In political parlance, the “odd year” is the year in which there is no national election; that is: any odd-numbered year. Odd can also refer to something that is unusual or unpredictable. Like an interview with a writer or actor or athlete that highlights a topic or trend that isn’t normally associated with traditional political discourse. The Odd Years is designed for everyone who is multidimensional. Yes, it’s going to focus on politics (because this is brought to you by the Cook Political ...
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Every Friday, Amy Walter brings you the trends in politics long before the national media picks up on them. Known as one of the smartest and most trusted journalists in Washington, D.C., Amy Walter is respected by politicians and pundits on all sides of the aisle. You may know Amy her from her work with Cook Political Report and the PBS NewsHour where she looks beyond the breaking news headlines for a deeper understanding of how Washington works, who's pulling the levers of power, and how it ...
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Stay up-to-the-minute with breaking news and analysis from the American Enterprise Institute's network of policy area experts.
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Season 2, Episode 7: How Kamala Harris Changed the Presidential Race in Georgia
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Right before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, his path to victory appeared very narrow. It was: win the midwest states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But with Kamala Harris now at the top of the ticket, the electoral map could open up for Democrats, and some of those states that Joe Biden won in 2020, but seemed out of reach i…
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Season 2, Episode 6: David Axelrod, Amy Walter and David Wasserman at the RNC
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A special episode of The Odd Years: Amy and David catch up with David Axelrod in Milwaukee at the RNC. The three discuss what they're seeing on the ground, their thoughts on the selection of J.D. Vance as Trump's running mate, and the situation for President Biden and the Democrats as they head into their convention in a few weeks. David Axelrod is…
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Season 2, Episode 5: What Polls Miss — and What We Should Focus on Instead
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We originally asked our guest today, Michael Podhorzer, to come on to talk about voter demographics. Mike was the longtime political director for the AFL-CIO. He’s now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and he writes a Substack called Weekend Reading. And Mike has been one of the pioneers in Democratic circles using data and analyt…
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Season 2, Episode 4: How The Diploma Divide Is Reshaping American Politics
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If you listen to this podcast, you’ve probably heard of the so-called education divide in American politics with those with college degrees increasingly supporting Democrats and liberal causes and those without college degrees, increasingly supporting Republicans and conservative social issues. On today's show, Amy talks with Matt Grossman, Directo…
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Mailbag: How Will Trump's Conviction Impact Downballot Races?
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The Cook Political Report's David Wasserman, Jessica Taylor and Erin Covey answer your mailbag questions this week. They weigh in on what Trump's conviction will mean for Republicans in down-ballot races; they go into the weeds on their process for rating two congressional districts in California; they discuss Senate races in Virginia and Minnesota…
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Season 2, Episode 3: What Coverage of Rural Voters Is Not Getting Right with Dan Shea and Nick Jacobs
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Donald Trump is very popular in rural America. Drive down a rural stretch of road, and you are still likely to see Trump flags waving in the breeze or the Trump logo painted on the side of a barn. Rural parts of America have always been conservative-leaning. But Republicans now dominate rural politics from the top of the ticket to the bottom. There…
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Mailbag: Which Biden District Republicans Are the Most Endangered?
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Amy Walter is joined by her colleague, Cook Political Report Senior Editor and Election Analyst David Wasserman. First, they answer a listener's question on partisan realignment, particularly among education lines. Next, they dive into the question of which House Republicans won by Biden in 2020 are the most endangered. Ask us your questions here o…
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Season 2, Episode 2: On the Campaign Trail with Melissa Benoist, Amy Chozick and Julie Plec of 'The Girls on the Bus'
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Amy is back with a conversation about the new show now streaming on Max, The Girls on the Bus. The show stars Melissa Benoist as Sadie McCarthy, a scrappy and ambitious journalist covering a fictional Democratic presidential primary. It follows Sadie and three other women reporters as they navigate the campaign trail, while juggling their careers, …
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Season 2, Episode 1: The Defining House Races of the Last 40 Years
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Amy sits down with her Cook Political Report colleague, Senior Editor & Elections Analyst David Wasserman, for a walk down memory lane. In honor of The Cook Political Report's 40th Anniversary, David selected the defining House races of every cycle since 1984. Amy and Dave reminisce about the names, faces, issues, and districts that have shaped con…
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Mailbag: Do Third-Party Candidates Hurt or Help Trump or Biden More?
