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
The Thai popcorn does not detract
Sports is leading the way on diversity, equity and inclusion, but don't expect to hear those words at the game. Plus: Everyone get ready for National…
- Political Theater
At the Gridiron, laughter in the dark
Dressing up as a donkey for a skit lampooning politicians at a white tie dinner in Washington is silly. But during difficult times, when the most powerful…
- Political Theater
Democrats at (in?) retreat
House Democrats are gathering for their annual policy retreat this week, and face a series of questions as they navigate the 119th Congress, including why they…
- Political Theater
Protest, retreat, hide? Congressional behavior, 2025-style
In the early days of the second Trump administration, congressional Republicans and Democrats face decisions about how to react to White House-led actions. For…
- Political Theater
‘Yeah, I don’t love that,’ or how the House learned to start jamming the Senate
In recent days, the Senate and House have both passed versions of their own budget resolution, one of the key steps in constructing a so-called reconciliation…
- Political Theater
'If I can get you to feel' -- politics, wrestling and connecting with people
For someone who has dominated politics for going on a decade, Donald Trump still controls the narrative in a way that leaves his opponents flat-footed. Trump's…
- Political Theater
‘Beauty never gets old’ -- Slava Leontyev in the ‘Porcelain War’
Is it possible to find beauty amid the horror of the Ukraine-Russia war? The Academy Award-nominated documentary "Porcelain War" argues that it is not only…
- Political Theater
Having a plan beats not having a plan
The early days of the 119th Congress and the second Trump administration have been a whirlwind, but here is one observation for those looking to make sense of…
- Political Theater
Instability as norm? Or test?
The early days of the second Trump administration have brought us an intense debate over constitutional authority and the role of government, which has been…
- Political Theater
Pardon me? Tales of presidential pardons
Presidential pardons are all over the place, thanks to outgoing President Joe Biden and newly sworn in President Donald Trump. Presidents’ power to pardon is…
- Political Theater
Appointed senators: The winners, seat-warmers, losers and weirdos
Appointed senators: They're a thing. Of the 206 individuals appointed to the Senate since 1913, when the Seventeenth Amendment codified direct election of…
- Political Theater
So you say you want to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget
It's the most wonderful time of the year: When Washington says it will cut the federal deficit. Easier said than done! Just ask the 2011 super committee, which…
- Political Theater
Looking ahead to 2025's biggest political stories
What's an "off year" in politics? There is no such thing, according to Nathan Gonzales, Roll Call's campaigns analyst and the publisher of Inside Elections. We…
- Political Theater
Revenge of the Senate
Is the United States Senate The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body, or is it the world's most inefficient waiting room, where senators kill time before a…
- Political Theater
Home improvements for the House
It happens every December: We ask ourselves, is this the best Congress can do? And the answer is no. They can do better. And there are a number of ways the…
- Political Theater
A very judgy lame duck
If you're paying attention to the Senate, you know they're voting on a lot of judges, as happens during lame duck congresses. There are also a lot of partisan…
- Political Theater
Who are these guys? The Congress-to-Cabinet revue
President-elect Donald Trump has picked several current and former members of Congress for his Cabinet and senior staff. Here’s a quick and dirty on the…
- Political Theater
5 big questions about this election with Nathan Gonzales
So, we have questions in the aftermath of this election. Who is the leader of the Democratic Party? What lessons do Republicans take from their victories? Do…
- Political Theater
The last Most Vulnerable Incumbents lists of the 2024 cycle
Roll Call looked under every nook, cranny and poll to round off the Most Vulnerable Incumbents lists for the 2024 cycle. Find out how and why who got where!…
- Political Theater
But is it art? Unpacking ‘The Apprentice’
For many film buffs, October is Scary Movie Month, when we go to the vault to watch "Last House on the Left" or head to the theater to catch "Beetlejuice…
- Political Theater
What it means for an electoral race to be unstable
