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Content provided by The Washington Post. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The Washington Post or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
The Washington Post’s Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann gather for a weekly in-depth conversation about politics and power. From presidential candidates to members of Congress to the judicial system, Sidebar dives deep on the topics and people at the forefront of the political conversation. The crew sits down each Thursday (with the occasional breaking news episode) to discuss what has happened that week, and what’s coming up the next week – with guest appearances from Washington Post reporters.
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395 episodes
Mark all (un)played …
Manage series 1344462
Content provided by The Washington Post. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The Washington Post or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
The Washington Post’s Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann gather for a weekly in-depth conversation about politics and power. From presidential candidates to members of Congress to the judicial system, Sidebar dives deep on the topics and people at the forefront of the political conversation. The crew sits down each Thursday (with the occasional breaking news episode) to discuss what has happened that week, and what’s coming up the next week – with guest appearances from Washington Post reporters.
…
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395 episodes
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1 Inside the election of the first American pope 27:09
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On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann are joined by religion reporter Michelle Boorstein and Rome bureau chief Anthony Faiola to discuss the papal conclave and the election of the first American pope, Leo XIV . The crew breaks down the process the cardinals followed, then dives into the politics of the conclave : How cardinals make themselves candidates, and how they try to elevate their positions behind the scenes while adhering to the strict traditions surrounding the process. And finally, the crew breaks down whether the cardinals take American politics, or world politics, into account at all when choosing a new leader for the Catholic Church.…
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On this episode, The Washington Post's Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann are joined by senior national political correspondent Naftali Bendavid to break down whether President Trump is setting up his second term to make him a chief executive associated with prosperity, or with austerity . Having run on a platform of economic populism, Trump now says the country will have to endure "pain" – but is that what voters wanted? Then, Trump is using the power of the presidency to influence, or even bully, American institutions, from law firms to colleges and universities to the news media. And is his social media post showing an AI-generated image of himself in papal clothing a joke that's landing in the Catholic community ?…
On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey and Rhonda Colvin are joined by national political reporter Maeve Reston to break down what's going on with Democrats – from the big stars like Kamala Harris, who have recently run for office, to the up-and-coming names who are already positioning themselves for potential 2028 presidential runs. Plus, what are Democrats in Congress, and former Biden officials, doing to fight back against the Trump administration's most controversial policies?…
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On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann are joined by White House reporter Emily Davies to discuss President Trump's first 100 days back in office – from his campaign-trail promises to his shock-and-awe campaign to change the federal workforce, immigration the economy . What has Trump delivered on? And where has he gone farther than voters expected or wanted? Plus, how do Americans feel about Trump and his early policies – and is it what they voted for ?…
On this week’s episode, The Washington Post’s Libby Casey, James Hohmann and JM Rieger discuss the ongoing fallout between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump’s top Cabinet and administration officials, as well as the CEO's announcement Tuesday that he will step away from his U.S. DOGE Service responsibilities as a "special government employee." Musk, a GOP megadonor and close adviser to Trump, has seen his net worth crumble in the aftermath of the current trade war, as his Tesla stock plummets amongst a shaky quarterly earnings report that showed a 71 percent drop in profits. Musk touted a proposal to cut $2 trillion from the annual federal budget on the 2024 presidential campaign trail, and while his DOGE team has caused chaos with numerous job cuts and potentially illegal access to sensitive data information, the actual savings achieved by the DOGE initiative may be just a fraction of what was promised. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/04/24/elon-musk-doge-scott-bessent-tesla/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=can-he-do-that https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/04/18/irs-shapley-bessent-musk/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=can-he-do-that…
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1 Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon's 'month from hell' 29:54
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On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey, James Hohmann and JM Rieger discuss the latest allegations that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared information about military plans on a group chat – this time, one that reportedly included his wife, brother and personal lawyer . The crew breaks down Hegseth's attempts at damage control, and why he's still in the job . Then, we go inside the reported chaos, screaming matches and proposed DOGE cuts at the Pentagon. And a former Hegseth aide says he was pushed out by a faction of Defense Department employees with an ulterior motive.…
