The Decoded Podcast

D.C.’s single power players are enlisting an expensive, awkward, and sometimes even romantic method to find love: matchmakers. Jessica Goldstein reports.

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Federal regulations that have allowed practitioners the flexibility to virtually prescribe buprenorphine, an opioid withdrawal treatment drug, are due to expire along with the Covid-19 public health emergency — even as opioid deaths reach record levels. Krista Mahr reports.

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Election workers from across the country are flying into the nation’s capital to beg Washington for two things that have vexed officials since the last election: security and funding. Zach Montellaro reports.

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Today, the Jan. 6 committee looks at Trump’s role in the plan to replace electors at the state level to overturn election results. But tensions are growing between members of the committee and the DOJ, who want access to full interview transcripts to aid in their own investigations. Kyle Cheney reports.

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The nation’s marijuana industry boomed during the pandemic. Weed sales hit $27 billion in 2021, nearly doubling figures from just two years earlier — and revenues are projected to double again over the next six years. But the still-green industry is mired in a financial funk: Stock prices have plummeted. Capital raises have crashed. And marijuana prices have slumped. Paul Demko reports.

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Activists said they spoke to officials not only about their fears of the international impact if Roe v. Wade were to fall, but also proposed changes to U.S. policy that has long restricted funding for abortions abroad. Daniel Payne reports.

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President Joe Biden will travel to the Middle East next month, making stops in Israel, the West Bank and then Saudi Arabia, where he’ll seek to rebuild relations after vowing to make the kingdom a “pariah.” Nahal Toosi reports.

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We are in a paradoxical economic moment. The economy is hot by certain metrics — unemployment, job openings, consumer demand — but inflation is way up, and soaring gas and grocery prices are driving the narrative. Victoria Guida reports.

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From artillery strikes to Zoom calls, the tech billionaire’s satellite internet service has become a lifeline in the war with Russia. Christopher Miller reports.

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This week in the GOP primary for South Dakota’s at-large district, Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) defeated a challenger from his right who claimed he wasn’t aligned closely enough with former President Donald Trump, even though Johnson agrees with Trump on many policies. Johnson’s vote for a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attacks and his support for Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to remain in House Leadership was cited as proof he is not an ally of the former president. Johnson also faced more than $500,000 in spending against him from Drain the DC Swamp PAC. He tells Ryan Lizza that South Dakotans like Trump – but they also like Dusty Johnson. Find out how he overcame the challenges faced from defying Trump and how he survived to win the Republican nomination on this week’s episode of Playbook Deep Dive.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Rep. Dusty Johnson is the congressman at-large for South Dakota.
Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Adam Allington is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.

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