Politics Is Everything
by The Center for Politics at UVA
Democracy faces a wide range of pressing challenges - from extreme partisanship and divisive politics to persistent inequities in access, voice and participation in public institutions and decision-making processes, from civic unrest to institutions that aren’t responsive to public needs. It's not enough to just identify problems, we also have to locate solutions and work collectively to address them. Welcome to Politics Is Everything, a podcast of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
Episodes
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A Look Ahead at the 2026 Midterms
Podcaster Michael Pope interviews Chief Correspondent of PolitiFact, Louis Jacobson and Cook Political Report Senior Editor and Elections Analyst, David Wasserman about the upcoming midterm elections.
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Enter The Lion's Den
Podcaster Michael Pope interviews Frank Atkinson about his new political thriller, The Lion's Den. Drawing on Atkinson's decades of experience in politics, law, and public service, the novel explores the collisions of ambition, loyalty, power, and principle through the story of a young man drawn...
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Campaigns That Shaped America
In this episode of Politics is Everything, host Michael Pope sits down with Larry J. Sabato, Ken Stroupe, and Glenn Crossman for a behind-the-scenes conversation about "Campaigns That Shaped America" the major new multimedia exhibition opening at the all-new Center for Politics at the University…
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Primary Results, Redistricting Shifts, and the History of Senate/Presidential Ticket-Splitting
Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley discuss Senator Mitch McConnell's legacy after he announced his intention to step down from his role as Senate Republican Leader effective November 2024. They also talk about the Michigan presidential primary election results; the impact of district changes after...
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When It's Good Because It's Not Bad
Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley discuss recent political developments and new analyses on the Crystal Ball, including reduced split-ticket voting in Senate elections, updates on 2024 Senate contests, insights from the NY-3 special election results and the significance of New York redistricting…
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Is Roe Fertile Ground in 2024? And What's the Potential Impact of Ticket-Splitting?
In this episode, Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley discuss the recent Nevada caucus and primary results and dive into the potential impact of ticket-splitting in down-ballot House of Representatives elections this year. Rich Thau, president of Engagious, also joins Carah, Tyler Busch, Zoe Shook…
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'Huge Election, Huge Stakes': Trump's Trials and Political Implications ft. Darren Samuelsohn
Award-winning journalist Darren Samuelsohn joins Carah Ong Whaley and Ella Doddridge (UVA '26) to help make sense of the various Trump trials and their implications for politics and the upcoming election, what it's really like covering the former president, and navigating journalism in the modern...
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How We're Thinking About Presidential Primary Elections post-New Hampshire
In this episode, Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley discuss what they learned about voter turnout in the New Hampshire primary election and how they are thinking about the upcoming presidential primary elections. They also discuss the recent decision in Louisiana to create a second Black-majority...
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A Guide to the New Hampshire 2024 Primary ft. Dante Scala
Polls suggest that the New Hampshire Primary should be more competitive than Donald Trump's large margin in Iowa's low-turnout caucus. Just 4 of New Hampshire's 10 counties will likely comprise 75% of the primary electorate. Dante Scala, University of New Hampshire, joins Kyle Kondik and Carah…
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Full Grassley: What We're Watching in Iowa ft. Karen Kedrowski, Iowa State University
It's a flurry of snow and presidential campaigning in Iowa this week in the leadup to the Hawkeye state's caucuses on Monday, January 15, 2024. Although former president Donald J. Trump continues to hold the lead in polling averages by 30+ percentage points in Iowa, candidates and campaigns are...
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' It was an attack on democracy; it was terrorism' ft. Officer Daniel Hodges
As we commemorate the third anniversary of the attacks on the U.S. Capitol, we talk with DC Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges. On January 6, 2021, Ofc. Hodges responded with Civil Defense Unit 42 to the attacks on the U.S. Capitol as Capitol Police units were overrun. Ofc. Hodges fought...
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Looking Back, Looking Forward
Kyle Kondik shares his new analysis on Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball that compares Trump's approval in 2019 to Biden's approval in 2023, the same point in each presidency. He finds that Biden's lower approval is not driven by a higher level of antipathy from Republicans. Kyle and Carah Ong Whaley...
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Calling Out & Addressing Threats to Democracy ft. Barbara Comstock and L.F. Payne
Former Members of Congress Barbara Comstock (Republican) and L.F. Payne (Democrat), and Alex Theodoridis (UMass) join Carah Ong Whaley and Samuel Kipps (UVA '23) to discuss the findings from a new survey on the perspectives, beliefs, and experiences of former members of Congress, with a specific...
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Least Impactful Debates In American Presidential Nomination History?
Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley discuss the December 6, 2023 Republican primary debate, Nikki Haley's moment and the broader dynamics of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, and the challenges faced by the other candidates in their attempts to attract Trump's voters. They also…
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'Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party' ft. Jonathan Karl
ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl joins Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato to discuss his new book, Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party. Karl offers new insights and reporting in his third book on Donald Trump's presidency and its...
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'Party of the People' ft. Patrick Ruffini
In this episode, Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley talk with Patrick Ruffini, a Founding Partner of Echelon Insights and Republican pollster about his new book Party of the People: Inside the Multiracial Populist Coalition Remaking the GOP. The book examines an unfolding political realignment...
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Just Trying to Stop Stupid Stuff ft. Congressman Ted Lieu
Representative Ted Lieu, named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in AI in 2023, joins us to discuss how the chaos in the House of Representatives is preventing progress on addressing the promises and challenges of generative Artificial Intelligence. He also shares his…
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What to Expect When You're Expecting Election Results: 2023 Edition
On Tuesday, November 7, 2023 voters in several states will go to the polls to cast ballots in state and local elections. Many voters have already cast a ballot early in-person or by mail. Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley discuss the Crystal Ball's mega preview of some of the key elections we are...
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What Happens When Democracy Threatens to Unravel? ft. Liz Cheney
Center for Politics Professor of Practice Liz Cheney sat down with Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato and other members of our team this week for a discussion about the challenges facing American politics and democracy. She speaks out for the first time about the new Speaker of House…
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Spoiler Alert? Third Party Wild Card & Perceptions of Women in Politics
In this episode, we dive into a new analysis by Kyle Kondik, Managing Editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball, about where third parties run strong and where we should expect the third party vote to be meaningfully higher or lower in the most important states in the Electoral College in 2024. We also...
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The Complicated Calculus of Choosing a Veep ft. Joel K. Goldstein
Joel K. Goldstein, a vice presidency scholar at St. Louis University, joins Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley to discuss lessons from history on vice presidential selection. Despite headlines quick to suggest that the Republican primary debates are an audition to Donald Trump's running mate…
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Can AI Help Meet Voters Where They Are? Ft. Matt Hodges
Matt Hodges, Executive Director of Zinc Labs at the Zinc Collective, joins Carah Ong Whaley and Ella Nelsen (UVA '25) to discuss the role of technology in campaigns and elections and what lawmakers should consider in frameworks governing the use of tech tools, including Generative Artificial...
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Every time you hear us, you feel a little bit smarter from what we say
In this episode, Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley share takeaways from the second Republican presidential primary debate, held on September 27, 2023 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. They also talk about new analysis on the Crystal Ball by Carah and Kylie…
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What's At Stake in Virginia Legislative Elections & the Crisis Among America's Men ft. David Sirota
Virginia is one of just four states — Louisiana, New Jersey, and Mississippi are the others — that hold state legislative elections in odd-numbered years. It's entirely plausible that following the 2023 elections, Virginia could join Georgia and New Hampshire as states that have one-party state...
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What Can Save Us from AI? Ft. Nick Bilton
"The QUESTION CIRCULATING around Silicon Valley isn't if such a scenario is worth it, even with a 1 PERCENT CHANCE OF ANNIHILATION," writes Nick Bilton in Vanity Fair, "but rather, if it is really such a bad thing if we build a machine that CHANGES HUMAN LIFE AS WE KNOW IT." Bilton joins us to...
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Flip Flops, Fact Checks & Republicans' "Excess Seat" Edge in State Legislatures ft. Louis Jacobson
In this episode, Kyle and Carah talk with Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Louis Jacobson about his new analysis on "excess seats" in state legislatures as well as House Republicans' recently-announced impeachment inquiry into President Biden, his journalism career with PolitiFact, and much more....
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Navigating Shifting Political Landscapes ft. Grace Panetta
In this episode, Grace Panetta, a political reporter at The 19th, joins Kyle Kondik, Carah Ong Whaley and Kylie Holzman to discuss several key issues for the 2024 election, including media coverage of women candidates, voter turnout, dramatic shifts in election law landscape, and ongoing threats…
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'Just a Sideshow': What the GOP Debate Tells Us About the Republican Party
On August 23, 2023, Republican candidates addressed questions on a range of issues facing the nation including the economy, abortion rights, and support for former President Trump even as he faces several indictments in the first presidential primary debate hosted by Fox News. Just 30 minutes…
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The Atlas of Post-Dobbs Ballot Measures & the Power of the FEC to regulate AI
Since SCOTUS 2022 Dobbs ruling, seven states - California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont - have voted on ballot measures that relate directly or indirectly to reproductive rights. Reproductive rights advocates have come out on the winning side in all seven. J. Miles…
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A Regulatory Regime for AI? ft. Congresswoman Yvette Clarke
A new generation of generative artificial intelligence heralds a new era of campaigns and elections with the potential for disrupting democratic institutions and processes. "What we are concerned about is the weaponization of information," says Representative Yvette Clarke (D-New York-9), who…
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Ohio's Issue 1 Smackdown
This week, Ohio voters rejected a Republican-led measure that would have increased the threshold required to change the state's constitution. Significantly, more than three million voters turned out for the special election, which is about 75% of 2022 midterm turnout in the state. More than…
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How the Most vs. Least Populous Counties Vote & Trump's Third Indictment
In this episode, Kyle Kondik discusses his new analysis of how the most populous vs. least populous counties in the United States have voted in recent presidential elections. Kyle and Carah Ong Whaley also discuss the third indictment of former president Donald J. Trump and implications for the...
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Dwindling Crossover Governorships & 24 Hours in Charlottesville ft. Nora Neus
Will the number of split partisan results between presidential and gubernatorial outcomes continue to decline in 2024? Kyle Kondik discusses the dwindling crossover governorships. We also look at "beer track vs. wine track" Republican voters, and how both tracks remain supportive of the former...
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It's Not Just the Weather That's Hot in Arizona: A Deep Dive Into Arizonan's Views of Elections ft. Thom Reilly
In the new Center for Politics Crystal Ball ratings for the 2024 presidential election, Arizona is just one of four initial toss-up states. In this episode, Carah Ong Whaley and Skylar Tessler talk with Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona...
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Demographics Is not Destiny: The Changing Latino/a/x Electorate ft. Mark Hugo Lopez
A hot-off-the-press Pew Research Center report finds that Latino/a/x voters continued to support Democrats in 2022, but by a much smaller margin than in 2018. However, Latino/a/x voters were most likely to have not voted in any of the most recent three general elections than other demographic...
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Expect Another Highly Competitive U.S. Presidential Election in 2024
This week, the Center for Politics published its first Electoral College ratings for the 2024 presidential election on Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball. As it stands now, it looks like fewer states than ever could pick the next president. In this episode, Kyle Kondik discusses why we should expect a...
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Why Partisan and Racial Gerrymandering Should Be Abolished ft. Mitchell Brown
The coverage of the Moore v. Harper Supreme Court case has primarily focused on its implications for partisan gerrymandering. But the ruling also has significant implications for racial gerrymandering. Mitchell D. Brown, Senior Counsel for the Voting Rights Section of the Southern Coalition for...
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The Journey to the Supreme Court & What Comes After Moore v. Harper ft. Becky Harper
Becky Harper, the named plaintiff in Moore vs. Harper, is a citizen-activist who cares deeply about free and fair elections. She joins us to tell her story about the journey to the Supreme Court and what lies ahead for voting rights and representation. In a 6-3 ruling in the case Moore v. Harper...
