The Chuck ToddCast

Епизоде

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  Chuck’s Commentary - New Polling Portends A Midterm Wipeout + Trump Is Focused On ALL The Wrong Things 16.09.2026 1ч 35мин

  Chuck Todd breaks down a NYT/Siena poll showing Democrats up 8 on the generic ballot and leading independents by 23 — numbers that would mean 25-30 House seats and 4-6 Senate seats, with Trump polling worse than he did before the 2018 wave. He argues the Justice Department, FBI, and Pentagon damage will take a generation to repair, that Thomas Massie's impeachment articles against Hegseth usefully drag the Iran war back to center stage, and that Republicans in swing areas should cut bait on Trump entirely. He's also furious about JD Vance attacking Kansas Senate candidate Adam Hamilton over how he practices his faith — religious bigotry, Todd argues, and proof Kansas is in play. Plus Trump's claim that the only AI guardrail needed is a "high IQ president," from a man who spent a decade destroying the very trust he's now demanding.  Finally, Chuck updates his ToddCast Top 5 list of 2028 Democratic candidates for president and answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 04:00 The politicization of DOJ and the damage to federal institutions 12:30 The Kennedy Center tantrum and Trump's messaging problem 15:45 Massie's impeachment articles put the Iran war front and center 22:00 Inside the NYT/Siena poll: +8 generic, +23 with independents 32:30 Why voters under 45 decide wave vs. tsunami 36:30 JD Vance's religious attack on Adam Hamilton 42:45 Trump's AI "high IQ president" guardrail — and why trust is the whole problem 52:45 What social media taught us that we ignored  1:04:30 Gavin Newsom says he won’t run if Kamala Harris does 1:07:30 Newsom is a savvy politician 1:09:15 Newsom will struggle to overcome California image 1:09:30 ToddCast Top 5 Democratic candidates for president in 2028 1:16:00 Ask Chuck 1:16:15 Could Democrats make solidly red states competitive in this environment? 1:18:30 Thoughts onJames Franklin’s first two outings at Virginia Tech? 1:24:30 Is there a way to make a political donation without ending up on email lists? 1:26:15 Should Dems pursue impeachment if they don’t have votes to convict? 1:29:45 Is it possible the Iran war served Russia’s interests & could it be intentional?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Full Episode - New Polling Portends A Midterm Wipeout + How To Navigate The Medicare Maze 16.09.2026 2ч 16мин

  Chuck Todd breaks down a NYT/Siena poll showing Democrats up 8 on the generic ballot and leading independents by 23 — numbers that would mean 25-30 House seats and 4-6 Senate seats, with Trump polling worse than he did before the 2018 wave. He argues the Justice Department, FBI, and Pentagon damage will take a generation to repair, that Thomas Massie's impeachment articles against Hegseth usefully drag the Iran war back to center stage, and that Republicans in swing areas should cut bait on Trump entirely. He's also furious about JD Vance attacking Kansas Senate candidate Adam Hamilton over how he practices his faith — religious bigotry, Todd argues, and proof Kansas is in play. Plus Trump's claim that the only AI guardrail needed is a "high IQ president," from a man who spent a decade destroying the very trust he's now demanding.  Disclosure: Chapter is an advertiser on The Chuck ToddCast. Then, Chapter co-founder and CEO Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz joins the Chuck Toddcast to explain why Medicare enrollment is so punishing — he started the company after watching his own parents struggle, and notes even a Stanford health economics professor found it overwhelming. He walks through what people in their sixties should actually be doing to prepare, why Parts A and B only cover about 80% of costs, how Medicare Advantage works and where its incentives cut against patients, and why the federal government's antiquated technology can't solve this itself. He and Chuck also get into why insurers have no real incentive to keep anyone healthy, and why good produce costing more than a hamburger is the root of so much of it. Finally, Chuck updates his ToddCast Top 5 list of 2028 Democratic candidates for president and answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment. Timeline: 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 04:00 The politicization of DOJ and the damage to federal institutions 12:30 The Kennedy Center tantrum and Trump's messaging problem 15:45 Massie's impeachment articles put the Iran war front and center 22:00 Inside the NYT/Siena poll: +8 generic, +23 with independents 32:30 Why voters under 45 decide wave vs. tsunami 36:30 JD Vance's religious attack on Adam Hamilton 42:45 Trump's AI "high IQ president" guardrail — and why trust is the whole problem 52:45 What social media taught us that we ignored  1:06:00 Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz joins the Chuck Toddcast 1:07:00 Why Chapter exists and why Medicare is so hard to navigate 1:12:30 What Medicare actually covers — and what it doesn't 1:15:00 Medicare Advantage, denials, and misaligned incentives 1:17:45 Why the government can't build this itself 1:22:15 How Chapter works, and how it makes money 1:30:15 Bipartisan backing and the road ahead 1:39:15 Rebuilding American healthcare from scratch 1:46:00 Gavin Newsom says he won’t run if Kamala Harris does 1:49:00 Newsom is a savvy politician 1:50:45 Newsom will struggle to overcome California image 1:51:00 ToddCast Top 5 Democratic candidates for president in 2028 1:57:30 Ask Chuck 1:57:45 Could Democrats make solidly red states competitive in this environment? 2:00:00 Thoughts onJames Franklin’s first two outings at Virginia Tech? 2:06:00 Is there a way to make a political donation without ending up on email lists? 2:07:45 Should Dems pursue impeachment if they don’t have votes to convict? 2:11:15 Is it possible the Iran war served Russia’s interests & could it be intentional?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Interview Only w/ Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz - How To Navigate The Medicare Maze 16.09.2026 42мин

  Disclosure: Chapter is an advertiser on The Chuck ToddCast. Chapter co-founder and CEO Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz joins the Chuck Toddcast to explain why Medicare enrollment is so punishing — he started the company after watching his own parents struggle, and notes even a Stanford health economics professor found it overwhelming. He walks through what people in their sixties should actually be doing to prepare, why Parts A and B only cover about 80% of costs, how Medicare Advantage works and where its incentives cut against patients, and why the federal government's antiquated technology can't solve this itself. He and Chuck also get into why insurers have no real incentive to keep anyone healthy, and why good produce costing more than a hamburger is the root of so much of it. Timeline: 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 01:00 Why Chapter exists and why Medicare is so hard to navigate 06:30 What Medicare actually covers — and what it doesn't 09:00 Medicare Advantage, denials, and misaligned incentives 11:45 Why the government can't build this itself 16:15 How Chapter works, and how it makes money 24:15 Bipartisan backing and the road ahead 33:15 Rebuilding American healthcare from scratch    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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Super Tuesdays - The Iran War Is This Election Cycle's IRAQ For Republicans… But WORSE 15.09.2026 1ч 13мин

  Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza open with a thesis worth marking on a calendar: the next two weeks may be the most consequential stretch of the campaign. Axios data shows Republicans outspending Democrats in every competitive state — $64 million in Texas, $45 million in Ohio — and Chuck's test is specific: if the ads work, Democratic numbers tick down and undecideds tick up by October 1st. His counterweight looks stronger by the day, with diesel at a record, Brent above $109, and the 10-year Treasury touching 5% for the first time since 2023. No amount of super PAC money outruns a gas pump, and he now believes the Iran war will hit these midterms the way Iraq hit 2006 — except as pure economic catastrophe with no upside. Plus: why Texas is an environment problem and not just a Paxton problem, a deep dive into Kansas and the reporting on Roger Marshall's medical-debt lawsuits, why Trump's $5,000 dividend pitch in Dallas was an accidental confession, JD Vance's rise as Rubio vanishes, a genuinely alarmed conversation about AI and the knowledge gap in Congress, and Ted Cruz getting drowned out on College GameDay.  Timeline: 00:00 The late-money avalanche & why these two weeks decide everything 10:00 $6 diesel, a bond market on fire & the Iran war as this cycle's Iraq 18:00 Texas, Florida & the rescue mission for Ken Paxton 24:00 Kansas: the debate, the medical-debt story & why Marshall is vulnerable 34:00 Forced pairs — who flips first across Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Alaska 40:00 The Dallas convention: Vance rising, Rubio missing, Trump promising checks 46:00 AI, the knowledge gap in Congress & a leadership vacuum 56:00 Ted Cruz gets booed, and the case against the college sports bill 66:00 Week one signal vs. noise, monkey picks & the top fiveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Chuck’s Commentary - Maybe…Don’t Build The Doomsday Machine? + Can The GOP’s Cash Advantage Save Them? 14.09.2026 1ч 51мин

