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

October 17, 2025 82 mins
John welcomes Dennis Ross, the longtime diplomat sometimes referred to as the Zelig of Middle East peace talks, to discuss the deal brokered by Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza. Ross—whose career at the center of U.S. foreign policy included stints in the Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, and Obama administrations—explains why the significance of Trump's achievement shouldn’t be diminished, even if his claim of delivering “the h...
Mark as Played
John welcomes the host of Pablo Torre Finds Out back to the show to discuss a pair of freak-outs at the intersection of sports, politics, and commerce: the Republican outrage over Bad Bunny being chosen to headline next year's Super Bowl halftime show, and the NBA's panic over the unfolding scandal, exposed by Pablo's exclusive reporting, involving billionaire LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the team's superstar forward, Kawhi ...
Mark as Played
John welcomes former Republican National Committee chairman and current MSNBC host Michael Steele to the show to discuss the government shutdown, Pam Bondi’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Donald Trump’s militarization of law enforcement in America’s cities. Steele argues that Democrats have the upper hand in Washington’s fiscal standoff, Bondi beclowned herself on Capitol Hill, and Illinois governor J.B. Pri...
Mark as Played
John welcomes Puck's master of the media multiverse, Dylan Byers, back to the show to discuss Bari Weiss's elevation to editor-in-chief of CBS News and Jimmy Kimmel's east coast victory lap after the furor around his suspension and reinstatement by Disney and ABC. Byers also weighs in on the panic in Hollywood over OpenAI's Sora and the first signs of the remaking of the Washington Post's op-ed page as directed by Jeff Bezos. To ...
Mark as Played
John welcomes former Obama White House comms director (and his ersthwile cohost on The Circus) Jennifer Palmieri to discuss the shuttering of the federal government earlier this week. Palmieri argues that Democrats were right to deny Republicans the votes it needed to further operationalize its agenda; that focusing on health care is fighting both the good fight (morally) and the right fight (politically) for her party; and that Do...
Mark as Played
John welcomes celebrated First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams to discuss Donald Trump’s efforts to stifle and/or prosecute his political opponents. Abrams—who has argued more free-speech cases before the Supreme Court than any attorney and whose clients have ranged from the New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case to Mitch McConnell in Citizens United—explains why Jimmy Kimmel’s reinstatement isn’t likely to end Trump’s legal and ...
Mark as Played
Simpsons fans —THE VAULT IS OPEN!  I’m Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson for 35+ years, and I’m finally taking you inside Springfield. Simpsons Declassified is your all-access pass to the world’s most iconic, animated  series.   Each week, we crack open wild predictions, eerie coincidences and fan conspiracies and stories  from 36 seasons (that’s 800+ episodes!) behind-the-scenes with writers, directors, the cast and  c...
Mark as Played
John welcomes Rahm Emanuel—former Democratic Illinois congressman, White House chief of staff, mayor of Chicago, U.S. ambassador to Japan, and likely 2028 presidential candidate—to discuss the lessons of the Jimmy Kimmel conniption; how the broadcast networks could band together to beat back Donald Trump's regulatory and legal campaign against them; and the strategy and tactics his party should employ in the battle over shutting do...
Mark as Played
John welcomes Drew Nieporent, the celebrated owner-operator behind Nobu, Tribeca Grill, and Montrachet, to discuss his new memoir, “I’m Not Trying To Be Difficult: Stories From the Restaurant Trenches.” Nieporent describes his role in transforming the stuffy, fussy, French-focused fine dining culture of New York in the 1970s into the dynamic, freewheeling, scene-driven atmosphere that took hold in the late 1980s; how his fabled par...
Mark as Played
John welcomes New York Times scribe Robert Draper and Atlantic staff writer and podcast host David Frum to discuss the political reverberations from the fatal shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Draper joins the show from Kirk’s home base in Arizona, and assesses the impact of the shooting on those who revered him in the MAGA movement and the future of the organization he founded, Turning Point USA. Meanwhile, Frum takes ...
Mark as Played
