Playbook Deep Dive

John Judis and Ruy Teixeira, co-authors of “The Emerging Democratic Majority,” are back with a new book that argues that the Democrats are imperiled by a “shadow party” that is forcing them into “radical” positions on cultural issues and diverting them away from their core economic issues. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. John Judis is editor at large at Talking Points Memo and co-author of "Where Have All the Democrats Gone?" Ruy Teixeira is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of "Where Have All the Democrats Gone?" Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Australian TV hosts Chas Licciardello and John Barron explain how American politics has influenced culture and government in their homeland; and which single feature of Australian politics could fix many of America’s biggest problems. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Chas Licciardello is a comedian and co-host of Planet America. John Barron is a journalist, broadcaster and co-host of Planet America. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

On this week’s episode of Deep Dive, Pulitzer Prize winner David Leonhardt joins host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to talk about his new book and what it says about how Democrats can save their relationship with working class voters. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. David Leonhardt is a senior writer for the New York Times and the author of "Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream." Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in June 2022, the GOP has repeatedly paid a price electorally for its stance on abortion. The chaos has been dispiriting to the anti-abortion activists who helped engineer the Dobbs decision in the first place. And now they think they have a new political strategy to get Republicans out of their defensive crouch and to start winning again on this issue. The woman leading this effort is Marjorie Dannenfelser, the head of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, one of the most important institutions in the GOP firmament. She’s known as the woman who killed Roe. Dannenfelser and her colleagues are plotting, financing, and staffing the Republican Party’s counter attack on abortion. Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza sat down with her at SBA’s Virginia headquarters this week, partly because she had some news she wanted to share about how and where anti-abortion activists are making their first big move. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Marjorie Dannenfelser is the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza joins Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) to learn how he and other GOP moderates, institutionalists, and Biden-district Republicans have organized against Jim Jordan’s campaign to be speaker of the House… and what the endgame is for Republicans to escape this mess. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Mike Lawler is the representative for New York's 17th district. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Jon Finer, President Joe Biden’s principal deputy national security adviser, opens up to Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza about how the administration is approaching some of the thorniest problems related to the war in Israel, including: striking the right balance between supporting Israel and expressing concerns about an extreme response; Biden’s warnings to Iran; and whether America should now consider itself at war with Hamas. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Jon Finer is the White House deputy national security adviser. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

Marty Baron ran The Washington Post’s newsroom for nine years. In that time, Marty clashed with then-president Donald Trump. He pacified rebellions from his younger and increasingly more ideological staff. And he partnered with Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos to take on arguably the biggest disrupter of all: technology. He’s written about all of this — and a lot more — in his new book, "Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post." Today, Marty is joining Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza to spill the tea on what actually happened between Bezos and Trump; what the media should be doing to earn your trust; and whether billionaires like Jeff Bezos are secretly pulling the strings behind closed doors. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Marty Baron is the retired executive editor of The Washington Post. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

The center of presidential politics this week was the swing state of Michigan. Trump won the longtime Democratic stronghold in 2016, and Biden won it back in 2020. It will be pivotal again in 2024. And that’s why both candidates flew to metro Detroit on consecutive days this week to insert themselves into the United Auto Workers’ strike against the so-called “Detroit Three” — General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, the company that owns Chrysler. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza joins Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), the House’s key player when it comes to the UAW strike, for a conversation about the strike’s political consequences, why she thinks that Democrats may be in danger of losing Michigan in 2024, and why the strike’s biggest sticking point is something you might not even have heard about. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Debbie Dingell is the representative for Michigan's 6th district. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

After losing a series of votes this week to avoid a government shutdown, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has effectively lost his majority. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza asks the number two Democratic leader in the House, Minority Whip Katherine Clark, what price McCarthy will have to pay for Democrats to lend their votes to passing a CR and fending-off a potential challenge to his speakership. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Katherine Clark is the House Minority Whip and the representative for Massachusetts's 5th district. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

