The Chuck ToddCast

With 14 days left, Chuck Todd & Chris Cillizza make the argument that should scare Republicans most: corruption has climbed to the number two or three issue, and unlike any other message, it hands a lifelong conservative permission to punish his own party without admitting he was ever wrong. The evidence is already in the ad buys — Trump appeared in 47% of Republican broadcast airings in May and 1% in October — even as he opens a nine-stop closing tour in Wichita and calls the polls rigged. Chuck and Chris dig into why his Senate coattails are a myth Republicans keep believing, read the Kalshi market where an Abbott-plus-Talarico split is the likeliest Texas outcome, and unpack the five-day implosion of press secretary Katie Zacharia. Then the hardest question either of them gets: if Democrats actually sweep, what does December look like? Chuck’s answer is paralysis inside both parties, a Schumer who won’t walk away, and a president who’s less a partisan than a dealmaker. Plus Ann Hornaday, Miami at No. 1, and the cheapest World Series ticket in years.
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Timeline:
00:00 Fourteen days out and Trump’s closing tour
08:00 Corruption, the permission slip, and ad data that gives the game away
15:00 What Trump says versus what he’d actually do after polls close
21:00 Kalshi: the Texas two-race market, vouchers, and the Beshear fight
29:00 The five-day press secretary and a West Wing built to keep Trump busy
35:00 What December actually looks like if Democrats sweep
43:00 DC statehood, the scorpion and the frog, and the race to replace him
49:00 Election-night tea leaves, and whether Schumer walks away
55:00 Miami–Florida State: the double-overtime finish and No. 1 since 2002
1:01:00 A 12-team playoff, Mensah, and the Arch Manning question
1:07:00 Rays–Brewers, and an election-night announcement coming
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Andy Lack — the former NBC News and MSNBC chairman who founded Mississippi Today and Deep South Today, and has now committed $12 million to nonprofit journalism — joins the Chuck ToddCast to explain why he went from running the most-watched news division in the world to building newsrooms in the Deep South. He argues Democrats simply don’t know how to talk to rural voters, white or Black, and describes a Mississippi that has made real gains in early education while still fighting brain drain and a sense of being stuck. On the business, Lack is clear-eyed: trust is the whole formula, video is essential, and the concentration of media ownership among billionaires and tech executives is a genuine threat. Plus what happens to medium-sized markets when the affiliate structure collapses, and why state and local government desperately needs watchdogs again.

For free and unbiased Medicare help, dial (980) 734-3985 to speak with my trusted partner, Chapter, or go to askchapter.org/chuck / *Paid Partnership

Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan’s contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don’t directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area.
Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!
Timeline:
00:00 Andy Lack joins the Chuck ToddCast
01:30 Why he founded Deep South Today
03:45 Mississippi’s politics, and the openings Democrats miss
06:15 Early education gains, brain drain, and a state stuck in the past
10:15 The model: pairing capital cities with smaller ones
12:30 Local news in a fragmented media era
14:15 The formula for success — video, and trust above all
25:00 Tech billionaires owning the media ecosystem
29:15 What happens when the affiliate structure collapses
39:30 Streaming, legacy brands, and journalism in the age of AI
45:15 Data centers and how tech engages communities
49:45 Expanding into news deserts and why watchdogs matter
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd argues the environment hasn’t moved an inch and the only real question is whether this is a Category 1 blue wave or a Category 5 tsunami — with Trump already running the blame game, pre-blaming Cornyn and Karl Rove for a Paxton loss. Democratic small-dollar fundraising is enormous, early voting shows higher Black and Latino engagement, and Todd sets the benchmark: 245 House seats is a governing majority, 220-225 isn’t. But the story he keeps circling is Starshield. Reporting indicates Musk pitched throttling Ukraine’s satellite system directly to Trump, who “agreed” — though Trump denies it, Musk points at the government, and two senior officials told CNN the order didn’t come from the president. Todd’s question is the one nobody’s answering: how much control does Elon Musk have over American foreign policy?
Then, Andy Lack — the former NBC News and MSNBC chairman who founded Mississippi Today and Deep South Today, and has now committed $12 million to nonprofit journalism — joins the Chuck ToddCast to explain why he went from running the most-watched news division in the world to building newsrooms in the Deep South. He argues Democrats simply don’t know how to talk to rural voters, white or Black, and describes a Mississippi that has made real gains in early education while still fighting brain drain and a sense of being stuck. On the business, Lack is clear-eyed: trust is the whole formula, video is essential, and the concentration of media ownership among billionaires and tech executives is a genuine threat. Plus what happens to medium-sized markets when the affiliate structure collapses, and why state and local government desperately needs watchdogs again.
Finally, he hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the stock market meltdown on Black Monday, how automation made the problem worse, and what lessons we can draw as we enter the age of AI. He also answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment and recaps the weekend in college football.

For free and unbiased Medicare help, dial (980) 734-3985 to speak with my trusted partner, Chapter, or go to askchapter.org/chuck / *Paid Partnership

Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan’s contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don’t directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area.
Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

Timeline:
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
03:00 Category 1 wave or Category 5 tsunami?
06:15 Trump gets a head start on the blame game
07:30 Democratic fundraising vs. the GOP’s billionaire money
14:30 What early voting is telling us
19:15 What a real governing majority looks like
24:00 The Senate map, Collins vs. Jackson, and AOC’s million-dollar play
34:15 Nebraska oppo and Bodnar’s internal poll
38:15 Susie Wiles, Katie Zacharia’s five-day tenure, and Trump’s bubble
45:45 How much distance can GOP candidates find?
51:30 Corruption starts to resonate — and Guilfoyle’s burn book
56:00 Trump sides with Putin again, and the diesel deal
1:03:00 The Starshield throttling and who actually ordered it
1:11:30 Republicans struggle to defend it
1:20:30 Andy Lack joins the Chuck ToddCast
1:22:00 Why he founded Deep South Today
1:24:15 Mississippi’s politics, and the openings Democrats miss
1:26:45 Early education gains, brain drain, and a state stuck in the past
1:30:45 The model: pairing capital cities with smaller ones
1:33:00 Local news in a fragmented media era
1:34:45 The formula for success — video, and trust above all
1:45:30 Tech billionaires owning the media ecosystem
1:49:45 What happens when the affiliate structure collapses
2:00:00 Streaming, legacy brands, and journalism in the age of AI
2:05:45 Data centers and how tech engages communities
2:10:15 Expanding into news deserts and why watchdogs matter
2:14:00 ToddCast Time Machine - October 19th, 1987 Black Monday
2:15:30 Wall Street finding out the risks of automating decisions
2:18:30 Automation compounded the sell off
2:21:00 Monday arrives and a massive sell off occurs
2:23:30 The underlying economy wouldn’t have dictated a crash
2:25:15 Fed announces it will provide liquidity to keep markets functioning
2:31:30 Market started assuming fed would save them from their stupidity
2:33:15 Similarities with how AI is being regulated today
2:36:45 Ask Chuck
2:37:00 What if Miami had joined the SEC?
2:40:15 What happens to anti-Trump Republicans a decade from now?
2:41:30 How will congress govern & how will Trump respond after a massive wave?
2:45:30 College football recap
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd argues the environment hasn’t moved an inch and the only real question is whether this is a Category 1 blue wave or a Category 5 tsunami — with Trump already running the blame game, pre-blaming Cornyn and Karl Rove for a Paxton loss. Democratic small-dollar fundraising is enormous, early voting shows higher Black and Latino engagement, and Todd sets the benchmark: 245 House seats is a governing majority, 220-225 isn’t. But the story he keeps circling is Starshield. Reporting indicates Musk pitched throttling Ukraine’s satellite system directly to Trump, who “agreed” — though Trump denies it, Musk points at the government, and two senior officials told CNN the order didn’t come from the president. Todd’s question is the one nobody’s answering: how much control does Elon Musk have over American foreign policy?
Finally, he hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the stock market meltdown on Black Monday, how automation made the problem worse, and what lessons we can draw as we enter the age of AI. He also answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment and recaps the weekend in college football.
For free and unbiased Medicare help, dial (980) 734-3985 to speak with my trusted partner, Chapter, or go to askchapter.org/chuck / *Paid Partnership

Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan’s contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don’t directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area.
Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

Timeline:
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
03:00 Category 1 wave or Category 5 tsunami?
06:15 Trump gets a head start on the blame game
07:30 Democratic fundraising vs. the GOP’s billionaire money
14:30 What early voting is telling us
19:15 What a real governing majority looks like
24:00 The Senate map, Collins vs. Jackson, and AOC’s million-dollar play
34:15 Nebraska oppo and Bodnar’s internal poll
38:15 Susie Wiles, Katie Zacharia’s five-day tenure, and Trump’s bubble
45:45 How much distance can GOP candidates find?
51:30 Corruption starts to resonate — and Guilfoyle’s burn book
56:00 Trump sides with Putin again, and the diesel deal
1:03:00 The Starshield throttling and who actually ordered it
1:11:30 Republicans struggle to defend it
1:19:30 ToddCast Time Machine - October 19th, 1987 Black Monday
1:21:00 Wall Street finding out the risks of automating decisions
1:24:00 Automation compounded the sell off
1:26:30 Monday arrives and a massive sell off occurs
1:29:00 The underlying economy wouldn’t have dictated a crash
1:30:45 Fed announces it will provide liquidity to keep markets functioning
1:37:00 Market started assuming fed would save them from their stupidity
1:38:45 Similarities with how AI is being regulated today
1:42:15 Ask Chuck
1:42:30 What if Miami had joined the SEC?
1:45:45 What happens to anti-Trump Republicans a decade from now?
1:47:00 How will congress govern & how will Trump respond after a massive wave?
1:51:00 College football recap
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Harlan joins Chuck Todd and J.A. Adande for the final chapter of Dynastic's Green Bay Packers series.
Growing up in Green Bay as the son of longtime Packers president Bob Harlan, Kevin witnessed the franchise's transformation firsthand. From the fading glory of Vince Lombardi's dynasty to the resurgence under Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, Harlan offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on one of the most remarkable organizations in professional sports.
Kevin shares untold stories about the Packers' financial struggles, the signing of Reggie White, the transformation of Lambeau Field, and the decisions that helped secure the franchise's future. He also reflects on the legendary Ice Bowl, the origins of the Lambeau Leap, and what makes Green Bay unlike any other NFL city.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.