The Chuck ToddCast

The Kevin Harlan Interview

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Kevin Harlan joins Chuck Todd and J.A. Adande for the final chapter of Dynastic's Green Bay Packers series.

Growing up in Green Bay as the son of longtime Packers president Bob Harlan, Kevin witnessed the franchise's transformation firsthand. From the fading glory of Vince Lombardi's dynasty to the resurgence under Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, Harlan offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on one of the most remarkable organizations in professional sports.

Kevin shares untold stories about the Packers' financial struggles, the signing of Reggie White, the transformation of Lambeau Field, and the decisions that helped secure the franchise's future. He also reflects on the legendary Ice Bowl, the origins of the Lambeau Leap, and what makes Green Bay unlike any other NFL city.

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Chuck’s Commentary - How America Can Produce Another “Leader Of The Free World” + Republicans Risk Losing Latinos For Decades

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Chuck Todd opens with Saturday’s fourth No Kings rally and the question of whether protest energy converts to turnout — noting the movement may now be more credible with voters than the Democratic Party itself. Then the story out of Pensacola Beach: ICE confronted four roofers repairing Hurricane Isaias damage at the Grand Marlin, and the men refused to come down until agents left, sending their paperwork down instead. Todd calls targeting hurricane recovery workers egregious and terrible politics with Hispanic voters, especially with families afraid to use storm shelters. The back half turns philosophical — Bill Kristol’s four leaders who’ve emerged as defenders of the world order (Zelenskyy, Magyar, Carney, Pope Leo) and Todd’s argument that America is perfectly capable of producing someone similar, if Democrats don’t mistake a midterm win for a mandate.

Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment and previews a huge upcoming weekend in college football.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

02:45 No Kings and converting protest energy into turnout

07:45 ICE confronts hurricane recovery workers in Pensacola

14:45 Why this is terrible politics with Hispanic voters

15:45 Roger Marshall’s desperation ad

19:15 Accelerating inflation and a bleaker environment for the GOP

21:15 Ossoff rules out 2028, Wes Moore keeps the door open

24:00 Raskin’s Smithsonian proposal and the problem with negative ads

31:00 Could a viable independent stop the GOP in swing states?

38:30 Kristol’s four defenders of the world order

47:00 Could America produce a leader like that?

50:45 What the GOP does after a repudiation

54:15 The wrong lesson Democrats could learn from winning

58:30 The next president inherits a mess

1:11:00 Ask Chuck

1:11:15 Is Trump truly this out of touch about the struggle of everyday Americans?

1:15:00 Could a wave produce massive gains for Dems at state level in Iowa

1:18:45 How much can media bias and coverage skew narratives?

1:24:30 Could a gas tax holiday meaningfully change perception of economy?

1:26:00 Where would a livestream execution actually be platformed?

1:29:45 College football preview

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Full Episode - How America Can Produce Another “Leader Of The Free World” + Higher Ed In The Age Of AI

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Then, Dr. Ayanna Howard — the former NASA JPL roboticist who became Spelman College’s 12th president in August — joins the Chuck ToddCast to argue America needs a dedicated federal agency to oversee AI, regulated by specialty rather than treated as one monolithic technology. Her warning is pragmatic: without guardrails, the backlash after an inevitable bad event will be enormous. She explains why there is no such thing as general AI, why the technology is simultaneously oversold and improving fast, and why models trained on history risk writing marginalized groups out of it. On education, Howard argues critical thinking and basic learning skills matter more than ever, that COVID lockdowns damaged study and social skills in ways schools still haven’t addressed, and that the demographic cliff will force some universities to close. Plus: why America still hasn’t built a moon base.

Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment and previews a huge upcoming weekend in college football.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

02:45 No Kings and converting protest energy into turnout

07:45 ICE confronts hurricane recovery workers in Pensacola

14:45 Why this is terrible politics with Hispanic voters

15:45 Roger Marshall’s desperation ad

19:15 Accelerating inflation and a bleaker environment for the GOP

21:15 Ossoff rules out 2028, Wes Moore keeps the door open

24:00 Raskin’s Smithsonian proposal and the problem with negative ads

31:00 Could a viable independent stop the GOP in swing states?

38:30 Kristol’s four defenders of the world order

47:00 Could America produce a leader like that?

50:45 What the GOP does after a repudiation

54:15 The wrong lesson Democrats could learn from winning

58:30 The next president inherits a mess

1:12:00 Dr. Ayanna Howard joins The Chuck ToddCast

1:14:30 From NASA to academia

1:17:15 The case for a new federal AI agency

1:20:45 Guardrails, backlash, and regulating by specialty

1:23:45 What people fundamentally misunderstand about AI

1:29:45 The risk of AI training on an incomplete history

1:33:00 Teaching math and critical thinking in the AI era

1:41:30 The demographic cliff and universities that won’t survive

1:44:00 Spelman’s focus, trade schools, and classical education

1:48:45 Reforming K-12 and the lingering damage from lockdowns

1:56:00 Equity in AI development and the case

2:10:15 Ask Chuck

2:10:30 Is Trump truly this out of touch about the struggle of everyday Americans?

2:14:15 Could a wave produce massive gains for Dems at state level in Iowa

2:18:00 How much can media bias and coverage skew narratives?

2:23:45 Could a gas tax holiday meaningfully change perception of economy?

2:25:15 Where would a livestream execution actually be platformed?

2:29:00 College football preview

Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

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Interview Only w/ Dr. Ayanna Howard - Higher Ed In The Age Of AI

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Dr. Ayanna Howard — the former NASA JPL roboticist who became Spelman College’s 12th president in August — joins the Chuck ToddCast to argue America needs a dedicated federal agency to oversee AI, regulated by specialty rather than treated as one monolithic technology. Her warning is pragmatic: without guardrails, the backlash after an inevitable bad event will be enormous. She explains why there is no such thing as general AI, why the technology is simultaneously oversold and improving fast, and why models trained on history risk writing marginalized groups out of it. On education, Howard argues critical thinking and basic learning skills matter more than ever, that COVID lockdowns damaged study and social skills in ways schools still haven’t addressed, and that the demographic cliff will force some universities to close. Plus: why America still hasn’t built a moon base.

Timeline:

00:00 Dr. Ayanna Howard joins The Chuck ToddCast

02:30 From NASA to academia

05:15 The case for a new federal AI agency

08:45 Guardrails, backlash, and regulating by specialty

11:45 What people fundamentally misunderstand about AI

17:45 The risk of AI training on an incomplete history

21:00 Teaching math and critical thinking in the AI era

29:30 The demographic cliff and universities that won’t survive

32:00 Spelman’s focus, trade schools, and classical education

36:45 Reforming K-12 and the lingering damage from lockdowns

44:00 Equity in AI development and the case for diverse models

50:15 Why we haven’t gone back to the moon

Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

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Chuck’s Commentary - Republicans In Triage Mode As The Map Gets Worse + Elon’s Insane Campaign Spending

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Chuck Todd maps a map that keeps getting worse for Republicans: they’re not defending Trump, and they’re trying to convince voters they aren’t Trump Republicans. Ohio is the firewall and the money is pouring in, while the GOP plays triage in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and South Carolina and pulls funding from House incumbents. Chuck sees no sign of a blue mirage — consumer confidence is lower than at any point under Biden, a majority say they’re cutting back on spending, and no amount of Trump talking changes lived experience. He also hits Kimberly Guilfoyle’s forced resignation as ambassador to Greece, Katie Zacharia’s debut as press secretary, the federal search of Ilhan Omar’s home, and Elon Musk’s additional $276 million in political spending since July.

Finally, Chuck presents his ToddCast Top 5 list… expanded to ten with the expanding map, of Governorships most likely to flip parties and answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

06:45 Republicans running from the Trump label

10:00 Trump’s disappearing filter

13:00 Ohio as the firewall and whether rallies actually help

15:45 Triage in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and South Carolina

18:15 How big can the House wave get?

21:15 The Latino vote shifts back and the districts in play

26:45 No signs of a blue mirage, and the consumer confidence problem

33:30 Guilfoyle out, and the consequences Trump never faces

37:15 Katie Zacharia’s debut and the sycophancy requirement

41:00 The search of Ilhan Omar’s home and the DOJ’s credibility

47:00 Musk’s $276 million and the problem of concentrated power

55:00 ToddCast Top 10 Most Likely Governor’s Seat Flips

58:30 #1 Iowa

59:45 #2 Kansas

1:01:15 #3 Ohio

1:02:00 #4 Alaska

1:02:45 #5 Texas

1:03:30 #6 Georgia

1:04:30 #7 Nevada

1:05:30 #8 Oregon

1:06:30 #9 Wisconsin

1:07:00 #10 Florida

1:09:30 Ask Chuck

1:09:45 Predictions for Missouri house race

1:12:00 If Trump doesn’t fire Hegseth, could impeachment succeed?

1:16:00 Why is US an outlier on third party success?

1:17:30 If election is a repudiation, reform on emergency presidential powers?

1:21:00 Can Annie Andrews overcome straight ticket voting in SC?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Episode - Republicans In Triage Mode As The Map Gets Worse + Ranking Colleges By ROI Rather Than Prestige

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Then, Washington Monthly editor-in-chief Paul Glastris joins the Chuck ToddCast to make the case that the entire college rankings industry is measuring the wrong thing. U.S. News rewards wealth, prestige, and exclusivity — guaranteeing the same 20 or 30 schools top the list every year, institutions 95% of students can’t get into anyway. The Monthly ranks on what colleges actually do for the country, and this year debuted the first-ever Best Colleges for Rural America list. Number one is the University of West Alabama in Livingston, population 3,436, where students earn a median $64,122 four years out — roughly $26,500 more than a typical college would have produced. Glastris warns that rural nonprofit closures are creating genuine education deserts, that restrictions on foreign students have gutted school finances, and that fixing higher ed would fix a great deal of what ails the country.

Finally, Chuck presents his ToddCast Top 5 list… expanded to ten with the expanding map, of Governorships most likely to flip parties and answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

06:45 Republicans running from the Trump label

10:00 Trump’s disappearing filter

13:00 Ohio as the firewall and whether rallies actually help

15:45 Triage in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and South Carolina

18:15 How big can the House wave get?

21:15 The Latino vote shifts back and the districts in play

26:45 No signs of a blue mirage, and the consumer confidence problem

33:30 Guilfoyle out, and the consequences Trump never faces

37:15 Katie Zacharia’s debut and the sycophancy requirement

41:00 The search of Ilhan Omar’s home and the DOJ’s credibility

47:00 Musk’s $276 million and the problem of concentrated power

57:30 Paul Glastris joins The Chuck ToddCast

59:30 Why the rankings always crown the same elite schools

1:03:00 What taxpayers spend, and what the rankings should measure

1:08:00 Endowments, foreign students, and schools in financial trouble

1:13:00 Education deserts and the first rural college ranking

1:18:00 The University of West Alabama and the returns nobody talks about

1:22:45 Higher ed as a political wedge issue

1:27:30 Advice for policymakers and the biggest obstacles to reform

1:33:30 What AI actually does to the value of a degree

1:38:45 How UT Rio Grande Valley outranks Yale

1:44:00 The standout state systems and what makes them work

1:52:00 ToddCast Top 10 Most Likely Governor’s Seat Flips

1:55:30 #1 Iowa

1:56:45 #2 Kansas

1:58:15 #3 Ohio

1:59:00 #4 Alaska

1:59:45 #5 Texas

2:00:30 #6 Georgia

2:01:30 #7 Nevada

2:02:30 #8 Oregon

2:03:30 #9 Wisconsin

2:04:00 #10 Florida

2:06:30 Ask Chuck

2:06:45 Predictions for Missouri house race

2:09:00 If Trump doesn’t fire Hegseth, could impeachment succeed?

2:13:00 Why is US an outlier on third party success?

2:14:30 If election is a repudiation, reform on emergency presidential powers?

2:18:00 Can Annie Andrews overcome straight ticket voting in SC?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interview Only w/ Paul Glastris - Ranking Colleges By Value Rather Than Prestige

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Washington Monthly editor-in-chief Paul Glastris joins the Chuck ToddCast to make the case that the entire college rankings industry is measuring the wrong thing. U.S. News rewards wealth, prestige, and exclusivity — guaranteeing the same 20 or 30 schools top the list every year, institutions 95% of students can’t get into anyway. The Monthly ranks on what colleges actually do for the country, and this year debuted the first-ever Best Colleges for Rural America list. Number one is the University of West Alabama in Livingston, population 3,436, where students earn a median $64,122 four years out — roughly $26,500 more than a typical college would have produced. Glastris warns that rural nonprofit closures are creating genuine education deserts, that restrictions on foreign students have gutted school finances, and that fixing higher ed would fix a great deal of what ails the country.

Timeline:

00:00 Paul Glastris joins The Chuck ToddCast

02:00 Why the rankings always crown the same elite schools

05:30 What taxpayers spend, and what the rankings should measure

10:30 Endowments, foreign students, and schools in financial trouble

15:30 Education deserts and the first rural college ranking

20:30 The University of West Alabama and the returns nobody talks about

25:15 Higher ed as a political wedge issue

30:00 Advice for policymakers and the biggest obstacles to reform

36:00 What AI actually does to the value of a degree

41:15 How UT Rio Grande Valley outranks Yale

46:30 The standout state systems and what makes them work

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Super Tuesdays - Republicans Reek Of Panic & Desperation As The Midterms Loom

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Three weeks out from the midterms, the richest man on earth spent a weekend laundering a fabricated story about a Senate candidate’s mental health into the mainstream — and Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza argue the desperation of it is the tell. They open on the smear campaign against James Talarico in Texas (PolitiFact rated it Pants on Fire; the Ohio facility at the center of it publicly stated he was never a patient), then widen out to what it means that Elon Musk owns both the megaphone and the checkbook — $276 million into the midterms since July. From there: whether Republicans are underestimating the size of this wave, the four-to-seven-point scandal penalty and how it prices Kansas, and a Kalshi-driven walk down the Senate ladder — why 52 seats is the bull probability case, 54 the bull possibility case, and Annie Andrews the most mispriced bet on the board. Plus three stories of an administration behaving like it expects to lose: Kimberly Guilfoyle on the brink in Athens, Hegseth’s plan to livestream a firing-squad execution with eight articles of impeachment waiting for a House that isn’t back until November 9, and DHS agents at Ilhan Omar’s door 22 days before an election.

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Timeline:

00:00 The Talarico smear and how Musk mainstreamed it

06:00 Why Texas is the whole ballgame — and the GOP’s stages of grief

12:00 Musk’s $276 million, the Soros projection, and who should control a megaphone

18:00 Kalshi: Are we underestimating the size of this wave?

22:00 The scandal penalty, candidate quality, and pricing Kansas

30:00 Walking down the Senate ladder: 52, 54, and the most mispriced race

36:00 Kimberly Guilfoyle, Scott Bessent, and monkey see, monkey do

41:00 Hegseth: the man crush, the 2006 rerun, and eight articles waiting

46:00 The televised execution, and whose information ecosystem produces it

50:00 DHS at Ilhan Omar’s door, and a DOJ that changed the protocol

54:00 Brewers-Dodgers, a top-heavy West, and why Milwaukee keeps doing this

1:02:00 Commanders’ tie, Dan Quinn’s hot seat, and hire a clock guy

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck’s Commentary- Are We Underestimating The Democratic Wave? + Pete Hegseth Is A Sick, Broken Man

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Three weeks out, Chuck Todd reads a Pew survey that gives Republicans nothing: Trump at 30% approval — his lowest of the second term and on par with where he sat after January 6th — Democrats up 44-36 on the generic ballot, and 44% of voters describing their vote as a vote against Trump. The enthusiasm gap is the number Todd keeps returning to, and his argument is that we may still be underestimating the size of this wave. He walks through why the close Senate races map almost perfectly onto the states Trump lost in the 2016 primaries, why Roger Marshall’s campaign reportedly has no paid staff, and why bad environments expose bad candidates. Plus Hegseth’s execution livestream, Trump’s Truth Social meltdown over the Nobel, and what a genuine blue wave would mean for both.

Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the creation of the Bull Moose Party and its impact on both major parties, answers questions in the Ask Chuck segment and recaps the weekend in college football.

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Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

08:15 How bad a night are Republicans actually looking at?

10:15 Inside the Pew numbers: 30% approval, D+8 generic

12:15 The enthusiasm gap and why the wave may be bigger than we think

19:00 Trump has lost the voters he added in 2024

23:00 Republicans can’t separate themselves from Trump’s decisions

25:30 GOP money promoting left-wing third party candidates

28:00 Kansas as a toss-up, and the 2016 primary map

34:15 Roger Marshall, no paid staff, and how bad environments expose bad candidates

39:30 Hegseth, the execution livestream, and a low opinion of their own voters

47:00 Rubio in Greece, power vs. accomplishment, and the DOJ memo

56:15 Trump’s Nobel meltdown and selling out Lindsey Graham’s legacy

1:04:15 ToddCast Time Machine - October 14th, 1912

1:04:45 Teddy Roosevelt shot, insists on giving speech anyway

1:08:15 Roosevelt wants more government power to oppose corporate power

1:11:15 Taft & Roosevelt’s falling out

1:15:00 The Bull Moose Party is born

1:15:45 The differences between Roosevelt and Trump

1:17:45 Roosevelt’s proposals became future progressivism & the New Deal

1:21:15 Republicans moved away from Roosevelt’s philosophy, Dems embraced it

1:23:45 Parts of Bull Moose live on in both modern parties

1:25:45 Ask Chuck

1:26:00 If Dems take house, who becomes speaker and who SHOULD get the job?

