Audience Q&A: Dasha Burns pulls back the curtain on covering politics | The Conversation

The Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

News, Daily News, Politics, Government

3.9 • 699 Ratings

🗓️ 31 May 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Every week on this show, Dasha Burns talks to the most compelling and sometimes unexpected power players in Washington and beyond. But for this special first anniversary episode, she turned the microphone over to you … our listeners. “How do you prepare for high-stakes interviews?” “Why has Washington left Gen Z behind?” “How has covering politics changed you?” Dasha answers your burning questions, weighing in on everything from the most interesting under-the-radar character at the White House to why her news diet is a “hot mess.” Have feedback for “The Conversation?” Text or leave us a voicemail at 202-643-1536.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Presented by A-HIP.
0:02.1	Health plans work every day to shield Americans from high and rising costs by negotiating
0:07.0	lower prices from providers and drug makers and protecting consumers against unexpected
0:11.9	medical bills. Learn more at A-HIP.org.
0:26.5	Hello, hello, and welcome to the one-year anniversary special of the conversation.
0:30.5	Guys, I cannot believe it's been a whole year since we started this show.
0:33.3	It all began with Dr. Oz.
0:39.3	If you objectively look at this, it's impossible to defend the current situation with drug pricing in America. Since then, I've had conversations with the President of the United States.
0:43.3	I wonder what grade you would give...
0:45.3	A plus.
0:46.3	A plus.
0:47.3	Yeah, A plus, plus, plus, plus, plus.
0:49.3	And some of his cabinet officials, like Marco Rubio and Scott Besson.
0:52.3	Our job is to go out and operationalize, execute on the president's vision.
0:57.6	The message to the rest of the world, America First is not America alone.
1:02.0	I've chatted with legislators that span the political spectrum from Senator Katie Britt to Representative Sarah McBride.
1:08.9	You don't have to agree to show someone respect.
1:12.1	The Republican Party is the party that is obsessed with cultural war issues.
1:15.5	And I've spoken with powerful leaders in the private sector, like Bill Gates.
1:19.9	AI is a mixed blessing because it'll bring a level of change that we've never seen before.
1:26.4	Some of my conversations have been in pretty iconic locations, like when I spoke to
1:30.2	Richard Grinnell at the Kennedy Center.
	...

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