Have you ever asked, “WTF?,” about politics? Or, “who are these people making decisions about my life?” Political Theater pulls back the curtain on the stunts, antics and motivations that drive Washington. Host Jason Dick and the Roll Call team spotlight the spectacle, the players and what’s going on behind the curtain in Washington’s long-running drama: Congress.
Latest episodes
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43 min
How Sha Na Na could help determine the House majority
Jason Dick talks with the latest Roll Call on the Road mission crew, Mary Ellen McIntire and Tom Williams, about what they learned on their reporting trip to Pennsylvania, includin…
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33 min
Alex Gibney and the odyssey of ‘Musk’
Jason Dick talks with Alex Gibney about his new film “Musk,” a documentary about Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. It’s an exploration of how one person accumulated so much power…
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35 min
Gathering threads: The stories defining the midterm elections
Jason Dick talks with Roll Call campaign writers Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire about their on-the-ground reporting as the midterm general election kicks into high gear;…
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37 min
What a long, strange primary season it’s been
Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales dive into what they learned now that the 2026 congressional primary season is over, whether re-redistricting and midterm conventions will be the new…
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34 min
Congress punts on big issues
Congress avoided a shutdown fight until December, but passed on several sticky problems it will need to address after Election Day. CQ Roll Editor in Chief Jason Dick and CQ Roll C…
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24 min
The Roll Call and 535 deep dive on the affordability agenda
Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Political Analyst Susan Davis discuss congressional efforts to address affordability with CQ Roll Call leadership Staff Writer Savannah…
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22 min
The Roll Call and 535 Deep Dive on Surface Transportation Reauthorization
Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Political Analyst Susan Davis discuss surface transportation reauthorization legislation and other transportation-related issues with C…
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19 min
The Roll Call and 535 Deep Dive on Permitting Reform
Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Editor in Chief Brody Mullins discuss the bipartisan legislative efforts on permitting reform with CQ Roll Call Energy and Environment…
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20 min
The Roll Call and 535 Deep Dive on Cryptocurrency
Roll Call Editor in Chief Jason Dick and 535 Editor in Chief Brody Mullins discuss major cryptocurrency legislation in the 119th Congress with CQ Roll Call Financial Services Staff…
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38 min
The dog days are here already for Congress
Jason Dick and Molly Reynolds discuss how history will view the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., how congressional illnesses are starting to affect the institution, why things are…
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60 min
Sean Astin on being a leader during a time of upheaval
Jason Dick talks with film legend Sean Astin, the president of SAG-AFTRA, about his deep connections to Washington, D.C., public service, the issues he is advocating on Capitol Hil…
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35 min
No more ‘Idiocracy’ references please; let's talk about the ads
Jason Dick and Brandon Wetherbee discuss the big UFC bout at the White House, the relationship between President Donald Trump and combat sports and entertainment and the expansion…
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19 min
Rory Kennedy and the art of the documentary sequel
Jason Dick talks with filmmaker Rory Kennedy about her new documentary, "Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing," a sequel to her 2022 "Downfall: The Case Against Boeing" and how, despit…
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39 min
DC/DOX Film Festival: A kaleidoscope of America and beyond
Jason Dick talks with Sky Sitney about this year's DC/DOX documentary film festival, which brings a slate of more than 100 nonfiction movies about Billie Jean King, Earth Wind and…
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27 min
You can't always get what you want, politics edition
Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales talk about Super Junesday, with its reality-tv-infused results in California, missing persons intrigue in New Jersey and dusting of Rep. Dusty Johnso…
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38 min
The sometimes fleeting status of Roll Call's Most Vulnerable Incumbent list
It's been a weird election cycle, and one only has to look at Roll Call's Most Vulnerable Incumbents list to see the multiple storylines playing out. Jason Dick talks with Mary Ell…
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21 min
Claustrophobic paranoid thriller? Count us in, ‘PH-1’
Jason Dick talks with Mark Kassen, the director, writer and star of the new movie "PH-1," a contemporary political drama whose mix of mystery, social media and taut pacing make it…
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31 min
A White House Correspondents Dinner like no other
Jason Dick talks with George Condon, long-time White House reporter, historian and a past president of the White House Correspondents Association, about Saturday's White House Corr…
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52 min
‘Shall I project a world?’ — ‘The Crying of Lot 49’ episode
Real estate magnates, secret societies, alternative means of communicating, psycheledic drugs used as therapy? It's not our world; it’s the world of Thomas Pynchon’s ”The Crying of…
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37 min
The numbers that define Congress
Jason Dick and Molly Reynolds discuss the Brookings Institution’s latest update to Vital Statistics on Congress, the recent resignations of two members of the House for alleged mis…