The Odd Years: Recent Episodes
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter
In political parlance, the “odd year” is the year in which there is no national election; that is: any odd-numbered year. Odd can also refer to something that is unusual or unpredictable. Like an interview with a writer or actor or athlete that highlights a topic or trend that isn’t normally associated with traditional political discourse. The Odd Years is designed for everyone who is multidimensional. Yes, it’s going to focus on politics (because this is brought to you by the Cook Political braintrust and host, Amy Walter); but, ultimately, The Odd Years will expand the definition of a ‘political program.’ We think you can learn stuff - and have fun at the same time. Let’s do this, shall we? #OddPod
Amy has long been an admirer of this week’s guest, The Wall Street Journal's chief economics commentator Greg Ip. She finds his insights into how our economy functions to be thoughtful as well as approachable. It’s also why she thought he'd be the perfect person to talk with about the central disconnect we've seen in perceptions of our economy over the last few years - namely that the markets and Wall Street suggest everything is going great. Meanwhile American consumers are saying the economy is not great, at all.
They also talk about AI, why Greg thinks it's not likely to have a huge impact on our jobs, but why it's potentially contributing to Americans' generally pessimistic views of their economic futures.
Of course, the war with Iran is adding its own economic uncertainty to the mix. So they start the conversation there.
We recorded this on Wednesday, March 11th.
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Listen to our weekly podcast Editors Roundtable
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It's a consequential week in the Supreme Court as justices hear a case that could reorient the bounds of executive authority and overturn a ninety year precedent that insulates independent government agencies from political interference from the president.
President Trump has tested those bounds of his executive power on everything from tariffs and trade to immigration to government spending.
It's now up to the Supreme Court to determine just how far that authority can stretch, and that's why Amy wanted to talk to our guest today, Josh Gerstein, a reporter at Politico, who covers the intersection of law and politics -- which these days feels like just about everything under the sun.
Amy and Josh talked about the dynamics in this Supreme Court, how they may rule on these upcoming cases, including ones like the Voting Rights Act.
We recorded this conversation on Thursday, December 4th, right before the court announced they were taking up the birthright citizenship case and before they issued their stay on Texas' redistricting map.
You can watch part of the conversation our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thecookpoliticalreport
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In Amy’s opinion, Astead Herndon is one of the sharpest and most thoughtful political journalists out there. His New York Times podcast, The Run-Up, did an amazing job pulling back the cover on how national politics is done and showing the gulf that exists between the parties, the insiders and actual voters.
It’s this kind of journalism that has set Astead apart from the pack. He picks apart conventional wisdom and elevates the complexities and gray areas that are critical in understanding this political moment.
He's also been skeptical of the idea that traditional forms of political journalism can keep up with the significant changes we've seen in the way Americans receive and process the fire hose of digital media coming at them every single day.
It's one reason why he made the decision to leave the New York Times for a role at Vox. There, he’ll take on the position of host and editorial director and create a new weekly video podcast about, of course, politics starting next year.
This was a really interesting conversation that covered everything from the media to the midterms to the World Cup.
We recorded it on Wednesday, November 19th.
Californians often like to think of themselves as the center of the universe. But when it comes to politics, this deep blue state is rarely in the spotlight - until now. The passage of Prop 50 in last Tuesday's election was the most consequential development to date in the redistricting wars. The new Democratic drawn map will cost Republicans three to five seats in 2026 and also shores up five vulnerable Democratic incumbents.
The win is also a feather in the cap of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom who hopes to ride the momentum from the Prop 50 landslide win all the way to the White House.
And if that news wasn't enough last week, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco icon who led House Democrats through multiple wars, economic crises, and impeachments, announced she would retire after nearly four decades in Congress. Her decision unleashes pent up political floodgates and kicks off a fierce primary fight for the chance to fill her district.
To talk through all of this, we've invited Cook Political Report U.S. House Editor Erin Covey, who's covering the redistricting wars as closely as anyone in the country. And also joining us is Mark Barabak, an LA Times columnist and expert in all things political in California.
We recorded this conversation on Thursday, November 6th.
Follow all our Redistricting coverage: https://www.cookpolitical.com/redistricting
Check out our interactive Redistricting Map (in front of the paywall!): https://www.cookpolitical.com/redistricting/2025-26-mid-decade-map
You can watch part of the conversation our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thecookpoliticalreport
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One week from today, voters in New Jersey and Virginia will go to the polls. These are state and not federal elections. But they can serve as bellwethers for the upcoming midterm election next year.
Topics that resonate in a purple state like Virginia this year, for example, are likely to be issues that are significant in swing states and districts in 2026.
Next Tuesday, we’ll also look closely at voter turnout for some early clues as to which party is more excited to show up and vote next year.