1:30:45 How would a better than expected showing for Republicans materialize?

1:33:45 Constitutional amendment to remove presidential immunity?

1:36:15 Who picks up the tab for all of Trump’s campaigning travel?

1:38:15 Could Annie Andrews' increased visibility cause Graham to make missteps?

1:43:15 College football recap

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Episode - Are We Underestimating The Democratic Wave? + The Case Against AI Doomerism

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Then, AEI senior fellow James Pethokoukis — author of the Faster, Please! newsletter — joins the Chuck ToddCast to argue that America’s AI anxiety is the predictable product of two decades of shocks landing on an economy that’s been weak by historical standards. His central political point cuts against his own side of the argument: telling voters their fear is irrational is the worst possible strategy, and Silicon Valley is terrible at communicating with the public. He’s no more comfortable with Trump’s self-regulation approach, noting Congress has failed to pass even a privacy bill of rights and won’t touch AI in the next two years. His cautionary tale is nuclear power, where public aversion cost the country clean energy at scale while far more people died from fossil fuel pollution — and his warning is that AI companies shouldn’t be treated as weapons against China.

Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the creation of the Bull Moose Party and it’s impact on both major parties, answers questions in the Ask Chuck segment and recaps the weekend in college football.

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

08:15 How bad a night are Republicans actually looking at?

10:15 Inside the Pew numbers: 30% approval, D+8 generic

12:15 The enthusiasm gap and why the wave may be bigger than we think

19:00 Trump has lost the voters he added in 2024

23:00 Republicans can’t separate themselves from Trump’s decisions

25:30 GOP money promoting left-wing third party candidates

28:00 Kansas as a toss-up, and the 2016 primary map

34:15 Roger Marshall, no paid staff, and how bad environments expose bad candidates

39:30 Hegseth, the execution livestream, and a low opinion of their own voters

47:00 Rubio in Greece, power vs. accomplishment, and the DOJ memo

56:15 Trump’s Nobel meltdown and selling out Lindsey Graham’s legacy

1:06:30 James Pethokoukis joins The Chuck ToddCast

1:08:30 Why an economic growth guy got interested in AI

1:11:30 Shock after shock, and whether the information diet amplifies despair

1:14:00 Why focusing only on AI’s downside is destructive

1:18:30 Self-regulation, congressional failure, and the next two years

1:25:30 What risk level should we demand from AI companies?

1:26:45 The nuclear power cautionary tale

1:31:45 Rapid adoption, delayed productivity, and absurd forecasts

1:38:30 Silicon Valley’s communication problem

1:43:00 Accountability, visibility, and young companies

1:50:30 Where does a free-market conservative go now?

1:56:30 Competition, monopolies, and the China race narrative

2:06:00 ToddCast Time Machine - October 14th, 1912

2:06:30 Teddy Roosevelt shot, insists on giving speech anyway

2:10:00 Roosevelt wants more government power to oppose corporate power

2:13:00 Taft & Roosevelt’s falling out

2:16:45 The Bull Moose Party is born

2:17:30 The differences between Roosevelt and Trump

2:19:30 Roosevelt’s proposals became future progressivism & the New Deal

2:23:00 Republicans moved away from Roosevelt’s philosophy, Dems embraced it

2:25:30 Parts of Bull Moose live on in both modern parties

2:27:30 Ask Chuck

2:27:45 If Dems take house, who becomes speaker and who SHOULD get the job?

2:32:30 How would a better than expected showing for Republicans materialize?

2:35:30 Constitutional amendment to remove presidential immunity?

2:38:00 Who picks up the tab for all of Trump’s campaigning travel?

2:40:00 Could Annie Andrews' increased visibility cause Graham to make missteps?

2:45:00 College football recap

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interview Only w/ James Pethokoukis - The Case Against AI Doomerism

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

AEI senior fellow James Pethokoukis — author of the Faster, Please! newsletter — joins the Chuck ToddCast to argue that America’s AI anxiety is the predictable product of two decades of shocks landing on an economy that’s been weak by historical standards. His central political point cuts against his own side of the argument: telling voters their fear is irrational is the worst possible strategy, and Silicon Valley is terrible at communicating with the public. He’s no more comfortable with Trump’s self-regulation approach, noting Congress has failed to pass even a privacy bill of rights and won’t touch AI in the next two years. His cautionary tale is nuclear power, where public aversion cost the country clean energy at scale while far more people died from fossil fuel pollution — and his warning is that AI companies shouldn’t be treated as weapons against China.

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Timeline:

00:00 James Pethokoukis joins The Chuck ToddCast

02:00 Why an economic growth guy got interested in AI

05:00 Shock after shock, and whether the information diet amplifies despair

07:30 Why focusing only on AI’s downside is destructive

12:00 Self-regulation, congressional failure, and the next two years

19:00 What risk level should we demand from AI companies?

20:15 The nuclear power cautionary tale

25:15 Rapid adoption, delayed productivity, and absurd forecasts

32:00 Silicon Valley’s communication problem

36:30 Accountability, visibility, and young companies

44:00 Where does a free-market conservative go now?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck’s Commentary - Could Democrats Actually Win 270+ House Seats? + The Scott Bessent Mess At The Treasury

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Chuck Todd opens with the Wall Street Journal's brutal profile of Scott Bessent — built on 30-plus interviews describing outbursts, a thrown briefing book he denies, and seven Senate-confirmed officials out the door when previous administrations lost zero to two. The 3-3-3 plan never materialized, the debt cleared $40 trillion, and Trump keeps giving him more. Chuck's read: the whole Cabinet has become mini-Trumps. He then gets into whoever's drip-releasing the Paxton tapes, Pritzker's $1 million check to Gina Hinojosa, and Mike Rogers breaking with Trump on Canada far too late. Finally, Chuck runs the historical numbers on whether Democrats can actually win six-plus Senate seats — with Iowa and Kansas as the real test of the wave theory and whether we’re not seeing a political realignment occurring in real time that could result in Democrats winning 270+ house seats.

Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment and previews the upcoming weekend in college football.

http://kalshi.com/r/CHUCKTODD

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

08:15 The WSJ profile of Scott Bessent and the Treasury exodus

13:00 The 3-3-3 plan that never happened — and a Cabinet of mini-Trumps

17:45 The Paxton tapes and a Texas GOP turning purple

25:30 Pritzker's million-dollar check and the DGA finally spending

28:00 Mike Rogers breaks with Trump — too late

31:30 Voting to check Trump, and a base that blames the candidates

34:15 Getting bullish on the Senate, and what D+16 would mean

42:00 Three possibilities for what we're actually seeing

46:30 The history of winning six or more Senate seats

54:00 Texas, Nebraska, South Carolina — and Iowa and Kansas as the real test

1:02:00 What a Texas-Iowa-Kansas sweep would mean

1:11:00 Ask Chuck

1:11:15 Top 3 no guts, no glory races this election cycle

1:13:15 Loved the interview with Marcia Chatelain

1:14:00 Would allowing blind votes in congress be a good idea?

1:15:30 Is there ever a line of Trump’s that Stephen Miller could cross?

1:18:45 What’s your read on McMaster appointing Darline Graham?

1:23:15 College football preview

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Episode - Could Democrats Actually Win 270+ House Seats? + Wargaming An American Coup

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Then, Dmitri Mehlhorn — Democratic strategist, Atoll Society co-founder, and author of the new novel Archipelago of Light — joins the Chuck ToddCast to walk through the war games he runs simulating a contested 2028 election. Three teams: Institutionalists, Nationalists, and Capitalists. The Nationalists win a lot of them, and the mechanics are grimly instructive — they pump up progressives to generate backlash, offer carrots and sticks to capital, and find that every norm broken makes the next break easier. Mehlhorn argues the midterms are the rehearsal: get voters accustomed to challenging results now, delegitimize the process before 2028, and exploit a speaker's latitude not to seat delegations if things are close. His core warning is that our biggest failure has been a failure of imagination — and that taking power back has to be the singular issue in 2028.

Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment and previews the upcoming weekend in college football.

http://kalshi.com/r/CHUCKTODD

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Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

08:15 The WSJ profile of Scott Bessent and the Treasury exodus

13:00 The 3-3-3 plan that never happened — and a Cabinet of mini-Trumps

17:45 The Paxton tapes and a Texas GOP turning purple

25:30 Pritzker's million-dollar check and the DGA finally spending

28:00 Mike Rogers breaks with Trump — too late

31:30 Voting to check Trump, and a base that blames the candidates

34:15 Getting bullish on the Senate, and what D+16 would mean

42:00 Three possibilities for what we're actually seeing

46:30 The history of winning six or more Senate seats

54:00 Texas, Nebraska, South Carolina — and Iowa and Kansas as the real test

1:02:00 What a Texas-Iowa-Kansas sweep would mean

1:13:15 Dmitri Mehlhorn joins The Chuck ToddCast

1:14:15 The simulation, the three factions, and how it works

1:17:15 Why the Nationalists keep winning

1:22:00 The predictable playbook of authoritarians

1:25:30 What happens if 2028 is disputed

1:33:45 Building the game with AI and historical autocrats

1:36:30 The midterms as practice for 2028

1:42:30 The next 75 days and seating the winners

1:45:15 Texas, Hungary, and what actually deters authoritarians

1:55:30 The urban/rural divide and echoes of pre-WWI

2:00:00 Is the constitutional period already over?

2:07:45 Alarmism vs. vigilance — and what gives him hope

2:18:00 Ask Chuck

2:18:15 Top 3 no guts, no glory races this election cycle

2:20:15 Loved the interview with Marcia Chatelain

2:21:00 Would allowing blind votes in congress be a good idea?

2:22:30 Is there ever a line of Trump’s that Stephen Miller could cross?

2:24:45 What’s your read on McMaster appointing Darline Graham?

2:30:15 College football preview

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interview Only w/ Dmitri Mehlhorn - Wargaming An American Coup

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Dmitri Mehlhorn — Democratic strategist, Atoll Society co-founder, and author of the new novel Archipelago of Light — joins the Chuck ToddCast to walk through the war games he runs simulating a contested 2028 election. Three teams: Institutionalists, Nationalists, and Capitalists. The Nationalists win a lot of them, and the mechanics are grimly instructive — they pump up progressives to generate backlash, offer carrots and sticks to capital, and find that every norm broken makes the next break easier. Mehlhorn argues the midterms are the rehearsal: get voters accustomed to challenging results now, delegitimize the process before 2028, and exploit a speaker's latitude not to seat delegations if things are close. His core warning is that our biggest failure has been a failure of imagination — and that taking power back has to be the singular issue in 2028.

Timeline:

00:00 Dmitri Mehlhorn joins The Chuck ToddCast

01:00The simulation, the three factions, and how it works

04:00 Why the Nationalists keep winning

08:45 The predictable playbook of authoritarians

12:15 What happens if 2028 is disputed

20:30 Building the game with AI and historical autocrats

23:15 The midterms as practice for 2028

29:15 The next 75 days and seating the winners

32:00 Texas, Hungary, and what actually deters authoritarians

42:15 The urban/rural divide and echoes of pre-WWI

46:45 Is the constitutional period already over?

54:30 Alarmism vs. vigilance — and what gives him hope

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck’s Commentary - Trump Might Be The Democrats’ Best Midterm Asset + It’s Been A Strange Campaign Season…

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Under four weeks out, Chuck Todd argues this has been the strangest campaign season he can remember — not because Democrats are overperforming, but because of how Republicans are behaving. Red-state Democrats have successfully separated themselves from the national brand and are no longer disqualified simply for being Democrats. Meanwhile almost no Republicans have sought distance from an unpopular president, and Chuck argues GOP candidates in red states have simply forgotten how to persuade anyone. Trump has never been good at defending a record — only at blaming someone else — and in Texas there's no Democrat to blame. Now Trump's running against lived experience at the pump. Chuck points to Thom Tillis calling his Hegseth confirmation vote the biggest regret of his career, estimates 30 Republican senators would dump Trump on a secret ballot, and compares the party to passengers in a car with a drunk driver that nobody will take the keys from. Every race has gotten worse for Republicans except Maine — and Trump may be the Democrats' single best asset over the final four weeks.

Finally, Chuck presents his ToddCast Top TEN list of senate races most likely to flip, having to add more races as the map has expanded for Democrats. He also answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

04:30 A strange campaign season with four weeks to go

06:15 How red-state Democrats separated from the national brand

08:30 The Republicans who won't appear with Trump or Vance

11:30 Red-state Republicans have forgotten how to persuade

14:30 Running against lived experience at the pump

19:15 Fear of Trump's ire, and the seats he couldn't flip

21:15 Tillis, Hegseth, and the 30 senators who'd dump Trump on a secret ballot

25:30 Trump's behavior and the permission slip for exhausted voters

30:45 Every race has gotten worse except Maine

35:15 Why Trump may be the Democrats' best asset

37:45 ToddCast Top TEN senate seats most likely to flip

38:30 #1 North Carolina

39:15 #2 Alaska

41:00 #3 Ohio

42:45 #4 Texas

44:30 #5 Maine

46:30 #6 Kansas

47:15 #7 Iowa

49:00 #8 Michigan

52:00 #9 Nebraska

54:15 #10 South Carolina

59:00 Ask Chuck

59:30 How could a future administration remove political loyalists?

1:04:00 What could be lost amongst turmoil at the Kennedy Center?

1:08:30 Can dinner table discussion become important for election momentum?

1:12:30 Do Republicans think NFL Ken Paxton ads are effective?

1:16:45 Skeptical of Hinojosa winning, is this a mirage?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Episode - Trump Might Be The Democrats’ Best Midterm Asset + Black Women Built The 1963 March on Washington… Then Were Written Out Of It

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Then, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Marcia Chatelain joins the Chuck ToddCast to discuss How Bright the Path Grows, out October 13th, which tells the story of the Black women who built the 1963 March on Washington and were then written out of it. There's abundant footage of the men who spoke that day; there's no class photo of the women who organized it. Chatelain's central figure is Anna Hedgeman, the march coordinator who noticed no women were scheduled to speak — the original plan had the wives of civil rights leaders simply take a bow. She argues sexism functioned not just as oppression but as deliberate political strategy, and makes the point most Americans miss: King's final speeches challenged capitalism itself, and conservatives who now celebrate "I Have a Dream" took decades to get there. Plus Rosa Parks' financial ruin, why reparations never break through, and whether AI will sanitize history further.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

04:30 A strange campaign season with four weeks to go

06:15 How red-state Democrats separated from the national brand

08:30 The Republicans who won't appear with Trump or Vance

11:30 Red-state Republicans have forgotten how to persuade

14:30 Running against lived experience at the pump

19:15 Fear of Trump's ire, and the seats he couldn't flip

21:15 Tillis, Hegseth, and the 30 senators who'd dump Trump on a secret ballot

25:30 Trump's behavior and the permission slip for exhausted voters

30:45 Every race has gotten worse except Maine

35:15 Why Trump may be the Democrats' best asset

40:00 Marcia Chatelain joins The Chuck ToddCast

41:00 Writing women back into the March on Washington

44:30 Sources, threads, and what the march was really about

49:30 How "I Have a Dream" got sanitized — and who gets remembered

52:30 Anna Hedgeman and the women who weren't allowed to speak

55:30 Who thought the march failed, and the case for incrementalism

1:02:30 Diane Nash, Rosa Parks, and the economic retribution against activists

1:09:30 Why reparations hasn't broken through

1:14:00 AI, erasure, and the risk to original sources

1:25:30 Elites, education, and the threats to the Smithsonian

1:32:45 ToddCast Top TEN senate seats most likely to flip

1:33:30 #1 North Carolina

1:34:15 #2 Alaska

1:36:00 #3 Ohio

1:37:45 #4 Texas

1:39:30 #5 Maine

1:41:30 #6 Kansas

1:42:15 #7 Iowa

1:44:00 #8 Michigan

1:47:00 #9 Nebraska

1:49:15 #10 South Carolina

1:54:00 Ask Chuck

1:54:30 How could a future administration remove political loyalists?

1:59:00 What could be lost amongst turmoil at the Kennedy Center?

2:03:30 Can dinner table discussion become important for election momentum?

2:07:30 Do Republicans think NFL Ken Paxton ads are effective?

