The Conversation with Dasha Burns

Latest Episodes:

BONUS: Did a presidential pardon just become more likely? Aug 22, 2018

Show notes

President Trump loves a controversial pardon. Following his disgraced former campaign chairman Paul Manafort being found guilty, it's looking like we might be entering a fall filled with the will-he-or-won't-he energy of a president faced with the power to pardon and a loyal former campaign chair caught in a, shall we say, legal snafu. Plus, we talk about the implications of Michael Cohen's, uh, implication.

High primary turnout creates more centrist Dems Aug 17, 2018

Show notes

What do democratic voters want? A candidate that will win! How will they try to get it? By moving more to the center, probably! High voter turnout in the primaries among Democrats is showing that there is promise in backing centrist candidates at the top of the ballot. We break down what happened during the primaries on Tuesday night, and what we're expecting to see in the midterms and beyond. Plus: The heartland's version of Costco and just a lil bit of Omarosa to top it off.

Bernie-backed underdogs underperform Aug 10, 2018

Show notes

Primaries, nerds! *cue emoji clapping hands and confetti* We're in our happy place. First, we're talking campaigns, what Bernie Sanders might be getting at when he backs underdog candidates and what we can expect in the midterm elections. Then, we get into the scandal of the week: Rep. Chris Collins and alleged insider trading.

Trump gets into the midterms. Big league. Aug 03, 2018

Show notes

Ahhh Midterm season is (still) in the air. With president Trump back on the road, we've been hearing him drop some midterm hopefuls' names on the rally trail. When he's not dropping names out front, his 2020 re-election campaign is behind the scenes dropping dolla dolla bills, ya'll. We talk about who Trump wants to come out on top and what that's going to take. Then, we break down how ch-ch-changes to the electoral map will impact the outcome of 2020. PLUS: a mini-Mahtesian on mic!

The decrease in White House transparency continues Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

The White House has decreased press briefings and announced that they'll no longer be sharing summaries of Trump's call's with foreign heads of state. Plus, they pentagon is not talking to reporters, leaving them in the dark when it comes to military issues. We also talk about the trade war's impact on farmers and how the White House is handling it.

Trump's Russia comments: deeply damaging or just bizarre? Jul 20, 2018

Show notes

As Trump walks back his remarks on Russian meddling, the question of whether he's compromised by a foreign power moves from the fever swamps to the mainstream. Plus, POLITICO'S Rachael Bade says GOP women running for office are in a pickle.

The Trump Pence split-screen Jul 13, 2018

Show notes

While President Trump is ruffling feathers of world leaders in Europe, Mike Pence is on his own press tour a little closer to home: he's in the Midwest. We get into what he's doing there, and why his message sounds a little different from the president's.... or does it? Then, we talk about the Supreme Court some more. Three weeks in a row isn't too much, in our opinion, but it's a very narrow ruling.

How Supreme Court nominations are like political campaigns Jul 06, 2018

Show notes

Scott's on vacation, but we're not! Charles Mahtesian, Esq. sits in the host seat this week. Name a better time to go full Supreme Court..... we'll wait. We have two White House reporters bringing us up to speed on what Trump is thinking with his self-imposed announcement deadline rapidly approaching. Then, Josh Gerstein returns to tells us about the 38 cases the Supreme Court has agreed to hear next year.

Kennedy retirement reunites fractured Republicans Jun 29, 2018

Show notes

In a news week that seemed like it would never end, there were two big upsets for the Democrats: First, in New York's 14th congressional district, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unseated Joe Crowley, an incumbent no one expected to be defeated. Then, Justice Anthony Kennedy, considered a swing vote on the bench, announced that he would retire, opening up an opportunity for Trump and republicans to alter the Supreme Court as we know it.

The turmoil at the border is just beginning Jun 22, 2018

Show notes

This week we're talking about the border from two perspectives: The White House and the Hill. Then, we'll explain why democratic congresspeople and democratic candidates have been turning their backs on Nancy Pelosi, and why it seems like she might be okay with it.