John welcomes world-renowned epidemiologist Dr. Michael Osterholm to discuss the threats to America’s public health system under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Osterholm catalogues the damage Donald Trump’s Secretary of Health & Human Services has inflicted in just seven months in office; the misstatements and misinformation he put forward in his recent appearance before the Senate; and his especially dangerous and scientifically baseless ...
Mark as Played
John welcomes former FBI assistant director Frank Figliuzzi back to the show to discuss the murder of Charlie Kirk. Figliuzzi assesses the state of the investigation into the apparent assassination and manhunt for the killer; what we know and don’t know on the basis of the evidence that's been made public; what’s driving thecross-partisan epidemic of political violence in America; and what, if anything, can be done to break the vic...
Mark as Played
John welcomes writer, director, and actor Rob Reiner to the show to discuss the release of the sequel to his genre-defining 1984 mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap” — “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues". Reiner explains why it took 30 years for the follow-up to get made; how the original film went from box-office dud to cultural landmark; and its influence on a generation of comics, from Ricky Gervais to Ben Stiller to Jack Black, and...
Mark as Played
John welcomes Puck’s chief Washington correspondent, Leigh Ann Caldwell, back to the show to discuss Congress’s return to work after its August recess. Leigh Ann assesses the political potency (and limitations) of the public display of solidarity by a phalanx of Jeffrey Epstein survivors in the face of Donald Trump’s continued insistence that the story is a “Democrat hoax”; the potential implications of the Senate Finance Committee...
Mark as Played
John welcomes Jonathan Mahler, New York Times Magazine staff writer and bestselling author of “The Bronx Is Burning,” to discuss his new book, “The Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986-1990.” Mahler unpacks the reinvention of the Big Apple in the second half of the Eighties; riffs on the outsized characters (from Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani to Larry Kramer, Al Sharpton, and, of c...
Mark as Played
August 31, 2025 2 mins
With every episode, Lena Dunham and Alissa Bennett take you on a historical deep dive into the life of a woman society dismissed by calling her mad, sad, or just plain bad: Lindsay Lohan, Judy Garland, Winona Ryder, Mariah Carey, Lil Kim and many more. Join them for a rich, hilarious, and heartbreaking look into exactly what it means when we call a woman “crazy.” The C-Word was originally published behind a paywall from 2019 - 202...
Mark as Played
John welcomes legendary music and pop culture writer, thinker, and theoretician Chuck Klosterman to talk about the runaway success of the Oasis reunion tour and why America is suddenly gaga for the band 30 years after its peak. For those too young to remember the Britpop era or too addled to recall it clearly, Klosterman explains just how huge Oasis was back then; how the Internet and social media conspired to keep the perpetually ...
Mark as Played
John welcomes Democratic Texas state representative James Talarico to discuss the escalating war over redistricting kicked off by Lone Star State Republicans. In the wake of Texas's enactment of a new congressional map sought by Donald Trump and designed to deliver five House seats to the GOP in next year’s midterms, Talarico explains why the two-week walkout by him and 56 of his colleagues succeeded despite the map’s adoption—by s...
Mark as Played
John welcomes Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, back to the show to discuss the past week’s flurry of diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. McFaul analyzes the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska; the subsequent visit of Volodymyr Zelensky and a phalanx of European leaders to the White House; the signals emanating from Russia that Putin’s maximalist war aims remain unchanged...
Mark as Played
John welcomes Pod Save America cohost, Message Box author, and former top Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer back to the show to discuss the burgeoning competition to be the face of the Democratic Party’s future. Pfeiffer assesses the risks and rewards of California governor Gavin Newsom’s redistricting gambit for his presidential ambitions; the efforts of Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker to make his billionaire status tolerable to the popu...
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

    Stuff You Should Know

    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.

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.