The NPR Politics Podcast

The president's support among young voters — who generally trend Democratic — is anemic, with their level of support comparable with his numbers among whites without college degrees and white evangelical Christians. Part of the problem for Biden may be his big promises: then-candidate Biden promised transformational change, but his narrow control of the Senate and intraparty opposition has constrained his progress on key goals like climate. Despite the president's posture as a deal-maker, he has been largely absent from efforts to break the legislative logjam.This episode: political correspondent Susan Davis, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter..

The effort has further taxed local election officials, who have fielded worried calls from voters who believed that the canvassers were affiliated with the government.This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, voting reporter Miles Parks, and Colorado Public Radio reporter Bente Birkeland.Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter..

Black gun owners told NPR that they largely own guns for protection; many feel the government does not do enough to protect their safety. Unlike most white gun owners, most Black gun owners feel that it is more important to control gun violence than it is to protect gun rights.Read more: https://n.pr/3ze01rWThis episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, race and identity reporter Alana Wise, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.

The young candidates say they hope to fix broken institutions that they feel have let their generation down. And a quirk in how a half-century old voting rights provision is written means many Americans have trouble getting ballots in languages like Arabic and Haitian Creole.This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, political reporter Elena Moore, political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, and voting correspondent Hansi Lo Wang.Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.

Inflation hit a new, 40-year high in June, with consumer prices up 9.1% from a year ago. Gas prices were a big part of this, but the cost of essentials like food and shelter are also rising rapidly.It is a real problem for Americans trying to make ends meet — and one that lawmakers, including Joe Biden, have few tools to address. That is likely to leave Democrats in a lurch come November's midterm elections.This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, White House correspondent Scott Detrow, and chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley.Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.

The Biden administration says Americans now have access to the tools they need to protect themselves from COVID, as a new spike in cases begins. Deaths have remained low so far and the administration — recognizing the political realities — has not pushed for new restrictions.Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration is moving ahead on a suite of initiatives aimed at reducing smoking and vaping — the latest, surprisingly apolitical chapter in a public health crusade that's notched hard-fought wins over many decades.This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, national political correspondent Mara Liasson, and health correspondent Allison Aubrey.Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.

The committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack held its seventh public hearing Tuesday, focusing on the role right-wing extremist groups – such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers – played in planning the deadly siege. It also featured testimony from Stephen Ayres, a former Ohio factory worker, who said he stormed the Capitol after President Trump suggested it because he believed Trump's claims that the election had been stolen.And: President Trump attempted to call a witness in the Jan. 6 investigation following the last hearing on June 28 with Cassidy Hutchinson, the committee said.This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, and justice correspondent Ryan Lucas.Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.

The overwhelming majority of gun owners are in favor of universal background checks, of raising the minimum age to buy guns to 21 and so-called "red flag" laws to remove guns from potentially dangerous people, a new NPR/Ipsos survey finds. That mirrors the support among the rest of the public.So why is it that ideas with broad-based support have such trouble becoming federal law?This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson.Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.

President Biden has exchanged letters with the WNBA all-star, who is behind bars in Russia. It's the latest example of the thorny politics surrounding Americans jailed abroad.And the president will take his first trip to the Middle East next week, visiting Israel and Saudi Arabia. His administration has embraced the success of the Abraham Accords, an agreement brokered during the Trump administration to better integrate Israel with its neighbors in the region.This episode: political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, Moscow correspondent Charles Maynes, White House correspondent Asma Khalid, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Find and support your local public radio station.

When the Supreme Court declared that abortion access is an issue that should be decided by states, it introduced a new, high-stakes political fight into many of the 36 gubernatorial races happening this year. Here's what that looks like in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben, WHYY political reporter Katie Meyer, and Michigan Radio reporter Zoe Clark.Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics Connect:Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Find and support your local public radio station.