The NPR Politics Podcast

@thenprpoliticspodcast · Podcast

Latest segments

• Jay-Z Super Bowl report, 2026-10-30
  Jokes about Jay-Z picking himself
  Takes the Jay-Z halftime announcement as a springboard for jokes about self-selection and relevance, comparing him to Dick Cheney picking himself and noting he will be Tom Petty's 2008 age.
• Alaska probe into Dan Sullivan, 2026-10-29
  Reports Alaska governor's probe of Sullivan
  Reports the Alaska governor's order of an investigation into Daniel J. Sullivan, a day after Trump called for Peltola's prosecution, and notes the DOJ suit and early turnout. Frames it as the race where Trump said the quiet part out loud.
• Times ties Peltola to Dan Sullivan…, 2026-10-29
  Recaps the Times reporting and the denials
  Recaps the Times reporting on the second Dan Sullivan, notes NPR has not confirmed it, and runs through the denials, the Alaska Supreme Court ruling and the DOJ suit. Stays inside the week's coverage, adding only the governor's new investigation in passing.
• El-Sayed's Michigan Senate bid, 2026-10-29
  Sorts hesitant Michigan voters into two camps
  Sorts hesitant Michigan voters into two buckets: Jewish voters citing El-Sayed's comments after the Temple preschool truck attack and his Piker campaigning, and voters moved by anti-Muslim rhetoric. Adds the governor-race comparison, with Benson far ahead of John James while El-Sayed stays tight.
• El-Sayed's Michigan Senate bid, 2026-10-29
  Weighs whether El-Sayed rebuilt the coalition
  Mara Liasson weighs whether El-Sayed has reassembled the Democratic coalition after the late primary, saying Black and Jewish voters are not behind him in the numbers a traditional race needs and that he trails other statewide Democrats. Notes Stevens was criticizing him on television less than a week out.
• El-Sayed's Michigan Senate bid, 2026-10-29
  Lays out the closing pitch on Medicare and courts
  Lays out El-Sayed's closing argument - Medicare for All, costs, corruption, corporate money - and flags the new Supreme Court pitch: Trump has three appointments and could get two more. Notes polling shows only base Democrats are moved by the Court.
• Michigan Senate race, 2026-10-29
  Reports Rogers's balancing act at a rally
  Reports from Rogers's rally in Michigan on how he balances Trump's endorsement with breaks on Canada tariffs and the Iran war. Rogers, asked directly, says he backs what is good for Michigan; Michigan GOP strategists tell the show the distancing may be too late.
• Michigan Senate debate, 2026-10-29
  Reports Rogers repeating unfounded claims
  Reports from a Rogers rally on a farm in Jackson, Michigan, in the closing days, where Rogers again accused El-Sayed without evidence of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah, and spent much of the speech on eight years of Gretchen Whitmer. El-Sayed calls it a distraction from gas, groceries and health care.
• Michigan Senate race, 2026-10-29
  Sets up the toss-up Michigan Senate race
  Sets up the Michigan Senate race as the episode's lead: Trump carried the state in 2024, El-Sayed runs as an anti-establishment progressive, and the open seat is a toss-up despite decades of Democratic control. Framing and background, no new development.
• Nebraska Senate race, 2026-10-28
  Frames Osborn's working-class appeal after the rally
  Notes that Trump's Grand Island rally happened and reads it as a sign the Nebraska race is competitive, then pivots to Osborn's working-class presentation - a steamfitter in work shirts - as the reason state Democrats got behind him. Reaction and framing, no new development.
• Bodnar outpolling Montana Democrat, 2026-10-28
  Questions independents' committee assignment claims
  Widens the lens from Montana to the independent class: Bodnar, Osborn and two others say they will land committee assignments despite not caucusing, and the hosts note non-caucusing members typically get none. Ricketts's 'secret Democrat' line against Osborn gets a mention.
• Bodnar outpolling Montana Democrat, 2026-10-28
  Reports Tester's opening on Iran and diesel
  Reports from Montana festivals and a homecoming game: even Republican-leaning voters frustrated with Trump's second term won't back Democrats, and Jon Tester, at his farm, says the brand's toxicity is real but sees an opening on Iran, tariffs and diesel prices.
• Bodnar outpolling Montana Democrat, 2026-10-28
  Reports Bodnar outpolling the Democratic nominee
  Reports from Montana on the Senate race, where independent Seth Bodnar, a former University of Montana president, is outpolling the Democratic nominee and drawing support from prominent former Democratic leaders, dividing the state party.
• Democrats lead 2026 midterm polls, 2026-10-27
  Digs into the confidence gap internals
  Digs into the Marist poll's internals on party confidence: Democrats overwhelmingly say they will vote for their candidate but far fewer believe that candidate will win, a gap wider than Republicans'. Also flags self-identified democratic socialists as more accepting of results than MAGA supporters.
• Democrats lead 2026 midterm polls, 2026-10-27
  Adds the enthusiasm breakdown
  Adds the enthusiasm breakdown behind the Marist poll: Democrats at 71 percent very enthusiastic to Republicans' 61, but under-45s, non-white voters and college-educated white women all below their 2018 levels. Also notes midterm turnout averages about 42 percent of registered voters.
• Democrats lead 2026 midterm polls, 2026-10-27
  Frames the 53 percent disapproval figure
  Walks through the Marist candidate-qualities question and the 53 percent strong disapproval figure, framing both as a rebuke of the administration and noting the historical base rate for the party in power.
• Democrats lead 2026 midterm polls, 2026-10-27
  Walks through the issue ranking
  Walks through the issue ranking in the new NPR/PBS/Marist poll: cost of living first at just over a third of likely voters, preserving democracy second at about a third, immigration at 21 percent. Adds the corruption thread, with Paxton billboards in Texas as the illustration.
• Democrats lead 2026 midterm polls, 2026-10-27
  Walks the new Marist top lines
  Walks the new NPR/PBS News/Marist top lines a week out: Democrats up eight among likely voters and 10 among registered voters, Trump at 40 and 38 respectively. Explains the likely voter screen, noting it is the first time Marist has applied one in this poll.
• DOJ's 1,000 poll monitors, 2026-10-26
  Details one Colorado county's monitoring notice
  Miles Parks, who first reported the county notifications, details one Colorado county that got a monitoring notice while its Republican neighbor did not, and the DOJ's language-access explanation. Ties it back to the Wyoming primary complaint.
• Alaska result lawsuit, 2026-10-26
  Sets the Alaska suit against Barr's 2020 review
  Reads a list of election lawyers' descriptions of the Alaska suit - meritless, nearly frivolous - and sets it against Barr's 2020 voter fraud review, which found nothing that would change the result. Stays inside the legal-expert consensus already on the record.