The 2024 campaign is in the home stretch, and there are several races that are defined by a high degree of instability. How do we mean? It starts with the…
- Political Theater
‘War Game’: Rehearsing the uncomfortably plausible
What happens when a veterans organization conducting an unscripted role-playing simulation with real political figures about an attempted coup on Jan. 6, 2025…
- Political Theater
"Sleepy" but consequential term awaits Supreme Court
The Supreme Court starts its new term this coming Monday, October 7th, and while the docket does not include such high-profile cases as the last two years…
- Political Theater
Tales of the three-headed incumbent: Biden/Harris/Trump
The 2024 presidential race feels a bit "incumbenty." A former president, Donald Trump is running against first the current president, Joe Biden, and now the…
- Political Theater
One last journey down Roll Call's Jersey Turnpike
All good things come to end, even the tenure of Roll Call Politics Editor Herb Jackson, who wraps up his time here talking congressional granularity…
- Political Theater
The surprises, lessons and exhaustion of the congressional primaries
Back in March, Alabama, Arkansas, California, North Carolina and Texas held their congressional primaries, kicking off a mini-epoch of intra-party contests…
- Political Theater
When political realignment happens before your eyes; Amanda Becker discusses ‘You Must Stand Up’
Amanda Becker's new book, “You Must Stand Up” is a story about the political fallout of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision that overturned the federal right to…
- Political Theater
Members of Congress get ready to kick out the jams
Here at Roll Call, we like to step back every so often and just groove. And what better way to do that than by being part of the Sept. 17 Congressional Record…
- Political Theater
Sweet (temporary) home Chicago
Hello from Chicago and the Democratic National Convention. Roll Call and the Political Theater team are on the ground here for all the fuss. We are at the…
- Political Theater
DNC-adjacent: Stories in the convention’s orbit
Kamala-palooza is almost here. The Democratic National Convention starts soon in Chicago, with the party looking to capitalize on the bounce it has gotten…
- Political Theater
Ohio, the [political] heart of it all
Ohio is having a moment in the political spotlight, with the Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance, hailing from the Buckeye State, while his…
- Political Theater
Yes things feel crazy, but elections are frequently chaotic, from LBJ to RBG and more
If there is one thing elections in the United States brings out, it's chaos. Assassination attempts, resignations, primary challenges, third-party campaigns…
- Political Theater
Happy Days for Republicans in Milwaukee
The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee has put some steam in the strides of the GOP, who have taken their 2024 confidence meter up to 11. Republicans…
- Political Theater
Just the facts, just the facts, with factba.se
Want a look at George W. Bush’s comments at the 2007 White House Correspondents Dinner? Or what coffee shop President Joe Biden visited last weekend in…
- Political Theater
Nathan Gonzales just can't wait to get on the road again
Roads are such a great metaphor for writers. There are roads to nowhere, to recovery. They can be less travelled. It can be enough for some books to just have…
- Political Theater
Two years in the post-Dobbs world
It has been nearly two years since the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion, overturning Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health…
- Political Theater
When being ambassador to Iceland isn't enough
Looking for guidance on how to get ahead in politics? Be a grunge rocker in college or a NASCAR driver. Don't be ambassador to Iceland, an actor or a video…
- Political Theater
Gathering in dark rooms: Sky Sitney on DC/DOX’s upcoming festival
The DC/DOX Documentary Film Festival kicks off its second full festival this month, showcasing a diverse slate of non-fiction stories for a hungry audience in…
- Political Theater
Summertime, and the political news is busy
Forget Hollywood blockbusters: This summer will be all about the politics. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, we'll be witness to a criminal trial for a U.S…
- Political Theater
Primary colors: Breaking down the latest congressional contests
The races that will shape November's election continue to take shape now that we have primary results in Maryland, West Virginia and Nebraska, with…
- Political Theater
How to get yourself on Roll Call's Most Vulnerable Incumbents list