Even as our politics has become more and more nationalized, these contests in Virginia and New Jersey are also impacted by unique state and local issues and trends. And that's why we wanted to discuss these contests with two people who really understand the issues, the electorate, and parts of the state will be most important to watch on November 4th.
Amy is joined by Joey Fox of the New Jersey Globe and Chaz Nuttycombe, founder and executive director of State Navigate, who's following the Virginia contests.
We recorded this conversation on Wednesday, October 22nd.
You can watch part of the conversation our YouTube channel.
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It's safe to say Democrats are going through something of an identity crisis at the moment. They have no clear leaders, no driving issues, and no real power in Washington. And that makes the current government shutdown an interesting test case for Democratic leaders like Chuck Schumer over what they think their voters want and how best to fight Donald Trump.
Our guest today, Democratic strategist Lis Smith, has not minced words when it comes to perceptions of her party.
She told the New York Times that the Democratic brand was “in the toilet” and recently called for Democrats to “burn the party establishment down.”
Smith, however, is not some upstart campaign disruptor. She's a veteran of twenty political campaigns, most recently as a senior adviser to Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign.
This makes her critique of the party and the work she's doing this cycle to try and fix it worth understanding and exploring more deeply.
We recorded this conversation on Wednesday, October 7th.
You can watch part of the conversation our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thecookpoliticalreport
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We took a late summer break, but we're back with a new slate of really great interviews!
When we started this year, redistricting was not something we thought would be driving our politics this cycle.
But, of course, that's no longer the case with Texas unleashing a domino effect of redistricting efforts across the country.
Thankfully, we know someone really well who can help us understand what's happening: The Cook Political Report's very own David Wasserman.
If you follow Dave on X, you know him as Redistrict.
Redistricting itself is a topic Dave's been fascinated with for a very long time. He was pouring over maps and congressional data as a kid, which we talk about in this conversation. (It's pretty adorable.)
Now as one of the most trusted sources in the country on congressional maps, we literally can't think of anyone better to help us navigate this complicated and unprecedented mid-cycle redrawing of districts.
We recorded this conversation on Thursday, September 11th.
Check out our CPR 2025-2026 Redistricting Tracker: https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/house/redistricting/2025-2026-redistricting-tracker-how-many-seats-could-flip-0
You can watch part of the conversation our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thecookpoliticalreport
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Back in 2023, Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini wrote a book that laid out a path for how the party could win future elections with a working class multiracial coalition.
Later that year, Amy talked with Patrick on this very podcast where they discussed whether Trump could expand his base to include those voters of color. Well, as we saw, he did. In fact, in 2016, the coalition that elected Trump was 88% white. By 2024, it was down to just 78% white.
So we wanted to have Patrick Ruffini back on for a conversation about how well that same coalition is holding up six months into Trump 2.0, whether these voters will show up for Republicans in 2026, and whether the next Republican nominee for president will have a similar appeal these voters.
Patrick is a partner and pollster for Echelon Insights and writes a great Substack, The Intersection.
Also, a quick programming note: we are taking a bit of a summer break in August, but never fear! We'll be back in September with new episodes of The Odd Years.
You can watch part of the conversation our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thecookpoliticalreport
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This week we are diverging from our normal Odd Years format to introduce you to another Cook Political Report product, Editors Roundtable.
This podcast features a rotating cast of our Cook Political Report team breaking down the latest news, analysis and insights about the most important House, Senate and Gubernatorial contests in the country.
We like to think of this podcast as an opportunity for you to get the behind the scenes access to the conversations we are having at our weekly Cook Political Report editorial meetings.
This week, our talented colleagues talk about the most interesting and consequential state in the 2026 midterms: Michigan. The Wolverine state has it all; a three-way gubernatorial contest featuring the former Democratic Mayor of Detroit, who is running as an Independent; competitive primaries for one of the most competitive Senate races in the country, and a slew of critical House contests that could determine control of Congress next year. And, we can’t have a conversation about Michigan without using a mitt (in this case our Managing Editor’s own oven mitt), to help illustrate where each important congressional district and key cities are located in the state. That “U” shape between the thumb and index finger, that’s Detroit, BTW.
We hope you enjoy this episode. And, more importantly, if you do like it, and to hear more of it, subscribe to the Cook Political Report where you can get the kind of deeply sourced, non-partisan and accurate analysis of every race up in 2025 and 2026.
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You can also get Editors Roundtable for just $1.99 a month on Apple podcast.
Read Jessica on Michigan's open Senate seat here: https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/senate/michigan-senate/republicans-aim-avoid-messy-michigan-senate-primary-may-not-get
Read Erin's 2026 House analysis here: https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/house/michigan-house/2026-michigan-house-analysis-democrats-fight-upper-hand
Most of the political attention these days is centered in D.C, but there's a pretty fascinating primary contest happening just a train ride north in New York City.
