Decodedc

Just a few years ago, it was a big deal when the president unveiled his spending proposal, but “budget day” this week was kind of a snore. That may be because President Barack Obama’s $3.9 trillion proposal for fiscal year 2015, which begins Oct. 1, isn’t likely to have much impact. Why? Lawmakers last December passed a two-year spending plan. Still, the annual ritual does highlight the president’s vision for the coming year – and for the coming election. It's already providing fodder for Democrats and Republicans gearing up for the campaign trail. But to understand just about any argument or issue in Washington, you really need to understand the basics of the federal budget. Problem is, most of us don’t. So, we’ve gone back to the DecodeDC archives to bring you this encore podcast from April 2013 that breaks down the numbers and tries to show what exactly we are spending our money on. The episode features an interview with Jess Bachman, the guy behind an unbelievably detailed chart showing exactly how your t

Some politicians have it, and some don't. That's what award-winning actress Kathleen Turner says it comes down to: There are politicians with an effective stage presence, and there are those without one. Coaching might help some of them, she says. Others, well, the camera just doesn't love them. Last week, DecodeDC asked you to participate in the Academy of Political Performances and pick the best of eight video clips. And the winner is: Sen. Ted Cruz reading "Green Eggs and Ham" on the Senate floor. This week DecodeDC asked Turner, who has two Golden Globes and starred in "Body Heat," "Romancing the Stone," and "Prizzi's Honor," to talk about what makes a good political performance. She enthusiastically agreed -- and got specific. Former President Ronald Reagan, he had it: "I'll tell you, Reagan was good --he was good. He did not overreach himself, you know." President Barack Obama has it: "I actually think Obama is terrific. He has an extraordinary blend of intelligence and openness, I mean...accessibilit

Politicians have been performing since history has been recorded – and some performances have stood the test of time for their eloquence, their intelligence and their ability to comfort a nation. And others, well, not so much. We have nominated eight video clips, and we are inviting you, members of the American Citizens Academy, to watch and vote for the one you think is best. You don’t get to vote for the winner of our Lifetime Achievement Award, Vice President Joe Biden. But you do get to watch a medley of his greatest hits – free and uninterrupted. So, go visit us on Twitter @DecodeDC, start watching, submit your vote and click back here on Thursday, Feb. 27, to see which political star is taking home the DecodeDC People's Choice Award. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five years ago. It was the early days of the Obama presidency. And it was a panicky moment in what came to be called the Great Recession. Congress already had bailed out Wall Street’s most troubled companies with a program called TARP – the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Now Congress was desperately trying to find a way to pump some blood into a very sick economy. The markets, the experts, the country wanted action. 

In the House of Representatives, the man in the middle of coming up with stimulus plan fast was David Obey, a longtime Democratic congressman from Wisconsin who chaired the Appropriations Committee. Obey was known for his mastery of the appropriations process and his blunt talk. He retired in 2011, and now he is really blunt about what went on in the smoke-filled rooms five years ago and about today’s bitter budget battles. With the economy in free fall, Obey met with his Republican counterpart Jerry Lewis of California to start writing a bill. “And Jerry just grinned and said ‘Dave, I’m sorry,

Something happened. We lost two years. It’s already 2016, and the presidential election is here – as in right now. That must be the case. There’s a new poll out almost every day. One poll after another declares Hillary Clinton is in the lead for the Democratic nomination. Another only a few days ago declared Rep. Paul Ryan has a lock on the Republican nomination. But wait. Check your calendar. No matter how much buzz there is in the news media about the 2016 presidential polls, it’s actually 2014 – and it’s more than two years before the nominees are selected and President Barack Obama’s successor is declared. So what’s with all 2016 polls, and how much should you be paying attention? “They attract attention, for sure,” Carroll Doherty, director of political research at the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, says. But “they don’t tell us a lot. … They tell us name recognition, and not much else.” In poll speak, that means the results at this point are not predictive of what will happen in 2016.

If you’ve ever watched or heard a State of the Union address, you might think the event starts like this: “Mr. Speaker! The President of the United States!” But, as is true with so many things in Washington, there’s more to the story. A lot more. The State of the Union address – SOTU as it’s known in Washington – is a mass media event that takes hours, no, make that days, no, make that months, of preparation. The SOTU is highly orchestrated by the White House, by members of Congress, by the news media. For many reporters, the speech itself is a blip. Their focus is Statuary Hall, which is a short walk from the House chamber where the president gives the annual speech.

 “Stat Hall” – more jargon used by the Washington in-crowd – is interview central. A lot of lawmakers pass through the hall on their way to the address – some of them stopping to give reporters their response to a speech they have not yet heard – and almost all of them head to “Stat Hall” after the speech for the media after party. A few of th

If you've been tuning into the nightly news, you've heard the wrangling over unemployment benefits. It's not really about whether to extend them. It's about how to do it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Which is worse: breaking the law to leak classified secrets? Or keeping quiet about what could be a violation of Americans' constitutional rights? Andrea Seabrook talks to an expert who believes that these modern times call for a Morality 2.0. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government shutdown may be over, but has anything really changed? Andrea talks to Patti Daniels of Vermont Public Radio about the problems that caused the shutdown and which still plague Washington. Special thanks to Vermont Public Radio (www.vpr.net) for this episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Budget battles. Sequestration. And now, shut down. The political mess in Washington has consequences far from Capitol Hill. Andrea talks to a Chief Federal Judge, Loretta A. Preska, about our system of Justice, teetering on the brink of dysfunction. Read Chief Judge Preska's letter to Congress here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/160532510/Funding-Letter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the news becomes obsessed with a new story every week, do you ever wonder what's being pushed OUT of the headlines? Andrea Seabrook talks to a media critic and a historian about how news outlets choose the most important story, and why they often get it wrong. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

War-drums and peace-cries can drown out more considered implications of US intervention in Syria. We talk about the haunting ghosts of recent wars, plus get a much longer view -- one that advocates the return of mandatory service. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrea talks to tech CEO and former Presidential Innovation Fellow Clay Johnson about the Paperwork Reduction Act, OIRA, and unintended consequences. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an excerpt from DecodeDC's first live episode, Andrea interviews reporter Todd Zwillich on the pressures of covering Congress and doing it well. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrea talks more intimately with longtime Congressman and current statesman, Lee Hamilton, about the biggest problem he sees in today's politics: money. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrea Seabrook introduces America's best pUNdit -- a man you'll rarely hear from on the daily news, but who knows more than almost anyone about what's wrong with Washington. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rich Tafel was deeply involved in one of the most sweeping changes of recent decades -- the social acceptance of Gay Americans. What's more, he's a Republican. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DecodeDC collects the stories of those most often left out of the immigration debate: actual immigrants. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first of a two-part series on immigration, DecodeDC looks at how humor can get closer to a problem than political talking points ever could. Special thanks this week to Radio Ambulante, a Spanish-language radio program telling uniquely Latin American stories. (Check them out! http://radioambulante.org/) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's start from the beginning. To understand what underlies every argument in Washington these days, you have to know the basics of the federal budget. Problem is, most of us don't. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.