Remembering McCain: Personal Stories From CQ Roll Call Journalists – Roll Call

Podcasts

Remembering McCain: Personal Stories From CQ Roll Call Journalists

Political Theater Podcast, Episode 34

Sen. John McCain speaks with Roll Call senior reporter Niels Lesniewski. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

By Jason Dick, Megan Scully, Niels Lesniewski and Patrick B. Pexton

Posted August 29, 2018 at 3:51pm

Sen. John McCain had countless interactions with members of the press during a career on Capitol Hill that spanned more than three decades. CQ’s Patrick Pexton and Megan Scully along with Roll Call’s Niels Lesniewski share personal anecdotes that reveal a more personal side to the late Arizona senator.

Roll Call

Show Notes:
• John McCain, Arizona and What It Means to be Home
• McCain vs. Trump: Can the President Give Up the Spotlight?
• Google ‘Prematurely’ Renames Russell Senate Office Building for McCain

Recent Stories

A portion of the arena on the South Lawn of the White House, set up for the upcoming UFC match to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, is seen from the North Lawn on May 28.

Activities around the 250th highlight America’s disunity

Reps. Andy Ogles, center, talks with Speaker Mike Johnson in the House chamber at the start of the 119th Congress. A now-deleted post about homosexuality on one of Ogles’ social media accounts was denounced by GOP leaders, unlike some of his previous posts about religious pluralism.

The GOP push to ‘love thy neighbor’

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., arrives for the House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.

Another one bites the dust

From left, Kate Goodloe, managing director of the Business Software Alliance, Ashli Watts, president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Caitriona Fitzgerald, deputy director and policy director for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and Tyler Bridegan, partner at Womble Bond Dickinson and former director of privacy and technology enforcement in the Office of the Texas Attorney General, testify during the House Energy and Commerce panel hearing on Wednesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Consent questions raised at data privacy bill hearing

Bessent testifies during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Bessent stays mum on ‘anti-weaponization’ fund at hearing

Landscapers plant bushes along the east side of the Cannon House Office Building on June 1. The renovation of that building is nearing completion, but the Rayburn Building is likely next in line.

‘Tough lessons’: House braces for Rayburn renovation