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Impolitic with John Heilemann

Join Puck’s chief political columnist, MSNBC/NBC News national affairs analyst, and best-selling author John Heilemann as he roams the corridors of power and influence in America on this twice-weekly interview show, taking you behind the scenes and beyond the headlines with the people who shape and shift our culture: icons and up-and-comers, incumbents and insurgents, moguls and machers in the overlapping worlds of politics, entertainment, tech, business, sports, media, and beyond. The conversations are rich and revealing, unrehearsed and unexpected … and reliably impolitic. A Puck-Audacy joint, new episodes drop every Wednesday and Friday.

Dan Harris: Meditation, Mental Health, Six-Peckered Goats & The 2024 Election

Impolitic with John Heilemann

  • 31 views
  • 7 days ago
  • 01:10:33

John is joined by Dan Harris, former ABC News anchor of Nightline, World News Sunday, and Good Morning America’s weekend edition, to discuss Dan's transformation into a full-time meditation and mental health guru and entrepreneur — and accidental social media influencer. The longtime pals discuss strategies for staying sane in the face of the flood of anxiety and agitation unleashed by the 2024 election; why failure is often more productive and profitable (mentally, emotionally, spiritually) than success; how to maintain a sense of calm and balance while working harder than, in Dan’s phrase, a “six-peckered goat;” and some big changes happening in Harris’s 10 Percent Happier empire. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Slaughterhouse 45: Puck Superfriends Assess Kamala's Decimation of The Donald

Impolitic with John Heilemann

  • 24 views
  • 9 days ago
  • 01:16:06

John is joined by his Puck partners Dylan Byers and Peter Hamby to discuss the first (and maybe only) 2024 general election debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump—a mirror image and diametric opposite of Joe Biden’s debate debacle versus Trump in June. The Puck Superfriends analyze Harris's command of the sphere of battle, Trump's inability to avoid being triggered, baited, rattled, and enraged through much of the night; how ABC News’s David Muir and Linsey Davis handled the task of keeping the debate more or less on the rails; and how much, in the end, last night's round of Mortal Kombat in Killadelphia will impact the outcome of the election. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jordan Klepper: Equal Oppty B.S.-Calling & The Daily Show Renaissance

Impolitic with John Heilemann

  • 30 views
  • 14 days ago
  • 01:15:16

John is joined by The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper to discuss the return of Jon Stewart to the show, the challenges of covering the RNC and DNC live, and his signature forays into the dark, savage, achingly comical heart of the MAGA-sphere at Donald Trump’s rallies. The two pals—who worked together when John dragooned Jordan into guest hosting his Showtime series The Circus—also debate the merits of Chicago’s iconic but disgusting local liqueur Malort (and even more iconic and appalling style of deep dish pizza), whether Klepper has a crush on former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas, and his resemblance to Gregor Samsa, the man-turned-cockroach protagonist in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dan Pfeiffer: No Sleep Till … Thanksgiving?

Impolitic with John Heilemann

  • 25 views
  • 16 days ago
  • 01:14:25

John is joined by Pod Save America co-host, New York Times bestselling author, must-read Substacker, and former Obama campaign and White House communications whiz Dan Pfeiffer to discuss the state of the presidential race as we enter the post-Labor Day home stretch: from Kamala Harris’s performance in her first post-nomination sit-down interview to Donald Trump’s ridiculously desperate shape-shifting on abortion and desperately ridiculous pandering on IVF, Barack Obama’s pearls of wisdom at the DNC, Joe Biden’s place in history—and why no polling lead for Harris will be big enough for Dan sleep soundly on Election Eve. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicholas Kristof: The DNC, Darfur Revisited, & The Pig-Dog Conundrum

Impolitic with John Heilemann

  • 17 views
  • 21 days ago
  • 01:09:52

John is joined by two-time Pulitzer-prize-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof to chew over the presidential race: from Joe Biden’s decision to bow out and the wave of enthusiasm that has greeted Kamala Harris to Bill Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s speeches at the Democratic convention. They also discuss Kristof's recently published memoir, Chasing Hope: A Reporter’s Life, the work that Nick is proudest of—on Darfur, global health, and international sex trafficking—and a thought-provoking recent Kristof column arguing that our disparate treatment of dogs and farm animals has no moral basis. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Edelman: On Comedy, Politics & The Emmys at The DNC

Impolitic with John Heilemann

  • 22 views
  • 23 days ago
  • 01:10:03

John hooks up with his pal Alex Edelman—the young genius behind last year’s sold-out Broadway sensation and this year’s Emmy-nominated HBO comedy special Just For Us—at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to discuss his discovery that lobbyists bum him out but a roomful of Democratic delegates sets his heart aflutter; the bit of his about Joe Biden's age that some found unfunny but cracked Biden up; what professional joke-peddlers can do to help Kamala Harris's cause; and why, even though Alex has already won an Obie and a Tony by the age of 35, he really (really) wants to snag that Emmy. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices