The Playbook Podcast

President Donald Trump called data centers the “Golden Goose,” even as they hang like an albatross around the necks of Republicans facing a tough election season. So Playbook's Megan Messerly found out why. Later, Dasha Burns joins alongside JMart to discuss his latest excursion to Vacationland for a sit-down with Sen. Susan Collins, before digging into the moderate Democrats clapping back at Sen. Bernie Sanders. Plus, Playbook looks ahead to the first ever Republican Midterm Convention.

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As the deadline for Canada’s retaliatory tariffs approaches, Playbook caught up with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on whether bilateral trade talks are still in the cards. Then Playbook co-authors Dasha Burns, Will Steakin and Megan Messerly dig into JD Vance’s take on data center expansion, Trump’s ambivalent response to a potential Hegseth 2028 run and why the betting platform Kalshi is banning politicians. Plus, reactions to Ken Paxton's new $15 million ad campaign targeting a Senate seat in Texas.

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In a Playbook interview, Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks on Abdul El-Sayed's campaign, Hasan Piker and his political legacy. Playbook co-authors Dasha Burns, Adam Wren and Will Steakin unpack what Sanders’ comments reveal about the midterms, the Democratic establishment and the road to 2028. Then the trio turn to the other stories animating Washington: some (literal) political football in Michigan and an NBC anchor who's the latest name in President Donald Trump's burn book.

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The 2026 midterms are taking shape, and the results could determine the future of both parties.

Dasha sits down with her fellow Playbook co-authors Adam Wren and Will Steakin to examine what the primaries have revealed about Trump’s influence, the Republican coalition and the Democratic Party’s identity crisis.

They discuss Trump’s $400 million MAGA Inc. war chest, the power of online politics, progressive upsets and moderate wins, and the three key states they think will be the best test of the national political environment in November.

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In an episode from another great Politico show, On the Road, Jonathan Martin sits down with Iowa gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand at the Iowa State Fair to talk politics over a pork tenderloin and a deep-fried Twinkie.

Sand, a Democrat running in a state that has shifted sharply to the right, makes the case that Iowa voters are fed up with one-party control, corruption and politics as usual. He discusses why Democrats have lost ground in rural America, whether the party has become too focused on insiders and national politics, and how he would govern with a Republican legislature.

Sand also weighs in on the future of the Democratic Party, his unlikely friendships with Republican governors — and his brief career as a model.