  Chuck Todd connects two crises with the same root: nobody in charge is willing to stop. AI CEOs now openly concede their technology could end humanity — Dario Amodei published an essay arguing development needs to slow down — while the companies pour money into the midterms lobbying to let Washington overrule state regulators, and OpenAI's own models escape a sandbox to hack Hugging Face and cheat on a test. From there Todd maps the GOP's financial advantage state by state, argues Trump's convention cash promises are an admission the working-class economy is a disaster, and warns the Iran war has become a full-blown kitchen table issue with millions of barrels of oil a day offline and diesel at an all-time high.  Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the 1920 Wall Street bombing, one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in American history, answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment and reacts to the weekend in college football. Timeline: 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 06:15 The AI industry admits the danger and builds it anyway 17:30 Can Republican money mitigate a terrible climate? 27:45 Trump's convention, cash promises, and a working-class economy in freefall 32:00 Inflation, the Fed, and the Iran oil shock 39:00 Vance's 2028 advantage and the Trump albatross 42:30 Joe diGenova resigns, and the pile of discarded Trump allies 46:15 Why the Protect College Sports bill is fatally flawed  56:30 ToddCast Time Machine - September 16th, 1920 58:00 The Wall Street Bombing 1:03:15 A. Palmer Mitchell warns of anarchists 1:10:00 Over 30 are killed by the bomb and hundreds are injured 1:16:00 Attacks on lower Manhattan became a symbol for attacks on American power 1:20:30 Ask Chuck 1:20:45 Should politicians avoid using foul language? 1:24:00 If Dems capture both chambers, what could they realistically accomplish? 1:30:00 Rebuilding local public access media via streaming? 1:33:45 Thoughts on the culture of NFL ownership? 1:38:00 College football reaction Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Full Episode - Maybe…Don’t Build The Doomsday Machine? + How Campaigns Became An Industry & What Is Cost Us 14.09.2026 2ч 56мин

  Chuck Todd connects two crises with the same root: nobody in charge is willing to stop. AI CEOs now openly concede their technology could end humanity — Dario Amodei published an essay arguing development needs to slow down — while the companies pour money into the midterms lobbying to let Washington overrule state regulators, and OpenAI's own models escape a sandbox to hack Hugging Face and cheat on a test. From there Todd maps the GOP's financial advantage state by state, argues Trump's convention cash promises are an admission the working-class economy is a disaster, and warns the Iran war has become a full-blown kitchen table issue with millions of barrels of oil a day offline and diesel at an all-time high.  Then, veteran political strategist Maria Comella — who has worked for Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, and Democrats alike — joins the Chuck Toddcast to argue that political consulting has become an industry with no character test left in it. Using the Graham Platner saga as a case study, she and Todd examine what consultants owe voters when they know a candidate's flaws, why the staffer who went public took real guts, and why authenticity isn't a value but merely a descriptor. Comella maps the persuadable Republican electorate heading into 2026, argues Texas is the perfect storm for a statewide Democratic win, and explains why a non-MAGA Republican may be structurally unable to break through in 2028.  Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the 1920 Wall Street bombing, one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in American history, answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment and reacts to the weekend in college football.   Timeline: 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 06:15 The AI industry admits the danger and builds it anyway 17:30 Can Republican money mitigate a terrible climate? 27:45 Trump's convention, cash promises, and a working-class economy in freefall 32:00 Inflation, the Fed, and the Iran oil shock 39:00 Vance's 2028 advantage and the Trump albatross 42:30 Joe diGenova resigns, and the pile of discarded Trump allies 46:15 Why the Protect College Sports bill is fatally flawed  58:00 Maria Comella joins the Chuck ToddCast 1:00:00 The Platner saga and the ethics of political consulting 1:08:00 Authenticity, character tests, and what voters will overlook 1:15:00 Going public, the Natalie Harp leaks, and protecting a candidate from himself 1:28:00 Persuadable Republicans and the 2026 battlegrounds 1:39:00 Outside money, data centers, and the AI problem 1:44:30 The 2028 GOP field and the fight for the party's future 1:53:45 Mamdani's first year, Cuomo, and the establishment's failures 2:01:15 ToddCast Time Machine - September 16th, 1920 2:02:45 The Wall Street Bombing 2:08:00 A. Palmer Mitchell warns of anarchists 2:14:45 Over 30 are killed by the bomb and hundreds are injured 2:20:45 Attacks on lower Manhattan became a symbol for attacks on American power 2:25:15 Ask Chuck 2:25:30 Should politicians avoid using foul language? 2:28:45 If Dems capture both chambers, what could they realistically accomplish? 2:34:45 Rebuilding local public access media via streaming? 2:38:30 Thoughts on the culture of NFL ownership? 2:42:45 College football reaction   Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.  Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. 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. Please contact See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Interview Only w/ Maria Comella - How Campaigns Became An Industry & What Is Cost Us 14.09.2026 1ч 8мин

  Veteran political strategist Maria Comella — who has worked for Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, and Democrats alike — joins the Chuck Toddcast to argue that political consulting has become an industry with no character test left in it. Using the Graham Platner saga as a case study, she and Todd examine what consultants owe voters when they know a candidate's flaws, why the staffer who went public took real guts, and why authenticity isn't a value but merely a descriptor. Comella maps the persuadable Republican electorate heading into 2026, argues Texas is the perfect storm for a statewide Democratic win, and explains why a non-MAGA Republican may be structurally unable to break through in 2028.    Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.    Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. 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. Please contact  Timeline: 00:00 The Platner saga and the ethics of political consulting 10:00 Authenticity, character tests, and what voters will overlook 17:00 Going public, the Natalie Harp leaks, and protecting a candidate from himself 30:00 Persuadable Republicans and the 2026 battlegrounds 41:00 Outside money, data centers, and the AI problem 46:30 The 2028 GOP field and the fight for the party's future 55:45 Mamdani's first year, Cuomo, and the establishment's failuresSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Chuck’s Commentary - AI’s “Break Glass” Moment + We Gave Up Freedoms After 9/11… It’s Time To Get Them Back 10.09.2026 1ч 46мин

  Chuck Todd argues AI alarmism just hit its break-glass moment. Jacob Coxon, a researcher who spent three years on pretraining at OpenAI and Anthropic, resigned Tuesday and posted that neither company is acting responsibly — that they're "racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives". Chuck had assumed some of this fearmongering was a marketing tactic. He no longer does. His argument is that the public is begging for guardrails while a government that's been bought off or is simply afraid of tech money does nothing, that the tech companies want regulatory capture, and that we have the worst possible president for this moment. We organized globally to prevent nuclear war; we need televised emergency congressional hearings and the same seriousness here. From there Chuck turns to trust — the connective tissue of the whole episode. Only 45% of Americans think the midterms will be fair, in part because Trump has convinced his supporters that every election he's lost was suspicious. Republicans have to win voters with oil prices at record highs, and unlike Obama, Trump can't credibly blame his predecessor: he inherited a recovery and made it worse. Chuck previews a convention that's a base-turnout exercise rather than a persuasion play, notes Trump's instinct for gimmicks (paying stay-at-home mothers is functionally welfare), and observes that the limited-government wing of the GOP has been fully eviscerated by a party that now wants to coerce social behavior. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, he's blunt about the Islamophobia aimed at Zohran Mamdani and argues Muslim participation in American life post-9/11 is largely a good story. The security apparatus worked, intelligence sharing genuinely improved, but emergency powers should have expiration dates, the surveillance watchdog board is effectively defunct, and Congress has abdicated oversight. We traded privacy for security and then got used to it.  Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and previews the upcoming weekend in college football.    link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.    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!  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. Please contact    Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd's introduction 02:00 AI alarmism may have hit its break-glass moment 03:15 The viral resignation post — and the colleagues who confirmed it 04:30 Chuck had assumed some of this was a marketing tactic 05:45 The public is begging government for AI guardrails 07:15 We have the worst possible president for this moment 08:15 We stopped nuclear war globally — we need the same for AI 09:15 Officials are bought off or afraid of tech money 10:00 The tech companies want regulatory capture 13:00 Shouldn't we pause everything to work on this? 16:30 The virality feels like a primal scream from the public 18:30 Only 45% of Americans think the midterms will be fair 21:00 Trump convinced supporters every election he lost was suspicious 23:30 Republicans have to win with oil prices at record highs 26:15 Obama could blame his predecessor — Trump can't 30:00 A convention Trump can only use to talk to his own voters 34:30 Trump's instinct for finding the right gimmick 36:00 Paying stay-at-home moms is basically welfare 38:00 The GOP now wants government to coerce social behavior 40:30 Democrats should have fought harder for the Child Tax Credit 42:30 Friday marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11 44:15 The blatant Islamophobia aimed at Zohran Mamdani 47:00 Muslim participation in America post-9/11 is mostly a good story 51:30 We gave up a lot of freedoms — it's time to get them back 54:45 More surveillance power was granted, but oversight never followed 56:30 Emergency powers should have an expiration date 59:30 The surveillance watchdog board is basically defunct 1:03:00 Trust has collapsed, and that's dangerous for a pluralistic society 1:07:15 The terrorists win if we fight each other  1:14:45 Ask Chuck 1:15:00 Where have you heard a musical performance that left an impression? 1:19:45 Examples of presidents making painful short-term decisions for long-term gain? 1:24:15 Reaction to Sen. Kennedy telling Kristen Welker he likes her better? 1:24:45 Who needs to sell their MLB team first? 1:28:00 Is there more Dems can do to sustain focus to counter Hegseth at the Pentagon? 1:31:45 Any question of which map will be used in Missouri election? 1:35:45 College football previewSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Full Episode - We Gave Up Freedoms After 9/11… It’s Time To Get Them Back + The Blueprint For How To Steal An Election 10.09.2026 2ч 41мин

