Sarah Longwell grew up in a small town in central Pennsylvania, a place where they canceled school on the first day of deer season. She finished college not long after 9/11 and went to work for Republicans, the party she saw as being on the side of America. Longwell spent the next 15 years as a party operative and became the first woman to chair the Log Cabin Republicans, a group for gay, lesbian, and bisexual Republicans and their allies.

Then Donald Trump took over her party, and Longwell walked away. She helped start the media company The Bulwark and now spends her time trying to better understand the voters who put Trump in office. Her new book, How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time, is about what those voters have been telling her and what Democrats should do about it.

Sarah McCammon spoke with Longwell about why a “messy guy” like Trump feels familiar to voters, promoting Rick Santorum's book while quietly going to lesbian bars, and why so many Trump voters are angry heading into the midterms.

IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 — Cold open
01:25 — Messy voters, vibes, and why she doesn’t correct them in the room
10:01 — Follow or lead: Trump’s wall, Mamdani, and grand bargains
15:50 — Why the right owns pro-America branding
17:54 — Lesbian bars, Rick Santorum’s book tour, and Log Cabin Republicans
26:01 — What MAGA and the DSA have in common
32:02 — The midterms and Trump voters who “are depressed and they’re angry”
36:03 — Defeating MAGA, leveling with voters, and whether she’d run for president

CREDITS

Unmoderated is a production of Unmoderated News. Our team is Sarah McCammon, Kate deGruyter, Emily Becker, Janae Morris, David Fanto, Alex Kapelman, Kaitlyn Perez, Amea Thompson, Madison Meyer, Harrison Chinchar, Nathan Harnick, Jack Spilles, Alan Haburchak, and Gemma Waters—music by Ṭaus al Chalabi.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mike Murphy spent decades working for Republicans, including Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, and John McCain. Then came Donald Trump.

It was a turning point for Murphy. He never got on board with Trump, and now he’s one of the Republican Party’s sharpest critics, even while insisting he’s still a conservative. He co-hosts the Hacks on Tap podcast and co-directs the bipartisan USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future.

Before the midterms, Sarah McCammon spoke with Murphy about why Trump’s 2016 campaign was so hard to compete with, the wave he expects to give Democrats more power on Capitol Hill, and how the party can win back voters who make a living with their hands.

IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 — Introduction and Murphy’s First Run-In With Trump
02:38 — Celebrity, Cable TV, and Trump’s 2016 Rise
07:45 — Why So Few Republicans Draw the Line, and Trump’s Economy Promise
11:37 — Midterm Predictions for the House and Senate
15:31 — What Democrats Should Do With More Power, and the DSA-MAGA Parallel
23:50 — Republican Picks and What Democrats Need in a Nominee
27:38 — The New Primary Calendar and Murphy’s “Lunch Pail” Advice
31:14 — Where the Country Goes After Trump

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Cheri Bustos spent almost two decades as a newspaper reporter before entering public life. She served on her city council and then, in 2012, flipped a Republican seat in a working-class stretch of northwest Illinois.

Even when Donald Trump won her district in 2016, Bustos held on to that seat and won by more than 20 points. Her colleagues later chose her to lead the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the 2020 cycle, where she fought back Republican attacks and protected the Democratic House majority. Since leaving Congress, Bustos has spent her time thinking hard about how Democrats can win in places where the party usually loses, and what makes them successful.

Sarah McCammon spoke with former Rep. Bustos about why she's keeping an eye on Iowa, how “Supermarket Saturdays” helped her hold on in Trump country, and what Democrats should prioritize if they win back Congress.

IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 — Cold open

01:02 — Keep an Eye on Iowa and Making the Midterms Local

04:58 — Recruiting for Swing Districts: Fit, Vetting, and Women Candidates

12:10 — From Journalism to Congress: Health Care and Her Brother's Cancer

15:44 — Holding a District That Swung 17 Points: Supermarket Saturday and Cheri on Shift

21:16 — Affordability at Home: $6.30 Diesel and the Piggly Wiggly

24:25 — Election Night Races to Watch and the Far-Left Trickle-Down Effect

28:39 — Priorities for a Democratic Majority and What She Wants in a Nominee

CREDITS

Unmoderated is a production of Unmoderated News. Our team is Sarah McCammon, Kate deGruyter, Emily Becker, Janae Morris, David Fanto, Alex Kapelman, Kaitlyn Perez, Amea Thompson, Madison Meyer, Harrison Chinchar, Nathan Harnick, Jack Spilles, Alan Haburchak, and Gemma Waters. Music by Ṭaus al Chalabi.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Dr. Annie Andrews launched her Senate campaign in a solidly Republican state last year, she knew she was the underdog. No Democrat has won a Senate race in South Carolina in close to three decades, and the state has voted for Donald Trump by double-digit margins in every election he's run.

Dr. Andrews is running against Darline Graham, the sister of the late, long-serving Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC). She's a pediatrician who spends her days caring for children—and as a doctor, she has ideas about what leaders can do to care for their constituents.

Sarah McCammon spoke with Dr. Andrews about why she wants to pause new data centers in South Carolina, what she's seeing in the hospital as vaccine skepticism spreads from the top of the federal government, and how she plans to win over Republicans who can't imagine supporting Darline Graham.

IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 — Cold Open

1:10 — Lindsey Graham's Death and Darline Graham's Viral Debate Moment

3:53 — RFK Jr., Vaccines, and the Spartanburg Measles Outbreak

13:14 — A Public Option, Medicaid, and the Pro-Family Pitch to Republicans

16:49 — Parkland, the Nancy Mace Race, and RFK Jr.'s Nomination

23:10 — Gas, Grits, and Groceries: Food Deserts

26:13 — Advice for Written-Off Races, the Big Tent, and Working Across the Aisle

28:08 — Building Trust, the DSA, and South Carolina's First-in-the-Nation Primary

CREDITS

Unmoderated is a production of Unmoderated News. Our team is Sarah McCammon, Kate deGruyter, Emily Becker, Janae Morris, David Fanto, Alex Kapelman, Kaitlyn Perez, Amea Thompson, Madison Meyer, Harrison Chinchar, Nathan Harnick, Jack Spilles, Alan Haburchak, and Gemma Waters. Music by Ṭaus al Chalabi.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jared Polis took an unusual path into politics. When he was 25, and not yet a parent, he won a seat on Colorado's State Board of Education. He later had kids of his own and became the first openly gay parent to serve in Congress. In 2018, Colorado made him the first openly gay man ever elected governor in the United States.

Eight years later, education is still Governor Polis's signature issue, from passing universal preschool and full-day kindergarten to breaking with most of his party on school choice. He's zagged on plenty of other issues, too, vetoing dozens of bills from a legislature his party controls.

Now, with a few months left in his final term, Governor Polis is talking about what he's learned. Sarah McCammon spoke with him in Washington, DC, about how Colorado paid for universal preschool, why he cut Tina Peters's sentence, and why he wants Democrats to be pro-capitalism.

IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 — Cold open

1:19 — Why education: preschool, apprenticeships, and school choice

17:26 — RFK Jr., vaccines, and chemicals in the food supply

19:11 — Housing, duplexes, and mortgage rates near 7%

22:20 — Mail voting and cutting Tina Peters's sentence

27:59 — The Boulder attack, Melat Kiros, and antisemitism

32:18 — Why Democrats should run on affordability and capitalism

33:57 — Legacy, life after office, and the Democratic primary

CREDITS

Unmoderated is a production of Unmoderated News. Our team is Sarah McCammon, Kate deGruyter, Emily Becker, Janae Morris, David Fanto, Alex Kapelman, Kaitlyn Perez, Amea Thompson, Madison Meyer, Harrison Chinchar, Nathan Harnick, Jack Spilles, Alan Haburchak, and Gemma Waters. Music by Ṭaus al Chalabi.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For stretches of his childhood, Quinton Lucas was homeless. He crashed at motels, with relatives, and even at the nursing home where his great-aunt lived. Now he's the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri.

