
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Arizona senator announced she was leaving the Democratic party — but given her broad support of Democratic priorities and the president's nomine...