The Democratic primary for mayor of the Big Apple features a crowded field of Democrats, including some well known names like former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was forced to resign after multiple sexual harassment allegations against him in 2021, and some new names like New York State Representative Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who has little experience politically but a knack for social media. He also happens to have the support of another young, well known New York City liberal, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.
In some ways, this race is very New York City with storylines that could only happen there. In fact, the New York Times asked the all- important “what's your bagel order” question. But there are also shades of the tension in national Democratic politics between the more pragmatic and more progressive wings of the party happening in this race.
Plus, Donald Trump, an outsized influence in and on the city, is a big factor here as well.
To make sense of it all, I sat down with Nick Fandos, who's covering every twist and turn of this race for The New York Times. He's the city's politics and government reporter.
Early voting has already started, and the primary is on Tuesday, June 24th. We recorded this conversation on Wednesday, June 18th.
You can watch part of the conversation our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thecookpoliticalreport
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President Trump's signature legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is crawling its way through Congress. Having passed the House by a single vote, the so-called BBB is in the Senate where various Republican factions - the fiscal hawks, the centrists, the populists - are divided over how to resolve their many competing priorities over the national debt, Medicaid, and tax cuts to name a few.
What's driving these ideological differences among Senate and House Republicans? What role has Trump played and will he play in continuing to lobby Congress? And will the BBB move fast enough to be on President Trump’s desk by July fourth? (Spoiler alert: it will not.)
Amy put all these questions to Leigh Ann Caldwell, chief Washington correspondent for Puck.
A quick note: we recorded this conversation on Wednesday, June 4th, as the Elon Musk and President Trump breakup was beginning, but before it burst into the full view. And it appears the falling out has been driven, at least in part, over Musk's opposition to the Big Beautiful Bill. But as Amy has said, she doesn't believe this changes the calculus for Congressional Republicans.
You can watch part of the conversation our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thecookpoliticalreport
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When we booked this episode with Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer several weeks back, our plan was to talk about the Democrats and their strategy and messaging around Trump - something Dan's been writing about for his Substack, Message Box.
Should Democrats just focus on the economy? Should they raise alarm bells over deportations? How loudly and strongly should they push back against Trump?
And we do discuss that, but as it turned out, there was a lot more to talk about with Dan. For one, as a former Obama senior adviser, Amy wanted to ask his thoughts on the new reporting coming out about Joe Biden's health and how his inner circle worked to conceal it.
In addition to that, we received an important report from the data firm Catalist about 2024 voters, shedding more light on why Kamala Harris lost and Donald Trump won. As a fellow data nerd, I knew Dan would be ready to dive into it.
We recorded this on Wednesday, May 21st.
You can watch our entire conversation on our YouTube channel.
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In 2020, Donald Trump's considerable margin of victory among white working-class voters was expected, but his success in winning a larger share of the Latino and black vote was not. Amy's latest guest, Republican Pollster Patrick Ruffini, argues that Trump's advances with these voters is part of a more significant realignment in our politics. Amy talks to Patrick about his fascinating new book, "Party of the People: Inside the Multiracial Populist Coalition Remaking the GOP." The pair discuss whether Trump will be able to keep this coalition in 2024 and the influence of culture on voting patterns.
Host Amy Walter confesses her love of Apple TV's For All Mankind and the magic of its decade-spanning montages and storytelling to none other than the show's Executive Producers and writers, Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert. As season 4 of the show launches, the trio goes deep into the show's origin [03:28]; whether we should consider the show science or fiction [06:57]; taking a closer look at Gary Hart, Al Gore, and Ellen Wilson's journey in FAMK to the highest office in the land [21:19]; the creative process, electoral maps and fictional news reports featured in the montages [16:33; where the show will go as it catches up to our actual reality [24:22]; grieving the loss of beloved characters [37:04]; favorite political reads [39:53]; and much, much more.
Catch up on #ForAllMankind, and its Season 2, 3 & 4 montage openers, on AppleTV+.
Amy Walter talks with Mark Z. Barabak, a political columnist for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on California and the West. They discuss his new series, "The New West," which explores the forces and factors that led once-reliable Republican states like Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada to turn from red to purple and blue. Amy and Mark also delve into the state of the 'Reid Machine' in Nevada, the importance of Latinos to Democrats' success and how the post-COVID "work from anywhere" economy could play into future voting patterns.
Amy Walter chats with Astead Herndon, a national politics reporter for the New York Times and the host of the "The Run-Up" podcast. Amy and Astead grapple with the fact that while voters are overwhelmingly against a Trump-Biden rematch in 2024, it still appears to be the inevitable outcome. Astead notes that we are "careening towards a rematch very fast." The pair discuss the lack of enthusiasm around Biden. Astead makes the point that Vice President Kamala Harris will be the face of the Biden campaign on the road and will be under more scrutiny from the media.