He was elected in 2019, the youngest mayor of Kansas City in more than a century. Four years later, he was reelected with more than 80% of the vote.

Sarah McCammon, who grew up in Kansas City, spoke with Mayor Lucas there in person about growing up poor on the city's east side, why he goes on conservative talk radio every week, what free buses taught him, and why Democrats should celebrate the American story.

IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 — Cold open

01:19 — Motel rooms, a private-school scholarship, and code-switching

05:12 — The housing trust fund and his doubts about rent control

11:46 — State control of the police and stadium deals with Republicans

16:49 — Conservative talk radio, purity tests, and Wesley Bell vs. Cori Bush

27:11 — Free buses and falling crime

32:41 — The World Cup and patriotism

37:02 — Gun ordinances and what's next

CREDITS
Unmoderated is a production of Unmoderated News. Our team is Sarah McCammon, Kate deGruyter, Emily Becker, Janae Morris, David Fanto, Alex Kapelman, Kaitlyn Perez, Amea Thompson, Madison Meyer, Harrison Chinchar, Nathan Harnick, Jack Spilles, Alan Haburchak, and Gemma Waters. Music by Ṭaus al Chalabi.

#KansasCity #QuintonLucas #Democrats

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Jessica Tarlov is, for lack of a better term, a prominent moderate. She's one of the most recognizable Democrats on Fox News, arguing daily with people who don't agree with her, and she co-hosts the podcast “Raging Moderates” with Scott Galloway.
In her new book, I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends, she draws on those daily fights to share what she's learned about arguing well—with colleagues, with critics, and with her own family.
Sarah McCammon spoke with Tarlov about the family dinner table that taught her to argue while still staying connected, her belief in fighting for health care as a human right, and what she thinks it will take for moderate Democrats to out-organize the party's left flank.

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Cold Open
01:03 — Making the Case For the Moderate Lane
12:58 — Learning to Argue Without Losing Friends
25:13 — Why Facts Don't Change Minds
31:09 — Chipping Away At Jesse Watters
33:18 — Where She's Actually Changed Her Mind
36:26 — The Pitch Democrats Need On Immigration
43:17 — Inside the Fight With the DSA

Unmoderated is a production of Unmoderated News. Our team is Sarah McCammon, Kate deGruyter, Emily Becker, Janae Morris, David Fanto, Alex Kapelman, Kaitlyn Perez, Amea Thompson, Madison Meyer, Harrison Chinchar, Nathan Harnick, Jack Spilles, Alan Haburchak, and Gemma Waters. Music by Ṭaus al Chalabi.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Third Way Senior Fellow Frank Sharry has been at the center of nearly every major push for immigration reform for decades — and watched almost all of them fall apart.

Now he wants Democrats to reckon with where they went wrong on immigration, and how the party can reclaim the middle in the midterms and beyond.

Sarah McCammon spoke with Sharry about how Democrats lost credibility on the border, the “both-and” answer he thinks can win back swing voters, and how four decades working with refugees shaped his view of the issue.

IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 — Cold open
1:33 – Both parties captured by the loudest factions

4:33 — Biden's border fix came too late

8:34 — Secure the border, reform enforcement at home

19:18 — The "both-and-" answer costs and the Atlantic op-ed that cost Sharry old friends

30:57 — Order and generosity, "two sides of the same coin"

39:20 — Sharry's origin story

43:44 — The math behind Trump's demonization of immigrants

We have some exciting news to share: the podcast will soon have a new look and a new name. We’re officially becoming Unmoderated.
You’ll notice new colors, new fonts, and a fresh look but the content you know isn’t changing.

Sarah McCammon will still be sitting down with leaders, advocates, and changemakers to unpack the personal stories that shaped them and the battles they’re taking on today.

We'll see you next week for the start of a new chapter.

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