Impolitic with John Heilemann

Latest Episodes:

Stuart Stevens: Trumpism’s Pickett’s Charge & 2028’s Yawning Chasm Nov 24, 2025

Show notes

John welcomes former Republican consultant, Lincoln Project/Lincoln Square bigwig, and bestselling author Stuart Stevens back to the show to discuss Donald Trump’s sudden political senescence. Stevens discusses the emerging dynamics and incentives driving GOP congresspeople to break with Trump; the continued risks he poses to American interests at home and abroad, especially in connection with Ukraine; and the vast talent gap between the two parties when it comes to the 2028 presidential race—and the particular problem Republicans are facing in the form of a de facto frontrunner, J.D. Vance, whom Stevens sees as “super creepy.”

Tim Miller: Fissures, Fault Lines & The Great MAGA Crackup Nov 21, 2025

Show notes

John welcomes Tim Miller, host of The Bulwark Podcast, back to the show to discuss the signs this week that Donald Trump’s fabled base — and broader political coalition — may be starting to unravel. Tim dissects the two main stressors creating fissures within MAGA: Trump's efforts to deep six the Epstein files in the face of his coalition's concerns about pedophilia among the political and financial elite; and the normalization of anti-Semitism on the right as personified by Groyper godfather Nick Fuentes. Tim and John also wax lyrical about the band of this moment, Geese, and ponder the possibility of a previously unreported anatomical commonality between Trump and Epstein.

Pat Ryan: Epstein Portents, Off-Year Omens & DJT’s Lame Duckification Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

John welcomes Democratic congressman Pat Ryan—a 43-year-old West Point grad and Iraq War vet whose 14-point victory in his deep purple upstate New York district in 2024 elevated him to national rising-star status—to discuss the lessons of his party’s off-year election gains and signs that Donald Trump’s lame duck era is at hand. Ryan also explains his crusade to end the scourge of sports TV blackouts in the age of streaming, and why it’s not merely good policy and good politics, but the kind of effort that could help Democrats regain entry into the manosphere.

Carol Leonnig: Disarray & Debauchery at the DOJ Nov 14, 2025

Show notes

John welcomes four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Carol Leonnig to discuss her new book with Aaron C. Davis, “Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America’s Justice Department.” Leonnig, a 25-year Washington Post veteran now serving as a senior MSNBC correspondent, explains how Donald Trump’s first-term impairment of the DOJ, followed by Merrick Garland’s failure to meet the moment after January 6, not only let Trump evade legal accountability but set the stage for his radical second-term subversion of the department’s role and the rule of law itself. She also weighs in on Trump’s recent spate of pardons and maladroit handling of the Epstein files, as well her own scoop regarding Tom Homan and his cash-filled Cava bag.

Chris Matthews: What Dems Today Can Learn From RFK (Sr, not Jr!) Nov 10, 2025

Show notes

John welcomes the longtime host of Hardball—for 23 years on MSNBC, now on Substack—Chris Matthews to discuss his new book, "Lessons From Bobby: Ten Reasons Robert F. Kennedy Still Matters." The author of three previous bestsellers on the Kennedy clan, Matthews lays out the qualities that made RFK so special and today's Democrats should emulate as they seek to rebuild the party's national brand and majority status. He also assesses last week's election results, especially as they relate to next year's midterms and the nascent 2028 Democratic nomination contest.

Presenting: Otherworld | Zaza Nov 08, 2025

Show notes

Otherworld tells real stories of people who have experienced something paranormal or unexplainable. Host Jack Wagner takes an open minded and journalistic approach to the subject matter and aims to uncover some of the biggest mysteries of the world and how people react to it.

Democrats & Dodgers Doubleheader with Jonathan Lemire Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

John welcomes Morning Joe co-host and Atlantic staff writer Jonathan Lemire to discuss the resounding triumphs this week of two very different Blue Teams: the Democratic Party and the LA Dodgers. Lemire assesses the key factors driving the Democratic drubbing of Donald Trump’s Republican Party in Tuesday's off-year elections; what comes next for the day’s big winners, from Zohran Mamdani in New York City to Gavin Newsom in California; and the reaction to the rout by Trump and the GOP. Then, once John finishes pimping the Dodgers second straight World Series win, Lemire lays out the argument in his recent Atlantic piece, “Don’t Blow This, Baseball,” as to why the grand old game is suddenly resurgent—and how a looming labor-management tussle could well lead to a calamitous work stoppage in 2027.

2025 Election Preview with David Axelrod Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

John welcomes his pal and Hacks On Tap co-host David Axelrod to preview November 4's marquee contests. The former Obama chief strategist, current CNN chief political analyst, and bestselling author of "Believer: My Forty Years in Politics" explains why he’s confident Democrats will run the table in tomorrow's off-year elections — with victories for Zohran Mamdani in the New York mayor’s race, Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial campaigns, and Gavin Newsom’s redistricting initiative in California — but thinks his party should be cautious about drawing any grand conclusions from its impending clean sweep.

J. Michael Luttig: Trump’s Plan to Be President for Life Is No Joke Oct 31, 2025

Show notes

John welcomes conservative legal eminence and former U.S. Court of Appeals judge J. Michael Luttig to discuss his new piece in The Atlantic about the prospect of Donald Trump remaining in office after his second term ends. Luttig argues that Trump isn’t joking or trolling when he floats the notion of running for president again in 2028, despite the Constitution’s clear proscription against him doing so; that in the past nine months he has already amassed enough executive power to “subvert or even cancel both the midterms next year and the 2028 election;” and that we dismiss or ignore those possibilities “at our peril.”

Cameron Crowe, Pt 2: Backstage Passes & Lost Youth, Lester Bangs & Jeff Spicoli Oct 28, 2025

Show notes

In the second installment of John’s conversation with Cameron Crowe about his new memoir, “The Uncool,” the Oscar-winning writer-director explores his relationship with legendary rock critic Lester Bangs (and casting Philip Seymour Hoffman to play him in “Almost Famous”); the previously unacknowledged teenage suicide of his elder sister and how it fed into the complex family dynamics that compelled him to spend much of his adolescence on the road with rock stars; the end of his career as a music journalist at age 21; how writing “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” helped Crowe reclaim his lost youth and opened the door to Hollywood; and how Tom Cruise convinced him not to cut the most famous line in "Jerry Maguire."

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