At Roll Call, we periodically update our list of most vulnerable senators and members of the House as we get closer to the election. It's a shifting list, and…
- Political Theater
Jan. 6, 2021 and the people who will never forget
There is no way to spin being beaten and bloodied and scared. The history of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 is still being written, which is an…
- Political Theater
Meanwhile, in non-Trump, non-impeachment and non-speaker news
This has been a momentous week for politics. Jury selection started in the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump. The Senate dispensed with…
- Political Theater
‘Food, Inc. 2’ filmmakers provide plenty to chew on
People feel so passionately about food that perhaps it is not a surprise it has yielded that rarest of things: A sequel to a documentary. The makers of 2008’s…
- Political Theater
When the most powerful people get what they want, Ohio version
What does it mean when both Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and former President Donald Trump agree on the same candidate? Because that happened in…
- Political Theater
The highs, lows and weirds of the White House beat
Covering the White House is one of the most high-profile beats in politics. Covering the Trump, then the Biden White House, and starting during a pandemic and…
- Political Theater
The changing 2024 Senate landscape
Lost in this year’s highly competitive presidential nominating contest (sarcasm detector!) is the coming-at-you primaries for House and Senate that kicked off…
- Political Theater
What we talk about when we talk about Super Tuesday
Tuesdays can get a bad rap. Sometimes the best that can be said about them are that they're the day that's the furthest from next Monday. But not Super…
- Political Theater
Exploring the inbetweenness of Taiwan
S. Leo Chiang’s documentary films explore lives across continents and culture, from the first Vietnamese-American congressman to the first LGBT political party…
- Political Theater
One special place: New York’s 3rd Congressional District
What’s not to like about political stories that encompass not only New York City, Queens specifically, but reach into Long Island’s northern shore in Nassau…
- Political Theater
'What the Hell just happened?' Congress reaches deep into the failure well
The current congress started off last year with an historic show of dysfunction, taking 15 rounds of voting to elect a speaker. Things did not get better. And…
- Political Theater
A sense of where he is: Bill Bradley's 'Rolling Along' one-man show
There are not a lot of resumes that read like Bill Bradley’s. Gold medal Olympian. Rhodes Scholar. Pro basketball player. Author. Senator. Presidential…
- Political Theater
What's the big idea? The big political stories beyond the headlines
We’re off and running in a pivotal election year, but beyond the horse race coverage and hot takes, there are always big stories that will help define what is…
- Political Theater
Signs of life? Democrats start to sound off about Biden campaign
Democrats are voicing concerns that the Biden re-election campaign needs to start getting on the road, but the question is, which direction? And who's driving?…
- Political Theater
Whyiowa? Because we start at the beginning
It’s January 2024. It’s cold, especially in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first stops on the presidential campaign voting calendar. We kick off this year by…
- Political Theater
Don't hassle me I'm local: The DC episode
How big a deal is the pandas leaving the National Zoo? Or the sale of the Commanders? Or the Wizards and Capitals possibly leaving downtown DC? Or all the…
- Political Theater
The view from 2073: What political stories this year will be relevant in 50 years?
As political journalists, it is easy to get wrapped up in the story of the day. Elections and court decisions. Wars and strikes. Retirements and deaths. But…
- Political Theater
Facing backlash: LGBTQ+ families in 'We Live Here: The Midwest'
The recent elevation of Rep. Mike Johnson to be Speaker of the House has brought up questions about the Louisiana Republican’s record and positions in several…
- Political Theater
The harrowing journey out of North Korea in ‘Beyond Utopia’
If you know anyone who clings to antiquated notions that documentary films are dry affairs, kindly refer them to “Beyond Utopia,” Madeleine Gavin’s movie about…
- Political Theater
The cranky American: A tale of public polls
If you’re feeling cranky about politics, you’re not alone. Public polling shows a remarkably wide swath of Americans with historically poor views of politics…