Conflict of Interest

A conversation with the Pulitzer Prize winning biographer of Clinton, Obama, Lombardi and Jim Thorpe. His book on Vietnam - They Marched Toward Sunlight - weaves together the events of 1967 in his home town of Madison, WI, the Oval Office and the dreaded battlefields of Vietnam. Maraniss keynotes the Leahy Public Policy Forum at the University of Vermont on Oct. 1 looking back at Vietnam 50 years later.

It was left to Kamala Harris to do what Biden couldn’t do. Nor could Rubio, Desantis, Bush and all the others. Neither could the media and all the advertising, all the talking heads on cable TV. After eight years of Trump’s TV show, Harris pushed all the buttons, laid the traps and got the result she needed, showing the country she can be president. I break it down with political operative and comms consultant Alex MacLean. She has been in the room as a policy director, campaign manager and senior advisor to a host of politicians including former Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin.

On July 3, Nancy Pelosi changed the course of the current presidential campaign and the country. It took about three minutes. How did that happen? How did the former speaker of the House have the power, moxie and leverage to force Biden from the race, elevate Kamala Harris and then deny she had her hand on the controls. It is all about how political power is wielded. And Pelosi biographer Molly Ball tells us how it was done. Her book “Pelosi’’ is the handbook for understanding the most powerful woman in American political history.

From a little known campaign operative for Howard Dean in 2004 to the nation’s expert on corporate greed, power and anti-trust, Professor Zephyr Teachout has a plan for getting us out of the mess. We rap about how corporations got so big, what Kamala Harris might do about it and whether Lina Khan really is the second-coming for democracy. 

Why would Kamala Harris pluck a former high school football coach and national guardsman from obscurity and seek to make him vice president? Minnesotans know why. Bill Lofy has spent 25 years as a political operative, chief of staff to a governor and staffer to former Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. Best of all, he went to the same high school where Walz coached and monitored study hall. Lofy knows how to get to 270 electoral votes and talks about how Walz helps Kamala Harris get there.

The Lion of the Senate talks about his own decision to retire after 48 years in office and how that compared to the decision by Joe Biden and what faces Kamala Harris in the next few weeks. Bonus tracks include Leahy on Cuba, land mines and whether we can put the genie back in the bottle of our tribal politics.

Who better than an ex-Republican Congressman to break down what happens with Kamala Harris and Trump. You get the big Democrats on Cable TV. But I break down the NEW campaign with Bob Ney, a former congressman from Ohio who understands how the Republicans thought about Biden and how they think about Harris.

Today we speak with former Governor of Vermont Howard Dean on the assassination attempt of Trump, Biden's candidacy, Bernie Sanders, and much more.

Hubris, Arrogance, Catholic stubbornness mixed with personal tragedy? Or all of the above. Phineas (the next generation talks about Bden’s refusal to step aside as we continue to update an historic, unfolding story.

Does He go? Does He Stay? What goes into the decision? What is the historical context?

Special Guest Luke Albee walks us through the minefield. Albee was chief of staff to two U.S. senators, including Vermont’s Patrick Leahy.