Transition Lab is a behind-the-scenes look at presidential transitions. Join Valerie Boyd, director of the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition for candid discussions with transition experts, exploring the relationship between presidential transitions, effective government and a strong democracy. Transition Lab is a must-listen for anyone interested in developing a better understanding of what needs to happen before a president takes office or starts a second term.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Two parties, too many problems? With Lee Drutman
42:52
42:52
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:52
Red versus blue, Republican versus Democrat, liberal versus conservative. Today’s politics are driven by intense partisan conflict, but things haven’t always been this way. In this episode of “Transition Lab,” we talk to Lee Drutman about how our two-party system and winner-take-all elections have inflamed our political divisions. Not to worry, tho…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Why should we care about government, anyway? With Eric Liu
55:11
55:11
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
55:11
Once we leave high school social studies behind, government can feel distant, complex, impersonal and overwhelming. On today’s episode of Transition Lab, we talk with Eric Liu, co-founder of Citizen University. Eric established Citizen University to rebuild a civic culture in America and help individuals engage with one another across partisan line…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
How Fragile is American Democracy? With Archon Fung
40:13
40:13
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:13
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, you can almost feel the tension rising in the air. Today on Transition Lab, we talk with Harvard professor Archon Fung about why political discourse today feels so rough, why our democratic institutions feel so fragile and what we might do about it. Archon Fung is the director of the Ash Center for Demo…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
America’s at a crossroads. Where do we go from here? With Judy Woodruff
43:45
43:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:45
Journalist Judy Woodruff spent the last two years “reporting on America” by traveling the country to speak to people and try to find out why we’ve become so polarized. Today on Transition Lab, she tells us about how politics has changed since she arrived in Washington, D.C., during the Carter administration, how these changes inspired her current s…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Is history repeating itself? With Lindsay Chervinsky
36:31
36:31
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:31
Do you know all the ways that America’s first presidential elections look like today’s? We sure didn’t! In this episode of Transition Lab, historian Lindsay Chervinsky tells us the story of America’s first two presidential transitions and how George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson established a tradition for the peaceful transition of p…
…
continue reading
Welcome to season two of Transition Lab, hosted by Valerie Boyd, Director of the Center for Presidential Transition. During the first season, we introduced the public to the inner workings of a presidential transition by featuring former White House chiefs of staff, members of Congress and other government leaders who worked behind the scenes to en…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Exploring “The Peaceful Transfer of Power”
47:22
47:22
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:22
Rachel Klein-Kircher and Loren DeJonge Schulman are joined by three practitioners and experts on presidential transitions who discuss the major challenges the Biden-Harris team had to overcome during the toughest transition in modern U.S. history.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Yamiche Alcindor and David Marchick on a Transition Like No Other
46:30
46:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:30
Coming soon! Season two of the Partnership for Public Service podcast. This is the last episode on the 2020 transition, but the podcast will return later in the year with a new focus. Stay tuned.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Chris Liddell on Trump's Transition Out Of Office
36:53
36:53
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:53
Chris Liddell is the Trump administration’s leading transition expert. A deputy chief of staff, he previously served as executive director of the Romney transition team and helped author The Romney Readiness Project, a comprehensive presidential transition guide. In this episode of Transition Lab, Liddell joins host David Marchick to discuss the go…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Yohannes Abraham on Leading the Biden Transition
35:18
35:18
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
35:18
In this episode, host David Marchick spoke with Abraham about leading the Biden-Harris team, the lessons he has learned from previous transitions, and how the country’s health and economic crises have affected his work.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Phil Schiliro and Candi Wolff on the Senate’s Role in a Presidential Transition
46:56
46:56
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:56
This week’s episode of Transition Lab focuses on the Senate confirmation process with Phil Schiliro and Candi Wolff.Wolff, the head of global government affairs at Citi, served as the Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs under President George W. Bush. She was the first woman to hold that position. Schiliro worked on Capitol Hill for …
…
continue reading
Ted Kaufman and President-elect Joe Biden go way back. Kaufman helped organize Biden's first Senate office in 1972 and served as his chief of staff for nearly two decades. Kaufman left the Senate in 1994, but later returned to fill his old boss’s seat after Biden became Barack Obama’s vice president in 2009. More recently, Kaufman helped pass two l…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Representative Derek Kilmer on Congressional Modernization and Transitions
34:13
34:13
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
34:13
Representative Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) is the chair of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, a bipartisan panel that has produced nearly 100 recommendations focused on improving the way Congress works. During this episode of Transition Lab, Kilmer joined host David Marchick to discuss the panel’s recommendations for increasing civil…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
State of the Transition: An update with Ken Burns, Josh Bolten and Eric Rauchway
45:55
45:55
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:55
Host David Marchick, along with award winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, former George W. Bush chief of staff Josh Bolten, and historian Eric Rauchway, reflects on the current state of the transition, the costs of delay, and how this moment will be remembered. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at ht…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Melody Barnes on the 2008 transition and what lies ahead for the Biden-Harris team
38:34
38:34
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
38:34
Melody Barnes has had a distinguished political career. She has worked in various roles on Capitol Hill, held senior positions with the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign and transition teams, and led the White House Domestic Policy Council from 2009-2012. Currently, she is the co-director for policy and public affairs at the University of Vir…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
How does the GSA "ascertain" the outcome of an election? An inside look at the GSA, ascertainment and the 2000 election
8:42
8:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
8:42
On this week’s episode of Transition Lab, host David Marchick unpacks the contested 2000 election with David J. Barram, who served as GSA administrator from 1996-2000. Barram discusses the process of ascertainment, his work during the 2000 election and how that contest differed from the 2020 race. Find out more at the Center for Presidential Transi…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
John Podesta on the 2020 Presidential Transition
40:53
40:53
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:53
John Podesta served as President Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff from 1998 to 2001, founded the Center for American Progress, was the co-chair of Barack Obama’s presidential transition in 2008-2009 and chaired Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016 while overseeing her pre-election transition activities. Podesta talked to Transit…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
An inside look at how the Partnership for Public Service helps build better presidential transitions
39:36
39:36
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:36
This week’s episode of Transition Lab features three leaders from the Partnership for Public Service. One is special guest host Loren DeJonge Schulman, a national security expert who spent 10 years at the Defense Department and National Security Council, most recently as the senior advisor to National Security Advisor Susan Rice during the Obama ad…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Planning Transitions During Unprecedented Times: A Virtual Conference
53:04
53:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
53:04
On October 2, the Center for Presidential Transition, the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, and several presidential foundations and libraries hosted a virtual conference called “Talking Transitions: Perspectives for First-term and Second-term Administrations.” The event included former government officials, journalists and scholars to discus…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Steve Hadley and Kurt Campbell on National Security Transitions
34:37
34:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
34:37
Stephen Hadley held key national security positions in three Republican administrations before working on the George W. Bush transition in 2000-2001 and serving as Bush’s national security advisor. Kurt Campbell is an expert on East Asian affairs who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, and co-authored, “Difficult Transitions: Foreign P…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Michael Froman on Selecting a President-elect's Cabinet
32:12
32:12
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
32:12
Michael Froman has had an extraordinary career. After serving in the Department of the Treasury under President Clinton, he became the head of personnel for the 2008 Obama-Biden transition team and later served as a White House deputy national security advisor and as the U.S. Trade Representative. In this episode of Transition Lab, host David March…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Famed journalist John Dickerson on “The Hardest Job in the World”
29:11
29:11
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
29:11
John Dickerson has covered Washington politics for more than two decades as a reporter for Time, Slate Magazine and CBS News. He previously hosted Face the Nation, currently works as a correspondent for 60 Minutes and is the recent author of “The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency,” which examines the complex challenges faced by our …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
The Art of Agency Review During a Presidential Transition
33:39
33:39
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
33:39
Agency review – the process of informing new administrations about the work of the federal government’s various departments – is a critical aspect of presidential transition planning. In this episode of Transition Lab, host David Marchick speaks to Lisa Brown, co-chair of agency review for the 2008 Obama-Biden transition team. Marchick and Brown di…
…
continue reading
Since launching in January 2020, Transition Lab has offered a close look at the world of presidential transition planning, featuring in-depth interviews with those who have organized, led and written about some of the most notable transfers of power in U.S. history. In this episode, host David Marchick shares the most important takeaways, poignant …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Two Transitions Planners Reflect on 2016 Presidential Election
30:59
30:59
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
30:59
Marchick asks Meier and Bagger about how they prepare to lead their respective transition teams.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
All-star reporters discuss covering presidential transitions
35:04
35:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
35:04
Nancy Cook and Andrew Restuccia know all about presidential transitions. They currently write about transition planning and presidential politics for Politico and the Wall Street Journal, respectively, and previously collaborated on several transition stories during the 2016 election. In this Transition Lab episode, host David Marchick asked Cook a…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Key Transition Lessons from Two Former White House Chiefs of Staff
41:32
41:32
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:32
Josh Bolten and Denis McDonough discuss how they helped orchestrate successful transfers of power, fostered bipartisanship during those difficult times and helped set the standard for successful transitions today.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Intelligence Briefings During Presidential Transitions
37:39
37:39
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:39
David Marchick joined former Acting CIA Director Michael Morell for a wide-ranging discussion about intelligence-sharing during presidential elections and transitions, foreign interference during presidential elections, and how the 2020 candidates can build strong relationships with the intelligence community.…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Preparing the government for a presidential transition
24:14
24:14
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
24:14
Mary Gibert has one of the most important jobs in Washington today, preparing the federal government for a possible presidential transition. As the federal transition coordinator at the General Services Administration, Gibert and her team are working closely with the White House, the campaign of Democrat Joseph Biden and the federal agencies. In th…
…
continue reading
Rev. Leah Daughtry and Maria Cino discuss the role of conventions in political campaigns, whether they give a boost to the candidates, and how the COVID-19 pandemic will change conventions this year and in the future.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Breaking into a Male-Dominated National Security Arena
40:20
40:20
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:20
Jamie Jones Miller and Nina Hachigian talk with host David Marchick about their careers in government, how they handled uncomfortable situations and the importance of bringing more women into leadership positions.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Chris Christie on Trump’s Transition to Power
39:37
39:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:37
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie explains how he planned the Trump transition and where it went wrong.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Help Wanted: The Critical Job of Selecting 4,000 Presidential Appointees
44:49
44:49
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
44:49
Jonathan McBride and Liza Wright, former directors of the PPO under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush share their advice on how to land a political appointment.
…
continue reading
Clay Johnson, the executive director of Bush’s transition, tells host Dave Marchick how Bush brought many of his personnel practices as Texas governor to Washington during the shortest official transition in history at just 39 days.
…
continue reading
Former White House Chief of Staff and Cabinet Secretary James Baker joins host David Marchick on Transition Lab to discuss his long and distinguished career on the national stage.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Navigating the Screening Process for High Level Political Appointees
35:23
35:23
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
35:23
Powerhouse attorneys Leslie Kiernan and Robert Rizzi explain how political appointees navigate the vetting process when seeking a political appointment.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
The Worst Transition in U.S. History, with Ted Widmer
33:04
33:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
33:04
Historian Ted Widmer tells host David Marchick about Lincoln's two-week train ride from Illinois to Washington, D.C. in February 1861 that helped him find his voice, build public support, and set the tone for his presidency.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
The Rocky Transition from Hoover to FDR : How FDR Overcame the Odds
33:42
33:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
33:42
President Herbert Hoover and President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt failed to cooperate in any matter during the four-month transition that occurred in the midst of the Great Depression.
…
continue reading
Mack McLarty, former White House chief of staff, shared insights on the Clinton transition as well as President Clinton’s first year in office, as well as the privilege of serving alongside the president, a friend from childhood.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Ken Burns on Presidential Leadership During American Crises
38:09
38:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
38:09
Filmmaker Ken Burns and historian Geoffrey Ward share stories with Transition Lab about the biggest crises in our nation’s history and how our past informs the present.
…
continue reading
Professor Michael Nelson, an expert on the American presidency, joins Transition Lab to discuss the political dynamics that define a president’s first and second term. Nelson explains how new presidents can maximize their impact during their first year in office and outlines the challenges two-term presidents face during their fifth year.See Privac…
…
continue reading
Director of the White House Transition Project, Martha Kumar discusses the history of presidential transitions. Kumar outlines how the Presidential Transition Act changed transition planning, the importance of White House design for a successful first year in office and talks about the best—and worst—presidential transitions. See Privacy Policy at …
…
continue reading
Andrew Card shares his perspective on the surprisingly challenging “friendly” transition from President Reagan to President George H. W. Bush.
…
continue reading
Four-star Admiral James Stavridis and former General Motors CEO Dan Akerson discuss how public and private sector leaders can navigate the challenges posed by the coronavirus.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Managing a Presidential Transition During a National Crisis
23:40
23:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
23:40
Stephanie Cutter shares her perspective on managing the Obama-Biden transition during the global financial crisis.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
The Fifth Risk and Coronavirus, a Conversation with Michael Lewis
25:33
25:33
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
25:33
Author Michael Lewis shares insights on the coronavirus pandemic and stories from “The Fifth Risk.”
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
The Master of Disaster Planning, Thad Allen
17:16
17:16
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
17:16
Admiral Thad Allen, talks about his experience leading the U.S. response to some of the most challenging modern crises.
…
continue reading
Admiral Thad Allen discusses how he kept morale high when communicating with troops, media and the country during times of panic.
…
continue reading
Former governor of Utah and Romney Transition chairman, Mike Leavitt, shares how he planned the 2012 presidential transition had Mitt Romney won the election.
…
continue reading
Anita McBride, Laura Bush’s chief of staff, shares insights on the evolution of the first lady’s role throughout history.
…
continue reading