PODCAST · news
Beyond Politics
by Matt Robison
Politics may be dismal, but the ideas that swirl around it and shape it are fascinating. This is a show that looks not just at politics, but the deeper ideas from history, science, psychology, economics, and technology that are shaping our world. We feature smart, lively, upbeat discussions with people who know what they're talking about and can help us understand the world better. Hosted by Matt Robison: writer, former senior congressional staffer, and campaign manager.
Episodes
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$5,000 Bribe Means Republicans Know They're Losing
A Republican strategist just called his own party's midterm convention "the worst plan I have ever seen in the history of politics." Then Trump promised every American $5,000 — but only if Republicans keep the House and Senate.Democratic strategist Matt Robison and Republican political consultant...
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Mail-In Voting Doesn't Help Democrats. So What's Trump's Real Plan?
Trump is trying to break vote-by-mail before the 2026 midterms — and it isn't about stopping Democrats from voting.Study after study shows mail ballots don't favor either party, and the professionals around Trump know it. So what are the executive order, the USPS rule, the DOJ voter-file…
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Republican Strategist: Hegseth Won't Last Two More Months
A Republican strategist just put a clock on the Secretary of Defense.This week Army Secretary Dan Driscoll — JD Vance's closest ally in the administration, the man Trump sent to Kyiv to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war — resigned after months of losing fights with Pete Hegseth over Hegseth...
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He's Not Crazy, He's Been Trained: The 5 Stages of Every Trump Disaster
Trump promised the Reflecting Pool would be fixed in two weeks for $2 million. It took months, cost $14.7 million on a no-bid contract to a company that lines highway culverts, turned Kermit-green, and ended with a 67-year-old Olympic canoeist arrested for touching the water.Matt Robison is…
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We’re All Drowning in Trump’s Lake America
When President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday to “immediately” change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” it seemed like a parody, like he was telling Andy Borowitz “hold my beer…and charred steak” But no, it was real, and it begs the question: why is he making such an...
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Trump's Election Power Grab: Can Democrats Hold Together?
Trump’s election power grab just got a boost from the Supreme Court. But can Democrats hold together long enough to stop him?The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to move forward, for now, with its effort to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the 2026 midterms. What does the ruling...
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How One Senator's Joke About Trump's Closest Aide Broke MAGA World
A joke about Trump's closest aide broke MAGA world this week — Senator Jon Ossoff mentioned executive assistant Natalie Harp by name, and Google searches for her spiked 5,000% overnight. Matt Robison and Republican strategist Matt Wylie dig into why the reaction was so outsized, and what it…
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Should AOC Break Up With the DSA?
The DSA platform wants to abolish the military, the Supreme Court, and the presidency — and almost no one has actually read it. Washington Monthly politics editor Bill Scher joins Matt Robison to break down the document tearing the Democratic Party in half, and why the polls that keep telling us...
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Trump Hiding, Leavitt Leaving: What’s Going Wrong for Republicans?
Trump secretly evacuated Air Force One through a catering container while his own staff flew into a live missile threat as decoys. Karoline Leavitt is out as White House Press Secretary after a scandal-plagued tenure. AOC walks back "Woke 1.0." Matt Robison makes the case that the Supreme Court —...
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GOP Strategist: "MAGA Is Breaking"
Our in-house Republican strategist just said MAGA is "breaking and being exposed for the fraud that it was." This week, on Political Rehab, all five stories were the same story: Republicans at war with Republicans.Trump's cabinet turned on itself in public — Jeanine Pirro's office dropped every...
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Republicans Caved: Trump Keeps Tax Shield and Epstein Files| Glenn Kirschner & Ellie Leonard
Todd Blanche gave up $1.8 billion to get confirmed as Attorney General. He kept the part that shields Donald Trump's tax returns — and the part that lets him decide what you see of the Epstein files.Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner and Epstein files investigator Ellie Leonard joined me...
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Fauci’s Silence, Blanche’s Collapse and Loomer’s Big Surprise
Republicans spent the week chasing Anthony Fauci while their 2026 battlefield caught fire. Todd Blanche’s nomination stalled, Trump’s lawyers admitted the administration targeted blue states for political payback, the Iran war moved into a more dangerous phase—and nearly every major midterm...
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Can Democrats Actually Win the Senate?!?
**What will decide the battle for the U.S. Senate in 2026?** Just months ago, most political analysts thought Democrats had almost no realistic path to winning back the Senate. Today, the map looks dramatically different.In this episode of **Worth Knowing**, Matt Robison is joined by **Lauren...
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Is Trump Sabotaging the GOP?
Why would Donald Trump want Democrats to win? Because losing Congress could give him exactly what he needs: an enemy to blame, a new fundraising target and freedom from responsibility for what happens next.In this episode of Political Rehab, Republican strategist Matt Wylie and Democratic insider...
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Trump's "Bombshell" Bust
Republican strategist Matt Wylie looks at the new midterm fundraising numbers and says it out loud: "We're getting our butt kicked out there." This week on Political Rehab: Trump's primetime election bombshell, JD Vance's explosive Joe Rogan interview, the DSA platform that has Fox News thrilled,...
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How Do You Fight an Authoritarian? | Gal Beckerman (The Atlantic)
The conversation explores one central question: What should ordinary people do when a government begins crossing moral lines? Matt Robison sits down with Gal Beckerman of The Atlantic to discuss his powerful new book How to Be a Dissident—drawing lessons from Václav Havel, Alexei Navalny, Hannah...
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Emergency Live: The Fallout from Lindsay Graham's Death
Lindsey Graham's death has instantly reshaped the fight for the U.S. Senate. In this emergency live discussion, Matt Robison is joined by Republican strategist Matt Wylie and Blue Amp Media's Cliff Schecter to break down what happens next in South Carolina, how the appointment process works,...
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Why Democrats Just Had Their Best Week in Months
Trump declares the Iran ceasefire "over" as the Pentagon runs out of money. Mitch McConnell hasn't been seen in weeks, and Kentucky's governor wants proof of life. Republicans in Congress accidentally funded Planned Parenthood. And in this week's Battlefield segment, the Senate map just got a lot...
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The First AI Election? How AI Is Already Totally Reshaping Politics
2026 is the first American election where AI is shaping every link in the chain of political power — from what campaigns put in front of voters, to how voters filter what they're told, to who tech companies are trying to elect.Matt Robison sits down with Katie Harbath — 25-year veteran of the...
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Trump's Plan: "Hostage Video With Balloons"
Trump made $2 billion while his own crypto investors lost their shirts — and that's just the opening story. This week on Political Rehab, Republican strategist Matt Wylie calls his own party's Trump-branded midterm convention plan "a hostage video with balloons," the Supreme Court hands Trump...
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Socialists Won. Democrats Are Panicking. Is Everyone Missing the Real Story?
After Zohran Mamdani's endorsed slate swept three New York primaries, headlines screamed that the Democratic establishment is in crisis. Fox News is thrilled. Trump's calling it a "communist" surge. And today, as Colorado votes in primaries being framed as the next test of a Democratic civil war,...
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Trump Just Blew Up His Own Party
Donald Trump just blew up his own party. This week on Political Rehab, Matt Robison and Republican strategist Matt Wylie break down Trump's stunning decision to derail his own housing bill just before its signing ceremony, the explosive shouting match inside the Senate Republican lunch, a major...
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A Constitutional Scholar Warns: Democrats Aren't Ready for What's Coming
Senate Democrats are already war-gaming scenarios involving ballot seizures, armed federal agents at polling places, voter intimidation, and election interference ahead of the 2026 midterms.But constitutional law professor and former federal prosecutor Kim Wehle says those preparations may not be...
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Trump Is Leaving Republicans Confused (Plus: The Battlefield)
Did Donald Trump just have his worst week of his second term?This week on Political Rehab, Matt Robison and Matt Wylie break down Trump's controversial Iran deal, the bizarre FISA standoff that left Congressional Republicans openly confused, a strange and meandering G7 summit performance, Trump's...
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The People Who Broke American Politics Are Finally Leaving
Ten years ago, a faction of Republicans set out to stop Donald Trump. They were right about nearly everything. And they failed.This week, Matt Robison is joined by writer and former Never Trump ghostwriter Melissa Amour for an inside look at why the movement failed, what she learned working…
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Trump Says He Loves Inflation?!?
