Best Michael Heilemann Podcasts (2024)

1
Michael Bennet & Errin Haines: Trump’s Losing Bet on Birtherism 2.0 1:12:05

11d ago1:12:05

1:12:05

John is joined by Michael Bennet, Colorado’s senior U.S. Senator, and Errin Haines, editor-at-large of The 19th, longtime Kamala Harris chronicler, and member of National Association of Black Journalists—whose annual meeting in Chicago this week was the site of Donald Trump’s latest spasm of racial animus and ignorance. The legislator and the journ…

1
Ezra Klein: Trump’s Broken Brain, Pelosi’s Bluff-Calling & Harris’s Ideological Rebirth 1:12:33

2h ago1:12:33

1:12:33

John is joined by Ezra Klein—pioneering blogger in his twenties, founder and editor-in-chief of Vox in his thirties, and now columnist and host of a popular, eponymous podcast at New York Times—to discuss Donald Trump’s round-the-bend behavior in reaction to Kamala Harris’s ascent, Nancy Pelosi’s preternatural intuition and how it fuels her politic…

51
Cari Champion & Pablo Torre On The Snoop Dogg Summer Olympics 1:24:47

4d ago1:24:47

1:24:47

John is joined by two rising stars of sports journalism and commentary, Pablo Torre (formerly of ESPN and now host of the hit podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out) and Cari Champion (also formerly of ESPN and now host of The Cari Champion Show on Amazon Prime Video) to talk about the Summer Games: from the athletic prowess of Simone Biles, Gabby Thomas, a…

1
Nicolle Wallace: To the Window, To the Walz 1:26:23

6d ago1:26:23

1:26:23

John is joined by Nicolle Wallace—host of Deadline: White House on MSNBC, former aide to George W. Bush and John McCain, and author of three bestselling novels (Eighteen Acres, It’s Classified, and Madam President) about life inside the White House—to discuss Kamala Harris’s selection of Tim Walz as her running mate and its potential impact on the …

1
Conway & Longwell Pt. 2: Donald’s Psyche, J.D.’s Weirdness, and Kamala’s No-Huddle Veepstakes 1:01:29

12d ago1:01:29

1:01:29

John is joined by #NeverTrump stalwarts George Conway (founder of the new Anti-Psychopath PAC and ex-husband of Kellyanne) and Sarah Longwell (publisher of The Bulwark and ubiquitous focus group impresario) to discuss the state of the presidential race after the mother of all resets. The trio assess why Kamala Harris’s unexpected elevation to the t…

1
Conway & Longwell Pt. 1: Harris Stays Hot & Trump Melts Down 1:03:35

13d ago1:03:35

1:03:35

John is joined by #NeverTrump stalwarts George Conway (founder of the new Anti-Psychopath PAC and ex-husband of Kellyanne) and Sarah Longwell (publisher of The Bulwark and ubiquitous focus group impresario) to discuss the state of the presidential race after the mother of all resets. The trio assess why Kamala Harris’s unexpected elevation to the t…

1
Maya Wiley & Tim Ryan on Kamala’s Craze & Trump’s Mania 1:24:16

18d ago1:24:16

1:24:16

John is joined by two faces of the Democratic Party’s future—former New York City mayoral candidate and current head of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Maya Wiley, and former presidential candidate and 10-term Ohio congressman, Tim Ryan—with different backgrounds and ideological moorings but a shared sense of optimism about Kam…

1
Beschloss & Costa: Biden's Fall, Kamala's Rise & A Whole New Race 1:08:39

21d ago1:08:39

1:08:39

John goes deep on Joe Biden’s historic, campaign-upending decision to exit the presidential race with NBC News presidential historian and author of nine books on the presidency, Michael Beschloss, and Robert Costa, CBS News chief election correspondent and co-author (with Bob Woodward) of the New York Times No. 1 best-seller, “Peril." The three fri…

1
Meet The New Trump, Same As The Old Trump—Except On Benzos 1:46:08

25d ago1:46:08

1:46:08

John is joined by a trio of prominent if disaffected (or fully lapsed) Republican strategists: former Trump White House staffer and current co-host of The View and political analyst for CNN, Alyssa Farah Griffin; former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, co-founder of The Weekly Standard, and editor-at-large of The Bulwark, Bill Kristol; …

1
Tim Miller & Stuart Stevens: Trump Can’t Change & Vance Won’t Fly 1:11:30

28d ago1:11:30

1:11:30

John is joined by two veteran G.O.P. operatives turned #NeverTrump stalwarts—Mitt Romney's 2012 chief strategist, Stuart Stevens, and The Bulwark's Tim Miller—to discuss the opening night of the Republican National Convention and the extraordinary weekend that preceded it, when an assassin’s bullet nearly claimed Donald Trump’s life. Tim and Stuart…

1
James Carville’s Case For Reshuffling The Democratic Deck 1:01:37

1M ago1:01:37

1:01:37

John is joined by James Carville, the most celebrated political strategist of the modern era—and one of the earliest and loudest influential Democrats to argue that voters’ doubts about Joe Biden’s capacity to serve well into his eighties could be his undoing. James explains his conviction that, despite Biden’s determination to stay in the race, he…

1
Labour’s Landslide, Macron’s Muddle, & Europe’s Biden Bedwetting 1:08:06

1M ago1:08:06

1:08:06

John is joined by Jonathan Freedland—Guardian columnist, BBC radio presenter, cohost of the podcast Unholy: Two Jews on the News, and author of the best-selling book The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World—for a tour d’horizon of political news in Europe and the U.S. as seen from across the pond. Jonny explains the e…

1
Steven Brill on SCOTUS & Social Media As Truth-Destroyer 1:12:13

1M ago1:12:13

1:12:13

John is joined by Steven Brill — founder of The American Lawyer, Court TV, and NewsGuard, and author of the new book The Death Of Truth — for a deep dive into the morass of fake news online. Steve discusses how and why the major social media platforms have turned into toxic, conspiracy-theory-spreading cesspools, and what might be done to fix it. H…

1
Should He Stay or Should He Go (Joe Biden, That Is)? 1:06:24

1M ago1:06:24

1:06:24

John is joined by the renowned political strategists David Axelrod and Mike Murphy to discuss the fallout from Joe Biden’s debate disaster, starting with the movement among Democrats to persuade Biden to bow out and let his party choose a new nominee to face Donald Trump this fall. What would an open convention look like? If Biden bails, would Kama…

1
Puck Superfriends Break Down Biden’s Debate Breakdown 54:32

2M ago54:32

54:32

John is joined by his colleagues Dylan Byers and Peter Hamby in the immediate aftermath of the first (and maybe only) 2024 presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The three Puck political-media superfriends asses Biden's botched performance and the freakout among Democratic officials, strategists, and donors in reaction to it; analy…

1
Stevie Van Zandt’s Excellent Adventures On & Off E Street 1:13:51

2M ago1:13:51

1:13:51

John is joined by the legendary guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, and all around rock-and-roll legend Steve Van Zandt, equally famous for his roles as Bruce Springsteen’s longtime sidekick and as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos. In their freewheeling conversation, Stevie reflects on how his remarkable, up-and-down, 60-year career as a…

1
Biden Campaign Chief to Dem Bedwetters: Stop Worrying & Get To Work 54:55

2M ago54:55

54:55

John is joined by Jen O’Malley Dillon—the legendary Democratic field organizer for Al Gore, Jon Edwards, and Barack Obama, manager of Joe Biden’s general-election campaign in 2020, and deputy chief of staff in Biden's White House from 2021 to 2023—in her first extended, on-the-record interview since taking over as chair of his reelection effort. Th…

1
Reassessing the Kitchen Confidential Era & The Perils of Chef Stardom 1:06:09

2M ago1:06:09

1:06:09

John is joined by the legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer—whose Union Square Hospitality Group has built a fine-dining empire in New York City (Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Manhatta, Ci Siamo, and more) and spawned the multinational fast-casual juggernaut Shake Shack—to mourn the shocking, bewildering loss of a mutual friend, the …

1
Apple's A.I. Embrace & Elon's Tantrum 1:14:53

2M ago1:14:53

1:14:53

John is joined by Kara Swisher—celebrated chronicler of the titans of tech, host of the podcast On With Kara Swisher and cohost of the Pivot podcast with Scott Galloway, and author of the best-selling memoir Burn Book—to discuss Apple's embrace of A.I., Elon Musk's broadsides against the company, and Silicon Valley's newfound enthusiasm for Donald …

1
George to Media: Stop Normalizing Trump 42:39

2M ago42:39

42:39

John is joined by ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos—co-anchor of Good Morning America, host of This Week, and author of the recently published New York Times No. 1 best-seller, The Situation Room—to discuss their industry’s ongoing failure to cover Donald Trump, the GOP, and this political moment for what they are: radically abnormal. George also re…

1
Trump's Retribution Tea Leaves 1:08:54

2M ago1:08:54

1:08:54

John is joined by Maggie Haberman, the heralded Times reporter and Trump scholar, to discuss the bubbling retribution fantasies of the former president and the wider MAGA-sphere. Maggie also reflects on her seven weeks covering the hush money trial, and the two dig into the Trump campaign's strategy and the potential electoral fallout from his 34-c…

1
Trump Sentencing Theories & Mueller Revisited 1:16:13

2M ago1:16:13

1:16:13

In the debut episode of Impolitic, John sits down with Andrew Weissmann, the former Enron prosecutor and Mueller lieutenant, for a candid and wide-ranging conversation across a number of pertinent topics: gaming out Trump's sentencing, the efficacy of his appeal, Mueller report reminiscences, and Alito's bewildering political moment. To learn more …

1
Introducing: Impolitic with John Heilemann 1:58

2M ago1:58

1:58

Welcome to Impolitic with John Heilemann, in which Puck’s chief political columnist, national affairs analyst for MSNBC and NBC News, best-selling author of Game Change and Double Down, and host/creator of Showtime’s The Circus roams the corridors of power and influence in America on this twice-weekly interview show, taking you behind the scenes an…

1
Cecile Richards 1:22:59

1+ y ago1:22:59

1:22:59

In which John Heilemann talks with Cecile Richards, co-chair of the Democratic super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, co-founder of the women’s rights advocacy group Supermajority, and, from 2006 to 2018, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Heilemann and Richards discuss Roe v Wade's uncertain future in the wake of the recent Su…

1
Tom Nichols Part 2 1:22:59

1+ y ago1:22:59

1:22:59

A special two-part episode in which John Heilemann talks with international affairs and national security guru Tom Nichols, contributing writer at The Atlantic, longtime senior faculty member at the U.S. Naval War College, and author of eight books on foreign policy and politics, including, most recently, Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from Withi…

1
Tom Nichols Part 1 1:22:59

1+ y ago1:22:59

1:22:59

A special two-part episode in which John Heilemann talks with international affairs and national security guru Tom Nichols, contributing writer at The Atlantic, longtime senior faculty member at the U.S. Naval War College, and author of eight books on foreign policy and politics, including, most recently, Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from Withi…

1
Shannon Watts 1:22:59

1+ y ago1:22:59

1:22:59

Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America — a self-described “accidental activist” who, in less than a decade, went from being a stay-at-home mother in Indiana to the face of a national grassroots movement with more active members than the National Rifle Association. When Watts launched her advocacy group as a simp…

1
Kurt Andersen and Lawrence O’Donnell 1:22:59

1+ y ago1:22:59

1:22:59

Kurt Andersen and Lawrence O’Donnell first met 46 years ago as undergraduates at Harvard, forming a friendship that’s flourished alongside their careers as two of their generation’s most incisive, insightful observers of American politics and culture. Andersen made his mark in the 1980s as co-founder of the iconic Spy magazine, then went on to serv…

1
Fiona Hill 1:17:22

1+ y ago1:17:22

1:17:22

In which John Heilemann talks with Fiona Hill, the former national security official in Donald Trump's White House who made headlines with her testimony in the hearings over the Ukraine scandal that led to his first impeachment. Heilemann and Hill discuss her new memoir, There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century…

1
Ken Burns 1:19:47

1+ y ago1:19:47

1:19:47

In which John Heilemann talks with documentarian Ken Burns, whose new four-part series, Muhammad Ali, premiered this week on PBS. Heilemann and Burns discuss Ali's life and legacy as the most important athlete of the 20th century, in particular how his story transcends sports, intersecting with the defining issues of his era (race, religion, politi…

1
Julia Ioffe and Michael McFaul 1:02:42

1+ y ago1:02:42

1:02:42

In which John Heilemann discusses the Russia invasion of Ukraine -- and its far-reaching implications for Europe, Joe Biden's presidency, Vladimir Putin's place in history, and the global security writ large -- with former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and Puck News correspondent Julia Ioffe. Heilemann, McFaul, and Ioffe talk about Russia’…

1
Michael Bender, Part 2 47:17

1+ y ago47:17

47:17

In which John Heilemann talks with Mike Bender, senior White House reporter for The Wall Street Journal and author of Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost, for a special two-part episode of the podcast. Heilemann and Bender discuss the latter's new book and its news-making account of Trump's cataclysmic final year i…

1
Michael Bender, Part 1 58:21

1+ y ago58:21

58:21

In which John Heilemann talks with Mike Bender, senior White House reporter for The Wall Street Journal and author of Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost, for a special two-part episode of the podcast. Heilemann and Bender discuss the latter's new book and its news-making account of Trump's cataclysmic final year i…

1
Hasan Minhaj 1:42:40

1+ y ago1:42:40

1:42:40

John Heilemann talks with two-time Peabody Award-winning comedian Hasan Minhaj, best known for hosting six seasons of the Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj and his widely acclaimed Netflix special, Homecoming King. Heilemann and Minhaj discuss his early career as a comic and the centrality of his background as a first-generation Indian- …

1
Kara Swisher 1:18:31

1+ y ago1:18:31

1:18:31

In which John Heilemann talks with Kara Swisher, arguably the preeminent chronicler (and frequent critic) of the companies, personalities, and culture of Silicon Valley and the technology world writ large. Heilemann and Swisher, a protean reporter and pundit whose vast array of endeavors includes hosting the New York Times podcast Sway and serving …

1
Stevie Van Zandt, Part 2 1:11:35

1+ y ago1:11:35

1:11:35

In which John Heilemann talks with Stevie Van Zandt, a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, co-star of The Sopranos, and author of a new memoir, Unrequited Infatuations. In this special two-part episode, Heilemann and Van Zandt discuss his early musical influences, the foundations of his …

1
Stevie Van Zandt, Part 1 1:11:45

1+ y ago1:11:45

1:11:45

In which John Heilemann talks with Stevie Van Zandt, a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, co-star of The Sopranos, and author of a new memoir, Unrequited Infatuations. In this special two-part episode, Heilemann and Van Zandt discuss his early musical influences, the foundations of his …

1
Tenacious D 1:18:01

1+ y ago1:18:01

1:18:01

When Jack Black and Kyle Gass formed the mock-rock band Tenacious D in 1994, they were just a pair of unknown members of The Actors' Gang in LA with a spiritual and satirical kinship with Spinal Tap, a penchant for R-rated lyrics about their sexual prowess and prodigious cannabis consumption, and surprisingly serious musical chops. Twenty-six years…

1
Aaron Sorkin 55:13

1+ y ago55:13

55:13

Over the past three decades, Aaron Sorkin has staked a claim as America’s most renowned film and television writer. With a list of credits that runs from "A Few Good Men," "The American President, "The Social Network," and "Moneyball" on the big screen to "Sports Night," "The Newsroom," and his crowning achievement, "The West Wing," on TV, Sorkin's…

1
Killer Mike, Part 2 45:57

1+ y ago45:57

45:57

Michael Santiago Render, aka Killer Mike, is one of the most vital figures in the worlds of both hip hop and progressive activism. Best known as one half of the acclaimed rap duo Run The Jewels, Render gained notoriety in the political realm as a prominent backer of Bernie Sanders and a fierce advocate for Black economic empowerment. In the wake of…

