The Dispatch Podcast

Sarah, David, Steve and Jonah are back for an action-packed show today including the primary elections, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, and the demise of al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri on Sunday. Will tensions over abortion issues cause bigger voter turnouts in the future? Plus: The Senate overwhelmingly voted to approve Sweden and Finland for acceptance into NATO on Wednesday with a lone dissent from Sen. Josh Hawley. Show Notes:-The Sweep: What We Learned-TMD: Another Blockbuster Primaries Tuesday-The Current: Killing Zawahiri: How the CIA Hunts Monsters-TMD: Tensions Flare in the Taiwan Strait Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Axelrod, chief strategist for former President Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns and host of The Axe Files and co-host of Hacks on Tap podcasts, joins Steve to tackle the complex questions about the midterm primary elections this week. What’s up with the Democrat Party’s tactic of funding extremist Republican candidates? And what is the outlook for the upcoming general elections? Plus: Axelrod gives listeners the big picture of what’s happening in Kansas as well as what the abortion rights issue means to both sides of the political aisle. Show Notes:-The Axe Files with David Axelrod-TMD: Another Blockbuster Primaries Tuesday-The Dispatch: Peter Meijer Falls to Trump-Endorsed John Gibbs in Michigan-The Dispatch: Eric Schmitt Wins the Missouri GOP Senate Primary-The Sweep: What We Learned Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David are back to discuss big pieces of legislation coming down the pipeline. Will the Inflation Reduction Act find footing in the House? The White House’s stretched definition of a recession is digging the administration into a deeper hole of messaging problems. Plus, Is President Biden gunning for another term in 2024, and are ordinary Democrats distancing themselves from his leadership? Show Notes:-The Dispatch: Who Decides What a Recession Is?-G-File: Merrick Garland’s Playing It Right-The Current: The CHIPS Act: Far From Perfect, but Still Very Good-The Dispatch: Dem Campaign Chiefs Tell Different Stories on GOP Primary Meddling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mo Elleithee, founding executive director of Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service, joins Sarah to talk about the complexities of politics. Results from a new Battleground Poll are in, and it’s clear that most Americans believe that the state of our politics is “really bad.” What happened and what can we do to fix it? Also on the agenda: Alaska’s interesting nonpartisan primary system, and the Democratic National Committee’s recent decision to make states bid for early waivers. Show Notes:-Georgetown Institute of Politics & Public Service Battleground Civility Poll Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and David are joined by The Morning Dispatch editors Declan Garvey and Esther Eaton to discuss the vivid testimonies during Thursday night’s January 6 committee hearing. Also on the agenda: In the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Republicans are wary of giving Democrats a win with a contraception bill currently on the Senate floor, and a same-sex marriage bill faces an unclear way forward after Tuesday’s House vote. Show Notes:-TMD: The January 6 Committee Presses the Secret Service-TMD: Donald Trump’s Inaction on January 6-The Dispatch: A Timeline of What Trump Did—and Didn’t Do—on January 6 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Images from the James Webb Space Telescope have taken the internet by storm, and Declan is here with two guests who worked on it for a fascinating conversation about its long journey into reality. Dr. John Mather, a Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the senior project scientist for the JWST, and Dr. Scott Acton, a physicist at Ball Aerospace and JWST’s Wavefront Sensing and Controls scientist, relay their exploits in achieving the most incredible and ambitious space images ever taken of thousands of galaxies, black holes, and dust clouds. And we have to ask: Are we alone in the universe, really? Show Notes:-First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope-Dr. John Mather-TMD: This Is Something That’s Going to ‘Change Our Understanding of the Universe’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah, David, and Jonah reflect on the problem of inflation, which surged to 9.1 percent this week and look ahead to the presidential race in 2024. Will there be a showdown between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump to win the Republican nomination? Our hosts wrap up with a discussion of shifting coalitions within the political parties. Show Notes:-TMD: June’s Very Bad, No Good Inflation Report-New York Times: Most Democrats Don’t Want Biden in 2024, New Poll Shows-Axios: The great realignment-The Dispatch: How Joe Biden Set Himself Up for Failure-Pew Research Center: Religiously, nonwhite Democrats are more similar to Republicans than to white Democrats-First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert O’Brien, former U.S. ambassador and national security advisor to President Donald Trump, joins Klon Kitchen for a discussion of international politics from a bird’s-eye view. They discuss his time working for the former president, and the job of national security advisor. Plus: How can the United States protect itself from Chinese economic espionage? China’s threat to Taiwan? And what is the future of the war in Ukraine? Show Notes:-Uphill: The Showdown Over the China Competition Bill-The Current: Ban TikTok Now-The Current: Getting Smart on Intelligence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David discuss two major events from the last week, including the chaos across the pond with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation on Thursday morning. Near Chicago, at least seven are dead and dozens injured after the July Fourth shooting at Highland Park, prompting questions about whether red flag laws really work. An update on Ukraine is also in order, as well as 2022 midterm implications for the House of Representatives and the Senate. Show Notes:-TMD: Boris Johnson to Resign-Stirewaltisms: Boris Johnson and the Survival of the Silliest-TMD: Tragedy in Highland Park-Harvard Center for American Political Studies/Harris poll on Roe v. Wade Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim Miller, writer-at-large at The Bulwark, joins Steve to talk about his new book: Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell. Miller gives listeners a breakdown of the Washington, D.C. political culture and how it’s not what you might think. Plus: the book sparks a lively debate about the divides within the Republican Party, and whether there’s a way forward in the midst of the murk. Is there a place for center-right journalism to thrive? Show Notes:-Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices