Explore every episode of the podcast The Chuck ToddCast

Chuck shares thoughts about his future in media, and talks with former Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron about news in the Trump era. 

NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel joins Chuck to take a deep dive on Middle Eastern history and its effect on today's politics.

Alternative History: If George Washington ran for a third term, would the United States be here today? Chuck talks with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, presidential historian and the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton joins Chuck to detail the effort of officials appointed to former President Trump's first term in office who want to prevent him from being re-elected to a second. Bolton also delivers his perspective on President Biden's foreign policy as the U.S. launches retaliatory drone strikes on Iran-backed militia groups.

Jon Ralston, founder, CEO, and editor of The Nevada Independent, joins Chuck to discuss the Nevada primary/caucus divide and why the results might mislead outside observers ahead of the November election.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), a member of the original bipartisan “Gang of Eight”  working group on immigration, joins Chuck to detail the path forward on border reform as Senate Republicans clash over a potential deal. Bennet also looks back to how the debate has changed over the past decade, as a pathway to citizenship is unlikely to be included in the final package.

Chuck sits down with Rick Hasen, professor of law and political science at UCLA and the author of a new book coming out in February, “A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy.”

Jonathan Martin, senior political columnist for Politico, joins Chuck on the heels of New Hampshire's primary elections to examine former Gov. Nikki Haley's (R-S.C.) political prospects as the Republican nominating contests continue, and discusses whether President Biden can improve his standing as the general-election campaign takes shape.
 

NBC News Campaign Embeds Sarah Dean, Emma Barnett and Greg Hyatt join Chuck to preview the New Hampshire primaries, as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) shifts his resources away from the state and former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) — fresh off a third-place finish in Iowa — seeks to portray the contest as a two-person race.

Longshot Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) talks to Chuck about his campaign in New Hampshire and what the results in Iowa say about November 2024.

With days to go until the Iowa Caucus, Chuck talks with Matt Dixon, senior national politics reporter for NBC News, and author of a new book, "Swamp Monsters: Trump vs. DeSantis―the Greatest Show on Earth (or at Least in Florida)," about the most consequential rivalry in the 2024 campaign.

Ian Bremmer, founder and president of the Eurasia Group, discusses his organization’s 2024 “Top Risks” report, with a focus on three dominant conflicts: the U.S. versus Russia, Israel versus Hamas, and the U.S. versus … itself.

Read more from the report here: https://www.eurasiagroup.net/media/eurasia-group-publishes-top-risks-predictions-for-2024-a-year-of-grave-concern

Iowa Republican Strategist David Kochel joins Chuck with just over a week to go until the first GOP contest of 2024 to detail former President Trump's firm hold on the Hawkeye State — and his rivals' determination to pull an upset.

Jeff Pearlman, author of "Football for a Buck," joins Chuck to talk about what might have happened if Donald Trump had been more successful in his attempt to buy the Buffalo Bill or bring the USFL to success.

What if John Lennon survived the assassination attempt? Are we living in the worst timeline possible with Russia? What if Sandra Day O'Connor had been made Supreme Court chief justice? Chuck Todd sits down with Fordham professor (and big alt history fan!) Paul Levinson for an extravaganza of topics, on the last ToddCast of 2023. 

Former Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) joins Chuck to game out what could have happened in a world where Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell voted to convict former President Trump in his second impeachment trial relating to the insurrection.

Chuck introduces his latest series of Alternative Histories and speaks with NCAA President Charlie Baker about paying college athletes. 

Bringing the band back together — NBC News Chief Political Analyst Chuck Todd sits down with the political unit’s Mark Murray, Bridget Bowman and Alexandra Marquez to discuss their top predictions for each quarter of 2024.

Ruy Texeira, author of "Where Have All the Democrats Gone? The Soul of the Party in the Age of Extremes," joins Chuck to detail the Democratic Party's recent leftward shift and argues it has abandoned its core principles.

Author and filmmaker Greg Mitchell joins Chuck to talk about his latest film, "Atomic Cover-up," and the resurgence of anti-nuclear proliferation after the summer release of "Oppenheimer."

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta joins Chuck to analyze the path forward for lasting peace in the Middle East, and offers his thoughts on the legacy of former Sec. Henry Kissinger, who passed away Wednesday.

Self-described “rebel corporate” Andrew Yang, co-chair of the Forward Party and former Democratic presidential candidate, joins Chuck Todd for a candid conversation about the 2024 election.

Alternative history is back with a special Thanksgiving episode. Turn the clocks back to 1978 and ask, what would air travel be like today if deregulation never took place? Ganesh Staraman, the author of a new book called “Why Flying is Miserable: And how to fix it,” joins Chuck to explain how airline deregulation rules screwed things up for air travel.

Elizabeth Moynihan, who had become known for managing the Senate campaigns of her husband, the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), passed away on Nov. 7 at age 94 — 20 years after him. Their daughter Maura joins Chuck to detail their legacy and how the family's longstanding values of fairness and bipartisanship can inform America in its time of political division.

Alternative history is back! We kick off this year's series with a look back at all the possible "What If" scenarios from the 2024 election. Chuck is joined by Politico's Senior Political Columnist, Jonathan Martin. 

Mark Z. Barabak, political columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Chuck to analyze America's battleground states ahead of 2024 and details what role the West might play in swinging the election.

Canadian journalist and publisher of GZERO Media, Evan Solomon, joins Chuck Todd to discuss what the future holds for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as his polling falls, what President Biden's administration can learn from him and how the two leaders differ on Israel policy.  

Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) joins Chuck to discuss his campaign to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and talks about his working relationship with new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Political commentator Chris Cillizza and Editor-in-Chief of the Cook Political Report Amy Walter join Chuck Todd to talk about 2024 messaging. 

Adam Ganucheau, editor-in-chief for Mississippi Today, and Phillip M. Bailey, national political correspondent for USA Today, join Chuck to preview Tuesday's upcoming gubernatorial elections in Mississippi and Kentucky, and explain what the results in both states could tell us about the 2024 races to come.

Martin Fletcher, former NBC News Middle East correspondent and Tel Aviv Bureau chief, joins Chuck to talk about Israel’s ground invasion into the Gaza Strip and the politics facing Prime Minister Netanyahu. 

Judge Lina Hidalgo, head of the Harris County, Texas governing body, joins Chuck to discuss her battle with depression and treatment, and talks about the evolving views around the issue of mental health.

For his new book, “Romney: A Reckoning,” McKay Coppins had access to hundreds of pages of Senator Mitt Romney’s personal notes. In this live interview with Chuck at the New-York Historical Society, Coppins talks about the reporting process and what he learned about the Republican 2012 presidential candidate. 

As Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) loses a repeated vote to take up the speaker gavel, House Republicans are considering testing the limits of Rep. Patrick McHenry's (R-N.C.) powers as speaker pro tempore. Matt Glassman, senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute, joins Chuck to analyze why Congress is paralyzed, as the House of Representatives goes 16 days and counting without an elected leader.

Adam Lazarus, author of “The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams” joins Chuck to talk about how to titans of the twentieth century ended up as lifelong friends.

Chuck talks with John Morgan, the founder of Orlando-based personal injury firm Morgan and Morgan with offices nationwide. Morgan, a well-known Democratic fundraiser in Florida, recently posted on Twitter that he was thinking of running for governor … as an independent. 

Democrats don't trust the Supreme Court, Republicans don't trust the FBI or mainstream media, and everyone is paranoid about deepfakes. Bruce Mehlman, partner at Mehlman Consulting, joins Chuck to discuss both parties' biggest weaknesses ahead of 2024.

Washington faces a House without a speaker, a war in Israel and a crisis at the southern border. Ryan Nobles, NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent and Paul Kane, Washington Post senior congressional correspondent, talk about a confluence of events that sound like “a ‘West Wing’ plot.”

John Reiss, executive producer for Meet the Press during Chuck's first eight years as moderator, joins to post game a chapter of Meet the Press that brought digital expansion, a daily spin-off and a companion newsmagazine to the longest-running show in television history.

As Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) faces growing concerns over his health, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and his House Republicans are debating a possible impeachment inquiry against President Biden. Carl Hulse, chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times, and Marianna Sotomayor, congressional reporter for the Washington Post, join Chuck to detail whether either McConnell or McCarthy is likely to stay in his congressional leadership seat for much longer.

A second public freeze by Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) has revived concerns over the senator's ability to carry out his term — and cast a renewed focus on the health issues of America's aging political leaders. Jake Sherman, co-founder of Punchbowl News, joins Chuck to detail the inside scoop from Capitol Hill.

Former Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) served in the House for three decades, until 2019. In the short time since, the GOP has taken a sharp turn toward anti-trans rhetoric. Ros-Lehtinen and her son, Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of the National Center of Transgender Equality, join Chuck to analyze the Republican Party's newly developed stance on trans issues and detail their efforts to bring trans acceptance to the party.

On Monday, a federal judge in D.C. set March 4, 2024 as the start date for the first of former President Trump’s two federal criminal trials. The day after that is Super Tuesday. Mark Murray, Ben Kamisar, Bridget Bowman and Alexandra Marquez of the NBC News political unit join Chuck to explain how Trump's legal and political calendars may mix and combine in 2024.

Former Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) joins the ToddCast to analyze how she understood President Biden's 2020 campaign pitch to signal "a promise to be a bridge to the next generation," and tells Chuck, "I took that as one term."

Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who at times looked more like a Trump surrogate, commanded the stage during Fox News’ debate — but mostly because he bore the brunt of his rivals’ attacks on stage. Molly Ball, national political correspondent at Time magazine, and Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Dispatch, join Chuck to explain what the first presidential debate means for the GOP race.

Former President Trump might skip Wednesday night's debate, but he's ever-present in the minds of voters, according to numbers from the new partnership between NBC News, the Des Moines Register and MediaCom. J. Ann Selzer, the chief pollster behind this latest survey, joins Chuck to detail the toplines — and how most likely GOP Iowa caucusgoers are unlikely to support any candidate who "aggressively criticizes" Trump.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan joins Chuck to preview his independent bid for Michigan's 2026 gubernatorial election, in what could be a seismic shift in a battleground state.

As the first presidential debate of the cycle prepares to usher in the next phase of the 2024 campaign, the challengers to former President Trump's re-election bid have mostly still opted to not take him on, as the four-time indicted front-runner rocks the system with threats to his prosecutors. Lanhee Chen, fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, joins Chuck to analyze why Trump's supporters can't quit him.

Ninety-one felony charges across four criminal indictments: That’s one way to measure former President Trump’s impact on American politics. But what about the stress that these indictments place on our judicial system? Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic and host of PBS' Washington Week with the Atlantic, joins Chuck to discuss how America's system of accountability could be rocked by a former president under trial.

A Georgia grand jury issued former President Trump his fourth indictment late Monday night, charging Trump and 18 of his allies with felony racketeering and numerous conspiracy counts in their attempt to overturn the 2020 election. NBC News Correspondent Blayne Alexander and Greg Bluestein, politics reporter with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, join Chuck from Georgia to discuss what District Attorney Fani Willis' charges mean for the former president.