Donald Trump says he loves inflation. Seriously. This week on Political Rehab, Matt Robison and Matt Wylie break down one of the strangest weeks of Trump's presidency as rising prices, a growing conflict with Iran, election conspiracy theories, media battles, and Trump's expanding sports empire…
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America's Team Has a Chance to Change the World : The Story Behind the 2026 World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is here — on American soil for the first time since 1994.And the U.S. Men’s National Team may be on the verge of something historic.In this episode, Matt Robison sits down with acclaimed soccer journalist and author Leander Schaerlaeckens (The Guardian, The Ringer) to...
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Is Trump Now Running Out of Minions?
Trump's inner circle is shrinking, Republicans are showing signs of independence, and Democrats may be in a stronger position than most people realize heading into the 2026 midterms.In this episode of Political Rehab, Matt Robison and Matt Wylie break down the week's biggest political stories:🔹...
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9 Months to Impact: Trump s Betrayal and America's Coming Crash
Donald Trump promised lower prices and a stronger economy. Instead, Americans facing a devastating economic shock in the coming months. Matt Robison speaks with Anne Kim and Ira Shapiro, co-editors of Betrayed: America Didn't Vote for This, about the long-term consequences of Trump's second term,...
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Trump Is Losing Touch With Reality
Trump’s Iran strategy is spiraling, Republicans are openly panicking, Senate confirmations are collapsing, and Donald Trump increasingly appears trapped inside an alternate reality built by loyalty, flattery, and political fear.In this episode of Political Rehab, Matt Robison and Matt Wylie break...
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The Epstein Trump Russia Connection Nobody's Talking About
What is Donald Trump really hiding in the Epstein files? Investigative journalist and author Greg Olear joins Matt Robison for a deep dive into the underreported connections between Jeffrey Epstein, Russian organized crime, intelligence agencies, dark money networks, and Donald Trump.Most people...
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The Democratic Party’s Identity Crisis (Bonus Episode)
Why did Democrats really lose in 2024 — and why are they still struggling to reconnect with working-class voters? Political commentator and Substack writer Matt Robison joins Howard Monroe for a candid deep dive into the Democratic Party’s “autopsy,” the growing backlash to “woke” politics, trans...
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Republicans Are Starting to Panic About Trump
Trump’s corruption scandals are exploding, Republicans are panicking, gas prices are surging, Congress is rebelling over Iran, and even conservative insiders are warning this could become a political disaster for the GOP.In this episode of Political Rehab, Matt Robison and Matt Wylie break...
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Is the Authoritarian Moment Starting to Crack?
Is the global authoritarian wave finally starting to crack? Join Matt Robison and veteran international journalist Dan Perry — former Associated Press lead editor for Europe and the Middle East — for a major live conversation examining whether strongman politics around the world is finally...
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Trump Just Said the Worst Thing a President Can Say
Did Donald Trump just make the biggest political gaffe of his career?This week on Political Rehab, Matt Robison and Matt Wylie break down Trump’s stunning “NOT EVEN A LITTLE” comment about Americans’ financial struggles — and why it may become the defining ad clip of the 2026 midterms. Plus: a...
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The 2026 Election Just Changed. Trump Shouldn't Celebrate Yet
Trump’s latest “victory” may actually be a political trap. In this livestream, Matt Robison and Cliff Schecter break down the Supreme Court redistricting rulings, the growing GOP backlash problem, Trump’s dangerous Xi meeting strategy, Bill Cassidy’s political collapse, and why the 2026 election...
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“Who’s Going to Stop Us?”
Donald Trump keeps testing the limits — and more importantly, acting like there may not be any.This week on Political Rehab, Matt Robison and Matt Wylie break down the most important political stories hiding beneath the headlines: Trump-backed Republicans crushing dissent inside the GOP, ICE…
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The Problem That Could Break America...And Why You're Not Hearing the Truth
America’s biggest long-term problem isn’t what you think—and almost everything you’ve heard about it is wrong.In this livestream, I’m joined by budget expert Jessica Riedl (Brookings Institution) to break down what’s *actually* driving America’s debt, why the standard political talking points are...
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Everything Is Escalating Fast — And Trump Is Fueling It
Everything is escalating — the media war, political revenge, the economy, even political violence — and Trump is pouring gasoline on all of it.In this episode of Political Rehab, we break down how multiple crises are converging at once — and why even Republican insiders are starting to warn it’s...
