This week, Murphy and Heilemann welcome policy Hackeroo and Clintonworld veteran Doug Sosnik. The Hacks dive into Trump’s Twitter feud with Chicago’s Pope, high-stakes negotiations to end the war with Iran, the JD Vance problem, shifting voting trends and Trump’s job approval—and check in on California’s governor’s race.
Photo by Xinhua via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Gravity of the Situation (with Rahm Emanuel)
2026-04-07 | 1h 4 mins.
This week, Axe and Murphy are joined live and in person by Hack regular, former U.S. Ambassador, and former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel. The Hacks break down the escalating war with Iran and Trump’s increasingly heated rhetoric, as strikes intensify and diplomacy teeters on the brink. They dig into JD Vance’s trip abroad—and what his chances are for 2028—before turning to the midterms and the wide-open Democratic race for the White House. All that and much more!
Photo by Roger Simmons/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
TACO Tuesday (with Morris Katz)
2026-04-01 | 1h 6 mins.
This week, Axe and Heilemann dive into Trump’s Oval Office presser on the state of the war with Iran—and, of course, his ballroom. The Hacks also break down kitchen table issues, potential watershed moments, Republican influencers turning on Trump, redistricting, the midterms, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mad King Politics (with David Plouffe)
2026-03-25 | 1h 4 mins.
This week Axe and Murphy are joined by Campaign Manager Hackeroo David Plouffe — who ran Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, later served as a senior White House advisor.The Hacks dive into another week of war with Iran, unpack Trump’s motivations (and re-motivations), break down how negotiations on the Hill are going, dig into the politics of the SAVE Act, check in on Illinois primary results, and review some spicy Texas ads — and, as always, so much more.
Photo by Heather Diehl via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Luck of the Midterms (with Amy Walter)
2026-03-17 | 1h 7 mins.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Hackeroos! This week, Axe and Heilemann are joined by one of the greatest Hacks in all the land, Amy Walter—publisher and editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. The Hacks dive into Joe Kent’s resignation, unpack the Iran war and its costs at home and abroad, check in on midterm kitchen table issues, take a look at today’s Illinois primary, and so much more!
Photo by Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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
Canada - english