The Most Listenable Political Theater Podcasts of 2018 - Roll Call

Politics

The Most Listenable Political Theater Podcasts of 2018

The year in review, sort of, of some of our favorite talks

.

By Jason Dick

Posted December 27, 2018 at 3:00pm

On Roll Call’s Political Theater Podcast, you won’t always get what you want. You won’t always get what you need. But you’ll never be bored. We hope. With that in mind, here are a few of our favorite podcasts from the year that was, which just happened to be our first.

[Subscribe to Political Theater at RollCall.com]Matt Bai, Jason Reitman and Jay Carson talking about Gary Hart and their film “The Frontrunner.”

Matt Bai, left, Jay Carson, center, and Jason Dick discuss “The Front Runner,” the film about Gary Hart that Bai and Carson co-wrote with director Jason Reitman. (Margaret Spencer/CQ Roll Call) — Matt Bai, left, Jay Carson, center, and Jason Dick discuss “The Front Runner,” the film about Gary Hart that Bai and Carson co-wrote with director Jason Reitman. (Margaret Spencer/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Katherine Tully-McManus explaining what really happens during Congress’ freshman orientation.

UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 30: Rep.-elect Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., rubs the head of Rep.-elect Max Rose, D-N.Y., for luck, before she drew number 21, during the new member room lottery draw for office space in Rayburn Building on November 30, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) — Rep.-elect Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., rubs the head of Rep.-elect Max Rose, D-N.Y., for luck, before she drew number 21 during the new member room lottery draw for office space in the Rayburn House Office Building on November 30, 2018. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Houstonian and political reporter Alex Roarty and Inside Elections’ Leah Askarinam on the Texas Senate race, Lone Star demographics and whether being a Whataburger partisan helped Beto O’Rourke against his White Castle-loving-opponent Ted Cruz.

UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 29: Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke speaks to the crowd at his Turn out For Texas Rally, featuring a concert by Wille Nelson, in Austin, Texas on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) — Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke speaks to the crowd at his Turn out For Texas Rally, featuring a concert by Wille Nelson, in Austin, Texas on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

If you worked on Capitol Hill for any length of time, you probably have a John McCain story. Roll Call’s Niels Lesniewksi and CQ’s Megan Scully and Patrick Pexton sharing their memories of the late Arizona icon.

United States Senator John McCain, left, gets a kiss from his wife Cindy at the urging of the fiddle player as part of the entertainment on the train from Williams, Arizona to the Grand Canyon Wednesday. (Photograph by Daniel A. Anderson) — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, gets a kiss from his wife Cindy at the urging of the fiddle player as part of the entertainment on the train from Williams, Arizona to the Grand Canyon in July 2016. (Daniel A. Anderson/CQ Roll Call)

“RBG” filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen discussing their documentary and its subject, the Supreme Court justice who became an unlikely pop culture icon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 28: President Barack Obama hugs Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg upon arriving in the House Chamber of the Capitol to deliver his State of the Union address. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hugs President Barack Obama upon arriving in the House Chamber of the Capitol to deliver his 2013 State of the Union address. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

When is it funny and when does it bomb? Washington Post humor writer Alexandra Petri muses about the thin line between laughing and cringing when it comes to cracking jokes about politics, among politicians at political functions.

UNITED STATES - MARCH 06: Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., greets Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., as House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., looks on, during the Washington Press Club Foundation's annual dinner featuring satirical roasts by lawmakers on March 06, 2018. Ros-Lehtinen and Coons were the featured acts at the event held at the Mandarin Oriental. Deirdre Walsh of CNN also appears. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) — Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., greets Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., as House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., looks on, during the Washington Press Club Foundation’s annual dinner featuring satirical roasts by lawmakers on March 06, 2018. Ros-Lehtinen and Coons were the featured acts at the event held at the Mandarin Oriental. Deirdre Walsh, then of CNN and now at NPR, also appears. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

CQ Roll Call staff writer Clyde McGrady breaking down “Desperate Class TV” — when shows as different as Donald Glover’s “Atlanta” and Roseanne Barr’s rebooted (since retooled, sans Roseanne) “Roseanne” reflect the political, cultural and economic anxieties of the era of Trump.

Glover, left, and Barr (Getty Images)

But wait, there’s more! We did 49 episodes of Political Theater this year, and there was no way to capture them all in a year-end wrap-up. You can find all of our podcasts on our Political Theater page on RollCall.com and by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. Happy New Year!

Subscribe to this podcast below

Recent Stories

Republicans were able to capitalize in November as Democratic voters drifted apart, Winston writes. Above, Donald Trump speaks at the Republican National Convention on July 18.

The great Democratic divide elects Trump twice

Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., participates in a House Judiciary Committee markup of a report recommending that the House cite Attorney General Merrick B. Garland for contempt of Congress on May 16.

Rep. Bishop picked for No. 2 slot in Trump OMB after statewide loss

Patty Morin holds a picture of her daughter, Rachel, who was allegedly killed by undocumented immigrant in Maryland in 2023, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday.

Senate Democrats air concerns about Trump mass deportation plan

Staff from the Office of the Attending Physician are seen leaving after checking on Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell in his office in the Capitol. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

McConnell suffers minor injuries in fall

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, here during the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, is a potential Senate candidate in 2026.

Don’t count out Roy Cooper in 2026

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz at a Senate hearing.

DOJ watchdog review sparks change to policy on lawmaker records