Amy Walter catches up with Republican strategist Sarah Longwell, publisher of the Bulwark and founder of the Republican Accountability Project. Sarah also hosts The Focus Group podcast, which brings listeners into wide-ranging conversations with voters.
Sarah and Amy discuss where Donald Trump is already showing his potential strength in a general election [6:16]. Sarah also reflects on what she’s heard in focus groups to explain where Ron DeSantis’ candidacy went wrong [10:04], why evangelical voters aren’t coalescing around Mike Pence, and what to expect from Tim Scott in the coming months [21:22]. Amy also asks Sarah whether a third-party candidate could hurt Biden with swing voters [31:20], and Sarah turns the tables on Amy to ask whether Trump actually could lose the Republican primary. [38:55]
Amy Walter talks with Josh Putnam, a political scientist and consultant known for his expertise on the presidential nominating process. You can read more about it in his blog, frontloadinghq.com.
Amy and Josh discuss the implications of some states’ winner-take-all delegate rules in the Republican primary [6:00] and Democrats’ primary calendar shake-up [12:00], including how much of the changes made to the 2024 calendar stick in 2028 [24:00]. They also discuss why it may be too late for potential GOP candidates like Glenn Youngkin to join the presidential primary [27:00], how to detect early signs of a third-party candidate shaking up the general election [29:00], and how Ron DeSantis could still “win the delegate game.” [35:00]
Amy Walter talks to the one and only Kara Swisher, a highly respected and deeply sourced technology reporter. Kara is currently the host of the podcast On with Kara Swisher, the co-host of the Pivot podcast and an editor-at-large at New York Magazine. Amy and Kara discussed AI's role in the 2024 campaign season. Kara gives some much-needed perspective on the future of AI and whether Washington can or will be able to regulate it. She also explains why we should be more worried about the people that use AI rather than AI itself.
This conversation took place on May 17, 2023
Host:
Amy Walter
Producers:
Kate Wecker
Ally Flinn
Kathryn Hamm
Amy Walter talks to Judy Woodruff, renowned journalist and former anchor of the PBS News Hour. Woodruff discusses her new series, America at a Crossroads, which aims to explore the deep divisions in American politics. She talks about her long and distinguished career in journalism, starting with covering Jimmy Carter's campaign for governor of Georgia in 1970. Amy and Judy discuss whether there can be a solution to America's polarization. They also delve into how Judy stays optimistic, covering these divides.
Amy talked with Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson. Kristen is the founding partner of Echelon Insights, an opinion research and analytics firm. You've likely seen her on CNN, Fox, ABC News or many other political programs. She hosts her Sirius XM program, The Trendline with Kristen Soltis Anderson.
Amy and Kristen started their conversation with the day's current events, the arraignment of former President Trump in a Manhattan courtroom [02:00], and what it means for 2024. They also discussed a DeSantis vs. Trump matchup [07:00], the effect of Roe vs. Wade on the midterms [18:00], millennial voters [21:00] and the state of the political polling [29:00].
Cook Political Report subscribers can access bonus content, full transcripts, and video recordings.
Amy talked with Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg. Anna is a senior partner of the polling firm GQR. In 2022, she polled for several high-profile House and Senate campaigns, including Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona, Senator Michael Bennett from Colorado, and Congresswoman Kim Schrier from suburban Seattle.
Amy and Anna started with a conversation about why some polls, including some by Democrats, overestimated Republican strength in 2022 [01:27], and the role abortion and the Dobbs decision played for Democrat successes last year [10:19]. They also discussed 2024 and why Anna thinks regardless of who the GOP nominee may be, the Republican party remains defined by Trump [12:16].
And finally, they talked about the issue of crime and how, in Anna's words, Democrats are "too scared of the left and they're too scared of the right." [31:50]
Cook Political Report subscribers can access bonus content, full transcripts, and video recordings.
Often described as “laboratories of democracy,” state legislatures have often produced legislation or ideas that eventually make their way to Washington. And, of course, many of these state executives also find their way into national political office. Helping us dig through the trends, priorities and personalities in state capitols is Reid Wilson, founder and editor of Pluribus News, a new digital media outlet offering the most comprehensive coverage of state-level public policy in America.
Cook Political Report subscribers can access thefull transcript and video recording.
This episode was filmed on February 9, 2023.
On the first episode of The Odd Years, Amy Walter and Andy Laperriere (Head of US Policy Research for Piper Sandler) dig into the challenges and opportunities for Republicans & Democrats as they navigate a divided government and continued narrow margins.
Cook Political Report subscribers can view the full original recording with subscriber Q&A here.
This episode was originally filmed on January 18, 2023.