It would be easy to look at the House of Representatives and assume that the members of the Freedom Caucus — and not Speaker Kevin McCarthy — are the ones who are actually in charge. But is that actually true? On this week’s episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks with one of the top House moderates, Ohio Congressman Dave Joyce. Joyce is the Chairman of the Republican Governance Group, the pre-eminent faction for GOP centrists; and he’s also a senior appropriator, which means he’s one of the people who has to figure out how to avoid the possible government shutdown lurking at the end of the month. Ryan caught-up with Joyce in his Washington office to learn how the Republicans you don’t see quoted on Breitbart are approaching the tumultuous issues gripping the lower chamber. They talked at length about the rationale behind McCarthy’s new impeachment gambit; if and how the Speaker can claw together the votes to avoid a government shutdown; the odds that McCarthy will face a vote to remove him as Speaker; and what it’s really like in private between Joyce and members of the Freedom Caucus he battles in public. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. David Joyce is the representative for Ohio's 14th district. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

What makes President Joe Biden? We’re all pretty familiar with Vice President Biden and Senator Biden. But in his latest iteration as commander-in-chief, it hasn’t been as easy to see inside his mind. Cracking into Biden’s brain and inside the White House has been a challenge for the media. He’s surrounded by a tight “clan” of family and advisors who have achieved Biden lifer status — and they don’t often leak. It consists of his sister Valerie, and the five advisers known as the Quint: Steve Ricchetti, Mike Donilon, Anita Dunn, Bruce Reed, and now former chief of staff Ron Klain. It’s been a notoriously tough circle to penetrate. But now one person has done it: Franklin Foer, who spent the last few years inside the heads of Biden and his team and has written the definitive account of President Biden’s first two years in office called “The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future.” The book was originally supposed to be about the first one hundred days. But the story was too interesting to stop. Next, he planned to wrap up after the passage of Build Back Better. The book ended up growing into a two-year project that ends tidily with the midterms. But where the book really shines when it grapples with the core of who Biden is — both psychologically and ideologically. Whether you love Biden or hate him, Frank’s book just might change your mind about how you understand him. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza sits down with Frank Foer to dig into the revelations that fill the pages of his new book, like how pivotal Biden’s inner circle is to his decision making; his relationship with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the low point of the presidency so far; and what’s in store for Biden as he prepares for another run as the oldest sitting president in history. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Franklin Foer is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

On Wednesday night, eight Republican presidential candidates gathered in Milwaukee for the first GOP primary debate. There was a lot on the line for each of them. But there was also an enormous amount at stake for the news organization that hosted the debate: Fox News. Consider the cross currents that the two Fox moderators, Martha McCallum and Bret Baier, had to deal with: First there was Trump, who refused to participate and lashed out at Fox and its talent, including Baier, on social media. Then there was Tucker Carlson, McCallum and Baier’s former star colleague who is in messy litigation with the network, and who nabbed Trump for himself and counter-programmed the evening with an interview that aired simultaneously with the Fox debate. Then there was Rupert Murdoch hovering in the background. In the days before the debate there were new reports that the man who runs Fox, MacCallum and Baier’s boss, has his own strong feelings about who the GOP nominee should be. If that isn’t enough, on the eve of the debate, several candidates who didn’t qualify to be on stage threatened to sue. Add to that the challenges of being the ones asking the uncomfortable questions in that arena on Wednesday. The candidates are primed to pounce on you if it serves their political interests. The boisterous crowd of partisans could turn on you at any moment. So what was it like behind the scenes at the Fox News debate? How did the hosts prepare, including for a possible last-minute appearance by Trump? What did they think of the highly caffeinated Mike Pence interrupting them at every turn? What was the deal with DeSantis and Christie during that one hand-raising moment? And whose idea was that UFO question, anyway? On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza asks Martha and Bret those questions and a lot more as they bring us inside what is perhaps the most important event of the GOP primary so far. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Martha MacCallum is the anchor and executive editor of "The Story with Martha MacCallum" on Fox News Channel. Bret Baier is the Fox News Channel's anchor and executive editor of "Special Report with Bret Baier" and chief political anchor of the network. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

This coming Wednesday, something big is happening in Milwaukee: the first Republican presidential debate. On this week’s episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host & Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks with North Dakota Governor & GOP presidential candidate Doug Burgum about how he hatched one of the most innovative schemes in memory to qualify for Wednesday's GOP debate; how he’s preparing to compete on the stage with big leaguers like Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump – if Trump shows up; how his background as a conservative in the tech world informs his worldview; and why one photograph of him cleaning a chimney in a tuxedo changed his life. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Doug Burgum is the governor of North Dakota and a GOP presidential candidate. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

