The Conversation with Dasha Burns

Latest Episodes:

The new fundamentals of the 2024 campaign Aug 16, 2024

Show notes

With the Democratic National Convention just days away, Doug Sosnik, a longtime Dem strategist best known for being a top adviser to Bill Clinton, joins the show to help unpack the new fundamentals of the 2024 presidential campaign.

Sosnik and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza discuss: Why the gender gap is getting larger — and how it could impact the election in ways that have not yet been fully appreciated; why JD Vance might influence the election more than Tim Walz; two metrics can tell you the most about the state-of-the-race; why Omaha, Nebraska might be the most important place in this presidential election; and why Sosnik thinks Kamala Harris has the potential to be like Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Doug Sosnik is a Democratic political strategist.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Anita Dunn on why Joe Biden really dropped out Aug 09, 2024

Show notes

Anita Dunn left her position as a senior advisor to president Joe Biden this week, marking the end of an era for the White House. She was a key architect of his 2020 presidential campaign and one of his closest advisors throughout her tenure.

On this episode of Deep Dive, Dunn joins host and Playbook co-author Ryan LIzza to talk about the extraordinary series of events that lead to Biden dropping out of the presidential race, including: the pivotal decision to call for a June debate with Trump; what Dunn was thinking as she watched Biden struggle through the event; the strategy she and her colleagues developed to fight the calls for Biden to step aside; Biden’s final days as the nominee; the new electoral opportunities now available to Harris and a lot more.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Anita Dunn is a former adviser in the Biden Administration.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Inside the veepstakes with Gov. Roy Cooper Aug 02, 2024

Show notes

When President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and the Democratic party rallied around Kamala Harris as his replacement, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper was widely considered to be a top choice to serve as Harris’s running mate.

But Cooper did something unusual: he told the Harris team he didn’t want to be considered as her running mate. On this episode of Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks to Cooper about why he took himself out of contention and how some weird local politics influenced his decision.

Also discussed in this episode of the show: Cooper’s conversations with Harris, Biden, and Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leaders navigated the post-debate crisis that lead to Harris’s ascension; how Cooper coached the president in the last days of Biden’s campaign; and whether or not you should believe the hype about Democrats flipping North Carolina this year.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Roy Cooper is the governor of North Carolina.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Kamala Harris’s campaign didn’t just fall out of a coconut tree. Here’s what you need to know. Jul 26, 2024

Show notes

Playbook co-author Eugene Daniels and POLITICO politics bureau chief Jonathan Martin join host Ryan Lizza to tackle questions about Vice President Kamala Harris’s new role at the top of the Democratic ticket, including:

What really caused Joe Biden to end his quest for a second term?

How did Kamala Harris lock up the nomination so fast? And what is really going on inside her campaign right now?

How have the issues, swing states, and demographics that will decide the 2024 election changed?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Democrats vying to serve as vice president?

And how is Donald Trump responding to all of this?

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Eugene Daniels is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Jonathan Martin is politics bureau chief for POLITICO.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

How Trump unity and Biden fumbles are helping the House GOP change the map Jul 19, 2024

Show notes

Congressman Richard Hudson is chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, which is to say, he’s in charge of delivering a majority in November for Speaker Mike Johnson and possibly President Donald Trump. In this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Hudson discusses how the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the possibility of Joe Biden leaving the Democratic ticket are influencing his strategy for House Republicans this November.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Richard Hudson is the representative for North Carolina's 9th district and chairman of the NRCC.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Brian Kemp warns GOP against being ‘overconfident’ about Trump Jul 17, 2024

Show notes

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp joins for a bonus episode of Playbook Deep Dive.

In a live interview from the Republican National Convention, Kemp — a swing state governor with a famously conflicted relationship with Trump — opines on how Saturday’s assassination attempt will change both Trump and Biden’s election strategy; his thoughts on J.D. Vance, Trump's running mate; what his advice to Trump is for his convention speech and everything after; and whether or not he is courting a position in Trump’s cabinet.

Eugene Daniels is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Brian Kemp is the governor of Georgia.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

How to win an open convention — if Joe Biden drops out Jul 12, 2024

Show notes

Elaine Kamarck is a longtime member of the DNC’s rules committee, a scholar at Brookings, a former advisor to top Democrats such as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Walter Mondale; and author of “Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates.” On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Playbook co-author Eugene Daniels asks Kamarck all of your questions about how the Democratic Party would choose a new nominee should Joe Biden step aside.

Topics include: How and when Joe Biden would go about dropping out; if his delegates can rebel against him if he doesn’t; whether or not he can choose a successor; how exactly an open convention would unfold in Chicago; and what she thinks the public’s reaction will be if the Democratic nominee for president is chosen by a handful of party insiders in smoke-filled back rooms.

Eugene Daniels is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Elaine Kamarck is a scholar at The Brookings Institution.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Who’s afraid of Donald Trump? Not this rising star GOP governor. Jun 28, 2024

Show notes

Utah Governor Spencer Cox is a longtime Trump critic who is known nationally for his work to depolarize American politics.

This week, Cox easily defeated a far-right opponent in the Republican primary. So too did a slate of other Utah Republicans. While national Republicans continue to move in Trump’s direction, in Utah, the Romney faction of the GOP is still holding its own.

On this episode of Deep Dive, Cox joins host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss Utah politics, as well as Cox’s disagreements with Trump; how he’s preparing to be cast as MAGA’s next boogeyman; what he thinks Trump’s other Republican critics, such as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, get wrong; and why “disagreeing better” doesn’t mean giving up your most strongly held beliefs.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Spencer Cox is the governor of Utah.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

The man Democrats call to prepare for debate night Jun 21, 2024

Show notes

Bob Bauer is President Joe Biden’s personal lawyer and was general counsel to both of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns. But over the last three decades, he’s developed another specialty practice: playing the role of his candidate’s rival during debate prep.

Bauer has helped Democratic candidates prepare for debates by playing the likes of Bernie Sanders, Al Gore, and Donald Trump. He’s also been involved with efforts to reform the process and production of presidential debates themselves.

So with the first presidential debate less than one week away, and both Biden and Trump cramming to prepare for it, Bauer is joining the show to preview the event, as well as to discuss his new book, “The Unraveling: Reflections on Politics without Ethics and Democracy in Crisis”.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Bob Bauer is a lawyer for President Biden and a veteran Democratic debate coach.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Jim Clyburn’s advice to Joe Biden on the election and the Democratic Party's future Jun 14, 2024

Show notes

South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn is often considered the single most important person in helping Joe Biden win the Democratic nomination in 2020. Now, in 2024, Clyburn is one of Biden’s six campaign co-chairs.

On this episode of Deep Dive, Clyburn joins host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss: Biden’s weakness with Black and Latino voters; the rebellion on the left over Israel’s war in Gaza; the continued Democratic carping about the Biden campaign’s messaging; Biden’s dismal approval ratings; who will be the post-Biden leaders of the Democratic Party; what side he’s taking in that New York Democratic primary that’s pitting the likes of Hakeem Jeffries against Hillary Clinton; and more.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Jim Clyburn is a U.S. Congressman from South Carolina.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.