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The Politics of a Public Health Crisis & Caregiving ft. Luke Albee & Karen Garner
June is Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month and our guests for this episode have personal and professional experience with Alzheimer's Disease. Luke Albee worked in the U.S. Senate for 27 years, including as a chief of staff for both Senators Patrick Leahy (VT) and Mark Warner (VA). Karen Garner…
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Hot Takes: Virginia Primary Elections
The June 20, 2023 primary elections in Virginia were the first time voters encountered the state's new electoral maps, which were drawn under supervision of the Supreme Court of Virginia after a bipartisan panel appointed by the legislature failed to reach agreement. Kyle Kondik, J. Miles Coleman...
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How Congress Is Addressing the Harmful Effects of A.I. ft. Anna Lenhart
In response to a false narrative perpetuated by mainstream media suggesting that Congress has yet to propose legislation "to protect individuals or thwart the development of A.I.'s potentially dangerous aspects," Anna Lenhart shows in a new report that Congress is working to address the harms of...
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How Single Member Districts Are Weakening the Foundations of American Democracy & Policy Options for Reform ft. Grant Tudor
First-past-the-post is not baked in the U.S. Constitution and single-member, winner-take-all elections have not always been a given in Congressional elections. But why did Congress mandate single-member districts for U.S. House of Representatives elections in 1967 with the passage of the 1967...
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Did the Roberts Court Really Just Uphold Voting Rights? Ft. Dave Daley
Legal scholars, voting rights and racial justice advocates alike are expressing surprise at the Supreme Court's 4-3 ruling in Allen v. Milligan on June 8, 2023 that upholds Section 2 of Voting Rights Act. The court upheld a lower court's decision to strike down an Alabama congressional map…
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What's Keeping Us Up At Night About Candidate Polling ft. Natalie Jackson
In this episode, Natalie Jackson, who writes the "Leading Indicators" column at the National Journal, joins Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley to discuss what polling tells us about whether anyone from the crowded field of Republican presidential candidates really has a chance against Donald Trump...
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Manufactured Crisis Averted & Radical Centrism ft. Paul Hobby
On May 31, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to increase the debt limit by a vote of 314-117, with more Democrats supporting it than Republicans. The debt limit simply allows the United States to spend money on programs that have already been authorized by Congress. However…
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What Will It Take to Get Republicans Out of the Red with Black Voters? ft. Ted Johnson
Just one in seven Black voters cast a ballot for Republican House candidates in 2022, and while that represents a nearly 50 percent increase from 2018 (14 percent up from 9 percent), Black Republicanism remains the red, according to new analysis of Black voter behavior by Ted Johnson, a…
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A Tale of Two Electorates ft. Michael Frias and Haris Aqeel
The 2022 election defied conventional wisdom and historical trends. Michael Frias and Haris Aqeel with the firm Catalist join Kyle Kondik and Carah Ong Whaley to discuss why and share findings from a new report analyzing what happened in the 2022 midterms elections. Michael Frias is the CEO of...
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Neverending Cat and Mouse: Are Online Companies Prepared for 2024 Elections? ft. Katie Harbath
With some 65 elections across 54 countries slated for 2024, how can social media and other online companies prepare? Katie Harbath, Chief Executive for Anchor Change and a fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, shares how companies, individuals and government entities can support election...
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Saving Democracy from & with AI ft. Nathan Sanders
In this episode, Nathan Sanders joins us to discuss how Artificial Intelligence technologies are impacting political processes in complex ways, including increasing disruptive risks to legislative processes but also providing enforcement mechanisms. Sanders also addresses what regulatory…
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Can We Fix America's Financial Crises? ft. Steve Laffey
"We need the next president to be a financial expert," says Steve Laffey, two-term former mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, financial expert and 2024 Republican presidential candidate. Laffey joins us to discuss America's financial crisis and what he would do to address it, most importantly by...
About this show
Democracy faces a wide range of pressing challenges - from extreme partisanship and divisive politics to persistent inequities in access, voice and participation in public institutions and decision-making processes, from civic unrest to institutions that aren’t responsive to public needs. It's not enough to just identify problems, we also have to locate solutions and work collectively to address them. Welcome to Politics Is Everything, a podcast of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
Hosted by
The Center for Politics at UVA