1
Killer Mike, Part 1 1:07:42

1+ y ago1:07:42

1:07:42

Michael Santiago Render, aka Killer Mike, is one of the most vital figures in the worlds of both hip hop and progressive activism. Best known as one half of the acclaimed rap duo Run The Jewels, Render gained notoriety in the political realm as a prominent backer of Bernie Sanders and a fierce advocate for Black economic empowerment. In the wake of…

1
Adam Scott 1:09:25

1+ y ago1:09:25

1:09:25

In which John Heilemann talks with actor Adam Scott, best known for his roles in beloved sitcoms including Parks and Recreation and The Good Place. Heilemann and Scott discuss his latest role in Severance, the new Apple TV+ sci-fi series directed by Ben Stiller; why the comedy veteran was eager to take part in the psychological drama; and how the b…

1
Jon Meacham 1:15:52

1+ y ago1:15:52

1:15:52

In the aftermath of the Democratic Party's successful showing in last week's midterm elections, John Heilemann welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham, author of the recent presidential biography, And Then There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle. Heilemann and Meacham, a friend of President Joe Biden, discuss Biden'…

1
Joe Scarborough 1:19:49

2y ago1:19:49

1:19:49

With Election Day upon us, John Heilemann welcomes Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, to talk through the big themes, large lessons, and lasting takeaways from the 2022 midterm campaign. Heilemann and Scarborough discuss the high degree of uncertainty around the outcome of the contests for control of Congress and 36 governships across…

1
Jordan Klepper 1:35:14

2y ago1:35:14

1:35:14

John Heilemann welcomes The Daily Show's Jordan Klepper on the eve of his new election special, Jordan Klepper Fingers the Midterms -- America Unfollows Democracy, which premieres on November 1, and on the heels of of his turn as a guest host on Heilemann's Showtime series The Circus. Heilemann and Klepper dig into the all-important Pennsylvania Se…

1
David Axelrod 1:40:19

2y ago1:40:19

1:40:19

With just two weeks to go before Election Day, John Heilemann welcomes former Obama strategic and message maestro (and bff of the podcast) David Axelrod back to #HHW for his third time in the fire pit/splash zone. Axelrod — director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, host of The Axe Files podcast and co-host of Hacks on Tap, and …

1
Matthew Dowd and Jennifer Palmieri 1:32:59

2y ago1:32:59

1:32:59

Three weeks out from Election Day, John Heilemann kicks off the Hell & High Water Midterm Homestretch Scramble with Matthew Dowd, chief strategist on George W. Bush's 2004 and Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 reelection campaigns (and now a prominent #NeverTrumper), and Jennifer Palmieri, communications director for Barack Obama's White House from 2013…

1
Maggie Haberman, Part 2 1:05:03

2y ago1:05:03

1:05:03

John Heilemann sits down with the New York Times's Maggie Haberman — the dominant/defining reporter on the Donald Trump beat for the past decade and the author of the instant best-seller Confidence Man — for an epic, two-part episode of the podcast. Haberman discusses her most recent scoop that the Justice Department believes the Former Guy still h…

1
Maggie Haberman, Part 1 1:29:45

2y ago1:29:45

1:29:45

John Heilemann sits down with the New York Times's Maggie Haberman — the dominant/defining reporter on the Donald Trump beat for the past decade and the author of the instant best-seller Confidence Man — for an epic, two-part episode of the podcast. Haberman discusses her most recent scoop that the Justice Department believes the Former Guy still h…

1
Jennifer Psaki 1:23:03

2y ago1:23:03

1:23:03

John Heilemann sits down with President Biden's first White House press secretary, Jennifer Psaki, who recently left the administration to join MSNBC as a political analyst and host of a new show that will launch next year on Peacock. Psaki discusses how it feels to be free of the burdens of discussing current events from the podium in the White Ho…

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Michael Heilemann Podcasts

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