In the interest of posting more regularly here, by sticking to podcast content itself, I’ll share that even following Election Day, I’ve been seeking out and finding some political podcasts to throw in to my listening mix.
I’ve been a big follower of the political documentary series “The Circus” on Showtime, which features journalist John Heilemann (who co-authored the “Game Change” books about the 2008 and 2012 presidential races). This year, Heilemann founded a new website and podcast concern called “The Recount,” hosting its flagship show “Hell & High Water.” I’m recommending the Nov. 7 post-election episode, where he’s joined by Republican strategist Steve Schmidt, and Democratic strategists Jennifer Palmieri and David Plouffe (who each have their own shows on Recount). The foursome break down the election results at a time just before most rational sources and observers called the race for President-elect Joe Biden. In particular, check out a portion around the 22 minute mark when Schmidt diagnoses the problems with Trumpism in the Republican party.
Secondly, respected journalist Kara Swisher, who migrated over from the Recode Decode website and podcast to the New York Times starting in 2018 through early 2020, debuted “Sway,” a new podcast for the Times, in September. I’m recommending episodes from Oct. 9 featuring election law expert Trevor Potter, and from Oct. 26 featuring an interview with Hillary Clinton. In the Potter episode, Swisher unearths the intricacies of campaign finance law (Potter had helped out on a Colbert Report stunt several years ago where the host started his own PAC). The Hillary Clinton episode is notable for the way Swisher rapid-fires tough questions at the 2016 Democratic nominee about that race and the 2020 contest (before Election Day), including a frank assessment of the earlier Democratic primaries.
Lastly, an interesting one, albeit tough to recommend, is “5-4,” hosted by the Stitcher network, which critiques Supreme Court decisions and news developments concerning the court from a left-leaning perspective. The notable episode is one immediately following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in which the hosts gave no quarter in criticizing her decision not to step down back in 2013 at a time when it was likely President Obama could have filled her seat with a justice of similar philosophy. That critique rankles RBG’s fans, but is a fair one. However, the hosts undermine their point by descending into profane rants about that situation and how Trump was going to nominate her replacement, rather than staying level-headed and focused in presenting their views.
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