  Chuck Todd argues AI alarmism just hit its break-glass moment. Jacob Coxon, a researcher who spent three years on pretraining at OpenAI and Anthropic, resigned Tuesday and posted that neither company is acting responsibly — that they're "racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives". Chuck had assumed some of this fearmongering was a marketing tactic. He no longer does. His argument is that the public is begging for guardrails while a government that's been bought off or is simply afraid of tech money does nothing, that the tech companies want regulatory capture, and that we have the worst possible president for this moment. We organized globally to prevent nuclear war; we need televised emergency congressional hearings and the same seriousness here. From there Chuck turns to trust — the connective tissue of the whole episode. Only 45% of Americans think the midterms will be fair, in part because Trump has convinced his supporters that every election he's lost was suspicious. Republicans have to win voters with oil prices at record highs, and unlike Obama, Trump can't credibly blame his predecessor: he inherited a recovery and made it worse. Chuck previews a convention that's a base-turnout exercise rather than a persuasion play, notes Trump's instinct for gimmicks (paying stay-at-home mothers is functionally welfare), and observes that the limited-government wing of the GOP has been fully eviscerated by a party that now wants to coerce social behavior. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, he's blunt about the Islamophobia aimed at Zohran Mamdani and argues Muslim participation in American life post-9/11 is largely a good story. The security apparatus worked, intelligence sharing genuinely improved, but emergency powers should have expiration dates, the surveillance watchdog board is effectively defunct, and Congress has abdicated oversight. We traded privacy for security and then got used to it.  Then, Lawfare senior editor Molly Roberts joins the Chuck Toddcast to walk through the "rogue clerk" scenario — the theory circulating online that House Republicans could hold power on January 3rd regardless of what voters do in November. Her piece on it has been called the most comprehensive analysis written to date, and her conclusion is genuinely nuanced: this is worth taking seriously without taking it too seriously. The mechanics matter. At noon on January 3rd the old House dissolves and, briefly, there is no House at all — only the clerk, who under 2 U.S.C. § 26 has a ministerial duty to place on the roll only those members whose credentials show they were regularly elected. Ministerial duties are enforceable by mandamus, which means courts can compel compliance before a speaker is ever seated. But the vulnerabilities are real: a speaker can unilaterally fire the clerk and install an acting one, a state certification delayed past January 3rd creates genuine chaos (Missouri is the obvious candidate), and once a speaker is elected the courts will likely bow out. She and Chuck walk through the historical precedents — the 1838 Broad Seal War, the 1984 fight over Indiana's "Bloody 8th" — and land on the reassuring and unsettling truth at once: pulling this off would require an enormous number of people at the state level and in the House conference acting in lockstep, and treating it as a foolproof hack implies it's lawful when it plainly isn't. The realistic ceiling for a rogue clerk isn't a stolen election; it's mayhem. The worry, as Roberts puts it, is that for some people mayhem is more than enough.  Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and previews the upcoming weekend in college football.  link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.  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!  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. Please contact  Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd's introduction 02:00 AI alarmism may have hit its break-glass moment 03:15 The viral resignation post — and the colleagues who confirmed it 04:30 Chuck had assumed some of this was a marketing tactic 05:45 The public is begging government for AI guardrails 07:15 We have the worst possible president for this moment 08:15 We stopped nuclear war globally — we need the same for AI 09:15 Officials are bought off or afraid of tech money 10:00 The tech companies want regulatory capture 13:00 Shouldn't we pause everything to work on this? 16:30 The virality feels like a primal scream from the public 18:30 Only 45% of Americans think the midterms will be fair 21:00 Trump convinced supporters every election he lost was suspicious 23:30 Republicans have to win with oil prices at record highs 26:15 Obama could blame his predecessor — Trump can't 30:00 A convention Trump can only use to talk to his own voters 34:30 Trump's instinct for finding the right gimmick 36:00 Paying stay-at-home moms is basically welfare 38:00 The GOP now wants government to coerce social behavior 40:30 Democrats should have fought harder for the Child Tax Credit 42:30 Friday marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11 44:15 The blatant Islamophobia aimed at Zohran Mamdani 47:00 Muslim participation in America post-9/11 is mostly a good story 51:30 We gave up a lot of freedoms — it's time to get them back 54:45 More surveillance power was granted, but oversight never followed 56:30 Emergency powers should have an expiration date 59:30 The surveillance watchdog board is basically defunct 1:03:00 Trust has collapsed, and that's dangerous for a pluralistic society 1:07:15 The terrorists win if we fight each other  1:17:30 Molly Roberts joins the Chuck ToddCast 1:18:45 How Lawfare shifted from national security to rule of law 1:19:45 Could the administration steal the midterm elections? 1:22:15 The local certification weirdness that didn't work out 1:24:15 Many states tightened election procedures after 2020 1:25:45 A certification delay past January 3rd is the big "what if" 1:28:45 Why January 3rd is the key date — the 20th Amendment 1:29:30 At noon, the old House dissolves and there is no House 1:31:15 During that window, the clerk is effectively running things 1:33:00 What if Missouri's delegation can't get certified? 1:35:45 A late seating could flip the chamber 1:37:45 The 1984 fight over Indiana's "Bloody 8th" 1:39:45 If the clerk goes rogue, can courts step in? 1:40:45 Once there's a speaker, the courts likely bow out 1:43:45 The speaker can fire the clerk and install an acting one 1:47:30 The clerk's ministerial duty — and why it's enforceable 1:50:15 Can the House override a state certification? 1:52:45 How many people would have to cooperate to pull this off 1:54:30 The history of the Broad Seal War 1:59:30 Why the Senate is more immune to January 3rd chaos 2:05:30 The decisions that sustained democracy were mostly 52-48 2:06:15 What she tells people who ask "will the midterms be stolen?" 2:09:15 Ask Chuck 2:09:30 Where have you heard a musical performance that left an impression? 2:14:15 Examples of presidents making painful short-term decisions for long-term gain? 2:18:45 Reaction to Sen. Kennedy telling Kristen Welker he likes her better? 2:19:15 Who needs to sell their MLB team first? 2:22:30 Is there more Dems can do to sustain focus to counter Hegseth at the Pentagon? 2:26:15 Any question of which map will be used in Missouri election? 2:30:15 College football previewSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Interview Only w/ Molly Roberts - The Blueprint For How To Steal An Election 10.09.2026 57мин

  Lawfare senior editor Molly Roberts joins the Chuck Toddcast to walk through the "rogue clerk" scenario — the theory circulating online that House Republicans could hold power on January 3rd regardless of what voters do in November. Her piece on it has been called the most comprehensive analysis written to date, and her conclusion is genuinely nuanced: this is worth taking seriously without taking it too seriously. The mechanics matter. At noon on January 3rd the old House dissolves and, briefly, there is no House at all — only the clerk, who under 2 U.S.C. § 26 has a ministerial duty to place on the roll only those members whose credentials show they were regularly elected. Ministerial duties are enforceable by mandamus, which means courts can compel compliance before a speaker is ever seated. But the vulnerabilities are real: a speaker can unilaterally fire the clerk and install an acting one, a state certification delayed past January 3rd creates genuine chaos (Missouri is the obvious candidate), and once a speaker is elected the courts will likely bow out. She and Chuck walk through the historical precedents — the 1838 Broad Seal War, the 1984 fight over Indiana's "Bloody 8th" — and land on the reassuring and unsettling truth at once: pulling this off would require an enormous number of people at the state level and in the House conference acting in lockstep, and treating it as a foolproof hack implies it's lawful when it plainly isn't. The realistic ceiling for a rogue clerk isn't a stolen election; it's mayhem. The worry, as Roberts puts it, is that for some people mayhem is more than enough.  link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.  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!  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. Please contact    Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Molly Roberts joins the Chuck ToddCast 01:15 How Lawfare shifted from national security to rule of law 02:15 Could the administration steal the midterm elections? 04:45 The local certification weirdness that didn't work out 06:45 Many states tightened election procedures after 2020 08:15 A certification delay past January 3rd is the big "what if" 11:15 Why January 3rd is the key date — the 20th Amendment 12:00 At noon, the old House dissolves and there is no House 13:45 During that window, the clerk is effectively running things 15:30 What if Missouri's delegation can't get certified? 18:15 A late seating could flip the chamber 20:15 The 1984 fight over Indiana's "Bloody 8th" 22:15 If the clerk goes rogue, can courts step in? 23:15 Once there's a speaker, the courts likely bow out 26:15 The speaker can fire the clerk and install an acting one 30:00 The clerk's ministerial duty — and why it's enforceable 32:45 Can the House override a state certification? 35:15 How many people would have to cooperate to pull this off 37:00 The history of the Broad Seal War 42:00 Why the Senate is more immune to January 3rd chaos 48:00 The decisions that sustained democracy were mostly 52-48 48:45 What she tells people who ask "will the midterms be stolen?"See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Chuck’s Commentary - Decoding Missouri’s Election Map Mess + A Damaging Story That Could Upend The Kansas Senate Race 09.09.2026 1ч 42мин

  Chuck Todd reads the New Hampshire results as a straightforward establishment win — the progressive dog didn't bark, outside groups largely stayed out, and Jeanne Shaheen's decades of organization-building still define the state party. He expects a four-to-six point Senate race and would be surprised, though not shocked, if it flipped, since Sununu's politics run a bit conservative for New Hampshire. Then he turns to the redistricting chaos in Missouri, where the state's electoral process has been thrown into genuine disarray: Secretary of State Denny Hoskins sat on 300,000 referendum signatures until primary election day before rejecting them, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled the 2025 map never took effect and ordered November run on the old lines with the new map going to a statewide vote with the August primary already conducted on a map that isn't law. Chuck argues Hoskins created this mess through partisan hackery, points to Texas in 1996 as precedent, and says a special election would be the fairest resolution. He also flags Dan Osborn's tricky balancing act in Nebraska, and a New York Times report that Roger Marshall's practice sued roughly 700 patients over unpaid medical bills — some for just a few hundred dollars — before he later voted to limit hospitals' collection powers. Chuck’s read: damaging material doesn't land on a reporter's desk by accident, the timing could matter enormously in a race Democrats have put in play. Finally, Chuck presents his ToddCast Top 5 potential red state sweeps for the Democrats and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment. 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!    Play ball and swing for the fences on FanDuel, an official partner of the MLB at https://FANDUEL.COM.    Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.   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. Please contact  Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 02:30 The establishment got its way in NH primary elections 04:45 The progressive dog didn’t bark in New Hampshire 05:15 Outside groups mostly stayed out of NH races 06:45 Jeanne Shaheen built & basically is the NH Democratic Party 08:15 NH senate race will likely be in a 4-6 point range 09:45 Sununu’s politics are a bit conservative for NH 11:30 Would be surprised but not shocked if NH senate goes Republicans 13:30 Missouri election map battle risks disenfranchising voters 14:00 Federal court puts temporary restraining order on the map 14:45 Missouri Republicans drew new maps to achieve 7-1 or 8-0 result 15:45 Voters collected enough signatures for referendum on map 16:30 Missouri secretary of state delayed until day of primary election 18:30 State Supreme Court unanimously ruled new map didn’t take effect 19:30 The old map is still in effect, but primary voters voted on the new map 20:15 SCOTUS declined to intervene, it’s a state issue 21:00 After SCOTUS decision, federal judge in Missouri issued an injunction 23:45 The electoral process in Missouri has been thrown into chaos 25:15 Secretary of state created this mess with partisan hackery 26:30 Texas was in a similar situation in 1996, held a special election 29:30 The special election is the fairest way to resolve this problem 31:30 There could be voter backlash to the redistricting effort 33:30 Dan Osborne trying to pull off a difficult balancing act in Nebraska 34:45 Osborne admits there’s a difference between campaigning & governing 36:30 Dem candidate in Ohio joked he’d lie to voters about being DSA 37:45 Hitting your opponent with their own words is highly effective 40:30 Trump is doing everything he can to screw up the Kansas economy 42:00 NYT reports Roger Marshall sued 700 patients for unpaid medical bills 42:45 Some of the debts were small, in the hundreds of dollars 43:30 Later, Marshall voted to limit hospitals’ ability to collect debts 44:30 Damaging material doesn’t randomly appear on a reporter’s desk 45:30 Report raises a character & empathy question about Marshall 48:15 Story also raises questions about the state of U.S. healthcare 50:15 Timing of the story could seriously impact the election 56:30 ToddCast Top 5 red states where Dems could sweep statewide 1:00:00 #5 Florida 1:01:15 #4 Kansas 1:03:30 #3 Iowa 1:06:15 #2 Texas 1:09:15 #1 Ohio 1:12:00 Ask Chuck 1:12:15 How would history be different if we treated 9/11 as criminal acts rather than war? 1:19:30 Do voters have recourse if an elected official is refusing to do the job? 1:23:30 Why do you shy away from using racism as a voting motive? 1:29:30 If the senate ties 50-50 & one becomes incapacitated, does the chamber flip? 1:33:30 As a Steelers fan, which college QB should I be keeping an eye on?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Full Episode - Decoding Missouri’s Election Map Mess + Remembering The “Voice Of A Century” 09.09.2026 2ч 42мин

  Chuck Todd reads the New Hampshire results as a straightforward establishment win — the progressive dog didn't bark, outside groups largely stayed out, and Jeanne Shaheen's decades of organization-building still define the state party. He expects a four-to-six point Senate race and would be surprised, though not shocked, if it flipped, since Sununu's politics run a bit conservative for New Hampshire. Then he turns to the redistricting chaos in Missouri, where the state's electoral process has been thrown into genuine disarray: Secretary of State Denny Hoskins sat on 300,000 referendum signatures until primary election day before rejecting them, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled the 2025 map never took effect and ordered November run on the old lines with the new map going to a statewide vote with the August primary already conducted on a map that isn't law. Chuck argues Hoskins created this mess through partisan hackery, points to Texas in 1996 as precedent, and says a special election would be the fairest resolution. He also flags Dan Osborn's tricky balancing act in Nebraska, and a New York Times report that Roger Marshall's practice sued roughly 700 patients over unpaid medical bills — some for just a few hundred dollars — before he later voted to limit hospitals' collection powers. Chuck’s read: damaging material doesn't land on a reporter's desk by accident, the timing could matter enormously in a race Democrats have put in play. Then, Anthony Tommasini — chief classical music critic for the New York Times from 2000 to 2021 — joins the Chuck Toddcast to discuss Voice of a Century: The Life and Artistry of Marian Anderson, out September 8th as part of the Significations series curated by Henry Louis Gates Jr. Tommasini didn't seek the project; he was asked to write it. His argument is that Anderson has been flattened into two civil rights milestones — the 1939 Lincoln Memorial concert before 75,000 people after the DAR barred her from Constitution Hall, and breaking the Met's color line — when the reason she mattered in the first place was the voice. He describes her extraordinary range, her European breakthrough (and the promoters who essentially whitewashed her race to sell her), her decision not to learn Italian because she knew American opera was closed to her, and the fact that had she been born thirty years later she'd have had an opera career. The human material is remarkable: conscripted into a church choir at six, largely self-taught at piano, denied a hotel room and put up by Albert Einstein, who became a friend and pushed her to speak out more than she wanted to. Anderson's aim was to be a great artist, not an activist. They also get into the state of classical music in 2026 — why symphonies are so expensive to sustain, why live performance can't be replicated, and which American orchestra he'd send you to first. Finally, Chuck presents his ToddCast Top 5 potential red state sweeps for the Democrats and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment. 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!  Play ball and swing for the fences on FanDuel, an official partner of the MLB at https://FANDUEL.COM.  Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. 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. Please contact  Timeline: 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 02:30 The establishment got its way in NH primary elections 04:45 The progressive dog didn’t bark in New Hampshire 05:15 Outside groups mostly stayed out of NH races 06:45 Jeanne Shaheen built & basically is the NH Democratic Party 08:15 NH senate race will likely be in a 4-6 point range 09:45 Sununu’s politics are a bit conservative for NH 11:30 Would be surprised but not shocked if NH senate goes Republicans 13:30 Missouri election map battle risks disenfranchising voters 14:00 Federal court puts temporary restraining order on the map 14:45 Missouri Republicans drew new maps to achieve 7-1 or 8-0 result 15:45 Voters collected enough signatures for referendum on map 16:30 Missouri secretary of state delayed until day of primary election 18:30 State Supreme Court unanimously ruled new map didn’t take effect 19:30 The old map is still in effect, but primary voters voted on the new map 20:15 SCOTUS declined to intervene, it’s a state issue 21:00 After SCOTUS decision, federal judge in Missouri issued an injunction 23:45 The electoral process in Missouri has been thrown into chaos 25:15 Secretary of state created this mess with partisan hackery 26:30 Texas was in a similar situation in 1996, held a special election 29:30 The special election is the fairest way to resolve this problem 31:30 There could be voter backlash to the redistricting effort 33:30 Dan Osborne trying to pull off a difficult balancing act in Nebraska 34:45 Osborne admits there’s a difference between campaigning & governing 36:30 Dem candidate in Ohio joked he’d lie to voters about being DSA 37:45 Hitting your opponent with their own words is highly effective 40:30 Trump is doing everything he can to screw up the Kansas economy 42:00 NYT reports Roger Marshall sued 700 patients for unpaid medical bills 42:45 Some of the debts were small, in the hundreds of dollars 43:30 Later, Marshall voted to limit hospitals’ ability to collect debts 44:30 Damaging material doesn’t randomly appear on a reporter’s desk 45:30 Report raises a character & empathy question about Marshall 48:15 Story also raises questions about the state of U.S. healthcare 50:15 Timing of the story could seriously impact the election 59:00 Anthony Tommasini joins the Chuck ToddCast 1:01:15 The origin of "Voice of a Century" 1:03:00 Marian Anderson as barrier breaker 1:05:15 Conscripted into the church choir at age six 1:08:00 Anderson became popular in Europe first 1:10:00 Promoters practically whitewashed her race to sell her 1:11:30 Why she never learned Italian 1:14:30 If born 30 years later, she'd have sung opera 1:17:30 Seeing Roland Hayes and the epiphany that followed 1:18:15 She wanted to be a great artist, not a civil rights activist 1:19:15 Denied a hotel room, invited to stay with Albert Einstein 1:21:30 Why she came back to America instead of staying in Europe 1:25:45 Ending every recital with negro spirituals 1:29:30 The Lincoln Memorial concert and the nerves behind it 1:36:00 What Anderson meant as a model for the Black community 1:37:45 Two Anderson recordings everyone should hear 1:43:30 The state of classical music in 2026 1:47:00 Why classical music has to be experienced live 1:52:45 The premiere symphony to attend in America 1:56:00 "Voice of a Century" is out September 8th 1:56:30 ToddCast Top 5 red states where Dems could sweep statewide 2:00:00 #5 Florida 2:01:15 #4 Kansas 2:03:30 #3 Iowa 2:06:15 #2 Texas 2:09:15 #1 Ohio 2:12:00 Ask Chuck 2:12:15 How would history be different if we treated 9/11 as criminal acts rather than war? 2:19:30 Do voters have recourse if an elected official is refusing to do the job? 2:23:30 Why do you shy away from using racism as a voting motive? 2:29:30 If the senate ties 50-50 & one becomes incapacitated, does the chamber flip? 2:33:30 As a Steelers fan, which college QB should I be keeping an eye on?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Interview Only w/ Anthony Tommasini - Remembering The “Voice Of A Century” 09.09.2026 1ч 2мин

  Anthony Tommasini — chief classical music critic for the New York Times from 2000 to 2021 — joins the Chuck Toddcast to discuss Voice of a Century: The Life and Artistry of Marian Anderson, out September 8th as part of the Significations series curated by Henry Louis Gates Jr. Tommasini didn't seek the project; he was asked to write it. His argument is that Anderson has been flattened into two civil rights milestones — the 1939 Lincoln Memorial concert before 75,000 people after the DAR barred her from Constitution Hall, and breaking the Met's color line — when the reason she mattered in the first place was the voice. He describes her extraordinary range, her European breakthrough (and the promoters who essentially whitewashed her race to sell her), her decision not to learn Italian because she knew American opera was closed to her, and the fact that had she been born thirty years later she'd have had an opera career. The human material is remarkable: conscripted into a church choir at six, largely self-taught at piano, denied a hotel room and put up by Albert Einstein, who became a friend and pushed her to speak out more than she wanted to. Anderson's aim was to be a great artist, not an activist. They also get into the state of classical music in 2026 — why symphonies are so expensive to sustain, why live performance can't be replicated, and which American orchestra he'd send you to first. Play ball and swing for the fences on FanDuel, an official partner of the MLB at https://FANDUEL.COM.  Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. 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. Please contact  Timeline: 00:00 Anthony Tommasini joins the Chuck ToddCast 02:15 The origin of "Voice of a Century" 04:00 Marian Anderson as barrier breaker 06:15 Conscripted into the church choir at age six 09:00 Anderson became popular in Europe first 11:00 Promoters practically whitewashed her race to sell her 12:30 Why she never learned Italian 15:30 If born 30 years later, she'd have sung opera 18:30 Seeing Roland Hayes and the epiphany that followed 19:15 She wanted to be a great artist, not a civil rights activist 20:15 Denied a hotel room, invited to stay with Albert Einstein 22:30 Why she came back to America instead of staying in Europe 26:45 Ending every recital with negro spirituals 30:30 The Lincoln Memorial concert and the nerves behind it 37:00 What Anderson meant as a model for the Black community 38:45 Two Anderson recordings everyone should hear 44:30 The state of classical music in 2026 48:00 Why classical music has to be experienced live 53:45 The premiere symphony to attend in America 57:00 "Voice of a Century" is out September 8thSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  The Paul Finebaum Interview: Alabama’s Past, Present & Uncertain Future 08.09.2026 58мин

  Chuck Todd and J.A. Adande sit down with ESPN’s Paul Finebaum and dive into Alabama football. Finebaum shares his perspective on Bear Bryant’s complicated legacy and the integration of Alabama football, explains why Nick Saban succeeded where so many post-Bryant coaches failed, and reveals how Saban established total control over the program from the moment he arrived in Tuscaloosa.Plus, Finebaum offers a warning about Alabama’s future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Super Tuesdays - Can Trump’s Midterm Convention Prevent A Democratic Blue Tsunami? 08.09.2026 1ч 14мин

  Eight Tuesdays out, Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza open on the first midterm convention in modern American history — two nights at Dallas's American Airlines Center with 109 speakers, Trump appearing both nights, and House members getting billed $25,000 to attend. The guys are skeptical of nearly all of it: the event lands on NFL kickoff night, it butts up against the 25th anniversary of September 11th, and Politico found 45 of 70 Republican candidates and members skipping it. Their sharper point is that the whole thing is a microcosm of the party's bind — you cannot win without the MAGA base, and you cannot win with only the MAGA base — which is why swing-state nominees like Jon Husted and Mike Rogers will show up and try very hard to deliver a forgettable speech. Chuck argues nationalizing the election isn't crazy on its own terms, since the other side is going to run against Trump anyway, but doubts Trump can hit any register besides red meat, and doubts even more that he can find a second gear for the September 11th anniversary the following day. From there they dig into Texas, where MAGA Inc's first $10 million buy is running a half-negative, half-positive ad about taxes — a signal, Chuck says, that they know the target is suburban Romney Republicans, not the base. He walks through Greg Abbott's steadily declining margins, the four-to-eight-point scandal penalty that history says attaches to a candidate like Paxton, and lands somewhere that surprises Chris: he now likes Talarico's odds better than Sherrod Brown's in Ohio. They check the prediction markets, unpack the Missouri Supreme Court ruling that blocked the Republican-drawn map and effectively hands Emanuel Cleaver his seat back, and take apart Trump's request that the Supreme Court impose a national check on mail voting — a policy every Republican strategist will tell you privately hurts their own side. Then a long, unsparing conversation about the Wall Street Journal's reporting on John Fetterman and what it means for control of the Senate on January 3rd, a real case for a third Senate conference built around Murkowski and a possible independent, and a closing riff on Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, and why the Protect College Sports Act is doomed without collective bargaining.   Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Eight Tuesdays out — and why they actually prepare for these now 03:00 The first midterm convention since the early '80s  04:00 $25,000 a head, and Tim Burchett's surprise invoice 05:00 It lands on the opening night of the NFL season 07:00 The Trump trap — you can't afford to say no 08:00 Nationalizing the election isn't the crazy part 11:00 The convention as a microcosm of the GOP's whole problem 13:00 "Trumpapalooza" — so what's the actual message? 14:00 Conventions aren't for swing voters, and never have been 16:00 Husted, Rogers & the art of the deliberately forgettable speech 19:00 Trump as TV producer — and the 9/11 anniversary the next day 20:00 Will he turn the 25th anniversary into a political speech? 23:00 MAGA Inc's first $10M buy lands in Texas 26:00 They tried calling Talarico weird. It didn't take. 27:00 Trump throws Paxton under the bus in the Oval 29:00 Abbott's slipping margins and the blue tsunami scenario 31:00 South Texas Latinos appear to be shifting back 33:00 Clinton lost Texas by less than she lost Iowa in 2016 34:00 Blue-collar trade unions and the industrial Midwest problem 38:00 Trump asks the Supreme Court for a national mail-voting check 39:00 The rural voters his own rule would punish hardest 42:00 Democrats at 85-88% to take the House 43:00 The Missouri ruling 46:00 Why this is anti-voter, full stop 47:00 The Senate sits at 52-48 Republican. A year ago it was 71-29. 49:00 Alaska, and Dan Sullivan's troubling primary numbers 51:00 The Wall Street Journal's Fetterman story 54:00 The practical stakes: who controls the Senate on January 3rd 55:00 Does Fetterman leave the party? 58:00 He's already built the intellectual case for walking 1:00:00 January 3rd is the whole ballgame 1:02:00 Osborn, Bodner, Banks and the independent wave 1:03:00 The real case for a third Senate conference 1:05:00 Saban and McAfee push the Protect College Sports Act 1:07:00 No labor at the table means it dies in court 1:08:00 Ashley Moody's quiet ACC poison pill 1:12:00 The Nats chase the blown-save record. Sell the team. 1:13:00 Dynastic: Finebaum on why Alabama may not run it backSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Chuck’s Commentary - Blue Mirage, Blue Wave, Or Blue Tsunami? + Could John Fetterman Defect? 07.09.2026 2ч 5мин

