Shows / Political Theater
Political Theater
Have you ever asked, “WTF?,” about politics? Or, “who are these people making decisions about my life?” Political Theater pulls back the curtain on the stunts, antics and motivations that drive Washington. Host Jason Dick and the Roll Call team spotlight the spectacle, the players and what’s going on behind the curtain in Washington’s long-running drama: Congress.
Episodes
- Political Theater
Taxidermy, attack ads, early voting and more: On the road in Iowa and Texas
Jason Dick talks with former Roll Call Editor in Chief Christina Bellantoni, now director of USC Annenberg's Media Center, about her students' recent political…
- Political Theater
How Sha Na Na could help determine the House majority
Jason Dick talks with the latest Roll Call on the Road mission crew, Mary Ellen McIntire and Tom Williams, about what they learned on their reporting trip to…
- Political Theater
Alex Gibney and the odyssey of ‘Musk’
Jason Dick talks with Alex Gibney about his new film “Musk,” a documentary about Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. It’s an exploration of how one person…
- Political Theater
Gathering threads: The stories defining the midterm elections
Jason Dick talks with Roll Call campaign writers Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire about their on-the-ground reporting as the midterm general election…
- Political Theater
What a long, strange primary season it’s been
Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales dive into what they learned now that the 2026 congressional primary season is over, whether re-redistricting and midterm…
- Political Theater
Congress punts on big issues
Congress avoided a shutdown fight until December, but passed on several sticky problems it will need to address after Election Day. CQ Roll Editor in Chief…
- Political Theater
The Roll Call and 535 deep dive on the affordability agenda
Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Political Analyst Susan Davis discuss congressional efforts to address affordability with CQ Roll Call leadership…
- Political Theater
The Roll Call and 535 Deep Dive on Surface Transportation Reauthorization
Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Political Analyst Susan Davis discuss surface transportation reauthorization legislation and other…
- Political Theater
The Roll Call and 535 Deep Dive on Permitting Reform
Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Editor in Chief Brody Mullins discuss the bipartisan legislative efforts on permitting reform with CQ Roll Call…
- Political Theater
The Roll Call and 535 Deep Dive on Cryptocurrency
Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Editor in Chief Brody Mullins discuss major cryptocurrency legislation in the 119th Congress with CQ Roll Call…
- Political Theater
The dog days are here already for Congress
Jason Dick and Molly Reynolds discuss how history will view the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., how congressional illnesses are starting to affect the…
- Political Theater
Sean Astin on being a leader during a time of upheaval
Jason Dick talks with film legend Sean Astin, the president of SAG-AFTRA, about his deep connections to Washington, D.C., public service, the issues he is…
- Political Theater
No more ‘Idiocracy’ references please; let's talk about the ads
Jason Dick and Brandon Wetherbee discuss the big UFC bout at the White House, the relationship between President Donald Trump and combat sports and…
- Political Theater
Rory Kennedy and the art of the documentary sequel
Jason Dick talks with filmmaker Rory Kennedy about her new documentary, "Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing," a sequel to her 2022 "Downfall: The Case Against…
- Political Theater
DC/DOX Film Festival: A kaleidoscope of America and beyond
Jason Dick talks with Sky Sitney about this year's DC/DOX documentary film festival, which brings a slate of more than 100 nonfiction movies about Billie Jean…
- Political Theater
You can't always get what you want, politics edition
Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales talk about Super Junesday, with its reality-tv-infused results in California, missing persons intrigue in New Jersey and dusting…
- Political Theater
The sometimes fleeting status of Roll Call's Most Vulnerable Incumbent list
It's been a weird election cycle, and one only has to look at Roll Call's Most Vulnerable Incumbents list to see the multiple storylines playing out. Jason…
- Political Theater
Claustrophobic paranoid thriller? Count us in, ‘PH-1’
Jason Dick talks with Mark Kassen, the director, writer and star of the new movie "PH-1," a contemporary political drama whose mix of mystery, social media and…
- Political Theater
A White House Correspondents Dinner like no other
Jason Dick talks with George Condon, long-time White House reporter, historian and a past president of the White House Correspondents Association, about…
- Political Theater
‘Shall I project a world?’ — ‘The Crying of Lot 49’ episode
Real estate magnates, secret societies, alternative means of communicating, psycheledic drugs used as therapy? It's not our world; it’s the world of Thomas…
- Political Theater
The numbers that define Congress
Jason Dick and Molly Reynolds discuss the Brookings Institution’s latest update to Vital Statistics on Congress, the recent resignations of two members of the…
- Political Theater
How much does the Homeland Security shutdown matter to the public?
