Impolitic with John Heilemann

Latest Episodes:

Douglas Brinkley: Extreme Incaution, Enemies Lists, & The Age of Trump Nov 11, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by political and cultural historian—and literary executor for Hunter S. Thompson—Douglas Brinkley to discuss the end of the 2024 election and Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Brinkley explains the harsh impact of Kamala Harris’s defeat on Joe Biden’s legacy, and how Biden only has himself to blame; how Trump managed, despite his clear political liabilities, to increase his share of the vote all over the country; why Harris’s extreme caution was her greatest weakness and Trump’s extreme incaution his greatest strength; and how much we should fear Steve Bannon and his pledge to deliver “rough, Roman justice” to MAGA’s foes.

Trumpocalypse Now, Again: Puck Superfriends on 45 Becoming 47 Nov 07, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by his Puck partners Dylan Byers and Peter Hamby to discuss Donald Trump’s reelection: the remarkable scale of his victory and the unexpected breadth of the coalition he assembled to achieve it; whether anyone paying attention to the campaign—or the Trump era in our politics and culture more broadly—should have been surprised; the Democratic finger-pointing that’s already begun in the wake of Kamala Harris's loss; whether VP Harris or President Biden bears more responsibility for the failure to dispatch Trump; and what might happen within the two parties, as well as the mainstream and upstart media, when Trump and his allies reassert themselves in the capital.

Nicolle Wallace: Happy Election Day — Everything’s Gonna Be Alright Nov 05, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace for an Election Day special episode on the final hours of the presidential race. The two close friends examine Kamala Harris’s decision to close out her campaign by dropping all references to Donald Trump and returning to the themes of unity, change, and joy that animated her early days as the Democratic nominee; the contrast presented by Trump’s off-message, off-kilter, at times off-color turns on the stump, as he toggled between anger and exhaustion before dwindling crowds; the bolt-from-the-blue Iowa poll that stunned the political world by showing Harris with a 3-point lead in a state that Trump won easily in 2016 and 2020; whether the combination of Dobbs, Liz Cheney, John Kelly, and Trump’s Madison Square fiasco would put Harris over the top; and, if not, what Trump’s reelection will say about America.

Charlamagne tha God: Problematic Polling, Media Malpractice, & Trump Impunity Nov 04, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by radio host and burgeoning media mogul Charlamagne tha God—whose nationally syndicated morning show, The Breakfast Club, has emerged as a key conduit to Black America for political figures from Kamala Harris to Lara Trump—to dig into the interplay of politics, media, and culture that led to a photo finish in the 2024 election. Charlemagne discusses his staunch support for Harris and his reaction to seeing Donald Trump’s team weaponize his words against her in an anti-Harris (and anti-trans) TV ad; his on-air clash with Anderson Cooper over the failure of CNN and others in the press to hold Trump accountable for his authoritarianism; his disdain for Joe Biden and respect for younger Democrats such as Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, and Wes Moore; and what he makes of Tucker Carlson’s claim to have been mauled in his bed by a demon (yes, an actual demon).

Costa & JMart: Road to the White House or Highway to Hell? Nov 01, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by Robert Costa of CBS News and Jonathan Martin of Politico to discuss the state of the presidential race as it enters the final weekend before Election Day. Costa and Martin weigh in on Kamala Harris’s speech on the Washington Mall, her closing argument writ large, and the factors boosting her prospects and those weighing her down; Joe Biden’s garbled Zoom comments about Trump supporters (or one specific Trump supporter, depending on whom you believe), the kerfuffle they caused, and the Republican efforts to capitalize on them; the degree of confidence Trump and his campaign are projecting about winning; and the state of play in the Blue Wall states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where the outcome is most likely to be decided.

The Bulwark Fab Four: Garbage Jokes, Racist Tropes, & The Garden Party From Hell Oct 30, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by George Conway, Bill Kristol, Sarah Longwell, and Tim Miller from The Bulwark—the #NeverTrump startup that emerged as one of the 2024 election cycle’s breakout media success stories—to discuss the presidential campaign's final sprint to the finish line. The Bulwark Fab Four discuss Donald Trump’s and Kamala Harris’s closing arguments; the tightness of the race in the battleground states and what might sway the tiny cadre of remaining undecided voters; Michelle Obama’s return to the hustings and Steve Bannon’s release from prison; and the political fallout from the profusion of provocations, out-front racism, and full-boil rage on display at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally.

Jason Bateman: Why SmartLess Soared & The Trump Show Jumped the Shark Oct 28, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by actor and director Jason Bateman to discuss the runaway success of SmartLess, his podcast with Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, which was recently snapped up by SiriusXm for $100 million. Bateman—whose Emmy and Golden Globe-winning career spans four-plus decades, carrying him from “Little House on the Prairie” and “Teen Wolf Too” to “Arrested Development” and “Ozark”—reveals the recipe for SmartLess’s secret sauce; why A-list Democrats (Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, and Tim Walz) find the show a low-key, high-impact place to visit; why the surreal reality show that is Donald Trump’s public life has finally jumped the shark; and how the hair required for his role in “Black Rabbit,” his forthcoming Netflix limited series with Jude Law, launched a thousand Jason/Jesus memes.

Anne Applebaum & Timothy Snyder: Love Letters to Adolph Oct 25, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by two celebrated scholars and best-selling authors on authoritarianism, autocracy, and tyranny—Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer at The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum, and Yale University history professor, Timothy Snyder—to discuss this week’s headline-making reporting on the dark assessments of Donald Trump by former White House chief of staff John Kelly and other top military brass. Applebaum and Snyder argue that Trump’s fascism is beyond dispute; his use of language echoing Stalin, Mussolini, and other dictators is no accident; and his repeated expressions of admiration for Adolph Hitler is unsurprising given the degree to which his policy proposals, approach to politics, and yen for personal loyalty from the military resembled the Fuhrer’s.

Presenting Gone South Oct 24, 2024

Show notes

Gone South, the Edward R. Murrow award-winning podcast, is back. Unlike previous seasons, writer and host Jed Lipinski brings listeners new episodes every week with no end in sight. Each episode of Gone South Season 4 tells a different story about one of the South's most interesting crimes.

Wes Moore: Trump Is No Friend Of The Military & Harris Isn't Biden Oct 23, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by Maryland’s Democratic Governor, Wes Moore, to discuss the state of the presidential race. Currently America’s second-youngest governor, only the third African American ever to hold that office, and a 16-year U.S. Army veteran, Moore discusses the challenge Kamala Harris faced in being elevated so recently to the top of the Democratic ticket; how serious a mistake it was for her to say she wouldn’t have done much differently from Joe Biden; and why Donald Trump’s attitude toward the military is so “heartbreaking and terrifying" that senior military officers should speak out about his unfitness for office—as it was reported just after Moore and Heilemann talked that General John Kelly has done.

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