Impolitic with John Heilemann

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.

Episodes

April 20, 2026 79 mins
John welcomes author Sebastian Mallaby to discuss his new bestselling book, “The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence.” Mallaby explains why Hassabis, the leader of Google’s efforts in artificial intelligence, remains an obscure and under-covered figure compared with Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Elon Musk, the poster boys of the A.I. revolution; why, despite his relative public obscurity,...
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John welcomes his partner and Puck Superfriend Peter Hamby to discuss former California congressman and gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell’s ignominious implosion and its implications for the race to succeed Gavin Newsom. Hamby also weighs in on Donald Trump and J.D. Vance’s ongoing battle with Pope Leo XIV and whether it might cause lasting damage to MAGA with Catholic voters—and Hamby’s highlights (Geese!) from his latest sojo...
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John welcomes longtime Silicon Valley chronicler, bestselling author, and host of two hit podcasts—“On with Kara Swisher” and “Pivot” with Scott Galloway—to discuss her new, six-part CNN docu-series “Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever” on the science, culture, and business of longevity. Swisher weighs in on what’s real and what isn’t in the wellness industry, the narcissism driving the tech bro fascination with immortality, and why...
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John welcomes former NeverTrump Republican gadfly and current New York Democratic congressional primary candidate George Conway to discuss Donald Trump’s behavior this past week viz a viz the war in Iran and its implications for his presidency, the world, and the future of the MAGA movement. Conway also lays out the single-issue thrust of his campaign: removing Trump from office asap. To learn more about listener data and our pri...
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John welcomes NYU law professor, co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, and MS Now legal analyst Melissa Murray to discuss Donald Trump's firing of Pam Bondi as attorney general and the future of the Justice Department. Murray weighs in on Bondi’s tenure, legacy, and potential replacements as AG—as well as the oral arguments before the Supreme Court last week in the birthright citizenship case. To learn more about listener data ...
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John welcomes Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to discuss his city’s harrowing battle this winter with ICE, CBP, and Donald Trump. Frey explains what it was like living under violent federal occupation; the combination of fierce resistance and neighborly love that enabled Minneapolis not just to emerge triumphant but set an example for other cities around the country; and why the embrace of Bruce Springsteen—who kicked off his spring N...
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John welcomes Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal to discuss the ongoing impasse on Capitol Hill over funding D.H.S. (and the resulting T.S.A-related chaos at America’s airports) and reforming ICE, as well as the fierce debates over the SAVE Act and the war in Iran. Regarding the war, Blumenthal argues that “Donald Trump is boxing himself into putting troops on the ground”—and that the only winners in the conflict so far are Russ...
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John welcomes John Ellis, founder and editor of the newsletters News Items and Political News Items, to discuss the military, economic, and political dynamics at play in the war in Iran; how Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's political stature has been enhanced by playing David to Donald Trump's Goliath and its influence on America's allies in Europe; and why the question of Trump’s mental fitness is the most important story in ...
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John welcomes Jason Zengerle, author of the new book “Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind,” to discuss Carlson's opposition to Donald Trump's war in Iran. Zengerle explains Tucker's evolution from conventional (if contrarian) Republican to a leader of the nationalist, nativist, America First faction of the MAGA movement; how his embrace of racist and anti-Semitic tropes have onl...
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John welcomes erstwhile neocon stalwart and current Bulwark seditor-at-large Bill Kristol to discuss the war in Iran, amid mounting signs that it is spiraling out of control. Kristol weighs in on the economic and military dynamics propelling the conflict; whether the U.S. is in danger of being ensnared in an escalation trap; the resignation of Trump’s top counterterrorism adviser, Joe Kent; Israel’s role in the war’s inception; and...
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March 16, 2026 72 mins
John welcomes acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns to discuss his latest PBS magnum opus, “The American Revolution.” Burns recounts the 10-year gestation of the six-part, 12-hour series, culminating with its fortuitous (but entirely coincidental) debut on the eve of the U.S. Semiquincentennial; how he assembled the remarkable array of Hollywood stars—Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, and dozens more—who voice the story’s key hi...
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John welcomes former Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to discuss the war in Iran. Sherman, who led the U.S. team that negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, assesses the current state of the conflict as its scope widens and economic reverberations intensify; the ever-shifting rationales offered by Donald Trump and his administration for attacking Iran and their miscalculations as to how it would respond; and scenarios...
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John welcomes Jake Sullivan, former National Security Adviser to Joe Biden and a key architect of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, to discuss the war against the regime in Tehran as it enters its second week — with no clear plan, strategy, or end game in sight, and having blown the lid off a Pandora’s Box of potentially calamitous unintended consequences. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.a...
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First, John welcomes Arizona Democratic senator, retired U.S. Navy captain, and former combat pilot Mark Kelly to discuss the Trump administration's shifting rationales for, and the huge strategic risks of, the war in Iran. Then John’s Puck partners Leigh Ann Caldwell and Abby Livingston assess the domestic political reaction to the unfolding conflict, plus the results of Tuesday’s Senate primaries in Texas and Kristi Noem’s travai...
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John welcomes back podcasting Ubermensch and personal-finance guru Scott Galloway to discuss his recent foray into activism with Resist & Unsubscribe—an “economic strike targeted at the companies driving the markets and enabling” President Trump. Galloway also weighs in on Sam Altman’s apparent preference for machines over humans; A.I. founders loudly fretting over the technology they created after cashing in and peacing out; and t...
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John welcomes former Republican Senate staffer Amanda Carpenter, who currently works for the non-profit Protect Democracy, to discuss the first State of the Union address of Donald Trump's second term — the interminable length and apparent aimlessness of which, she argues, obscured the ways it was designed to further lay the groundwork for Trump to interfere with the 2026 and 2028 elections. To learn more about listener data and ...
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February 23, 2026 82 mins
John welcomes former Treasury Department chief of staff and Quadrangle Group cofounder Josh Steiner to discuss his new book, with former Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton, “From Mistakes to Meaning: Owning Your Past So It Doesn’t Own You.” Currently a partner at SSW Partners, Steiner delves into the news-making screwup that headlined his career in government and the broader topic of life-altering blunders – how and why we make ...
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John welcomes Reverend Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, to discuss the life and legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson. Sharpton, whose relationship with Jackson – his friend, political mentor, personal taskmaster, and father figure – stretched back nearly 60 years, reflects on Jackson’s place in history as the preeminent civil rights leader of his time and pathbreaking political figure whose campaigns f...
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February 16, 2026 71 mins
John welcomes back Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias to discuss Donald Trump’s recent slew of suggestions about changing the way elections are run in the U.S.—and his apparent plans to mess with the November midterms. Elias also analyzes Attorney General Pam Bondi’s cringeworthy performance last week before the House Judiciary Committee, the Justice Department’s failure to secure indictments (at Trump’s behest) of the half-doze...
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John welcomes acclaimed sportswriter and bestselling author Sally Jenkins to discuss the twin mega-stories this week where politics, culture, and elite athletics invariably come crashing together: the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics. Jenkins also weighs in on the heedless obliteration of the Washington Post’s vaunted sports desk, where Jenkins worked for three decades before joining The Atlantic last year. To learn more about list...
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