2:11:45 Skeptical of Hinojosa winning, is this a mirage?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interview Only w/ Marcia Chatelain - Black Women Built The 1963 March on Washington… Then Were Written Out Of It

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Marcia Chatelain joins the Chuck ToddCast to discuss How Bright the Path Grows, out October 13th, which tells the story of the Black women who built the 1963 March on Washington and were then written out of it. There's abundant footage of the men who spoke that day; there's no class photo of the women who organized it. Chatelain's central figure is Anna Hedgeman, the march coordinator who noticed no women were scheduled to speak — the original plan had the wives of civil rights leaders simply take a bow. She argues sexism functioned not just as oppression but as deliberate political strategy, and makes the point most Americans miss: King's final speeches challenged capitalism itself, and conservatives who now celebrate "I Have a Dream" took decades to get there. Plus Rosa Parks' financial ruin, why reparations never breaks through, and whether AI will sanitize history further.

Timeline:

00:00 Marcia Chatelain joins The Chuck ToddCast

01:00 Writing women back into the March on Washington
04:30 Sources, threads, and what the march was really about
09:30 How "I Have a Dream" got sanitized — and who gets remembered
12:30 Anna Hedgeman and the women who weren't allowed to speak
15:30 Who thought the march failed, and the case for incrementalism
22:30 Diane Nash, Rosa Parks, and the economic retribution against activists
29:30 Why reparations hasn't broken through
34:00 AI, erasure, and the risk to original sources
45:30 Elites, education, and the threats to the Smithsonian

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Green Bay Packers: How They Became the NFL’s Most Enduring Dynasty (Part 2)

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Chuck Todd and J.A. Adande trace Green Bay from the Ice Bowl and first Super Bowls through the post-Lombardi struggles and the franchise’s eventual rebirth with Brett Favre, Reggie White and Aaron Rodgers.

The Green Bay Packers became an NFL dynasty under Vince Lombardi. But what happened when the man who built it left? It’s the story of how the Packers built a dynasty that endured across generations.

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Super Tuesdays - It’s Not A Blue Wave… Voters Just REALLY Don’t Like Republicans

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Twenty-eight days out, Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza stress-test their own assumptions: if everything points one direction, what could still be wrong? They work through all three counterfactuals — the Republican money advantage, a polling miss, and the fact that it's October 6th and not November 2nd — and find the money argument weakest, since the GOP has owned the airwaves for six weeks with no discernible movement. That sets up the episode's central frame, borrowed from Charlie Cook: this is a red undertow, not a blue wave, because the fight is happening in light-red and formerly purple states where Republicans own the status quo and there's no Democrat left to blame. The weekend's five New York Times/Siena polls back it up — Talarico at 51 in Texas, Kansas tied, and Ashley Hinson clinging to a one-point lead in the race Chuck calls the most predictive on the board. He also floats a tinfoil-hat theory about who benefits from leaked audio making Ken Paxton look ungrateful, a day before Politico published exactly that. Plus the Kalshi board and where Susan Collins is underpriced, Ted Cruz firing back at JD Vance, Flávio Bolsonaro's first-round win and what it signals about a Trump on the 2028 ballot, and Trump posting Tom Cotton's cell number over daylight saving time.

http://kalshi.com/r/SuperTuesdays

Timeline:

00:00 Twenty-eight days out — and the case that we're all wrong

04:00 Red undertow, not blue wave: why the map explains everything

08:00 Five NYT/Siena polls, and the one race Chuck would want to know

14:00 Iowa as the tell — and the Republicans who are one turnover away

16:00 The tinfoil hat theory about Paxton, and the money pit called Texas

20:00 Talarico at 51 — the point where money stops mattering

26:00 The Kalshi board: 48 seats, Collins as the value & overpriced governors

35:00 If Collins wins, it's one of the great holds of all time

39:00 A little 2028: Vance baits Cruz, and why Rand Paul is the real threat

45:00 Night golf, $90 checks & the rise of the "meatloaf Republicans"

51:00 Bolsonaro's son wins round one — and the Trump 2028 question

53:00 Baseball playoffs, the ball off the roof & a Packers team with no line

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck’s Commentary - Voters Don’t Like Democrats… But They Want To Fire The Republicans + Pete Hegseth Needs To Be Impeached

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

A month out from the midterms, Chuck Todd separates the garbage polls from the real ones and lands on the NYT/Siena swing-state data: Democrats are winning or tied in Alaska, Iowa, and Kansas, Talarico is over 50, and Rob Sand holds a double-digit lead. His key insight is that voters aren't embracing Democrats — they're firing Republicans, with affordability driving everything and millennials the most squeezed group in the country. He also hits a Ken Paxton ad that basically says "support the team" without ever mentioning Paxton, Trump doxxing Tom Cotton over daylight saving time, and Hegseth's new Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs, announced at Quantico with the line that "the real battle is spiritual." Chuck calls that last one what happens in theocracies, and says Hegseth deserves impeachment.

Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit Earl Warren’s appointment as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and why it’s important for justices to have experience in the political system as elected officials. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and recaps the weekend in college football.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

06:00 Separating the real polls from the garbage

09:15 Inside the NYT/Siena swing state numbers

13:00 Voters aren't embracing Democrats — they're firing Republicans

16:45 Millennials, Gen Z, and the generational split

20:00 The Democratic brand problem nobody has solved

23:30 Paxton's "support the team" ad and the rot in Republican politics

27:00 Trump's denial, Hassett's spin, and the $90 Medicare checks

31:45 Trump doxxes Tom Cotton over daylight saving time

35:30 The Atlantic on Kash Patel and the 2020 fraud hunt

41:45 Hegseth's Office of Religious Affairs and an ideological military

57:30 ToddCast Time Machine Earl Warren sworn in as chief justice

58:00 We’re suffering from a lack of diversity of experience on SCOTUS

1:00:30 Last elected politician on the court left 50 years ago. Earl warren

1:02:00 Eisenhower offered Warren a quid pro quo for seat

1:05:00 Warren knew Brown v Board needed to be 9-0

1:08:30 Eisenhower came to regret appointing Warren

1:10:30 Warren court reshaped constitutional law & expanded rights

1:15:45 We’ve screened out political experience for SCOTUS justices

1:17:15 Last Democrat to install a chief justice was Harry Truman

1:21:00 Ask Chuck

1:21:15 Can’t get into baseball… what am I missing?

1:26:00 Best comedic political impressions?

1:29:45 What do you make of Carnegie Mellon’s expansion into Miami

1:33:00 Thank you for interview about Marian Anderson

1:34:30 Could commit to constituent service be persuasive?

1:38:45 College football recap

http://kalshi.com/r/CHUCKTODD

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Full Episode - Voters Don’t Like Democrats… But They Want To Fire The Republicans + How Can Democrats Win In The South?

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Then, Jennifer Palmieri — former Obama and Clinton communications director and host of Crooked Media's Long Play, the documentary series traveling six Southern states — joins the Chuck ToddCast to argue the South is now the epicenter of American politics and Democrats have spent years writing it off. One-party rule has bred civic disengagement, she says, and the region gets treated as a monolith when it's anything but. Her sharpest point: Democrats are overinvesting in Maine and underinvesting in Mississippi, where Scott Colom has a real path. She also makes the case that if Greg Abbott loses, it'll be over education, that Gina Hinojosa is running a smart campaign, and that religion remains the biggest obstacle Democrats face in a region where life is faith, family, and football.

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

06:00 Separating the real polls from the garbage

09:15 Inside the NYT/Siena swing state numbers

13:00 Voters aren't embracing Democrats — they're firing Republicans

16:45 Millennials, Gen Z, and the generational split

20:00 The Democratic brand problem nobody has solved

23:30 Paxton's "support the team" ad and the rot in Republican politics

27:00 Trump's denial, Hassett's spin, and the $90 Medicare checks

31:45 Trump doxxes Tom Cotton over daylight saving time

35:30 The Atlantic on Kash Patel and the 2020 fraud hunt

41:45 Hegseth's Office of Religious Affairs and an ideological military

58:00 Jennifer Palmieri joins the Chuck ToddCast

1:00:15 Why the South became the epicenter of American politics

1:04:45 The South isn't a monolith — and Democrats keep treating it like one

1:12:15 No opposition, no primaries: what one-party rule does to a state

1:18:45 Georgia's civil rights legacy and the decisions still shaping it

1:21:30 Mississippi's path, and why Democrats are investing in the wrong places

1:28:45 The Latino vote and the transformation of Texas

1:30:30 Education, Abbott, and the Hinojosa campaign

1:36:15 Faith, family, football — and the Democratic communication problem

1:45:30 Talarico, the rising floor in Texas, and the brand problem

1:53:15 Why Jon Ossoff has had a very good 2026

1:56:00 ToddCast Time Machine Earl Warren sworn in as chief justice
1:56:30 We’re suffering from a lack of diversity of experience on SCOTUS
1:59:00 Last elected politician on the court left 50 years ago. Earl warren
2:00:30 Eisenhower offered Warren a quid pro quo for seat
2:03:30 Warren knew Brown v Board needed to be 9-0
2:07:00 Eisenhower came to regret appointing Warren
2:09:00 Warren court reshaped constitutional law & expanded rights
2:14:15 We’ve screened out political experience for SCOTUS justices
2:15:45 Last Democrat to install a chief justice was Harry Truman
2:19:30 Ask Chuck
2:19:45 Can’t get into baseball… what am I missing?
2:24:30 Best comedic political impressions?
2:28:15 What do you make of Carnegie Mellon’s expansion into Miami
2:31:30 Thank you for interview about Marian Anderson
2:33:00 Could commit to constituent service be persuasive?
2:37:15 College football recap

http://kalshi.com/r/CHUCKTODD

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interview Only w/ Jennifer Palmieri - How Can Democrats Win In The South?