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The Odd Years is back with season two. It is a big election year, and we know you have many questions for the team at The Cook Political Report. We are opening season 2 with a listener mailbag. In this episode, Amy answers questions about swing states to watch in 2024 and what to make of Robert Kennedy Jr.'s support. Ask us your questions here or b…
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Episode 13: Can Republicans Build a Multiracial Populist Coalition in 2024 and Beyond, With Republican Pollster Patrick Ruffini
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In 2020, Donald Trump's considerable margin of victory among white working-class voters was expected, but his success in winning a larger share of the Latino and black vote was not. Amy's latest guest, Republican Pollster Patrick Ruffini, argues that Trump's advances with these voters is part of a more significant realignment in our politics. Amy t…
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Episode 12: Science and (Political) Fiction with Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert of 'For All Mankind'
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Host Amy Walter confesses her love of Apple TV's For All Mankind and the magic of its decade-spanning montages and storytelling to none other than the show's Executive Producers and writers, Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert. As season 4 of the show launches, the trio goes deep into the show's origin [03:28]; whether we should consider the show science o…
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Episode 11: Diversity, Diaspora, Density and the Politics of the West, With Mark Z. Barabak
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Amy Walter talks with Mark Z. Barabak, a political columnist for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on California and the West. They discuss his new series, "The New West," which explores the forces and factors that led once-reliable Republican states like Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada to turn from red to purple and blue. Amy and Mark also delve into …
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Episode 10: What Voters Want Vs. What They Are Getting with The New York Times’ Astead Herndon
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Amy Walter chats with Astead Herndon, a national politics reporter for the New York Times and the host of the "The Run-Up" podcast. Amy and Astead grapple with the fact that while voters are overwhelmingly against a Trump-Biden rematch in 2024, it still appears to be the inevitable outcome. Astead notes that we are "careening towards a rematch very…
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Episode 9: Has Trump Locked Up The GOP Nomination? With The Focus Group Podcast Host Sarah Longwell
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Amy Walter catches up with Republican strategist Sarah Longwell, publisher of the Bulwark and founder of the Republican Accountability Project. Sarah also hosts The Focus Group podcast, which brings listeners into wide-ranging conversations with voters. Sarah and Amy discuss where Donald Trump is already showing his potential strength in a general …
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Episode 8: Diving into Delegate Math with Josh Putnam
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Amy Walter talks with Josh Putnam, a political scientist and consultant known for his expertise on the presidential nominating process. You can read more about it in his blog, frontloadinghq.com. Amy and Josh discuss the implications of some states’ winner-take-all delegate rules in the Republican primary [6:00] and Democrats’ primary calendar shak…
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Episode 7: Will AI Upend the 2024 Election with Kara Swisher
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Amy Walter talks to the one and only Kara Swisher, a highly respected and deeply sourced technology reporter. Kara is currently the host of the podcast On with Kara Swisher, the co-host of the Pivot podcast and an editor-at-large at New York Magazine. Amy and Kara discussed AI's role in the 2024 campaign season. Kara gives some much-needed perspect…
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Episode 6: Why Our Politics Feel Angrier Than Ever (And Why It’s Unlikely To Change Anytime Soon)
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Amy Walter interviews two political science professors, Lynn Vavreck, the Marvin Hoffenberg Professor of American Politics and Public Policy at UCLA, and John Sides, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Chair in the Department of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. Their books, "Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Me…
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Episode 5: Trailblazer Judy Woodruff Digs Deep Into America’s Political Divides (And Still Stays Optimistic)
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Amy Walter talks to Judy Woodruff, renowned journalist and former anchor of the PBS News Hour. Woodruff discusses her new series, America at a Crossroads, which aims to explore the deep divisions in American politics. She talks about her long and distinguished career in journalism, starting with covering Jimmy Carter's campaign for governor of Geor…
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Episode 4: Republican Pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson on Trump vs. DeSantis, Millennial Voters and GOP Messaging in 2024
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Amy talked with Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson. Kristen is the founding partner of Echelon Insights, an opinion research and analytics firm. You've likely seen her on CNN, Fox, ABC News or many other political programs. She hosts her Sirius XM program, The Trendline with Kristen Soltis Anderson. Amy and Kristen started their conversati…
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Bonus Episode: Policy & Politics: The White House, Congress & 2024
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On March 31, The Cook Political Report and National Journal invited its premium subscribers to attend an exclusive event in Washington, DC. That morning, following the news of former president Trump’s indictment in New York, National Journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Jeff Dufour, their White House reporter, George Condon, and Cook Political Report Editor-…
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Bonus Episode: David Wasserman on the Release of the Historic Cook PVI and the Incredible Shrinking Swing Seat
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In this bonus episode of The Odd Years, Editor-in-Chief of the Cook Political Report, Amy Walter (@amyewalter), chats with the Senior Editor of the US House of Representatives, David Wasserman (@Redistrict), about the release of the historic Cook PVI℠ and what the Partisan Voting Index — first developed by Charlie Cook in 1997 — tells us about how …
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Episode 3: Democratic Pollster Anna Greenberg on Why Dems Beat Expectations in 2022 and What They're Missing on Crime
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Amy talked with Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg. Anna is a senior partner of the polling firm GQR. In 2022, she polled for several high-profile House and Senate campaigns, including Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona, Senator Michael Bennett from Colorado, and Congresswoman Kim Schrier from suburban Seattle. Amy and Anna started with a conversation…
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Episode 2: What’s Happening In the States — And What It Could Mean for Federal Policy and Politics.
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Often described as “laboratories of democracy,” state legislatures have often produced legislation or ideas that eventually make their way to Washington. And, of course, many of these state executives also find their way into national political office. Helping us dig through the trends, priorities and personalities in state capitols is Reid Wilson,…
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Episode 1: The Impact of Narrow Margins & Divided Government on the 118th Congress
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On the first episode of The Odd Years, Amy Walter and Andy Laperriere (Head of US Policy Research for Piper Sandler) dig into the challenges and opportunities for Republicans & Democrats as they navigate a divided government and continued narrow margins. Cook Political Report subscribers can view the full original recording with subscriber Q&A here…
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The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter introduces a new podcast for 2023. Amy Walter and the team will interview political professionals and other leaders in their fields highlighting topics & trends that aren’t normally associated with traditional political discourse, and expanding the definition of a “political program.” #OddPod…
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Cyber at the Center of Power: A Kitchen Sync Conversation with David Sanger
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This week, the AEI Podcast Channel presents the latest Kitchen Sync Conversation. David E. Sanger is a White House and national security correspondent, and a senior writer. In a 38-year reporting career for The New York Times, he has been on three teams that have won Pulitzer Prizes, most recently in 2017 for international reporting. His newest boo…
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Should We Have "Expert" Twitter?: A Kitchen Sync Conversation with Dr. Yuval Levin
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This week, AEI presents the latest Kitchen Sync Conversation. Yuval Levin is the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He also holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy. The founding and current editor of National Affairs, he is also a senior editor of The New Atlantis and…
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Guess what? We are officially phasing out The Takeaway's Politics with Amy Walter. We are still making our weekly politics show, but it will officially be housed on The Takeaway Podcast feed starting this week. So, what should you do? Subscribe to The Takeaway's podcasts and news feeds using iTunes or your favorite podcast client so you'll always h…
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WTH is going on LIVE! The Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter on what happened in Virginia’s recent election and what it means for 2022 … and 2024
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This week, the AEI Podcast Channel presents a live episode of What the Hell is Going On. You can find the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the Virginia governor’s race, Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated former Governor Terry McAuliffe in a state that President Biden won by 10 points in 2020. In New Jersey, a state B…
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Politics: The Inscrutable Senator Kyrsten Sinema
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The Inscrutable Senator Kyrsten Sinema During Sinema's brief time in office, she has gained a reputation for being particularly inscrutable. She is known for rarely holding town halls with constituents or taking questions from the press. Last week, five members of Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s Veterans Advisory Council publicly stepped down, calling her…
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Politics: State Politics Heating Up Across Country
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State Politics Heating Up Across Country Jessica Taylor, the Senate and Governors Editor for The Cook Political Report, and Zach Montellaro, state politics reporter at POLITICO take a look at state politics and gubernatorial races around the country where candidates are debating issues around education, police reform, and abortion rights. New Analy…
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Politics: Debt Ceiling Deal Extended but For How Long?
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Debt Ceiling Deal Extended but For How Long? Join us for this week's political round up with Michael Steele, former Lt. Gov. of Maryland and previous chair of the RNC and Christina Greer, Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, co-host of podcast FAQ NYC, and author of the book “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration and the Pursu…
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Putting the Pieces Together: A Kitchen Sync Conversation with Jigsaw’s Jared Cohen
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This week, the AEI podcast channel presents the latest Kitchen Sync Conversation with Jared Kohen. How can the US level the playing field in its tech competition with China? What role does the private sector need to play, and what is Google’s Jigsaw up to? Is public discourse as polarized in America as it seems? Klon Kitchen discusses these questio…
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What the Hell is Going On?: WTH is going on with the COVID vaccines? Dr. Scott Gottlieb with everything you need to know
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This week, the AEI Podcast Channel presents the latest episode of What the Hell is Going On? If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about Uncontrolled Spread (New York Times Bestseller) here. Pfizer and Moderna recently announced that their coronavirus vaccines are both sa…
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AEI Events Podcast: Uncontrolled spread: A book event with Scott Gottlieb
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This week, AEI presents today's episode of the AEI Events Podcast. If you enjoy the episode, you can find the AEI Events Podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. As the COVID-19 pandemic begins to shift from an acute crisis to an endemic pathogen, AEI’s Scott Gottlieb — physician, medical policy expert, public health advocate, a…
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Politics: Biden Outlines Agenda To Boost the Middle Class
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Biden Outlines Agenda To Boost the Middle Class President Joe Biden delivered a speech geared toward a tax plan for the middle class. California had its recall election in which Governor Gavin Newsom beat out Republican frontrunner and recall candidate Larry Elder. The Takeaway hosts a politics roundtable with Dave Weigel, a national reporter cover…
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Banter: Kori Schake on Afghanistan and US defense policy
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This week, the AEI Podcast Channel presents the latest episode of Banter, AEI's flagship podcast. If you like what you hear, subscribe to Banter on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Kori Schake is a senior fellow and the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. She joins Phoebe and Robert …
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Politics: Millions of Americans Lost Unemployment Insurance This Week
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Millions of Americans Lost Unemployment Insurance This Week This past Monday — Labor Day — 7.5 million workers lost their COVID-era expanded unemployment benefits, even as the pandemic continues on. President Joe Biden decided not to extend the benefits before they were set to expire. For more on this, The Takeaway spoke to Heather Long, economics …
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