The Odd Years

There are a lot of different ways to introduce our guest this week, Sarah Longwell. She is a former Republican operative who has decades of experience in political messaging and communications. She's also an entrepreneur and media pioneer who has, in just a few short years, built an influential media company called The Bulwark. Last year, The Bulwark, with its anti-MAGA, never-Trump messaging, brought in more than $20 million.

She'...

Election administration may not be the sexiest topic out there but it’s something many of us have started paying close attention to these days.

President Trump, who still refuses to accept the results of the 2020 election, has made influencing how we vote a major part of his second term from attempts to force states to turn over voter rolls to changing rules on mail-in voting to broader attempts to “nationalize” e...

This is special edition of the Odd Years! Today, we bring to you Cook Political Report's other podcast: Editors Roundtable.

If you don’t know Editors Roundtable, it is a weekly conversation between Cook Political Report analysts where we discuss the issues, trends, and individual races that we think are the most important and impactful. Think of it as an opportunity to be a fly on the wall during our editorial meetings.

On this...

It is not an exaggeration to say that Amy has been wanting to have our guest today, Carlos Odio, on this podcast for at least a year now. Carlos, co-founder of Equis Research, has a deep and nuanced understanding of a Latino voters, a group that gets discussed a lot in the media but not with the complexity the topic deserves.

Carlos is working to understand what’s been driving these voters from Democrats, and what could be pul...

This is special edition of the Odd Years! Actually, it’s more like a collab with the Cook Political Report’s other podcast, Editors Roundtable.

If you don’t know Editors Roundtable, it is a weekly conversation between Cook Political Report analysts where we discuss the issues, trends, and individual races that we think are the most important and impactful. Think of it as an opportunity to be a fly on the wall durin...

It’s rare for voters from different political leanings to share feelings on the major issues of the day. But when it comes to AI, it’s pretty clear that no matter the party, Americans have a lot of apprehension around this new technology. The worries range from job security to kids’ online safety to the environmental impact of massive data centers.

This also presents a rare opportunity for policy makers in Washi...

When the Supreme Court released their decision to limit the scope and scale of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in late April, Amy knew she wanted to dig into the political and legal repercussions with someone who is well-versed in both of those areas.

She immediately turned to Sean Trende, a senior analyst at RealClearPolitics and a lawyer who has deep expertise in redistricting law.

In fact, back in 2022, Sean was one of two sp...

Americans have a pretty dismal view of Congress. Lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate are seen as ineffective and a much diminished power under President Trump. Last year, for example, Congress passed a record low number of laws while President Trump issued the most executive orders in modern history.

Paul Kane, a veteran Capitol Hill reporter and one of its smartest chroniclers recently wrote a column for the Washington Post in...

Amy has long been an admirer of this week’s guest, The Wall Street Journal's chief economics commentator Greg Ip. She finds his insights into how our economy functions to be thoughtful as well as approachable. It’s also why she thought he'd be the perfect person to talk with about the central disconnect we've seen in perceptions of our economy over the last few years - namely that the markets and Wall Street suggest eve...

The Odd Years is back with our first episode of this midterm year!

Political news and events seem to be breaking faster than the human brain can process, so we wanted to take a step back and talk to people with experience, insight, and perspective who can help us make sense of it all.

That is why we kicked off the inaugural 2026 episode with two political reporters who embody those traits: The Wall Street Journal's Annie Linskey an...

It's a consequential week in the Supreme Court as justices hear a case that could reorient the bounds of executive authority and overturn a ninety year precedent that insulates independent government agencies from political interference from the president.

President Trump has tested those bounds of his executive power on everything from tariffs and trade to immigration to government spending.

It's now up to the Supreme Court to dete...

In Amy’s opinion, Astead Herndon is one of the sharpest and most thoughtful political journalists out there. His New York Times podcast, The Run-Up, did an amazing job pulling back the cover on how national politics is done and showing the gulf that exists between the parties, the insiders and actual voters.

It’s this kind of journalism that has set Astead apart from the pack. He picks apart conventional wisdom and eleva...

Californians often like to think of themselves as the center of the universe. But when it comes to politics, this deep blue state is rarely in the spotlight - until now. The passage of Prop 50 in last Tuesday's election was the most consequential development to date in the redistricting wars. The new Democratic drawn map will cost Republicans three to five seats in 2026 and also shores up five vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

The w...

One week from today, voters in New Jersey and Virginia will go to the polls. These are state and not federal elections. But they can serve as bellwethers for the upcoming midterm election next year.

Topics that resonate in a purple state like Virginia this year, for example, are likely to be issues that are significant in swing states and districts in 2026.

Next Tuesday, we’ll also look closely at voter turnout for some early...

It's safe to say Democrats are going through something of an identity crisis at the moment. They have no clear leaders, no driving issues, and no real power in Washington. And that makes the current government shutdown an interesting test case for Democratic leaders like Chuck Schumer over what they think their voters want and how best to fight Donald Trump.

Our guest today, Democratic strategist Lis Smith, has not minced words when...

We're about eight months into Donald Trump's second term, a victory driven in large part due to voter frustration with the economy and their belief that he would help get inflation down. So what does the economic picture look like today? That's not as easy a question to answer as you would think.

Stock market set record highs, but consumers remain pessimistic about inflation. The tariffs implemented by the Trump administration haven...

We took a late summer break, but we're back with a new slate of really great interviews!

When we started this year, redistricting was not something we thought would be driving our politics this cycle.

But, of course, that's no longer the case with Texas unleashing a domino effect of redistricting efforts across the country.

Thankfully, we know someone really well who can help us understand what's happening: The Cook Political Report...

Back in 2023, Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini wrote a book that laid out a path for how the party could win future elections with a working class multiracial coalition.

Later that year, Amy talked with Patrick on this very podcast where they discussed whether Trump could expand his base to include those voters of color. Well, as we saw, he did. In fact, in 2016, the coalition that elected Trump was 88% white. By 2024, it was dow...

This week we are diverging from our normal Odd Years format to introduce you to another Cook Political Report product, Editors Roundtable.

This podcast features a rotating cast of our Cook Political Report team breaking down the latest news, analysis and insights about the most important House, Senate and Gubernatorial contests in the country.

We like to think of this podcast as an opportunity for you to get the behind the scenes ac...