Jason Dick and Jessica Wehrman wonder what members of Congress are doing on their two-week recess, coming as it does while the Homeland Security Department…
- Political Theater
March madness, gladness or sadness? Breaking down the month's congressional primaries
Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales talk about what we learned from March's congressional primaries in Texas, North Carolina, Illinois, as well as special elections…
- Political Theater
Everything is being disrupted
Jason Dick and Brody Mullins talk about the ongoing disruption of politics, business and journalism, how history repeats itself, Brody's book and podcast, "The…
- Political Theater
‘The Bleeding Edge’ bleeds into 2026
Jason Dick and Sean Carswell discuss Thomas Pynchon's 2013 novel "Bleeding Edge," and how its story about the dot-com bubble and 9/11 applies to the present…
- Political Theater
That's entertainment! Or not. State of the Union 2026
Jason Dick and Brandon Wetherbee discuss the artistic merits of the 2026 State of the Union, whether Hollywood or Washignton is the entertainment capital and…
- Political Theater
Spotlight on the National Press Club, and its new president
Jason Dick and Mark Schoeff Jr. talk about Mark's new position as president of the National Press Club and the club's mission, press freedoms, how politicians…
- Political Theater
Dishing about the Washington Press Club Foundation dinner
Jason Dick and Jessica Wehrman digest their experience at the Washington Press Club Foundation dinner, which came at a time of trauma for the national press…
- Political Theater
Forecast shows chance of snow, shutdown
The ongoing conflict in Minneapolis has increased the chances of a partial government shutdown, and the stress of finding a solution is only building, with…
- Political Theater
Contempt for the Clintons?
Jason Dick and Todd Ruger unpack the politics of a congressional committee's pursuit of Contempt of Congress charges against Bill and Hillary Clinton, how the…
- Political Theater
‘All the pieces matter’ in politics, just not equally
Jason Dick and Mary Ellen McIntire look at the biggest political news of the new year and discuss how big a deal it is for the 2026 midterm election cycle…
- Political Theater
The good, the bad and the meh: What we're watching in 2026
In politics, there is a lot going on, it can be hard to focus. But some polling and economic indicators are good guideposts for what is shaping the electorate…
- Political Theater
A most consequential year for Congress
The first session of the 119th Congress has been consequential: the legislative branch ceded much of its constitutional responsibilities to the executive…
- Political Theater
Buy the 'Shadow Ticket,' take the ride
Thomas Pynchon's latest novel, "Shadow Ticket," has a lot to say about politics, so Jason Dick checks in with Sean Carswell, the official Pynchon scholar of…
- Political Theater
Can Congress save itself?
Despite its propensity for making itself look bad, some of the inner workings of Congress reveal lawmakers who are finding ways to work together. Can they cut…
- Political Theater
The re-re-redistricting chronicles
Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales talk about how multiple rounds of redistricting congressional boundaries and the lawsuits surrounding them are making a weird…
- Political Theater
There is no such things as an off-year in politics
Jason Dick talks with Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire about the new Roll Call Most Vulnerable Incumbent list, Tuesday night's election results and the…
- Political Theater
Taking the ‘Vineland’ express to ‘One Battle After Another’
Jason Dick and Sean Carswell discuss how Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland” led to Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie “One Battle After Another,” the conversation…
- Political Theater
Immigration, race and ‘One Battle After Another'
Jason Dick and Chris Johnson talk about how immigration and racial issues frame the action and plot in the Paul Thomas Anderson movie "One Battle After…
- Political Theater
An Orwell movie for Orwellian times
Jason Dick talks with filmmaker Raoul Peck about his documentary "Orwell: 2+2=5," the importance of stepping back from the news cycle to keep things in context…
- Political Theater
The great 'meh': Scenes from a shutdown
Jason Dick and Mary Ellen McIntire talk about how the government shutdown hasn't created much urgency on Capitol Hill, even though the effects could be…
- Political Theater
Let’s get existential
Jason Dick and Molly Reynolds talk about the most significant things Congress has done this year and what kind of ripple effects could follow, as well as how…
- Political Theater
They seem fine: Life After Congress
Poetry readings, brewing beer, helping out kids: Jason Dick and Jessica Wehrman talk about Roll Call’s revived Life After Congress feature and what former…
- Political Theater
Discharge petition: congressional procedure or great band name?
Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales talk about the promise and perils of re-redistricting, what it's like to be in Washington right now, why people quit, and why…
- Political Theater
How Democrats hope to flip the script on energy as a campaign issue
Jessica Wehrman talks with David Jordan of CQ Roll Call about how energy affordability could become a sleeper issue in next year's midterm elections. Learn…
- Political Theater
Off to the redistricting races
Mary Ellen McIntire and Daniela Altimari discuss how a potential new congressional map in Texas could set off a race among other states to redraw their own…
- Political Theater
Six months in, a gut check on Trump 2.0
Talking Epstein, congressional chaos and the Senate races to watch with Nathan Gonzales of Inside Elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
- Political Theater
Rush job: Life in Congress
Jason Dick and Mary Ellen McIntire talk about what happens when Congress tries to do too much in too short a period of time, how Republicans and Democrats do…
- Political Theater
'We had time back then'
Jason Dick and Chris Cillizza talk about the time needed to produce quality sourcing, good work and journalism, how the news business continues to change, for…
- Political Theater
The ‘rock and roll poetry’ of Joe Iconis’ Hunter S. Thompson musical
Jason Dick talks with Joe Iconis about what led him to write "The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical," how much the world changed during that…
- Political Theater
A short history of hoping people will change their minds
Jason Dick and Jessica Wehrman talk about how unpopular the “One Big Beautiful Bill” in Congress is, why Republicans will likely pass it anyway and the short…
- Political Theater
It’s déjà tea party all over again
Jason Dick and Jim Saksa discuss how easy it was to be angry in 2010, tea-party infused town halls, astroturf versus paid protesters, the Koch Brothers and…
- Political Theater
The 'predicament and necessity' of documentary movies
Jason Dick talks to Sky Sitney, co-founder of DC/DOX, about this year's documentary festival, as well as how grants being canceled and studios pulling back on…
- Political Theater
The grand tour of Washington
Jason Dick talks with former Roll Callers and current journalism professors Christina Bellantoni and Neda Semnani about the value of just talking to people…
- Political Theater
That's a lot of Supreme Court there
Jason Dick and Todd Ruger discuss their (and some public officials') race times at the ACLI Capital Challenge, then delve into the Supreme Court's internal…
- Political Theater
Call it the Most Not Invulnerable List
Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales discuss House and Senate races that could be competitive, but aren't quite yet. Basically, what would it take for someone like…
- Political Theater
Still vulnerable, even while batting .400
Jason Dick, Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire discuss the first Roll Call Most Vulnerable Incumbents list of the 2026 cycle, why House freshman…
- Political Theater
Six degrees of 100 days ...
How does Kevin Bacon fit into the first 100 days analysis of the Trump presidency? Jason Dick and John Bennett discuss, as well as the art of Gretchen…
- Political Theater
Golden State meets ‘Golden Age’
Jason Dick and Christina Bellantoni discuss California political leaders' approach to President Donald Trump's second term, Gov. Gavin Newsom's podcast and…
- Political Theater
Much ado about special elections
Jason Dick, Mary Ellen McIntire and Andrew Menezes discuss the election results this week in Florida and Wisconsin, whether vermouth will be more expensive…