Hacks On Tap
When David Axelrod, Mike Murphy, and John Heilemann get together to talk politics, it’s not academic. They speak from the perspective gained through hundreds of campaigns for offices from City Hall to the White House. So if you want to know what’s really going on behind the scenes, where strategic decisions are being made, pull up a stool for Hacks on Tap. Incisive, sometimes uproarious and always entertaining, these political warhorses and their guests will give you insights you’ll only get from folks who have spent a lifetime in the political trenches of both parties. From the Vox Media Podcast Network
Episodes
December 16, 2025 • 66 mins
The Hacks convene to sum up a year of very normal politics. The guys dive into Indiana Republicans’ rebuke of Trump’s redistricting plan, the tragic deaths of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, rising health-care premiums headed into 2026, the state of the Trump economy, and what it all means for 2026 and beyond.
From our Hacks on Tap family to yours, thank you for another year, and we wish you a happy holiday season and a he...
Mark as Played
December 9, 2025 • 65 mins
This week Murphy and Heilemann were joined by a true political legend — a man who’s been Hacking up and down the ballot for more than sixty years — the inimitable Bob Shrum! The Hacks dig into Trump’s ambitions for his big rally tonight, the early rumblings of Trump fatigue, the state of the economy, growing calls to release the boat-strike videos, MTG’s 60 Minutes moment, and so much more!
Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Ge...
Mark as Played
December 2, 2025 • 60 mins
The Hacks are back! All three Hackeroos convened this week to discuss the Tennessee Special election, retiring members of congress and upcoming filing deadlines, Hegseth's latest, the tragic national guard shooting, the ongoing Russia/Ukraine negotiations, their shared love of corgis, and so much more.
Photo by Win McNamee via Getty Images
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mark as Played
November 18, 2025 • 66 mins
In our final episode of the month, Axe and Heilemann were joined by frequent Hack, former congressman, and author Steve Israel. The Hacks dig into the vote to release the Epstein files, MTG’s latest pivot and what’s driving it, primary filing deadlines, winning issues, the midterms landscape, redistricting, and so much more.
Plus, we get a sneak peek at Steve’s new book, The Einstein Conspiracy — based on true events, it follows t...
Mark as Played
November 11, 2025 • 69 mins
This week, Axe and Murphy were joined by their new Vox Media colleague and veteran political reporter Astead Herndon. The Hacks dive into the potential end of the government shutdown, the future of Democratic leadership, coalition-building, Border Patrol’s trip to The Bean, Gavin-mania, and so much more!
Special thanks to our veteran Hacks on Tap listeners — we’re grateful for your service. Cheers to you today and always!
Pho...
Mark as Played
November 5, 2025 • 54 mins
The results are in! Last night Axe and Murphy were joined by the indefatigable chronicler of American politics, Jonathan Martin of Politico. The bleary-eyed Hacks stayed up to unpack the election results, the story the margins told, voter turnout, indicators for the midterms, redistricting, Dick Cheney’s legacy, and so much more!
Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...
Mark as Played
October 28, 2025 • 69 mins
This week, Murphy and Heilemann were joined by the great and effervescent Hack, Paul Begala — veteran strategist and former counselor to President Clinton. The Hacks dive into Ballroomageddon, Trump’s not-so-subtle flirting with a third term, his military moves against Venezuela, Canada’s tariff tit-for-tat, early vote numbers out of New York, the budding 2028 Democratic primary field, Indiana’s redistricting — and can you believe ...
Mark as Played
October 21, 2025 • 63 mins
This week, Axe and Murphy were joined by Bloomberg’s jack-of-all-trades Howard Wolfson. The Hacks took a bite out of the Big Apple with the New York mayor’s debate, checked in on the New Jersey and Virginia governor’s race cross tabs, dug into California’s Prop 50, unpacked the historic “No Kings” protest, Trump’s latest AI video, the Justice Department’s targeting of ActBlue, and so much more.
Photo by Angelina Katsanis-Pool vi...
Mark as Played
October 14, 2025 • 70 mins
This week, Axe and Heilemann were joined by Rahm Emanuel — former White House Chief of Staff, two-term Mayor of Chicago, ex-Ambassador to Japan, and a true Hack’s Hack. The Hacks dive into the new Gaza peace accord, Trump’s shifting attention to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and his curious relationship with Putin, the optics of the ongoing government shutdown, ICE’s brutality in American cities, and so much more.
Photo by Evan Vu...
Mark as Played
October 7, 2025 • 67 mins
This week, all three Hacks convened to break down a whirlwind week in politics — from Trump sending troops to Chicago and ICE’s recruitment and tactics, to the contrasting leadership styles of Newsom and Pritzker heading into 2024. They also discuss the shutdown negotiations, Ghislaine’s pardon request, CBS, Prop 50, and a bit of good old-fashioned pearl-clutching. Buckle up!
Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
Lea...
Mark as Played
September 30, 2025 • 63 mins
This week Murphy and Heilemann were joined by the sharp-witted Charlie Sykes — author of How the Right Lost Its Mind and host of the Substack newsletter and podcast To the Contrary. The Hacks dive into an exhaustingly eventful week: Hegseth’s body-shaming of our troops, Trump declaring a war from within, the chaotic deployment of ICE and the military to U.S. cities, the looming shutdown, Comey’s indictment, and the first crack in T...
Mark as Played
September 23, 2025 • 63 mins
This week Axe and Murphy are joined by the formidable Kasie Hunt — anchor of The Arena with Kasie Hunt on CNN, and CNN’s chief national affairs analyst. Together, the Hacks dive into Trump’s UN speech (and his battle with an escalator), the reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel and Trump’s campaign of fear with the FCC as his megaphone, Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, the looming government shutdown, and so much more!
Photo by Alexi J....
Mark as Played
September 16, 2025 • 65 mins
This week, Axe and Murphy — still a little under the weather but never short on opinions — are joined by Hack regular and ace political analyst Jonathan Martin of Politico. The Hacks take on a turbulent week in American politics: the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Utah Governor Spencer Cox’s leadership, the rise of rage-bait and true believers, skeleton keys and conspiracy theories, attempts to whitewash U.S. history, and Trump’s r...
Mark as Played
September 9, 2025 • 62 mins
The Hacks are back — and better than ever. To kick off our brand-new partnership with the Vox Media Podcast Network, Axe and Murphy are joined by none other than political heavyweight Jen Psaki — former White House press secretary, MSNBC host, and one of the most incisive voices in politics today.Together, the Hacks tackle the week’s political circus: the “Department of War”, Trump’s troop talk in Chicago, redistricting battles, th...
Mark as Played
August 26, 2025 • 63 mins
The Hacks are back! There’s just too much news for us to leave you alone, so we’re pulling up a stool with veteran Hackeroo, Chicago native, former White House chief of staff, and U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel. The Hacks dive into Trump’s threats to send the National Guard to Chicago, his increasingly loud campaign against mail-in ballots and the 2020 census, the weaponization of the Justice Department, redistricting as a n...
Mark as Played
August 19, 2025 • 69 mins
This week, Axe and Murphy are joined by the incomparable Hackeroo Ron Brownstein, senior editor at The Atlantic and CNN’s senior political analyst. Together, they unpack Trump’s sit-downs with Putin, Zelensky, and other foreign leaders; the shifting balance of power at home and abroad; the state of the economy and crime; redistricting battles; the latest culture war skirmishes — and plenty more along the way.
Learn more about your ...
Mark as Played
August 12, 2025 • 70 mins
This week, Murphy and Heilemann welcome Paul Begala — longtime Democratic strategist and political hand who’s seen just about everything Washington can throw at you. The Hacks break down Trump’s Beltway power grab and what it means for D.C.’s mayor — and mayors nationwide. They dig into Trump’s “flood the zone” strategy to sidestep the Epstein story, the Texas Democrats’ walkout over redistricting, and how it all could shape the mi...
Mark as Played
August 5, 2025 • 67 mins
This week, Axe and Heilemann are joined by former Congressman Adam Kinzinger — Air Force veteran, author, and one of the most candid voices in Washington. The guys try to help Axe make sense of the Sydney Sweeney controversy, unpack the latest drama at the Department of Defense, and dive into inflation, job numbers, the Texas redistricting adventure, Trump’s foreign frenemies, and so much more!
Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
Mark as Played
July 29, 2025 • 65 mins
This week, our two chief windbags, Axe and Murphy, are joined by seasoned Democratic strategist Lis Smith—and author of Any Given Tuesday. The Hacks unpack Trump’s Epstein problem and the surrounding pardon chatter, his scenic detour to Scotland, and the frosty turn in his bromances. They wade into early polling, premature redistricting shenanigans, and take out the crystal ball to scan the House and Senate maps for potential picku...
Mark as Played
July 22, 2025 • 64 mins
This week, Murphy and Heilemann are joined by ink-stained Hackeroo Robert Costa—national correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning and chief Washington analyst for CBS News, as well as co-author of Peril. The Hacks break down Hunter Biden’s recent interview—and yes, a certain Hackeroo got name-checked, much to his surprise (and ours). They dig into the weight of Joe Biden’s legacy as the Democratic primary field begins to stir, the...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Betrayal Weekly is back for a brand new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack. And make sure to check out Seasons 1-4 of Betrayal, along with Betrayal Weekly Season 1.