We're days away from the 2020 presidential election, which is shaping up to be one of the most consequential elections in our lifetime. That may sound hyperbolic, but with no end to COVID-19 in sight, a vacant Supreme Court seat to fill, widespread protests for racial justice, and wildfires ravaging cities across the United States, we live in a constant state of upheaval. With so many news headlines every day, it can be hard to keep up. Thankfully, there are podcasts that sift through the noise and stay informed about the issues and policies impacting our lives.
The Trump presidency has been a barrage of conservative policies, racist rhetoric, political scandals, and (mis)information. But these 10 podcasts have helped listeners dissect the last four years through thoughtful discourse, astute political and cultural analysis, and some much-needed context. If you need help navigating policy before November 3, or if you're simply looking to add a few smart new voices to your weekly media consumption, check out these podcasts that have been crucial in our understanding of the Trump era.
Code Switch
To fully understand the effects of the Trump presidency, we need to take a deeper look at the broader culture. NPR’s Code Switch has spent the last four years tackling the intersection of race and identity throughout society. Hosted by journalists Gene Demby and Shereen Marisol Meraji, the weekly podcast gained national prominence this summer following the death of George Floyd, and new listeners found a rich catalog of nuanced sociopolitical conversations, like the 2018 re-contextualization of the word "racist" in the Trump era and the 2016 discussion about police brutality and Black death.
Pod Save America
No stranger to lists like these, Crooked Media's Pod Save America is the brainchild of former Obama aides Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor, who also serve as hosts of this bi-weekly podcast. Having worked in the Obama White House, they bring a real inside perspective to the most pressing and troubling Trump headlines and policies. Their familiarity with the ins and outs of Washington, coupled with their affable dynamic as IRL friends, and access to high-profile interviews is what makes Pod Save America such a standout. It feels like you're talking politics with your clever, liberal friends over dinner. You know, if they casually invited the leading thinkers of the Democratic Party — including the likes of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, and former President Obama — with them.
The Weeds
If you want to get down and dirty in the minutiae of national issues like Trump's border crackdown and the real meaning of Medicare-for-all, then Vox's The Weeds is for you. Twice a week, journalist Matthew Yglesias is joined by a rotating panel of Ezra Klein, Sarah Kliff, Jane Coaston, and Dara Lind to dig into these issues for a comprehensive, partisan discussion. There are hundreds of episodes available to stream for free online, and a recent conversation about the state of the Republican Party after four years of Trump is a good place to start.
In the Thick
Entertaining and insightful, The Futuro Media Group's In The Thick podcast is a necessary addition to everyone's weekly queue. Bolstered by hosts Maria Hinojosa and Julio Ricardo Varela's candor and conversational vibe, In The Thick is a bi-weekly conversation on politics, race, and culture from a POC perspective — and they regularly invite POC journalists, policymakers, and academics to take a seat at the table with them. Maria and Julio have the ability to make everyone feel like family on In The Thick, even when they're having tough conversations about the climate crisis, how Trump has weaponized COVID-19, and the impact Trump's sanctioned ICE raids have had on immigrant communities.
The NPR Politics Podcast
Delivering essential political updates in daily, bite-sized doses, The NPR Politics Podcast is more than a recap of the big news coming out of Washington from NPR's political reporters; it thoughtfully contextualizes the endless barrage of headlines on our feeds within the larger spectrum of issues like systemic racism in American policing, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and the theatrics behind Trump's foreign policy. And you get all of that in a surprisingly engaging 13-minute package.
Mueller, She Wrote / The Daily Beans
Created in 2017 to unravel the many mysteries of Robert Mueller's Trump-Russia investigation, Webby award-winning pod Mueller, She Wrote presents the facts with just the right amount of speculation and absurdist humor to match the general tone of the administration it's analyzing. (There's a thin line between laughing and crying, after all.) It also helps that the two women at the helm of this entertaining podcast are both comedians — not lawyers or journalists, but everyday funny women who just want to answer the simple question: What the hell is going on here? Listen as hosts A.G., a federal government employee and veteran, and Jordan Coburn explain the report's impact with the help of political insiders and analysts and unpack the surrounding fallout. (They aren't afraid to correct themselves, either.)
While the series may have wrapped up earlier this spring, A.G. also hosts the daily news podcast The Daily Beans, which reports the day's political news with a side of snark.
Can He Do That?
Have you ever read a Trump headline and thought to yourself, can he actually do that? That was the inspiration behind The Washington Post's Can He Do That?, a show that aims to explore the powers and limitations granted to the American president. Hosted by journalist Alison Michaels, each episode is framed around a question — and through insightful interviews with knowledgeable sources in various fields, it eventually comes to an informed conclusion. Previous episodes have asked such timely questions as: Can a sitting president of the United States refuse to concede? Can Trump send law enforcement to polls on Election Day? How does the president have the power to force a foreign company like ByteDance to sell a portion of itself [i.e. TikTok]? And the best part is most episodes are no longer than 30 minutes, so consider your daily, socially distanced walk around the block made.
Trumpcast
Slate's Trumpcast is a show that wishes it didn't have to exist. (Host Virginia Heffernan even threw a finale party on November 8, 2016, and, well, we all know how that turned out.) Described as a "roundup of all things Donald Trump," Trumpcast astutely makes sense of the Trump presidency one tweet at a time with help from reporters, historians, psychiatrists, and other pundits. From assessing the dangers of Trump's judicial appointments to examining the president's deep-seated misogyny, Trumpcast doesn't hold back. And if Heffernan gets her way, 2020 will be its grand finale.
The Brown Girls Guide to Politics
If you're looking for an answer to the Trump presidency, then check out The Brown Girls Guide to Politics. Created by political strategist and Emerge America president A’shanti F. Gholar, The Brown Girls Guide to Politics is a podcast that not only highlights the issues affecting Black, brown, and Indigenous women but also examines what it means to be a woman of color in American politics today. Featuring insightful and inspirational interviews with activists, trailblazers, and gubernatorial candidates like Stacey Abrams, The Brown Girls Guide to Politics takes a proactive, not reactive, approach to politics through conversations with the real women changing the face of politics. A recent episode on criminal justice reform and Breonna's Law is the perfect place to start.
1619
Truly, the best way to dissect the Trump presidency is to thoroughly examine American history, and 1619, from The New York Times, traces how slavery and the oppression it instituted is the very foundation of our nation. Created as part of Nikole Hannah-Jones's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project, the podcast spans only five episodes, but it's essential listening for (white) people who seek to contextualize the civil unrest of our present through four centuries of racism and inequality. Culture critic Wesley Morris analyzes how and why Black music has been appropriated for centuries while contributing writer Matthew Desmond takes a look at how American capitalism was born on the cotton fields. By reframing our understanding of the past and placing Black Americans at the center of it, 1619 posits the radical idea that American history is Black history. Needless to say, Trump hates it.