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Jennifer Palmieri — former Obama and Clinton communications director and host of Crooked Media's Long Play, the documentary series traveling six Southern states — joins the Chuck ToddCast to argue the South is now the epicenter of American politics and Democrats have spent years writing it off. One-party rule has bred civic disengagement, she says, and the region gets treated as a monolith when it's anything but. Her sharpest point: Democrats are overinvesting in Maine and underinvesting in Mississippi, where Scott Colom has a real path. She also makes the case that if Greg Abbott loses, it'll be over education, that Gina Hinojosa is running a smart campaign, and that religion remains the biggest obstacle Democrats face in a region where life is faith, family, and football.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

02:15 Why the South became the epicenter of American politics
06:45 The South isn't a monolith — and Democrats keep treating it like one
14:15 No opposition, no primaries: what one-party rule does to a state
20:45 Georgia's civil rights legacy and the decisions still shaping it
23:30 Mississippi's path, and why Democrats are investing in the wrong places
30:45 The Latino vote and the transformation of Texas
32:30 Education, Abbott, and the Hinojosa campaign
38:15 Faith, family, football — and the Democratic communication problem
47:30 Talarico, the rising floor in Texas, and the brand problem
55:15 Why Jon Ossoff has had a very good 2026

http://kalshi.com/r/CHUCKTODD

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck’s Commentary - Trump’s Republican Party Is Infected With Intellectual Rot + The Best Polling Issues Favor Democrats

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Chuck Todd opens with the attempted hijacking of a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight and the reminder that history turns as much on what almost happened as what did. With 33 days to the midterms, Ken Paxton got caught on tape at a private event calling Trump's midterm convention a negative — and is now in full cleanup mode, nervous about having crossed the president. Chuck returns to the Eric Schmitt debacle as a window into the intellectual rot of the Trump-era GOP: nobody in the room double-checked the facts, because loyalty is now valued over competence and the conclusion arrives before the evidence. He also unpacks Trump's White House AI summit, where six tech CEOs signed a one-page "morally binding" accord and Trump formally renamed AI "superintelligence" by executive order — a self-policing pact that does nothing for Republicans whose own voters are frightened of this technology.

Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and previews the upcoming weekend in college football.

http://kalshi.com/r/CHUCKTODD

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

08:00 The attempted hijacking and the history that almost happened

11:45 Paxton caught on tape, and a campaign in cleanup mode

17:45 The Schmitt incident and the intellectual rot of the Trump GOP

27:30 Trump's AI summit, the "superintelligence" rebrand, and a self-policing pact

31:15 The issues polling best don't help Republicans at all

36:30 An economic backdrop the GOP can't ignore

39:45 The off-ramps Trump won't take

43:00 Voter exhaustion, instability, and what comes after a wipeout

00:52:30 Ask Chuck

00:52:45 Book recommendation about the “butterfly effect” in history

00:54:30 Thoughts on your monologue on fixing public ed

00:56:15 Why aren’t Democrats putting more resources into Texas?

01:00:45 Would you have a former FBI agent on the pod to discuss changes at FBI?

01:02:00 Can a self-described Democratic socialist like AOC win in America?

01:07:00 College football preview

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Episode - Trump’s Republican Party Is Infected With Intellectual Rot + How Democrats Can Compete In Florida Again

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Then, Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon — the Jacksonville union organizer and DSA member who upset Alex Vindman in the Senate primary despite being outraised roughly 16-to-1 — joins the Chuck ToddCast. She explains how she got into politics through community organizing, why she associates with the DSA while not agreeing with everything it wants, and argues Democrats lost Florida because they divested from the state after 2018 rather than because of ideology. She describes being assigned a basement office with rats as punishment in Tallahassee, calls the Florida legislature pay-to-play but still workable, and lays out what she'd do in the Senate: repeal the Big Beautiful Bill, extend ACA subsidies, get big money out of politics, and fund HBCUs. She won't commit to voting for Chuck Schumer.

Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and previews the upcoming weekend in college football.

http://kalshi.com/r/CHUCKTODD

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

08:00 The attempted hijacking and the history that almost happened

11:45 Paxton caught on tape, and a campaign in cleanup mode

17:45 The Schmitt incident and the intellectual rot of the Trump GOP

27:30 Trump's AI summit, the "superintelligence" rebrand, and a self-policing pact

31:15 The issues polling best don't help Republicans at all

36:30 An economic backdrop the GOP can't ignore

39:45 The off-ramps Trump won't take

43:00 Voter exhaustion, instability, and what comes after a wipeout

00:55:45 Angie Nixon joins the Chuck ToddCast

00:56:45 From community organizing to the statehouse

01:01:15 Why the DSA — and where she parts ways with it

01:04:15 How Democrats lost Florida, and why divestment did it

01:10:15 Rats in the basement: corruption and pay-to-play in Tallahassee

01:16:30 What she wants to do in the Senate

01:22:15 Venezuelans afraid to leave the house, and Florida's political swings

01:28:15 Fixing the Democratic Party — and not committing to Schumer

1:35:15 Ask Chuck

1:35:30 Book recommendation about the “butterfly effect” in history

1:37:15 Thoughts on your monologue on fixing public ed

1:39:00 Why aren’t Democrats putting more resources into Texas?

1:42:30 Would you have a former FBI agent on the pod to discuss changes at FBI?

1:44:45 Can a self-described Democratic socialist like AOC win in America?

1:49:45 College football preview

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interview Only w/ Angie Nixon - How Democrats Can Compete In Florida Again

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon — the Jacksonville union organizer and DSA member who upset Alex Vindman in the Senate primary despite being outraised roughly 16-to-1 — joins the Chuck ToddCast. She explains how she got into politics through community organizing, why she associates with the DSA while not agreeing with everything it wants, and argues Democrats lost Florida because they divested from the state after 2018 rather than because of ideology. She describes being assigned a basement office with rats as punishment in Tallahassee, calls the Florida legislature pay-to-play but still workable, and lays out what she'd do in the Senate: repeal the Big Beautiful Bill, extend ACA subsidies, get big money out of politics, and fund HBCUs. She won't commit to voting for Chuck Schumer.

http://kalshi.com/r/CHUCKTODD

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Angie Nixon joins the Chuck ToddCast

01:00 From community organizing to the statehouse

05:30 Why the DSA — and where she parts ways with it

08:30 How Democrats lost Florida, and why divestment did it

14:30 Rats in the basement: corruption and pay-to-play in Tallahassee

20:45 What she wants to do in the Senate

26:30 Venezuelans afraid to leave the house, and Florida's political swings

32:30 Fixing the Democratic Party — and not committing to Schumer

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck’s Commentary - The Circus In The Senate Judiciary Committee + Vouchers Failed… How To Really Fix Public Schools

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Chuck Todd opens by correcting Jon Stewart, who made him a punchline Monday — before turning to the circus at Tuesday's Jack Smith hearing. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, a potential 2028 VP pick, thought he'd caught Smith perjuring himself with text messages placing him at an Atlanta Hawks game the day after the Fani Willis affair broke. Smith was at an Iowa Hawkeyes women's game in Maryland. Klobuchar spotted the mix-up, Schmitt never backtracked, and Chuck's point is the deeper one: Schmitt decided the conclusion before the evidence and displayed exactly the confirmation bias he was accusing Smith of. If evidence can't change your worldview, what's the point of evidence? The second half is a substantive argument that the voucher experiment has hit a dead end — it never moved low-income kids into private schools, it mostly subsidized families already paying tuition, and school funding may be a real reason Republicans lose in November. He also explains why focusing on improving pre-k through 3rd grade education should be a national project.

