Impolitic with John Heilemann

Latest Episodes:

Cari Champion & Pablo Torre On The Snoop Dogg Summer Olympics Aug 09, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by two rising stars of sports journalism and commentary, Pablo Torre (formerly of ESPN and now host of the hit podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out) and Cari Champion (also formerly of ESPN and now host of The Cari Champion Show on Amazon Prime Video) to talk about the Summer Games: from the athletic prowess of Simone Biles, Gabby Thomas, and Katie Ledecky to the cultural currency of Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart, and from the culture-war kerfuffle around Algerian boxer Imane Khelif to the genius streaming strategy that unleashed a ratings bonanza for NBC, and why Paris 2024 stands as the first truly postmodern Olympic Games.

Nicolle Wallace: To the Window, To the Walz Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by Nicolle Wallace—host of Deadline: White House on MSNBC, former aide to George W. Bush and John McCain, and author of three bestselling novels (Eighteen Acres, It’s Classified, and Madam President) about life inside the White House—to discuss Kamala Harris’s selection of Tim Walz as her running mate and its potential impact on the election. The two close friends talk about the secrecy and mystery surrounding every veepstakes, the factors driving Harris to pick the relatively unknown Walz over popular Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and why Wallace says that the aftermath of Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance and his eventual departure from the presidential race was the hardest story she’s ever had to cover as an MSNBC anchor.

Michael Bennet & Errin Haines: Trump’s Losing Bet on Birtherism 2.0 Aug 02, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by Michael Bennet, Colorado’s senior U.S. Senator, and Errin Haines, editor-at-large of The 19th, longtime Kamala Harris chronicler, and member of National Association of Black Journalists—whose annual meeting in Chicago this week was the site of Donald Trump’s latest spasm of racial animus and ignorance. The legislator and the journalist discuss the event where the former president’s desperation was evident from start to finish. Also: Kamala Harris’s rocket ride and J.D. Vance’s unrelenting weirdness.

Conway & Longwell Pt. 2: Donald’s Psyche, J.D.’s Weirdness, and Kamala’s No-Huddle Veepstakes Aug 01, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by #NeverTrump stalwarts George Conway (founder of the new Anti-Psychopath PAC and ex-husband of Kellyanne) and Sarah Longwell (publisher of The Bulwark and ubiquitous focus group impresario) to discuss the state of the presidential race after the mother of all resets. The trio assess why Kamala Harris’s unexpected elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket, the swift coalescence of her party behind her, and the wave of Momalamania sweeping mainstream and social media alike have left Donald Trump, his team, and the right writ large stunned, angry, and flailing. Also: how the J.D. Vance imbroglio is even worse than it appears, and who makes most sense for Harris to pick as her No. 2.

Conway & Longwell Pt. 1: Harris Stays Hot & Trump Melts Down Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

Maya Wiley & Tim Ryan on Kamala’s Craze & Trump’s Mania Jul 26, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by two faces of the Democratic Party’s future—former New York City mayoral candidate and current head of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Maya Wiley, and former presidential candidate and 10-term Ohio congressman, Tim Ryan—with different backgrounds and ideological moorings but a shared sense of optimism about Kamala Harris’s ascension and prospects against Donald Trump this fall. Also: why Biden’s Oval Office address met the moment and Trump is right to be freaking out.

Beschloss & Costa: Biden's Fall, Kamala's Rise & A Whole New Race Jul 23, 2024

Show notes

John goes deep on Joe Biden’s historic, campaign-upending decision to exit the presidential race with NBC News presidential historian and author of nine books on the presidency, Michael Beschloss, and Robert Costa, CBS News chief election correspondent and co-author (with Bob Woodward) of the New York Times No. 1 best-seller, “Peril." The three friends discuss the internal and external forces that compelled Biden to bow out; his decision to endorse his understudy, Kamala Harris; how the game-changing turn of events has fundamentally rebooted the presidential race; and how Donald Trump is likely to react to being deprived of his preferred foil, Biden, and instead having to face Harris (bottom line: unhappily).

Meet The New Trump, Same As The Old Trump—Except On Benzos Jul 19, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by a trio of prominent if disaffected (or fully lapsed) Republican strategists: former Trump White House staffer and current co-host of The View and political analyst for CNN, Alyssa Farah Griffin; former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, co-founder of The Weekly Standard, and editor-at-large of The Bulwark, Bill Kristol; and former Jeb Bush adviser and Republican National Committee spokesman turned host of The Bulwark Podcast and Not My Party on Snapchat, Tim Miller. At the close of a jubilant G.O.P. convention in Milwaukee, they discuss the political implications of the failed attempt to assassinate Donald Trump, Trump's efforts to recast himself as a kinder, gentler Emperor of the MAGA-sphere, and the continuing crisis in the Democratic Party over the fate of Joe Biden’s reelection bid.

Tim Miller & Stuart Stevens: Trump Can’t Change & Vance Won’t Fly Jul 16, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by two veteran G.O.P. operatives turned #NeverTrump stalwarts—Mitt Romney's 2012 chief strategist, Stuart Stevens, and The Bulwark's Tim Miller—to discuss the opening night of the Republican National Convention and the extraordinary weekend that preceded it, when an assassin’s bullet nearly claimed Donald Trump’s life. Tim and Stuart assess Trump’s subdued entrance and rapturous reception in the convention hall, his choice of J.D. Vance as his running mate, and the possibility he might emerge as a less incendiary, more unifying figure (which they deem close to nil). And they offer dramatically divergent points of view on whether Democrats should dump or double down on Joe Biden.

James Carville’s Case For Reshuffling The Democratic Deck Jul 12, 2024

Show notes

John is joined by James Carville, the most celebrated political strategist of the modern era—and one of the earliest and loudest influential Democrats to argue that voters’ doubts about Joe Biden’s capacity to serve well into his eighties could be his undoing. James explains his conviction that, despite Biden’s determination to stay in the race, he'll almost certainly have no choice but to drop out; why asking an electorate hungry for change and a champion who embodies the future to swallow a status quo candidate who embodies the past was unwise from the jump; and how a wide-open, multi-candidate bake-off showcasing his party’s deep bench of young talent—and presided over by Barack Obama and Bill Clinton—could be the cure for what ails Democrats (and rid us all of Trump in the bargain).