This week, almost every Republican running for president is headed to the Iowa State Fair, famous for its fried Twinkies and statues of farm animals made out of butter and — every four years — extremely embarrassing photos of candidates eating unwieldy treats. The Iowa State Fair also kicks off a new more intense period of the Republican primary season as nationally televised debates begin this month and the five month countdown to the Iowa Caucuses begins. Iowa’s importance in presidential nomination contests ebbs and flows and this year the state looms as more important than ever. The conventional wisdom among Republicans is that if Donald Trump’s opponents can’t slow him down in Iowa, then the race may be over. Joining Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza for this episode is the man responsible for administering this critical contest – the chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, Jeff Kaufmann. Kaufmann is also a history professor and in the course of this conversation, he teaches a master class on everything you need to know about the Iowa Republican caucuses and what it will take to win them in 2024. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Jeff Kaufmann is the Chairman of the Iowa GOP. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

In 2023, there are two Europes: the Europe of the museums and the beaches – and the real Europe as lived by its people. And that Europe has changed dramatically in recent decades. The end of the Cold War collapsed many of the continent's political barriers. European unification brought countries as diverse as Ireland and Bulgaria under one umbrella. And more recently, a boom in migration, especially from the Islamic world, has changed Europe’s demographics and brought a host of opportunities, challenges, and political changes. Today, the war in Ukraine has both created more solidarity among European nations and highlighted their big differences; and it has rattled the foundation of the region’s economy. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks with Ben Judah, author of “This Is Europe: The Way We Live Now,” about why this history means that you probably need to update your assumptions about Europe; and why it is that many American policymakers simply don’t understand the realities that leaders like Emmanuel Macron, Rishi Sunak, and Giorgia Meloni have to live with. Some of the reasons why will be familiar to Americans: immigration, crime, and the rise of right-wing populism. But according to Ben’s new book, their implications for Europe are quite different from those here in the United States. And they open a whole tin of worms for the broader notion of the Western alliance. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Ben Judah is a journalist, academic and the author of "This is Europe: The Way We Live Now" Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

This week, the action in the Senate was all about the annual defense authorization – the NDAA. Usually, the argument about what goes into this enormous bill that governs everything the military can and can’t do is a word soup cooked-up by defense nerds. You may recall things like SDI, the GWOT, and closing GITMO. All controversial in their own day, and all eventually resolved through the historically bipartisan NDAA process. But this time around, many in Washington are beginning to wonder if a new set of acronyms is fatally imperiling our armed forces. Issues like DEI, CRT, and abortion may be sinking a bill that has never failed to pass in more than 60 years. It’s setting up a dramatic clash between the House and Senate. On one side, a partisan bill loaded with controversial amendments. On the other, a bipartisan one without all the baggage. Meanwhile in the background, a separate drama is still playing out: that of Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) beef with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin over abortion policy. The combination of these two events has been more than enough to make lawmakers, lobbyists, and service members alike begin to wonder: Is this the year that the NDAA fails? Will this last sacred piece of bipartisanship in Congress succumb to the divisive forces that have sunk many before? Joining the show to discuss the prognosis for this year’s NDAA and the perils of this stand off is a man who knows what it’s like to write one of these bills. Because he has. Many times before. Arnold Punaro is a former staff director at the Senate Armed Services Committee and a retired two-star general. And if you’re a senator involved in national security issues, he’s probably also the guy you call for advice. Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza spoke with him about what the big challenge facing the military is — spoiler, it's not abortion policy; how – or if – Congress has perverted its oversight role of the Pentagon; what, if any, of the right’s objections to military “wokeness” are grounded in facts; and if an NDAA will pass this year at all. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Arnold Punaro is CEO of The Punaro Group and a retired Marine Reserve Major General. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