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1 Trump, Jerome Powell and the tariff blame game 28:40
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On this episode, The Washington Post's Rhonda Colvin, James Hohmann and JM Rieger break down President Trump's broadside at Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Thursday , saying he looks forward to Powell's "termination." The crew explains why Trump wants Powell out as Fed chair – and his long history of targeting the country's central banking system for criticism. Then, a federal judge said he would launch an investigation into whether Trump officials should face criminal contempt charges for defying his order not to remove Venezuelan migrants from the United States. What would happen if an official actually faced a contempt charge?…
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1 Is Trump just winging it, or is there a strategy? 29:15
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On this episode, The Washington Post's Rhonda Colvin, James Hohmann and JM Rieger break down whether President Trump has a plan to enact his biggest policy priorities – or if major changes to government and policy are being undertaken without detailed objectives. And is there anyone in the White House who Trump truly listens to? Plus, Trump has targeted another University – this time going after Harvard.…
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On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann break down President Trump's apparent strategy of pushing norms and testing the U.S. court system to see how far he can push his policies. The crew looks at how Trump has approached firing federal workers and immigration, and how the court system has handled legal challenges on both policy fronts. Plus, has the Supreme Court largely given his policies a pass, or is it reigning him in?…
On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann discuss the latest on the economy and Trump's tariffs – starting with the short-lived morning rally in the U.S. stock markets. The crew breaks down whether President Trump and his administration might be willing to negotiate with countries on the import duties Trump has put in place. Plus, will a proposed Senate bill that would limit the president's power to put tariffs in place without congressional approval actually pass? Then, the crew breaks down a change to the way the Justice Department will investigate cryptocurrency fraud .…
On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann are joined by White House reporter Cat Zakrzewski to discuss the latest on the massive set of tariffs President Trump is putting into place. Plus, how will tariffs affect consumers – and is Congress finally preparing to take some of its own power back ? Then: The deadline for a TikTok sale is coming up soon. The crew breaks down the latest on attempts to negotiate some kind of sale to a U.S. buyer.…
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1 What do Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs mean for you? 28:47
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On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann are joined by White House economic reporter Jeff Stein to discuss President Trump's proposed sweeping tariffs – and the day he and his team have referred to as "Liberation Day." What effect will those tariffs have, how will the costs be passed on to American citizens, and why is Trump so set on remaking the United States' relationship with the rest of the world? Plus, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) speaks for hours and hours on the Senate floor in protest of Trump's early months in office.…
On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin, James Hohmann and JM Rieger discuss the Signal leak by Trump administration officials, whether there could be investigations , and why some of the officials involved are denying classified information was sent in the group chat that included a magazine editor. Plus, President Trump and his administration seem to be creating a climate of fear at the country's borders, checking visitors' phones and in several cases arresting people who are in the country legally – including a Tufts University student . And will Trump's tariffs on automobiles affect the economy?…
On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann break down the Trump administration's leak of national security information to a magazine editor – and how Congress reacted to it in a fiery hearing on Tuesday. Plus, is the Trump administration transparent – or just claiming to be?…
On this episode, President Trump has called Washington’s D.C. a ‘rat-infested…sh—hole’. Over $1 billion in city funding earmarked for 2025 has been held up by Republican lawmakers and the federal workforce is being decimated. Today, the gang is joined by local reporters Meagan Flynn and Emily Davies to make sense of the Trump administration’s complex and at times combative relationship with the nation’s capital. Washington’s federal workforce is reeling, with mass layoffs already announced and implemented across government agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, continues to create fear, chaos and confusion amongst government employees. Plus, Trump signs an Executive Order aimed at shuttering the Department of Education. We tell you what that means, and why it matters. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/20/trump-presidency-news/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=can-he-do-that https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/03/20/trump-executive-order-education-department-close/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=can-he-do-that https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/03/20/trump-education-department-executive-order/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=can-he-do-that…
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