The Ugliest American

This week all three Hackeroos (or Quackeroos) convened to take on a full fire hose of breaking news. The Hacks dive into Trump’s Nobel Piece Prize acquisition, his Davos trip, ICE’s provocative tactics, pardon-palooza, NATO on the brink, Greenland becoming Orangeland, and so much more! Photo by Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s only the second week of the year, and the news cycle is already moving fast. Luckily, Axe and Heilemann are joined by legendary political strategist — and The Circus alum — Mark McKinnon to help make sense of it all. The Hacks discuss ICE’s escalation in Minnesota, including the tragic killing of Renee Good, the influx of ICE officers to the state, and the ramping up of rhetoric around immigration enforcement. They also dig into Melania Trump’s new documentary, the politics of flooding the zone — and how it can both help and hurt Trump — affordability, Venezuela, and much more. Photo by Aaron Lavinsky/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy New Year, Hackeroos — did we miss anything over the break? Luckily, Axe and Murphy reconvened bright and early with veteran journalist, columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, and senior political analyst for CNN, Ron Brownstein. The Hacks dig into Trump’s Venezuela takeover rhetoric and the politics of oil, Tim Walz bowing out of Minnesota’s gubernatorial race, rising health care costs and what they could mean for the midterms, and Pete Hegseth’s attacks on Mark Kelly’s military record — and so much more!  Photo by Molly Riley/The White House via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy New Year, Hackeroos! While the guys are taking a well-earned break with family, we’re bringing you a great conversation from our friend Kara Swisher’s podcast, On with Kara Swisher. Kara is joined by Beth Macy, a veteran newspaper reporter and author who has spent decades covering rural America, and Jacob Silverman, an investigative journalist focused on tech power and corruption. Together, they explore how two seemingly opposite forces—Silicon Valley billionaires and the rural poor—have converged under the MAGA umbrella, the role social media plays in fueling grievance and distrust, and what it would take to bridge America’s widening political divide. New episodes of On with Kara Swisher drop every Monday and Thursday. You can listen to the show in your favorite podcast app or watch on YouTube at youtube.com/@onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Hacks convene to sum up a year of very normal politics. The guys dive into Indiana Republicans’ rebuke of Trump’s redistricting plan, the tragic deaths of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, rising health-care premiums headed into 2026, the state of the Trump economy, and what it all means for 2026 and beyond. From our Hacks on Tap family to yours, thank you for another year, and we wish you a happy holiday season and a healthy new year. Photo by Kaiti Sullivan/Bloomberg via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Murphy and Heilemann were joined by a true political legend — a man who’s been Hacking up and down the ballot for more than sixty years — the inimitable Bob Shrum! The Hacks dig into Trump’s ambitions for his big rally tonight, the early rumblings of Trump fatigue, the state of the economy, growing calls to release the boat-strike videos, MTG’s 60 Minutes moment, and so much more! Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Hacks are back! All three Hackeroos convened this week to discuss the Tennessee Special election, retiring members of congress and upcoming filing deadlines, Hegseth's latest, the tragic national guard shooting, the ongoing Russia/Ukraine negotiations, their shared love of corgis, and so much more. Photo by Win McNamee via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our final episode of the month, Axe and Heilemann were joined by frequent Hack, former congressman, and author Steve Israel. The Hacks dig into the vote to release the Epstein files, MTG’s latest pivot and what’s driving it, primary filing deadlines, winning issues, the midterms landscape, redistricting, and so much more. Plus, we get a sneak peek at Steve’s new book, The Einstein Conspiracy — based on true events, it follows two FBI agents in a high-stakes race against a ruthless undercover operative determined to abduct Albert Einstein, whom Hitler believes holds the key to building the atomic bomb. Have a great Thanksgiving, Hackeroos! Photo by Heather Diehl via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Axe and Murphy were joined by their new Vox Media colleague and veteran political reporter Astead Herndon. The Hacks dive into the potential end of the government shutdown, the future of Democratic leadership, coalition-building, Border Patrol’s trip to The Bean, Gavin-mania, and so much more! Special thanks to our veteran Hacks on Tap listeners — we’re grateful for your service. Cheers to you today and always! Photo by Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The results are in! Last night Axe and Murphy were joined by the indefatigable chronicler of American politics, Jonathan Martin of Politico. The bleary-eyed Hacks stayed up to unpack the election results, the story the margins told, voter turnout, indicators for the midterms, redistricting, Dick Cheney’s legacy, and so much more! Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices