The Playbook Podcast

President Donald Trump is set to hold a press conference following the successful rescue of an American airman in Iran over the weekend. But it comes amid escalating tensions, after Trump issued a profane and jarring Sunday morning post threatening strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns break down the stakes — and the striking contrast with a historic NASA moon mission unfolding at the same time.

Artemis II has launched around the moon. Now, NASA has its sights set on Mars. NASA administrator and billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman sat down with POLITICO's Dasha Burns at Kennedy Space Center to talk about NASA’s ambitious plans to build a moon base, sending humans to Mars, his relationship with Elon Musk and why we could all have 3D-printed spare livers in our fridge someday.

President Donald Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi, kicking off what sources say could be a broader round of cabinet shakeups as frustration builds inside the White House. Dasha Burns reports on who could be next. She also shares insights from her sit-down with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and his aggressive new moon-to-Mars push. Co-host Adam Wren previews a key gathering of 2028 Democratic hopefuls in New York.

President Trump gave a primetime address on Iran to the nation on Wednesday night. Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns break down the rhetoric, the unclear endgame, and what Trump’s “two to three weeks” timeline really means for the conflict, global oil markets, and America’s allies. Plus, one year after Liberation Day, how Trump’s tariff agenda has actually played out, and a surprising twist in the long-running DHS shutdown fight that could hand Democrats the upper hand.

It’s a busy start to April for Donald Trump. The president heads to the Supreme Court for a test of his effort to end birthright citizenship, a long-shot legal fight with big political stakes for the base and his broader coalition. Tonight, he’ll address the nation on the war in Iran as tensions with European allies simmer. And in between, all eyes turn to Florida, where NASA is set to launch Artemis II — sending humans farther into space than ever before and kicking off a new era in the global space race. Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns break it all down.