Finally, Chuck presents his ToddCast Top 5 2026 midterm results that will most impact the 2028 race and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.

http://kalshi.com/r/CHUCKTODD

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

01:45 Jon Stewart, NBC, and setting the record straight

03:15 Which Republicans will actually campaign with Trump

09:15 The Schmitt-Jack Smith hearing debacle

13:15 Confirmation bias and what evidence is even for

16:15 What Jack Smith was actually investigating

22:45 Public education as an American advantage

25:30 The voucher experiment and whether competition worked

30:00 What Mississippi got right, and why pre-K through 3rd grade is everything

40:45 Vouchers hit a dead end — and the political price

47:30 Alabama's TikTok settlement and the limits of blaming teachers

00:57:45 ToddCast Top 5 2026 results that will most impact 2028

00:58:00 #5 Does an independent break through?

01:00:15 #4 California’s wealth tax

01:01:45 #3 Texas senate

01:03:15 #2 Texas governor

01:04:45 #1 Michigan senate

01:06:45 Ask Chuck

01:07:00 How would a mega-tsunami election affect committee assignments?

01:11:45 Is there a value in running uphill races beyond winning?

01:16:15 Will Republicans act with more independence from Trump after midterms?

01:18:45 If enough independents won and didn’t caucus, who would have control?

01:23:30 Favorite sports + political movies? Should Trump impeachment have been broader?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Episode - The Circus In The Senate Judiciary Committee + The Elections That Changed The World

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Then, CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash joins the Chuck ToddCast to discuss The Elections That Changed the World, out September 22nd, which she wrote with David Fisher. The fifteen elections she chose stretch from Julius Caesar — who ran partly because he was deeply indebted and didn't want to be prosecuted — to Nelson Mandela, and "election" is defined loosely enough to include Pope John XXIII's selection and Martin Luther King's informal elevation to lead the Montgomery bus boycott. The through-line is money: wealth shaped nearly every one of them, from the Magna Carta to Caesar effectively buying votes. Bash's larger point is that you rarely know in the moment how consequential a vote will be — Germany in 1932 was a revolution disguised as an election. Plus her five favorite 2026 races, why Michigan is fascinating, and what it's like covering a second-term Trump White House.

Finally, Chuck presents his ToddCast Top 5 2026 midterm results that will most impact the 2028 race and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

01:45 Jon Stewart, NBC, and setting the record straight

03:15 Which Republicans will actually campaign with Trump

09:15 The Schmitt-Jack Smith hearing debacle

13:15 Confirmation bias and what evidence is even for

16:15 What Jack Smith was actually investigating

22:45 Public education as an American advantage

25:30 The voucher experiment and whether competition worked

30:00 What Mississippi got right, and why pre-K through 3rd grade is everything

40:45 Vouchers hit a dead end — and the political price

47:30 Alabama's TikTok settlement and the limits of blaming teachers

58:45 Dana Bash joins The Chuck ToddCast

59:45 Why write "The Elections That Changed the World"

1:44:30 Caesar, Hitler, and the cautionary tales

1:46:45 Wealth as the through-line from the Magna Carta forward

1:15:15 Sun Yat-Sen and the bridge between imperial China and Mao

1:21:15 Pope John XXIII and modernizing the Catholic Church

1:25:15 Kasturba Gandhi, Golda Meir, and women leading democracies

1:32:30 Mandela's election and the limits of judging history in real time

1:43:45 2026 races to watch: Michigan, Lawler, Iowa, Texas

1:58:15 Covering a second-term Trump White House

2:04:45 ToddCast Top 5 2026 results that will most impact 2028

2:05:00 #5 Does an independent break through?

2:09:30 #4 California’s wealth tax

2:08:45 #3 Texas senate

2:10:15 #2 Texas governor

2:11:45 #1 Michigan senate

2:13:45 Ask Chuck

2:14:00 How would a mega-tsunami election affect committee assignments?

2:18:45 Is there a value in running uphill races beyond winning?

2:23:15 Will Republicans act with more independence from Trump after midterms?

2:25:45 If enough independents won and didn’t caucus, who would have control?

2:30:30 Favorite sports + political movies? Should Trump impeachment have been broader?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interview Only w/ Dana Bash - The Elections That Changed The World

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash joins the Chuck ToddCast to discuss The Elections That Changed the World, out September 22nd, which she wrote with David Fisher. The fifteen elections she chose stretch from Julius Caesar — who ran partly because he was deeply indebted and didn't want to be prosecuted — to Nelson Mandela, and "election" is defined loosely enough to include Pope John XXIII's selection and Martin Luther King's informal elevation to lead the Montgomery bus boycott. The through-line is money: wealth shaped nearly every one of them, from the Magna Carta to Caesar effectively buying votes. Bash's larger point is that you rarely know in the moment how consequential a vote will be — Germany in 1932 was a revolution disguised as an election. Plus her five favorite 2026 races, why Michigan is fascinating, and what it's like covering a second-term Trump White House.

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Dana Bash joins The Chuck ToddCast

01:00 Why write "The Elections That Changed the World"?

05:45 Caesar, Hitler, and the cautionary tales

08:00 Wealth as the through-line from the Magna Carta forward

16:30 Sun Yat-Sen and the bridge between imperial China and Mao

22:30 Pope John XXIII and modernizing the Catholic Church

26:30 Kasturba Gandhi, Golda Meir, and women leading democracies

33:45 Mandela's election and the limits of judging history in real time

45:00 2026 races to watch: Michigan, Lawler, Iowa, Texas

59:30 Covering a second-term Trump White House

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Super Tuesdays - Trump Keeps Playing The Hits While The Iran War Tanks The Economy

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 17:21:00 +0000

Thirty-five days out, Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza open on a president playing the hits: Trump spent the weekend at a football game and a golf tournament, then announced his campaign tour kicks off in Durant, Oklahoma and Mobile, Alabama — the site of his first mega-rally in 2015 — rather than anywhere control of Congress is being decided. The more consequential move was rejecting Iran's seven-day truce offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, an exit ramp every Republican in a tough race is publicly begging for; Brent jumped above $107 on the news. That sets up the episode's best segment: a truth-serum run through every competitive Senate race asking which Republicans would actually stand next to Trump — and why the answer across Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska is no, because the damage there is his own tariff and diesel policy. Plus the Senate Leadership Fund's $118 million bet on Ken Paxton, a candidate who's spent under $1 million himself; Fetterman's "lifelong Republican" slip; why Murkowski's calculus runs entirely through Mary Peltola; and why Chuck reads AOC's upstate tour as a Senate campaign, not a presidential one.

Timeline:

00:00 Trump kicks off in Oklahoma and Mobile — and rejects the Iran exit ramp

08:00 Truth serum: which Republicans would actually do a rally with Trump?

18:00 The $118M Paxton bet, and whether McConnell would have swerved

26:00 Triage: walking from Georgia and North Carolina, holding Maine and Ohio

30:00 Fetterman's slip, Murkowski's calculus & when party switches happen

40:00 AOC's real 2028 decision — and why Chuck reads it as the Senate

48:00 The Nats finish 77-85; why reloading is harder than it looks

54:00 The Packers, an atrocious offensive line & a pick headed to the Jets

1:03:00 Kalshi sponsorship, the 62% sweep question & Collins underpriced

1:12:00 Do your own research — and World Series wishes

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck’s Commentary - Trump Has Become The Entire Election + We Need To Update The 25th Amendment

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Chuck Todd zeroes in on a president who has become the entire election: Trump spent the weekend at a football game and a golf tournament while Americans struggle, announced he'd rejected an Iran deal as though he holds all the cards, and now sits at 37% approval in a new WSJ poll — the lowest for any president heading into a midterm in their polling since 1990, with 11% of his own 2024 voters saying they regret the vote. Chuck is appalled by a cultish government-produced TV ad made with taxpayer dollars, notes Republicans don't want Trump campaigning for them (he's being routed to Oklahoma and Alabama), and points to Charlie Cook's framing that this isn't a blue wave so much as a red undertow. His race of the cycle: Gina Hinojosa in Texas, running as a populist rather than a socialist, airing an ad with a former January 6th defendant, and now leading Abbott in a Marist poll.

Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit Woodrow Wilson suffering a debilitating stroke, the efforts to cover it up by his White House and the eerie parallels we’ve seen in the behavior of both the Biden and Trump staffers. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and recaps the weekend in football.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

04:45 Trump as the focal point of the entire election

06:30 The Iran war drags on while Trump seems disinterested

14:45 Trump hits 37% in the new WSJ poll

16:15 The cultish taxpayer-funded TV ad

21:15 Republicans who don't want Trump campaigning for them

26:15 Charlie Cook's red undertow, and a GOP retreat that skipped Texas

31:45 Gina Hinojosa is running the smartest campaign in red America

40:45 Why the Senate and governor maps look nothing alike

45:00 Tuberville's furries floor speech and Beshear's opportunity

57:30 ToddCast Time Machine - October 2nd, 1919

58:45 Wilson was trying to ratify the League of Nations

1:00:00 Wilson collapsed, suffered a massive stroke

1:02:15 Wilson’s doctor wouldn’t declare him incapacitated

1:03:45 Nobody was able to remove Wilson

1:05:30 States ratified the 25th amendment

1:07:15 Aides for Wilson and Trump lacked candor

1:09:00 We’re seeing boxy bulges under Trump’s pants with no explanation

1:10:00 Trump’s doctors say he’s fine, but impossible to know

1:13:15 Congress should create independent body for 25th amendment

1:16:30 Ask Chuck

1:16:45 Could Democrats use vanity plays to bargain with Trump?

1:21:15 Could voters challenge use of Missouri’s new map after midterms?

1:26:00 Did Trump deliberately ban media to coincide with meeting with Xi?

1:28:15 What role do you expect Obama to play in the midterms?

1:31:15 NFL/College football recap

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Episode - Trump Has Become The Entire Election + Trump Screwed The Ag States… Can Democrats Win Them Back?

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Then, former Agriculture Secretary and two-term Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack — the longest-serving USDA secretary of the modern era, joins the Chuck ToddCast to explain what's actually happening in farm country. The Iran war has driven up input costs while deportations gut the labor supply, farmers get blamed for high prices despite capturing the smallest share of every agricultural dollar, and importing beef only discourages domestic ranchers from staying in business. Vilsack notes America has lost a million farming operations since 1973, with most federal support flowing to the top 10%. He argues food security is national security, that SNAP cuts are income cuts for farmers, and that Iowans are tired enough of watching their kids leave the state to vote for change — with Rob Sand's authenticity, not his party label, the reason he's connecting.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

04:45 Trump as the focal point of the entire election

06:30 The Iran war drags on while Trump seems disinterested

14:45 Trump hits 37% in the new WSJ poll

16:15 The cultish taxpayer-funded TV ad

21:15 Republicans who don't want Trump campaigning for them

26:15 Charlie Cook's red undertow, and a GOP retreat that skipped Texas

31:45 Gina Hinojosa is running the smartest campaign in red America

40:45 Why the Senate and governor maps look nothing alike

45:00 Tuberville's furries floor speech and Beshear's opportunity

59:00 Tom Vilsack joins The Chuck ToddCast

1:01:00 Pirates baseball and why national media misses agriculture

1:04:45 The Iran war, input costs, and a deported labor force

1:09:00 What can actually lower beef prices

1:15:00 A million lost farms and who federal support really reaches

1:21:00 Food security is national security

1:28:45 SNAP cuts, rural schools, and the Senate map in the Midwest

1:35:00 Rob Sand, authenticity, and why Iowa may vote for change

1:44:00 Should 2028 Democrats spend time in Iowa?

1:51:45 Data centers, a bio-based farm economy, and what a good night looks like

1:58:00 ToddCast Time Machine - October 2nd, 1919

1:59:15 Wilson was trying to ratify the League of Nations

2:00:30 Wilson collapsed, suffered a massive stroke

2:02:45 Wilson’s doctor wouldn’t declare him incapacitated

2:04:15 Nobody was able to remove Wilson

2:06:00 States ratified the 25th amendment

2:07:45 Aides for Wilson and Trump lacked candor

2:09:30 We’re seeing boxy bulges under Trump’s pants with no explanation

2:10:30 Trump’s doctors say he’s fine, but impossible to know

2:13:45 Congress should create independent body for 25th amendment

2:17:00 Ask Chuck

2:17:15 Could Democrats use vanity plays to bargain with Trump?

2:21:45 Could voters challenge use of Missouri’s new map after midterms?

2:26:30 Did Trump deliberately ban media to coincide with meeting with Xi?

2:28:45 What role do you expect Obama to play in the midterms?

2:31:45 NFL/College football recap

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interview Only w/ Tom Vilsack - Trump Screwed The Ag States… Can Democrats Win Them Back?

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Former Agriculture Secretary and two-term Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack — the longest-serving USDA secretary of the modern era, now CEO of the World Food Prize Foundation — joins the Chuck ToddCast to explain what's actually happening in farm country. The Iran war has driven up input costs while deportations gut the labor supply, farmers get blamed for high prices despite capturing the smallest share of every agricultural dollar, and importing beef only discourages domestic ranchers from staying in business. Vilsack notes America has lost a million farming operations since 1973, with most federal support flowing to the top 10%. He argues food security is national security, that SNAP cuts are income cuts for farmers, and that Iowans are tired enough of watching their kids leave the state to vote for change — with Rob Sand's authenticity, not his party label, the reason he's connecting.

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Tom Vilsack joins The Chuck ToddCast

02:00 Pirates baseball and why national media misses agriculture

05:45 The Iran war, input costs, and a deported labor force

10:00 What can actually lower beef prices

16:00 A million lost farms and who federal support really reaches

22:00 Food security is national security

29:45 SNAP cuts, rural schools, and the Senate map in the Midwest

36:00 Rob Sand, authenticity, and why Iowa may vote for change

45:00 Should 2028 Democrats spend time in Iowa?

52:45 Data centers, a bio-based farm economy, and what a good night looks like

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Green Bay Packers: How a Small Town Built an NFL Dynasty (Part 1)

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Chuck Todd and J.A. Adande go back to the unlikely beginnings of one of the NFL’s most iconic franchises. From Curly Lambeau and the team’s unusual origin story to the community ownership structure that helped keep the Packers in Green Bay, they explore how a small Wisconsin city survived while other early NFL towns disappeared.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck’s Commentary - Trump’s “To The Victor Goes The Spoils” Diplomacy + Republicans Know How Bad The Midterms Will Be

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Chuck Todd argues you don't need a poll to read the midterms — Republican behavior tells you everything. JD Vance is conceding things aren't going well, nobody's buying that it's Biden's economy anymore, and Tim Scott told the NRSC they're in "the fight for their lives," though his 2022 comparison misses that Democrats had Dobbs and Republicans have no equivalent in 2026. Todd's larger argument runs through Trump's UN speech, where the president justified seizing Venezuelan oil with "to the victor go the spoils" — a permission slip Todd says the rest of the world will happily accept. Between unilaterally inviting Putin to the G20, rolling out the red carpet for Xi, and a military stretched thin by Iran, America is now seen as an unreliable partner: one Trump presidency was an aberration, two changes the equation, and it'll take multiple presidents from both parties to win that trust back. Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and previews the upcoming weekend in college football.

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

06:15 You don't need a poll — Republican behavior tells the story

11:00 Tim Scott's "fight for our lives" and the missing Dobbs equivalent

17:45 The diesel export ban and Trump's scramble for an Iran deal

23:15 Where Democrats are short on money — and which races are slipping

29:00 "To the victor go the spoils": Trump's UN speech on Venezuela

32:45 A stretched military and allies who no longer trust us

38:30 Xi's red carpet, Putin at the G20, and unilateralism's costs

44:00 Dismantling the system that made America richer and safer

50:30 Ask Chuck

50:45 Any parallels from Nixon’s career that Harris could take in future run?

54:15 What are the five issues a Dem majority should tackle in 2027?

59:15 Why should fans believe this version of college football is sustainable?

1:05:15 Could congress turn AI concerns into meaningful legislation?

1:08:30 If Dems retake congress, can they force WH to change course?

1:13:15 College football preview

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Episode - Trump’s “To The Victor Goes The Spoils” Diplomacy + How Independents Can Break The Logjam In D.C.

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Then, Adam Brandon — who ran FreedomWorks for over a decade and now co-founded the Independent Leadership Council alongside Joe Manchin — joins the Chuck ToddCast to make the case that a handful of independents could break Washington's logjam. His argument: the parties have shrunk their tents, the blue dogs and moderate Republicans of the 1990s are gone, and in an era of slim majorities, ten independents in Congress could rewrite the rules when a new Congress is seated, install an apolitical speaker, and change every incentive overnight. He points to Montana — where the ILC-affiliated Independent PAC is now airing ads for Seth Bodnar, who needs roughly 210,000 votes to win — as proof the value of money in politics is starting to collapse. Plus: why Libertarians never break through, what younger voters actually want, and why burning the system down just leaves you living in ash.