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How Trump's "Security Theater" Hides Real Dangers
Trump promised security. America spends trillions on defense, intelligence, surveillance, ICE, and homeland security — so why do we keep getting more chaos? [***APOLOGIZE FOR THE POSTING DELAY!***]In this episode, Matt Robison breaks down the shocking White House Correspondents’ Dinner security...
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Trump’s Collapse Week: Cabinet Chaos, Congress Meltdown, Iran Mess
In this episode of Political Rehab, Matt Robison and Matt Wylie break down the growing signs of strain inside Trumpworld: cabinet turmoil, congressional chaos, electoral setbacks, Iran confusion, corruption questions, and why all of these stories may point to one larger reality — a system under...
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Something Has Shifted—Democrats Suddenly Have a Real Shot
Something has shifted in American politics — but how big is it? Matt Robison breaks down the warning signs that Democrats suddenly have a real shot heading into the 2026 midterms: polling movement, special election overperformance, Senate map changes, fundraising momentum, cracks inside Trump’s...
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They Know They’re Losing — And It Shows | Political Rehab
Donald Trump is picking fights with the Pope, the Federal Reserve, the courts — and it may all point to the same thing: they know they’re losing, and it shows. Today on Political Rehab Live, Matt Robison and Matt Wylie break down the growing signs of panic inside Trumpworld: JD Vance’s…
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Can Truth Still Win? Glenn Kessler on Trump, Media, and Political Lies
Can truth still win in American politics? Glenn Kessler spent years as The Washington Post’s lead fact-checker, tracking false claims, political spin, and misinformation from presidents, candidates, and Congress. In this must-watch conversation with Matt Robison, Kessler explains why he believes...
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Trump Says We Won. Reality Says Otherwise.
Trump says we won. Reality says otherwise. In this episode of Political Rehab, we break down the so-called Iran “ceasefire” — and why the claim of total victory doesn’t hold up. There’s no deal, no real negotiation, and none of the core objectives have been achieved. We walk through what actually...
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Before the ceasefire, a war crime
Before the announcement of a ceasefire in Trump's war with Iran, he had already committed a war crime. It came against the backdrop of a larger question:👉 Can anything still restrain a U.S. president?With former Congressman and prosecutor Paul Hodes, we analyze:Trump’s latest threats against...
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Trump Fires Pam Bondi After Supreme Court Stunt
Trump just fired Pam Bondi—AND showed up at the Supreme Court in a move that injected total chaos into the justice system.In this episode of *Political Rehab*, we break down a chaotic week in politics: Trump’s unprecedented appearance at a Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship, the…
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Big Tech Is Spending Millions to Control AI...And Politics
Big Tech is spending millions to shape the future of AI—but what are they trying to control, and why now? Former Congressman and Americans for Responsible Innovation President Brad Carson joins us to break down the growing fight over AI regulation, including the role of companies like Meta, the...
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This Isn’t Strategy — It’s Trump’s Chaos Playbook
Trump’s chaos isn’t random—and it’s not strategy. In today’s episode of Political Rehab, we break down how Donald Trump repeatedly creates crises—on immigration, Iran, and the economy—and then uses the chaos as leverage while avoiding accountability. From the Department of Homeland Security...
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You’re Not Crazy — Something Is Deeply Wrong in America
You’re not imagining it. Something is off — and the pattern is bigger than any one headline. In this episode of Worth Knowing, Matt Robison and Shane Almgren break down the top 5 warning signs that something has gone very wrong in American politics — not as isolated incident, but as a connected...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Politics may be dismal, but the ideas that swirl around it and shape it are fascinating. This is a show that looks not just at politics, but the deeper ideas from history, science, psychology, economics, and technology that are shaping our world. We feature smart, lively, upbeat discussions with people who know what they're talking about and can help us understand the world better. Hosted by Matt Robison: writer, former senior congressional staffer, and campaign manager.
HOSTED BY
Matt Robison
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Beyond Politics have?
Beyond Politics currently has 862 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Beyond Politics about?
Politics may be dismal, but the ideas that swirl around it and shape it are fascinating. This is a show that looks not just at politics, but the deeper ideas from history, science, psychology, economics, and technology that are shaping our world. We feature smart, lively, upbeat discussions with...
How often does Beyond Politics release new episodes?
Beyond Politics releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 862 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.
Where can I listen to Beyond Politics?
You can listen to Beyond Politics on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Beyond Politics?
Beyond Politics is created and hosted by Matt Robison.
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