Eye on Congress:The Big Story

In the last 50 years, only six first-term presidents have been graced with their party in the majority in the House and Senate, and those majorities come under a lot of pressure in midterm elections. That brings us to Joe Biden, one of the six. Nathan Gonzales, publisher of Inside Elections and Roll Call’s political analyst, joins Jason Dick to talk about whether State of the Union speeches, or anything for that matter, can change current political dynamics — as well as the overall state of play in the contests for the House and Senate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Jamie Raskin was already embroiled in a political struggle of titanic proportions when tragedy struck in late 2020: the death of his son, Tommy. Madeleine Carter’s documentary “Love and the Constitution” tells that story, one of personal tragedy against the backdrop of the future of the republic. Raskin and Carter discuss the film on the latest Political Theater podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Super Bowl Sunday marks the conclusion of the one of the NFL’s mosts successful and entertaining seasons — and also one where its questionable business practices and work environment got amplified from the sports section to the halls of Congress. Jane Coaston, host of the New York Times podcast “The Argument” joins Political Theater to discuss the game she describes glowingly as beautiful, and a business that is infuriating. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Voting rights is about as hot a topic as it gets in politics right now, with the debate centered around whether voting laws pushed by Republicans amount to discrimination of minorities. One thing FEC filings are showing, though, is that amid the debate, several high-profile minority candidates and lawmakers are raising a lot of money for their 2022 campaigns. CQ Roll Call Senior Writer Kate Ackley explains on the latest Political Theater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There has always been a risk to being a public figure, particularly a member of Congress. Beyond the violence of events like the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, members and their staff face threats all the time. CQ Roll Call’s own Jim Saksa reached out to every member of Congress to ask if they had received a death threat. The results were pretty shocking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White House and Congress get a lot of attention for their proposals to change public law, but the Supreme Court is having an outsize effect on society with its decisions, from determining where women can get abortions, what kind of guns will be allowed in cities, how much money can be spent in politics and whether tens of millions of people will need to get a vaccine to protect public health. CQ Roll Call Legal Affairs correspondent Todd Ruger joins us on Political Theater to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The current fight over voting rights will help determine how long the United States endures as a republic, says Timothy Snyder, a historian and author of “On Tyranny" and other books about why democratic republics rise and fall. He discusses that and the stresses on the current political system through the lens of history on this episode of Political Theater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For people just trying to do their jobs on Jan. 6, 2021, there wasn’t a lot of time to think. But bearing witness then and reflecting on it now are as important as ever during a time when the republic is so fragile. Three CQ Roll Call journalists look back on their coverage of the attack on the Capitol and what’s changed since then on Capitol Hill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s that time of the year, when podcasts like Political Theater do their years in review. It’s a helpful frame. But 2021 in retrospect looks a lot like 2020, an extension of something that started, but did not finish. The bitter politics of 2020 crashed into the new year with an assault on democracy on Jan. 6, and hasn't really let up. And the COVID-19 pandemic continues to define daily life. And there was much, much more. We look back at our most enlightening conversations of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been, to put it mildly, a momentous year. It started off the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and has been defined by the continuing pandemic. But it's also seen the first woman vice president and other milestones. CQ Roll Call's Tom Williams and Bill Clark discuss their approach to their work, what moments stay with them and the images that defined the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives for years now and killed millions. What are the biggest changes it has caused? And could we have done things differently? CQ Roll Call Health Editor Rebecca Adams discusses, and we also discuss with Matthew Heineman "The First Wave," his documentary about the early days of the pandemic in New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The weather outside might not be so frightful, but Congress’ inability to do anything on time sure does suck. Here we are in December, and, as usual, there is a mess of legislative business to attend to. That makes the most wonderful time of the year, at least on Capitol Hill, not so wonderful. It also begs the question: Is working on Capitol Hill worth it? As the parties work furiously to recruit stars to run for the House and Senate, what's their selling point? Here to discuss on Political Theater are CQ Roll Call’s own Niels Lesniewski and Bridget Bowman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congressman Ruben Gallego’s new book, 'They Called Us "Lucky": The Life and Afterlife of the Iraq War's Hardest Hit Unit,' isn’t your typical political memoir. It’s earthy, candid and, in the words of our own Jim Saksa, a “warts and all account of war.” Jim sat down with the Arizona Democrat to talk about the book and the stories behind it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2022 midterm elections are less than a year away, and CQ Roll Call politics team has been keeping an eye on vulnerable members, races to watch, and other dynamics and issues that will shape the battle for control of Congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a good time to be Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. With President Biden about to sign an infrastructure bill into law, Buttigieg is one of its chief salesmen. CQ Roll Call's Jessica Wehrman joins the Political Theater podcast to discuss the bill, how Buttigieg is approaching it and what she has learned from covering the former South Bend mayor-turned-Cabinet secretary. And at the end of the week, the documentary “Mayor Pete” will start streaming, giving the public a look at his private life and political rise. We speak to “Mayor Pete” director Jesse Moss about his portrayal of Buttigieg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gubernatorial elections this week in Virginia and New Jersey showed a huge swing toward Republicans in two states previously thought of as solidly Democratic. The way politicians react to the elections will be hugely significant, and affect everything from the congressional agenda to 2022 recruiting and messaging. CQ Roll Call Elections Analyst Nathan Gonzales joins the Political Theater podcast for his takeaways on 2021's off-off year elections. 11:15 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an evenly divided Senate, every senator has the ability to be a kingmaker. But West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin has taken it to the next level. At a time when Democrats in the majority are assembling their Build Back Better legislation, Manchin has had a huge influence on one of the most consequential pieces of it: How to address climate change. And it has placed him at odds with his party. On this episode, CQ Roll Call staff writer Ben Hulac details Manchin's effect on the party's policy package, while we revisit a conversation with Andrea Billups of West Virginia Public Broadcasting for more context on the Mountain State's politics and culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The legislative branch consistently misses statutory deadlines, lurching from crisis to crisis, all while sniping at one another in a way that would get most people fired from regular jobs. What are the long-term consequences of operating in perpetual crisis? Is there a way Congress could become boring and efficient? With us to discuss the branch most representative of the American public is Norm Ornstein, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a former Roll Call columnist and a person who knows more about the institution of Congress than most anyone on the planet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The team behind the Hulu mini-series “Dopesick,” discusses with Political Theater how they approached a story of monumental tragedy and loss, putting a human touch on the sprawling opioid epidemic that the United States is still in the throes of dealing with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Joe Biden took his pitch for enhanced infrastructure and social safety net spending to Howell, Mich., this week. CQ Roll Call Senior Writer Paul Krawzak also went there and spoke to people in that small town about how they felt about the president, his positions and politics more broadly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices