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The Playbook Podcast

The Playbook Podcast

By: POLITICO
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Summary

 POLITICO’s Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns bring their fresh insight, analysis and reporting to the biggest story driving the day in the nation’s capital.All rights reserved Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Gloves off: Map wars and where’s the beef?

    Gloves off: Map wars and where’s the beef?
    May 15 2026
    New polling shows voters actually want the gerrymandering wars — and it has big implications for 2026. Plus, ground beef is nearing $7 a pound and the White House just quietly shelved its plan to fix it. And Trump comes back from China — so why did Taiwan vanish from the official summit readout?
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    12 mins
  • Trump in China: Pageantry and high-stakes meetings

    Trump in China: Pageantry and high-stakes meetings
    May 14 2026
    POLITICO White House reporter Alex Gangitano joins the Playbook Podcast from Beijing, where she’s traveling with Donald Trump during his first state visit to China in nearly a decade. With host Jack Blanchard and China correspondent Phelim Kine, the team unpacks a day of closed-door meetings, carefully choreographed optics and mounting tension between the world’s two biggest powers. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spent more than two hours discussing Taiwan, trade, Iran, fentanyl and the broader future of US-China relations. The team digs into the very different messages coming out of Washington and Beijing, the business heavyweights brought into the talks — including Elon Musk and Tim Cook — and what Trump needs to bring home politically from one of the most closely watched summits of his presidency.
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    11 mins
  • James Blair and the Nebraska Dem who may drop out

    James Blair and the Nebraska Dem who may drop out
    May 13 2026
    Playbook’s Dasha Burns shares highlights from her one-on-one interview with James Blair, the head of the Republican midterm strategy, for a look at how the White House sees the road to November. Plus, the strangest Nebraska Senate primary result and what it means for Democrats in other races. Then Trump lands in Beijing with a delegation of American CEOs for his summit with Xi Jinping.
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    15 mins
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