Sidebar
The Washington Post
The Washington Post’s Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann gather for a weekly in-depth conversation about politics and power. From presidential candidates to members of Congress to the judicial system, Sidebar dives deep on the topics and people at the forefront of the political conversation.
The crew sits down each Thursday (with the occasional breaking news episode) to discuss what has happened that week, and what’s coming up the next week – with guest appearances from Washington Post reporters.
The crew sits down each Thursday (with the occasional breaking news episode) to discuss what has happened that week, and what’s coming up the next week – with guest appearances from Washington Post reporters.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 1, 2019 • 31min
What we learned from Michael Cohen's scathing testimony
Marc Fisher wraps up this week's hearings, plus a look at what it was like for reporters experiencing the public hearing in realtime.
Feb 22, 2019 • 18min
Will Trump’s emergency survive legal and congressional challenges?
How will legal battles over President Trump's emergency play out in the courts? How will Democrats push back in Congress? Is there anything stopping Trump from starting to build the wall today? The Post's legal affairs correspondent Fred Barbash explains.
Feb 14, 2019 • 24min
Trump to declare a national emergency and Barr is confirmed
Can Trump get funding for a border wall by declaring a national emergency? And can the new U.S. attorney general decide what happens to the Mueller report? Here's a refresher episode answering key questions surrounding Thursday's news moments.
Feb 6, 2019 • 26min
Better, faster, stronger? Fact-checking Trump's State of the Union address
Which of President Trump's Tuesday night claims were accurate? Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly of The Washington Post's Fact Checker team unpack the truth behind some of the biggest claims around immigration, the economy and foreign policy.
Feb 1, 2019 • 24min
How much power does an attorney general have to protect a president?
William Barr's delayed confirmation vote for attorney general means there's less clarity on who'll see Robert Mueller's report. Post reporters Dan Balz and Devlin Barrett look at history, precedent and law regarding special investigations.
Jan 25, 2019 • 20min
The Supreme Court allowed Trump’s transgender troops ban to proceed. What happens next?
In a vote Tuesday, the court allowed Trump's restrictions on transgender troops to go into effect. The Post's courts reporter Fred Barbash explains how a president’s policy rises to the Supreme Court, and how it reflects a president's power.
Jan 18, 2019 • 18min
The longer the shutdown lasts, the weirder the consequences get
Can Nancy Pelosi postpone the State of the Union address? Can Trump cancel Pelosi's travel? Can Trump and Pelosi find a way to reopen the government? The Post's Colby Itkowitz and Joshua Dawsey unravel details of our country's ongoing political standoff.
Jan 11, 2019 • 23min
Does Trump have the power to declare a national emergency to get border wall funding?
Can a president choose to invoke emergency powers whenever he wants? Liza Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice explains the extent of Trump's power in states of emergency. The Post's Philip Rucker breaks down the challenges of border wall politics.
Jan 4, 2019 • 18min
Will Trump face a challenger for the GOP's 2020 nomination?
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) wrote an op-ed asserting his independence from Trump -- a move that prompted speculation about a potential 2020 bid. The Post's Robert Costa explains what it would take for Romney, or another GOP contender, to challenge Trump.
Dec 28, 2018 • 24min
Trump’s year of legal battles, Part 2: The Mueller probe
In the final days of 2018, Post reporter Rosalind Helderman recaps the year’s biggest moments in Robert Mueller’s investigation and weighs in on what to watch for as the probe continues.