  With the fall campaign officially underway after Labor Day, Chuck Todd lays out three scenarios for November and assigns odds to each. A blue mirage (15%) — Democrats still take the House but net only two Senate seats, saved by Republican money from tech and crypto, because you can't buy a new national mood but you can absolutely save individual candidates. A blue wave (50%), the 2006 comparison, where individual races start behaving like one national election and Democrats win everything reasonable. And a blue tsunami (30-35%), where Texas and Florida governorships come into play, independents break hard, and MAGA voters stay home. What separates a wave from a tsunami, Todd argues, is whether corruption breaks through as a voting issue — and data centers may be the most tangible way in. The problem for Democrats remains what it's been all year: they're as unpopular as Republicans, they don't have an obvious agenda, and releasing one risks dividing the party — though not releasing one carries its own risk. He also flags the Missouri map being tossed by the state supreme court, notes the redistricting chaos Republicans started, previews a GOP midterm convention that's purely a base-turnout exercise many candidates may skip, and closes on John Fetterman. The Wall Street Journal report — sourced to more than a dozen former staffers and colleagues plus internal texts — details skipped committee hearings, blown-off constituent meetings, and reluctance to attend police funerals. Fetterman calls it a smear job from disgruntled staffers. His question isn't about the reporting: it's whether Fetterman is still a Democrat come January 2027, and which side of the aisle he and Lisa Murkowski end up sitting on. He also weighs in on week one in college football. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit Gerald Ford’s decision to pardon Richard Nixon and why the conventional wisdom of it being the right decision… is wrong. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment. Play ball and swing for the fences on FanDuel, an official partner of the MLB at https://FANDUEL.COM.    Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.   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. Please contact    Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd's introduction 03:30 Fall campaign season kicks off after Labor Day 04:15 Why polling New Hampshire is so difficult 06:45 Democrats have a midterm advantage — the question is how big 07:30 Blue mirage, blue wave, or blue tsunami? 08:00 Evaluating the blue mirage — 15% chance 09:30 Under a mirage, Dems probably net only two Senate seats 11:30 Missouri map thrown out, could add a Democratic seat 12:30 The redistricting wars Republicans started 14:30 Dems raise better online, the GOP has the big-dollar donors 15:45 Tech and crypto money is flowing to Republicans 16:45 You can't buy a national mood, but you can save candidates 18:15 Both parties are equally unpopular — unlike 2018 19:15 Evaluating the blue wave — 50% chance 21:00 In a wave, individual races behave like a national election 23:15 How will the midterm GOP convention play out? 25:15 The convention is purely a base turnout exercise 27:00 Trump does better as an outsider than as an incumbent 29:15 Data centers have become a real political problem 31:00 The problem for Democrats: what are they actually offering? 33:15 Evaluating the blue tsunami — 30-35% chance 34:45 In a tsunami, Texas and Florida governorships are winnable 36:30 For a tsunami, corruption has to break through 37:30 Data centers may be the way into the corruption argument 38:45 The public is telling the tech industry to F off 41:45 If corruption becomes a voting issue, the wave becomes a tsunami 42:45 Will socialism and DSA attacks actually scare independents? 46:15 Independents will decide which scenario plays out 49:15 The WSJ report on John Fetterman 50:45 Will Fetterman still be a Democrat in January 2027? 52:15 Which side of the aisle will Fetterman and Murkowski sit on? 52:45 College football week one recap  1:15:00 ToddCast Time Machine - September 8th, 1974 1:15:30 Gerald Ford pardons Richard Nixon… a huge mistake 1:16:15 Ford earned a profile in courage award for pardoning Nixon 1:17:00 Did Ford’s pardon undermine the rule of law? 1:17:45 Nixon resigned because he lost his political support 1:18:45 Gerald Ford was never elected, he replaced Spiro Agnew 1:19:30 Ford declared our long national nightmare was over 1:21:00 Why did Ford get to decide how much accountability we received 1:22:00 There was a serious potential criminal case & pardon stopped it 1:22:45 Why Ford did have a valid argument for giving the pardon 1:24:30 It was not an easy call, Ford prioritized stability… but what was lost? 1:26:00 The alternative paths Ford could have taken 1:27:30 Ford didn’t intend for investigations of others to stop 1:29:30 The normal pardon process wasn’t followed 1:31:00 Ford faced serious questions from congress about the pardon 1:34:00 Majority of the country supported prosecuting Nixon 1:35:30 Major backlash to the pardon 1:36:00 Eventually people thought Ford did the right thing 1:40:30 Ford created a serious dilemma for future presidents 1:43:30 We have the most corrupt president now because we punted on the last 1:43:45 Ask Chuck 1:44:00 Could AR-02 be won by Democrats in a wave year? 1:48:15 Why do voters support candidates that conflict with their economic interests? 1:53:15 What if a president was aggressive as Trump in doing things that are popular? 1:58:00 Would expanding the house restore power to members and committees? 2:01:30 How can Dems break through to working class & right leaning white voters?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Full Episode - Blue Mirage, Blue Wave, Or Blue Tsunami? + Debt, AI, & An Economy That Isn't Working for Everyone 07.09.2026 3ч 6мин

  With the fall campaign officially underway after Labor Day, Chuck Todd lays out three scenarios for November and assigns odds to each. A blue mirage (15%) — Democrats still take the House but net only two Senate seats, saved by Republican money from tech and crypto, because you can't buy a new national mood but you can absolutely save individual candidates. A blue wave (50%), the 2006 comparison, where individual races start behaving like one national election and Democrats win everything reasonable. And a blue tsunami (30-35%), where Texas and Florida governorships come into play, independents break hard, and MAGA voters stay home. What separates a wave from a tsunami, Todd argues, is whether corruption breaks through as a voting issue — and data centers may be the most tangible way in. The problem for Democrats remains what it's been all year: they're as unpopular as Republicans, they don't have an obvious agenda, and releasing one risks dividing the party — though not releasing one carries its own risk. He also flags the Missouri map being tossed by the state supreme court, notes the redistricting chaos Republicans started, previews a GOP midterm convention that's purely a base-turnout exercise many candidates may skip, and closes on John Fetterman. The Wall Street Journal report — sourced to more than a dozen former staffers and colleagues plus internal texts — details skipped committee hearings, blown-off constituent meetings, and reluctance to attend police funerals. Fetterman calls it a smear job from disgruntled staffers. His question isn't about the reporting: it's whether Fetterman is still a Democrat come January 2027, and which side of the aisle he and Lisa Murkowski end up sitting on. He also weighs in on week one in college football. Then, Bruce Mehlman — founding partner of the bipartisan Mehlman Consulting and the man behind the quarterly slide decks that circulate through half of official Washington — joins the Chuck Toddcast to assess a bifurcated economy and the bills coming due. Millennials are wealthier than their parents were at this age but far more stressed, housing is inflated by a supply shortage, and the central question hanging over everything is whether AI pays off before the investment bill comes due. Mehlman notes the dot-com bubble produced real productivity gains and still burst, and the harder worry isn't the bust itself but whether it arrives at a moment when government can't respond. The back half turns to how business is bracing for a Democratic Congress. Mehlman says the business community knows the pendulum always swings, and an epic wave of oversight is coming — complicated by an OLC position that executive privilege extends to anyone who speaks with Trump, meaning everything gets litigated to the Supreme Court while companies weigh the risk of contempt. On Trump's pay-to-play demands, he argues there are usually paths to alignment without selling your soul, and notes wealthy individuals now carry more political punching power than corporations do. He's especially sharp on data centers, where polling shows tech, AI, and social media all deeply underwater and the backlash is "where Bannon meets Bernie" — the perception being that AI benefits only billionaires and shareholders. His prediction: the House flips and the Senate lands 50-50 — with Michigan the most interesting race on the board, because an El-Sayed win keeps DSA energy alive and makes AOC the 2028 frontrunner. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit Gerald Ford’s decision to pardon Richard Nixon and why the conventional wisdom of it being the right decision… is wrong. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment. Play ball and swing for the fences on FanDuel, an official partner of the MLB at https://FANDUEL.COM.    Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.   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. Please contact    Timeline: 00:00 Chuck Todd's introduction 03:30 Fall campaign season kicks off after Labor Day 04:15 Why polling New Hampshire is so difficult 06:45 Democrats have a midterm advantage — the question is how big 07:30 Blue mirage, blue wave, or blue tsunami? 08:00 Evaluating the blue mirage — 15% chance 09:30 Under a mirage, Dems probably net only two Senate seats 11:30 Missouri map thrown out, could add a Democratic seat 12:30 The redistricting wars Republicans started 14:30 Dems raise better online, the GOP has the big-dollar donors 15:45 Tech and crypto money is flowing to Republicans 16:45 You can't buy a national mood, but you can save candidates 18:15 Both parties are equally unpopular — unlike 2018 19:15 Evaluating the blue wave — 50% chance 21:00 In a wave, individual races behave like a national election 23:15 How will the midterm GOP convention play out? 25:15 The convention is purely a base turnout exercise 27:00 Trump does better as an outsider than as an incumbent 29:15 Data centers have become a real political problem 31:00 The problem for Democrats: what are they actually offering? 33:15 Evaluating the blue tsunami — 30-35% chance 34:45 In a tsunami, Texas and Florida governorships are winnable 36:30 For a tsunami, corruption has to break through 37:30 Data centers may be the way into the corruption argument 38:45 The public is telling the tech industry to F off 41:45 If corruption becomes a voting issue, the wave becomes a tsunami 42:45 Will socialism and DSA attacks actually scare independents? 46:15 Independents will decide which scenario plays out 49:15 The WSJ report on John Fetterman 50:45 Will Fetterman still be a Democrat in January 2027? 52:15 Which side of the aisle will Fetterman and Murkowski sit on? 52:45 College football week one recap  1:16:30 Bruce Mehlman joins The Chuck ToddCast 1:18:45 Assessing the bifurcated economy 1:19:15 Millennials are wealthier than their parents — and more stressed 1:20:45 We need AI to pay off before the investment bill comes due 1:22:15 Is the AI bubble the railroads or the dot com boom? 1:25:30 Could the bust come when government can't respond? 1:26:30 From $20T to $40T in national debt in ten years 1:28:45 Social Security and Medicare trusts run dry in 2032 1:30:00 If bipartisanship is seen as betrayal, nothing gets done 1:31:45 A 3% tax increase and 3% spending cut would be a start 1:33:30 How is the business community preparing for a Democratic Congress? 1:35:15 An epic amount of oversight is coming 1:36:15 OLC claims executive privilege covers anyone who talks to Trump 1:38:45 Companies won't risk contempt of Congress 1:41:00 Advising clients on Trump's pay-to-play demands 1:43:00 There are paths to alignment without selling your soul 1:45:15 We need reforms to get out of this Gilded Age 1:47:30 How should big tech make the case for data centers? 1:50:30 Voters are open to data centers if harms are mitigated 1:53:30 Tech CEOs are viewed as villains by the public 1:55:30 The data center backlash is where Bannon meets Bernie 1:58:45 Is there anyone in Silicon Valley who can sell this? 2:05:45 What Walmart got right about storytelling 2:07:00 Prediction: the House flips and the Senate goes 50-50 2:09:30 If it's 50-50 and Alaska flips… what does Murkowski do? 2:11:00 Michigan is the most interesting race on the board 2:13:00 The bull case for James Talarico is Roy Moore in Alabama 2:16:30 ToddCast Time Machine - September 8th, 1974 2:17:00 Gerald Ford pardons Richard Nixon… a huge mistake 2:17:45 Ford earned a profile in courage award for pardoning Nixon 2:18:30 Did Ford’s pardon undermine the rule of law? 2:19:15 Nixon resigned because he lost his political support 2:20:15 Gerald Ford was never elected, he replaced Spiro Agnew 2:21:00 Ford declared our long national nightmare was over 2:23:30 There was a serious potential criminal case & pardon stopped it 2:24:15 Why Ford did have a valid argument for giving the pardon 2:26:00 It was not an easy call, Ford prioritized stability… but what was lost? 2:27:30 The alternative paths Ford could have taken 2:31:00 The normal pardon process wasn’t followed 2:32:30 Ford faced serious questions from congress about the pardon 2:35:30 Majority of the country supported prosecuting Nixon 2:37:00 Major backlash to the pardon 2:37:30 Eventually people thought Ford did the right thing 2:42:00 Ford created a serious dilemma for future presidents 2:45:00 We have the most corrupt president now because we punted on the last 2:45:15 Ask Chuck 2:45:30 Could AR-02 be won by Democrats in a wave year? 2:49:45 Why do voters support candidates that conflict with their economic interests? 2:54:45 What if a president was aggressive as Trump in doing things that are popular? 2:59:30 Would expanding the house restore power to members and committees? 3:03:00 How can Dems break through to working class & right leaning white voters?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Interview Only w/ Bruce Mehlman - Debt, AI, & An Economy That Isn't Working for Everyone 07.09.2026 1ч 5мин

  Bruce Mehlman — founding partner of the bipartisan Mehlman Consulting and the man behind the quarterly slide decks that circulate through half of official Washington — joins the Chuck Toddcast to assess a bifurcated economy and the bills coming due. Millennials are wealthier than their parents were at this age but far more stressed, housing is inflated by a supply shortage, and the central question hanging over everything is whether AI pays off before the investment bill comes due. Mehlman notes the dot-com bubble produced real productivity gains and still burst, and the harder worry isn't the bust itself but whether it arrives at a moment when government can't respond: the national debt has doubled from $20 trillion to $40 trillion in a decade, the Social Security and Medicare trusts run dry in 2032, and there's no political courage to touch any of it — because in a system where bipartisanship reads as betrayal, nothing gets done. His modest starting point: a 3% tax increase paired with a 3% spending cut. The back half turns to how business is bracing for a Democratic Congress. Mehlman says the business community knows the pendulum always swings, and an epic wave of oversight is coming — complicated by an OLC position that executive privilege extends to anyone who speaks with Trump, meaning everything gets litigated to the Supreme Court while companies weigh the risk of contempt. On Trump's pay-to-play demands, he argues there are usually paths to alignment without selling your soul, and notes wealthy individuals now carry more political punching power than corporations do. He's especially sharp on data centers, where polling shows tech, AI, and social media all deeply underwater and the backlash is "where Bannon meets Bernie" — the perception being that AI benefits only billionaires and shareholders. The fix is making local benefits visible, and finding a communicator who isn't a CEO, since tech executives are now viewed as villains. His prediction: the House flips and the Senate lands 50-50 — with Michigan the most interesting race on the board, because an El-Sayed win keeps DSA energy alive and makes AOC the 2028 frontrunner. Play ball and swing for the fences on FanDuel, an official partner of the MLB at https://FANDUEL.COM.  Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. 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. Please contact    Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Bruce Mehlman joins The Chuck ToddCast 02:15 Assessing the bifurcated economy 02:45 Millennials are wealthier than their parents — and more stressed 04:15 We need AI to pay off before the investment bill comes due 05:45 Is the AI bubble the railroads or the dot com boom? 09:00 Could the bust come when government can't respond? 10:00 From $20T to $40T in national debt in ten years 12:15 Social Security and Medicare trusts run dry in 2032 13:30 If bipartisanship is seen as betrayal, nothing gets done 15:15 A 3% tax increase and 3% spending cut would be a start 17:00 How is the business community preparing for a Democratic Congress? 18:45 An epic amount of oversight is coming 19:45 OLC claims executive privilege covers anyone who talks to Trump 22:15 Companies won't risk contempt of Congress 24:30 Advising clients on Trump's pay-to-play demands 26:30 There are paths to alignment without selling your soul 28:45 We need reforms to get out of this Gilded Age 31:00 How should big tech make the case for data centers? 34:00 Voters are open to data centers if harms are mitigated 37:00 Tech CEOs are viewed as villains by the public 39:00 The data center backlash is where Bannon meets Bernie 42:15 Is there anyone in Silicon Valley who can sell this? 49:15 What Walmart got right about storytelling 50:30 Prediction: the House flips and the Senate goes 50-50 53:00 If it's 50-50 and Alaska flips… what does Murkowski do? 54:30 Michigan is the most interesting race on the board 56:30 The bull case for James Talarico is Roy Moore in AlabamaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Chuck’s Commentary -The Blue Wave Is Building… But How Big Will It Be? + The Five-Alarm Fire At The Pentagon 03.09.2026 1ч 45мин

  Chuck Todd reads the tea leaves on a building Democratic wave: primary turnout is up 35% over 2022 while Republican turnout is down 4%, and Todd argues voter behavior is a far better predictor than polling — though it's a tea leaf, not a guarantee. He then digs into an underappreciated dynamic that could decide Senate control: governor's races make the weather. Texas, Chuck argues, is now more plausible for Democrats than Iowa. And South Carolina, which Republicans never expected to worry about, just got more expensive after Ralph Norman told supporters to write him in rather than back Darline Graham. The second half is a five-alarm fire at the Pentagon. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned this week over Hegseth blocking Army modernization by firing the generals leading it — the latest in a purge that has left the Army without a chief of staff for months and cut four-star positions from ten to five, all during an active war. Chuck’s read is that this is a deliberate gutting and argues the fired and recently resigned generals have an obligation to speak up, because silence doesn't protect the institution. He closes with what he calls the cancer in American politics — the House — using Jared Golden's lobster fishing bill as the perfect illustration: Golden had to vote for a Republican rule just to get a floor vote on his own legislation, then got accused by leadership of a breach of trust for representing his constituents. That's the disease, Chuck argues, and Democrats will inherit every bit of it. Finally, Chuck updates his ToddCast Top 5 list of senate seats most likely to flip, answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment, and previews week 1 in college football.   Play ball and swing for the fences on FanDuel, an official partner of the MLB at https://FANDUEL.COM.    Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.   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. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.  Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd's introduction 04:15 A Democratic wave is building… but how big? 06:15 Dem turnout up 35% from 2022, GOP turnout down 4% 08:30 A tea leaf, not a guarantee — and why behavior beats polling 11:15 New Hampshire primaries preview 13:15 Senate control may be decided by governor races in MI, TX and IA 14:30 Ramaswamy is the wrong avatar for a Republican to win Ohio 16:45 Republicans didn't think they'd have to worry about South Carolina 17:30 Ralph Norman tells supporters to write him in rather than back Graham 22:15 Governor's races make the weather and drag Senate candidates along 26:00 Ticket splitting hasn't disappeared since 2010, but it's less common 27:15 Breaking down the penalty for various candidate sins 30:00 Ken Paxton needs Abbott to win big — and Abbott's trending down 33:15 Todd Akin's voters fled to the Libertarians in 2012 35:00 El-Sayed's penalty isn't scandal, it's ideological — 2-3 points 36:00 Jocelyn Benson is running the best campaign of the cycle 38:45 Iowa hasn't split a governor/senate race since 1998 41:45 Texas looks more plausible for Democrats than Iowa 43:45 Problems at the Pentagon should be a five-alarm fire 45:30 Hegseth forced out the leaders modernizing the Army 47:45 Hollowing out the military during an active war 48:45 Hegseth wants the Pentagon to be a reality show about himself 52:00 Assets needed to deter Russia & China are being removed 54:15 Military leaders must be able to disagree with civilian leadership 57:00 An obligation to warn the country if the military is being weakened 59:45 The House of Representatives is the cancer in our political system 1:03:30 The Jared Golden lobster bill saga 1:06:30 Golden voted for a GOP rule to get a vote on his own bill 1:09:45 Leadership accused him of breaching trust… by representing their voters 1:13:00 If Democrats win the House, they inherit all of this dysfunction 1:18:00 The House is the cancer we have to cure first  1:20:30 ToddCast Top 5 senate seats most likely to flip 1:21:00 #1 North Carolina 1:21:45 #2 Alaska 1:22:15 #3 Texas 1:23:45 #4 Ohio 1:25:30 #5 Tie between Maine & Michigan 1:27:30 Ask Chuck 1:27:45 Could the Bradley effect be in play in the Texas senate race? 1:30:00 Should congress be doing more to protect the mail-in vote? 1:33:00 Thoughts on proposal to add 12 at large senators? 1:35:15 College football preview 1:40:30 Column on Lane Kiffin being the “bad boy” of college footballSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Full Episode -The Blue Wave Is Building… But How Big Will It Be? + 25 Years After 9/11: How The Attack Reshaped America 03.09.2026 2ч 44мин

  Chuck Todd reads the tea leaves on a building Democratic wave: primary turnout is up 35% over 2022 while Republican turnout is down 4%, and Todd argues voter behavior is a far better predictor than polling — though it's a tea leaf, not a guarantee. He then digs into an underappreciated dynamic that could decide Senate control: governor's races make the weather. Texas, Chuck argues, is now more plausible for Democrats than Iowa. And South Carolina, which Republicans never expected to worry about, just got more expensive after Ralph Norman told supporters to write him in rather than back Darline Graham. The second half is a five-alarm fire at the Pentagon. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned this week over Hegseth blocking Army modernization by firing the generals leading it — the latest in a purge that has left the Army without a chief of staff for months and cut four-star positions from ten to five, all during an active war. Chuck’s read is that this is a deliberate gutting and argues the fired and recently resigned generals have an obligation to speak up, because silence doesn't protect the institution. He closes with what he calls the cancer in American politics — the House — using Jared Golden's lobster fishing bill as the perfect illustration: Golden had to vote for a Republican rule just to get a floor vote on his own legislation, then got accused by leadership of a breach of trust for representing his constituents. That's the disease, Chuck argues, and Democrats will inherit every bit of it. Documentarian Brian Knappenberger joins the Chuck Toddcast to discuss Turning Point: Generation 9/11, out on Netflix September 2nd — a film built around a striking fact: more than half of Americans were either born after 2001 or were too young to remember it. Knappenberger's aim was to bring that generation into the moment, capturing not just the attack but the fear and uncertainty that followed, including the attacks everyone braced for that never came. He points to a news clip in the film where 63% of Americans said they'd trade freedom for security, and to the AUMF passed almost immediately with Barbara Lee as the lone no vote. He and Chuck revisit the genuine moment of global unity — the only time NATO's Article 5 has ever been triggered — and Bush's real effort to reassure American Muslims, progress on Islamophobia that Knappenberger argues has since been squandered. The back half is a hard-nosed accounting. Driving the Taliban out was a success; the Iraq war took America's eye off the ball; intelligence agencies genuinely do communicate better now. But al-Qaeda was only a few hundred people who exploited a vulnerability, and the domino effect produced ISIS, something far larger. Knappenberger talks about interviewing kids who lost parents that day — including a pilot's daughter still trolled online by a Truther movement that social media made possible — and about Marines at Abbey Gate, many not yet alive on 9/11, expressing real conflict about what it was all for. Chuck’s question hangs over it: after 25 years of Pentagon budgets, what exactly did we get? And with no meaningful congressional oversight of the Iran war, the founders' decision that a king shouldn't declare wars feels less like history than a warning. Knappenberger's hope is simple — that we remember the fear well enough not to repeat the mistakes it produced. Finally, Chuck updates his ToddCast Top 5 list of senate seats most likely to flip, answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment, and previews week 1 in college football. Play ball and swing for the fences on FanDuel, an official partner of the MLB at https://FANDUEL.COM.  Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. 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. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.  Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd's introduction 04:15 A Democratic wave is building… but how big? 06:15 Dem turnout up 35% from 2022, GOP turnout down 4% 08:30 A tea leaf, not a guarantee — and why behavior beats polling 11:15 New Hampshire primaries preview 13:15 Senate control may be decided by governor races in MI, TX and IA 14:30 Ramaswamy is the wrong avatar for a Republican to win Ohio 16:45 Republicans didn't think they'd have to worry about South Carolina 17:30 Ralph Norman tells supporters to write him in rather than back Graham 22:15 Governor's races make the weather and drag Senate candidates along 26:00 Ticket splitting hasn't disappeared since 2010, but it's less common 27:15 Breaking down the penalty for various candidate sins 30:00 Ken Paxton needs Abbott to win big — and Abbott's trending down 33:15 Todd Akin's voters fled to the Libertarians in 2012 35:00 El-Sayed's penalty isn't scandal, it's ideological — 2-3 points 36:00 Jocelyn Benson is running the best campaign of the cycle 38:45 Iowa hasn't split a governor/senate race since 1998 41:45 Texas looks more plausible for Democrats than Iowa 43:45 Problems at the Pentagon should be a five-alarm fire 45:30 Hegseth forced out the leaders modernizing the Army 47:45 Hollowing out the military during an active war 48:45 Hegseth wants the Pentagon to be a reality show about himself 52:00 Assets needed to deter Russia & China are being removed 54:15 Military leaders must be able to disagree with civilian leadership 57:00 An obligation to warn the country if the military is being weakened 59:45 The House of Representatives is the cancer in our political system 1:03:30 The Jared Golden lobster bill saga 1:06:30 Golden voted for a GOP rule to get a vote on his own bill 1:09:45 Leadership accused him of breaching trust… by representing their voters 1:13:00 If Democrats win the House, they inherit all of this dysfunction 1:18:00 The House is the cancer we have to cure first  1:22:45 Brian Knappenberger joins The Chuck ToddCast 1:25:15 Many Americans are too young to remember 9/11 well 1:27:15 9/11 is moving from a lived memory into history 1:30:45 Wanted to capture the fear and uncertainty of that period in time 1:34:45 Want the next generation not to fall into the same trap of fear & suspicion 1:39:45 The rally around the flag effect after the attacks 1:42:30 There was a real moment of unity worldwide before the divisiveness 1:43:00 The only time Article V of NATO was triggered was from 9/11 1:47:15 Pre-Trump the country had made real progress on Islamaphobia 1:48:00 Talked to a lot of kids who lost parents on 9/11 for the doc 1:49:15 Social media emerged after 9/11 and the “Truther” movement came with it 1:51:15 Driving the Taliban out of Afghanistan was a positive 1:51:45 We took our eye off the ball with the Iraq war 1:54:45 Have we sufficiently answered why Bin Laden attacked us 1:59:00 The real damage was the divisiveness and attrition of two wars 2:00:00 Al-Qaeda was only a few hundred people, exploited a vulnerability 2:01:15 The domino effect created ISIS, which is much larger than Al-Qaeda 2:06:00 Marines at Abbey Gate express feeling conflicted 2:08:30 25 years of Pentagon budgets has gotten us…what? 2:10:45 There seems to be no congressional oversight with the Iran war 2:11:15 What other Turning Point projects do you have in the works? 2:12:45 Ukraine war is a weird blend of history and modern technology 2:15:45 9/11 changed our perception of ourselves and our vulnerabilities 2:20:00 ToddCast Top 5 senate seats most likely to flip 2:20:30 #1 North Carolina 2:21:15 #2 Alaska 2:21:45 #3 Texas 2:23:15 #4 Ohio 2:25:00 #5 Tie between Maine & Michigan 2:27:00 Ask Chuck 2:27:15 Could the Bradley effect be in play in the Texas senate race? 2:29:30 Should congress be doing more to protect the mail-in vote? 2:32:30 Thoughts on proposal to add 12 at large senators? 2:34:45 College football preview 2:40:00 Column on Lane Kiffin being the “bad boy” of college footballSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.