When Alejandro Mayorkas was tapped to run DHS – the now 20-year-old behemoth with 260,000 employees created in the aftermath of 9/11 – Mayorkas said that he was determined to be the Secretary of Homeland Security, NOT the Secretary of Immigration. How’s that going? Yesterday, Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza sat down with him on the sidelines of the Aspen Security Forum to find out. Mayorkas’s department is charged with preventing foreign and domestic terrorist attacks. It monitors threats from weapons of mass destruction, protects infrastructure and ensures we’re safe from cyber attacks. What many of DHS’s agencies do have in common is that you often don’t hear much about them unless something really bad has happened. So even if Mayorkas didn’t also oversee immigration, the most fraught of political issues, being DHS secretary – responsible for defending the nation against terrorism, computer hackers, nuclear weapons, and natural disasters – can often be a thankless job. And despite his best attempts, it is Mayorkas’s management of Border Patrol, ICE, and Immigration Services that has dominated his tenure and made him the GOP’s main target of attack in the Biden Cabinet. On this episode of Deep Dive, Ryan and Sec. Mayorkas discuss how the terrorism threat has changed over the last two decades, the challenges of confronting domestic extremism, why the end of Title 42 didn’t lead to the border surge many predicted, the future of TSA, the fentanyl crisis, the prospects of impeachment, and how going through the meat grinder of D.C. politics has changed him. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Alejandro Mayorkas is the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

“Early one morning in April of 2016 I woke up and seriously contemplated the possibility that I would never be able to generate the strength, focus, and courage to get out of bed. The combination of crippling anxiety, chronic pain, muscle atrophy, and the fascinating mix of pharmaceuticals coursing through my body had, I feared, finally broken me.” Those are the words of Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, on the first page of his new book, Lost and Broken. In his book Smith recounts his deeply personal story of suffering through — and eventually overcoming — debilitating mental and physical illness. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Smith joins Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss his difficult journey and some surprising lessons it taught him about the emotional and sometimes dark overtones that are animating American politics. Additionally, Rep. Smith shares some secrets about what’s happening on the Hill right now: whether he thinks this is the year when Congress fails to pass a defense bill, the continuing fallout in the House from the debt limit deal, and whether Kevin McCarthy can rustle-up enough Republican votes to avoid a government shutdown this fall. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Adam Smith is the representative for Washington's 9th district. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

This weekend, President Joe Biden is headed to Europe. His first stop: the U.K. Biden is scheduled to meet with both His Royal Highness King Charles, an old acquaintance and fellow head of state; and the Right Honorable Rishi Sunak, Britain’s prime minister and a fellow head of government – who just visited Biden in Washington this past month. On the agenda for these meetings: climate change, the war in Ukraine, and the “Atlantic Declaration” – that’s the diplomatic term for Biden and Sunak’s push to renew the U.K. and America’s partnership across a host of economic and security issues facing the West. Joining to talk about these issues as well as Britain and America’s special relationship is Karen Pierce, the British Ambassador to the United States. Pierce is one of the U.K.’s most experienced diplomats, having held an array of senior positions including ambassadorships to the U.N., the WTO, and Afghanistan; as well as directing British policy throughout South Asia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan during some key years of the War on Terror. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Pierce tells host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza what Sunak hopes to get out of Biden’s trip to London; how Britain and America’s relationship has changed throughout her many years of service; how the war in Ukraine is driving the two countries closer – and occasionally further apart; who Brits admire the most in our nation’s history; and what her secrets are for dealing with cagey diplomats on the other side of the bargaining table. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Karen Pierce is the British Ambassador to the U.S. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.

In American politics, there is a small group of leaders who are – to borrow a term from Hollywood – hit makers. Everything they touch seems to turn to gold. There is perhaps no better example of this in Democratic politics than Rahm Emanuel. For those who need a refresher, Rahm is a former Bill Clinton advisor, turned Illinois Congressman, turned DCCC chair, turned Barack Obama chief of staff, turned mayor of Chicago… and currently, he is Joe Biden’s ambassador to Japan. In his new posting, Rahm has been at the forefront of new multi-lateral agreements between the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines; he is agitating for allies to stop what he calls “Chinese economic coercion;” and he has been a key player in a controversial effort to legalize same-sex marriage in Japan. This week, Rahm joined Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza to talk about his role organizing our allies around Putin and China; how hardnose politics is actually great for diplomacy; and why – even when you’re dealing with the president of the United States – it’s still much better to beg for forgiveness, than to ask for permission. Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO. Rahm Emanuel is the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio. Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.