Episodes

  • August 22, 2025: Was it something Dems said?

    August 22, 2025: Was it something Dems said?
    Aug 22 2025
    In their ongoing effort to reorganize and define the party, Democrats have gotten some new guidance on how to win over voters. And it’s not so much about what they should do, but what they shouldn’t. In a new memo shared exclusively with Playbook, the center-left Democratic think tank Third Way reveals the party should distance itself from a few dozen words and phrases that may alienate potential voters. Could terms such as “microaggression,” “privilege” and “triggering” in fact be turning off potential Democratic voters? Playbook’s Adam Wren and White House reporter Megan Messerly unpack that and more.
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    16 mins
  • August 21, 2025: Vance’s big, beautiful sales job

    August 21, 2025: Vance’s big, beautiful sales job
    Aug 21 2025
    President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Act is in for one big, beautiful rebranding effort. Today in Georgia, VP JD Vance will seek to reframe the Republican megalaw as primarily “working families tax cuts.” In part, that’s a reaction to weak poll numbers for Trump’s signature legislative accomplishment heading into the midterms. But the new approach is also a reflection of a divide within the GOP over whether congressional Republicans have been sufficiently proactive in promoting the policy to voters. Playbook’s Adam Wren and Politico White House reporter Irie Sentner break down what to watch.
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    10 mins
  • August 20, 2025: How Gavin Newsom took over your X feed

    August 20, 2025: How Gavin Newsom took over your X feed
    Aug 20 2025
    With a smashmouth, all-caps-laden and meme-filled X account, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is holding a mirror up to MAGA — and MAGA doesn’t like what it’s seeing. For a decade, President Donald Trump has blazed trails online. And now, Newsom is finding that by replicating Trump’s posts — to the point of outright parody and trolling — he’s effectively gamed social media algorithms and colonized X’s “for you” tab. Is this a new era for political communication in America? And is the Michelle Obama “when they go low, we go high” era effectively dead and buried? Playbook’s Adam Wren and Dasha Burns sort through the AI-generated slop and get some answers.
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    14 mins
  • August 19, 2025: A new dawn between Trump and Zelenskyy

    August 19, 2025: A new dawn between Trump and Zelenskyy
    Aug 19 2025
    A whirlwind of diplomacy whipped through Washington yesterday. Today, we’re sorting through the aftermath of the series of historic meetings between President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a coterie of European leaders. Playbook’s Adam Wren and Dasha Burns sort through the big takeaways, what really changed and what lies ahead for Ukraine, Russia and the U.S.
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    14 mins
  • August 18, 2025: Zelenskyy in the Oval Office: Take 2

    August 18, 2025: Zelenskyy in the Oval Office: Take 2
    Aug 18 2025
    Another day, another massive summit with huge geopolitical implications. On Friday, the biggest story in politics was the meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meets with Trump, with a cavalcade of European leaders in tow. What can we expect today? Playbook’s Adam Wren and Dasha Burns unpack what to expect.
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    15 mins
  • August 15, 2025: The Trump-Putin summit is here

    August 15, 2025: The Trump-Putin summit is here
    Aug 15 2025
    This afternoon, President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. For the better part of a week, the White House has been tempering expectations — with the latest chatter being that this will all be the prelude to a second meeting with Putin at which real progress could be made on a ceasefire agreement in Russia’s war on Ukraine. So what would success look like today? And what is each side’s strategy going in? Playbook’s Adam Wren and POLITICO White House and foreign affairs correspondent Eli Stokols walk you through what you need to know.
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    17 mins
  • August 14, 2025: Buttigieg sets the record straight

    August 14, 2025: Buttigieg sets the record straight
    Aug 14 2025
    After his appearance last week on “Pod Save America,” Pete Buttigieg attracted incoming fire over his response to a question about Gaza — an answer which critics thought was especially mealy-mouthed. This morning, in an exclusive interview for Playbook, Buttigieg clears the air — and offers the latest sign of just how much opinions within the Democratic Party are shifting on Israel and Gaza. Playbook’s Adam Wren and Dasha Burns talk it through. Plus, the latest on tomorrow’s Trump-Putin meeting, and Dasha talks through her latest scoop on Susie Wiles and Laura Loomer.
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    11 mins
  • August 13, 2025: Laura Loomer's latest target

    August 13, 2025: Laura Loomer's latest target
    Aug 13 2025
    After successfully ousting several officials in the Trump administration, far-right activist and MAGA influencer Laura Loomer has sharpened her focus on her next targets: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and one of his top aides. And a big part of the reason why has to do with 2028. Playbook’s Adam Wren and Dasha Burns break it all down and what it could mean for the administration. Plus, the latest geopolitical jockeying ahead of the Trump-Putin summit, and questions abound about the trustworthiness of new economic data from Trump’s Washington.
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    11 mins