The Friday Reporter

The Pentagon just tried to blacklist an AI company from all government work. Not because its technology failed — because the company refused to let its AI run autonomous weapons or surveil Americans at scale.

That’s not a contract dispute, it’s a new kind of power struggle. And it’s reshaping the entire AI industry.

Maria Curi is the AI+Government reporter at Axios and the author of the newsletter that drives tech policy conversation...

Local news is disappearing. And the communities left behind aren’t just losing a newspaper — they’re losing accountability, connection and a shared sense of place.

Holly Moore is helping change that.

As Executive Editor of Axios Local, she’s leading one of the most ambitious efforts in journalism to fill the news deserts spreading across this country — and to remind audiences that what happens at city hall, in their school district a...

There are some people who spend their careers chasing titles, and others who spend their careers building communities. Judy B Lloyd is firmly in the second category.

This week on The Friday Reporter, I sat down with Judy, founder of Altamont Strategies and the host behind Purple Inspiration, where she highlights women and community leaders who are quietly doing the work that actually changes places, organizations and people’s lives.

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I’ve spent the last five years talking to journalists about how the story gets told.

But there’s another layer—the people shaping what happens before it ever becomes a headline.

This week on The Friday Reporter, I sat down with Brody Mullins and Dave Tobey to talk about a new show we just launched: The Deciders.

It’s not a news show — It’s about how influence actually works right now—and who’s driving it. Because, the loudest voices a...

What happens when you build one of the largest women-owned lobbying firms in the country — and then decide to rethink the entire model?

This week, Lisa sits down with Jess Beeson Tocco, a seasoned strategist who helped grow one of the nation’s most successful women-owned lobbying firms before making the bold decision to sell the business and rethink what a modern lobbying practice could look like.

In this conversation, Jess shares wh...

Elie Honig doesn’t talk like a television pundit.

He talks like someone who has actually built cases.

On this week’s Friday Reporter, the former Southern District of New York prosecutor drew a straight line between organized crime and modern political power. The tactics, he said, don’t really change.

Create distance.Insulate the boss.Let other people take the fall.Stretch everything out.

Sound familiar?

We also talked about what the med...

In this episode of The Friday Reporter, I sit down with Bruce Mehlman — partner at Mehlman Consulting and the mind behind The Age of Disruption. Bruce has spent decades operating at the crossroads of technology, politics, public policy and business, and he brings a rare, genuinely bipartisan lens to how power and change actually work in Washington and beyond.

We talk about why this moment feels so chaotic — and why it isn’t as unpre...

Chris Cillizza is asked often about his political takes — that’s not what this show is about. Instead, we’re talking independent journalism.

Newsrooms are smaller. Trust is harder to earn. The incentives are louder, quicker, and more punishing than ever. And for many of the most recognizable voices in political media, the next chapter isn’t another beat — it’s independence.

On this episode of The Friday Reporter, I sit with political...

The Friday Reporter opens 2026 with a conversation at the intersection of food, media and reinvention. Longtime Washington, D.C. restaurant critic Tom Sietsema joins the show to reflect on his departure from The Washington Post and the next chapter of his career.

We look back at some of his most influential restaurant reviews, how food has evolved in Washington and what great dining looks like when the spotlight is off. Tom also sha...

For the final episode of the year, I’m joined by John Scofield, founder and partner of S3 Group—one of Washington’s most respected government affairs firms.

John’s career arc mirrors the evolution of influence in Washington. He began as a highly regarded communicator on the House Appropriations Committee, where he learned firsthand how policy, process and power intersect. He later brought that experience to the private sector, build...

This week on The Friday Reporter, I’m joined by Dan Clifton, Partner and Head of Policy Research for Strategas Securities — one of the sharpest minds in Washington when it comes to understanding how policy moves markets.

I learn something new every time I talk with Dan. He’s built a powerhouse research and insights operation that advises top corporate leaders, global investors, and even heads of state. His analysis sits at the inter...

Karina Lynch has built a career at the intersection of health care, law and public policy — but it’s not the path she originally imagined. In this episode, I’m joined by Karina of DLA Piper for a conversation that spans the Senate Special Committee on Aging, health policy on (and off) Capitol Hill, and the unexpected turns that shape a life in Washington.

We talk about how she once planned to go to medical school, how that evolved i...

This week on The Friday Reporter, I’m joined by Stephanie Strategos Polis, Vice President of Public Affairs for the Plastics Industry Association.

Stephanie and I cover a lot of ground in this conversation: what it’s like to raise young kids while managing a demanding public-affairs portfolio, how her time in the Bush administration shaped her approach to service, and why she finds real purpose in telling the story of an industry th...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Colin Allen, executive director of the American Property Owners Alliance, for a conversation that moves effortlessly from campaign classrooms in Charlottesville to the frontline debates shaping housing policy today.

Colin shares stories from his early days at UVA with Larry Sabato, the lessons that still guide his approach to politics and persuasion, and his time inside the U.S. Senate, where he lea...

I’m joined by Mark Pfeifle, founder and president of Off The Record Strategies — and truly one of the best storytellers in the business.

Mark brings the kind of lived experience you can’t fake: from his time on the ground in Iraq to his earliest days learning how to navigate people, pressure, and purpose. He walks through some of the most intense communications crises of his career, breaks down how he approaches leadership in the ha...

This week’s episode is pure joy — because I’m joined by the incomparable Meredith Klein, the brilliant voice behind the wildly popular Meredith and the Media Substack.

If you’ve read her column, you already know:Meredith brings an irresistible blend of enthusiasm, wit, sharp media instincts, and genuine love for journalism that jumps off the page. In conversation, she’s even better.

We talk about:

The stories behind Meredith and the M...

This Week on The Friday Reporter Lisa welcomes Alex Conant, Founding Partner at Firehouse Strategies — a veteran communications strategist whose career has taken him from the halls of Capitol Hill to the highest levels of presidential politics.

Alex shares insights from his years as Communications Director for Senator Marco Rubio and as National Press Secretary during Rubio’s presidential campaign, reflecting on how political commun...

This week, I’m revisiting a favorite conversation with David Wildstein, the editor and founder of The New Jersey Globe.

Long before political news went digital, David created PoliticsNJ — an insider’s must-read publication that reshaped how campaigns, consultants and journalists tracked Garden State politics.

His background as a political operative and his encyclopedic knowledge of New Jersey’s political history make his reporting s...

When Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi began their work as the Witches of Scotland, it was a campaign for justice; for a legal pardon, an apology and a memorial for the thousands of people — mostly women — that were convicted of witchcraft and executed between 1563 and 1736 in Scotland.

In a significant milestone, on International Women’s Day 2022, a formal apology acknowledging the egregious historic injustice suffered by those ...