The Conversation with Dasha Burns

 It’s one of the most demanding jobs in Washington journalism: tracking down a lawmaker who’s in the news but doesn’t necessarily want to talk. For the Congress press corps, scoring that story-making quote might mean standing on a marble staircase for hours — if the senator or representative decides to talk at all. Playbook co-author Rachael Bade takes us inside the Capitol Hill media “scrum” — as reporters like CNN’s Manu Raju reveal their tricks of the trade… and former Senator Jeff Flake discloses all the times he pretended to talk on his phone while walking past reporters.Rachael Bade  is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Jeff Flake is former Republican Senator from Arizona  and current Ambassador-designate to Turkey.Manu Raju is CNN's chief congressional correspondent.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Carlos Prieto is a producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio.Special thanks to Nicholas Wu, Kyle Cheney, Oriana Pawlyk, Nolan McCaskill, Juliegrace Brufke, Paul Kane who were also featured reporters in this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time in 12 years, a Republican won the governorship in Virginia. And it wasn’t just any victory — to claim the seat, Glenn Youngkin had to beat Terry McAuliffe, former governor and Democratic royalty. Ryan Lizza digs into the narrow win with Youngkin campaign strategists Jeff Roe and Kristin Davison, and the mistakes they think McAuliffe’s campaign made. Plus, senior politics editor Charlie Mahtesian on the significant places Youngkin gained the most votes.Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Charlie Mahtesian is senior politics editor for POLITICO.Kristin Davison was a campaign strategist for Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin.Jeff Roe was a campaign strategist for Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Carlos Prieto is a producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All summer long, activists have pressured Democratic leaders for a reconciliation package that delivers on all of President Biden’s promises. That means Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin faced protesters in their offices, homes… and bathroom stalls. Today, Playbook’s Tara Palmeri explores the new face of activism, and she asks POLITICO’s co-congressional bureau chief Burgess Everett on whether the activism is having its intended effect on Manchin and the latest on the Democrats messy reconciliation fight.Tara Palmeri is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Burgess Everett is POLITICO's co-congressional bureau chief.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Carlos Prieto is a producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Somebody’s gotta do it. It might as well be me.” So says Ivan Adler, the “lobbyist hunter” who plucks D.C.’s most idealistic Hill staffers and turns them into K Street top dogs. POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza pry open the revolving door between the Hill and K Street — one of the most controversial but everlasting features of Washington’s underbelly.Ryan Lizza is a co-author of POLITICO Playbook.Hailey Fuchs is a reporter at POLITICO covering money & influence in D.C.Ivan Adler is 'The Lobbyist Hunter' and an executive recruiter.Adrienne Hurst is a producer for POLITICO audio.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio.Read Hailey's full story: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/15/lobbyist-hunter-ivan-adler-516069 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What actually happens if the nation defaults on its debt? Planes fall out of the sky, the streets run red with blood — OK, not literally. But the reality could be economic catastrophe: "Market chaos, economic chaos, all for absolutely no good reason," explains POLITICO’s Ben White. After a week of debt-ceiling drama in D.C., Ben joins Playbook co-author Eugene Daniels to unpack the partisan fights, doomsday hypotheticals and one of the most absurd twists so far: a trillion-dollar coin.Eugene Daniels is a co-author of POLITICO Playbook.Ben White is chief economic correspondent for POLITICO.Carlos Mucha is an attorney who popularized the idea of minting a trillion-dollar coin.Adrienne Hurst is a producer for POLITICO audio.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crypto trading! Bitcoin! Dogecoin! Stablecoin! Even if lawmakers don't understand blockchain, Capitol Hill is finally waking up to digital currency — Congress has introduced more than a dozen bills on crypto and blockchain this year alone — as  both sides of the aisle go head to head over the best way to regulate the $2 trillion market. Economics reporter Victoria Guida joins Playbook co-author Tara Palmeri to talk about lobbying around crypto and the time her dog ate her Bitcoin.Tara Palmeri is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Victoria Guida is an economics reporter at POLITICO. Kristin Smith is Executive Director at Blockchain Association.Adrienne Hurst is a producer for POLITICO audio.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio.We want to invite you to take our NEW listener survey — it helps us learn more about your interests and improve our content. What do YOU want to hear from Politico’s podcasts? Let us know at https://bit.ly/3zgKB30 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Democrats' massive reconciliation bill makes its way through the machine, one item is getting all the attention right now: health care. It’s a fight that basically boils down to Nancy Pelosi versus … everyone else — with the legacies of Pelosi, Sanders and Biden at stake. Playbook co-author Rachael Bade and POLITICO's Alice Miranda Ollstein take us to Capitol Hill, where the knives are coming out: leaders fighting behind closed doors about policies they've agreed on for years — or thought they did — and plenty on the line: $3.5 trillion, the future of the Affordable Care Act and dueling visions for the Democratic Party.Rachael Bade is a co-author of POLITICO Playbook.Alice Miranda Ollstein is a health care reporter at POLITICO. Adrienne Hurst is a producer for POLITICO audio.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Raghu Manavalan is a senior editor for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio.We want to invite you to take our NEW listener survey — it helps us learn more about your interests and improve our content. What do YOU want to hear from Politico’s podcasts? Let us know at https://bit.ly/3zgKB30 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to be the nation’s second Catholic president? Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks with senior staff writer Ruby Cramer about how Joe Biden balances a very public role with the “private matter” of his faith at a time of deep division over abortion, and among the bishops in his own church.Ryan Lizza is a co-author of POLITICO Playbook.Ruby Cramer is a senior staff writer at POLITICO magazine.Adrienne Hurst is a producer for POLITICO audio.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio.Read Ruby’s piece in Politico Magazine here: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/09/05/joe-biden-catholic-church-509396  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's an intra-party fight on the right — and it's not (all) about Trump! For decades, conservatives have called for the government to take a hands-off approach to the economy. But now, a group of self-styled “common good capitalists” — like Sen. Marco Rubio — want to change that. And, they’re gaining power. It’s a divide not only over what policy approach is best, but what the most effective political strategy is for the GOP in the 21st century. Playbook co-author Tara Palmeri talks with an influential voice in this new economic counterculture — Oren Cass, head of American Compass and Mitt Romney's former campaign advisor, as well as Eliana Johnson, POLITICO Magazine contributor and editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon, about this policy divide and where the 2024 GOP hopefuls land on this spectrum.Tara Palmeri is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Eliana Johnson is a contributing editor for POLITICO Magazine and editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon.Oren Cass is Mitt Romney's former campaign advisor and executive director of American Compass.Adrienne Hurst is a producer for POLITICO audio.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kamala Harris entered law school as the daughter of activists and came out as a prosecutor — an evolution that shaped the politician she is today. Now, as the vice president grapples with some of the thorniest issues in politics and builds relationships with a wide array of Democratic allies — which she could leverage in both the administration and a future presidential campaign — even some of her closest allies admit she needs help fending off incoming fire. POLITICO Magazine’s Jesús A. Rodríguez and Playbook co-author Eugene Daniels dig into the Veep’s law school past, her performance eight months in and how wearing the mantle of “first” comes layered with racism and misogyny.Eugene Daniels is a co-author of POLITICO Playbook.Jesús A. Rodríguez is a contributing editor for POLITICO Magazine.Adrienne Hurst is a producer for POLITICO audio.Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is senior producer for POLITICO audio.Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio.Read more from Jesús: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/08/18/kamala-harris-law-school-politics-503924 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices