Hacks On Tap

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Rating
4.7
from
7778 reviews
This podcast has
372 episodes
Language
Publisher
Explicit
Yes
Date created
2019/06/06
Latest episode
2026/04/21
Average duration
65 min.
Release period
7 days

Description

When David Axelrod, Mike Murphy, and John Heilemann get together to talk politics, it’s not academic. They speak from the perspective gained through hundreds of campaigns for offices from City Hall to the White House. So if you want to know what’s really going on behind the scenes, where strategic decisions are being made, pull up a stool for Hacks on Tap. Incisive, sometimes uproarious and always entertaining, these political warhorses and their guests will give you insights you’ll only get from folks who have spent a lifetime in the political trenches of both parties.  From the Vox Media Podcast Network

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The Liquor Cabinet (with Jonathan Martin)
2026/04/21
This week, Murphy and Heilemann were joined by frequent Hacks flyer and host of On the Road, Politico’s Jonathan Martin! The Hacks dive into U.S./Iran negotiations, Vance’s foreign policy woes, chaos and turnover in the Trump cabinet, and check in on the Virginia, California, and Kentucky races. And so much more! Photo by Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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It’s the Theology, Stupid (with Doug Sosnik)
2026/04/14
This week, Murphy and Heilemann welcome policy Hackeroo and Clintonworld veteran Doug Sosnik. The Hacks dive into Trump’s Twitter feud with Chicago’s Pope, high-stakes negotiations to end the war with Iran, the JD Vance problem, shifting voting trends and Trump’s job approval—and check in on California’s governor’s race. Photo by Xinhua via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Gravity of the Situation (with Rahm Emanuel)
2026/04/07
This week, Axe and Murphy are joined live and in person by Hack regular, former U.S. Ambassador, and former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel. The Hacks break down the escalating war with Iran and Trump’s increasingly heated rhetoric, as strikes intensify and diplomacy teeters on the brink. They dig into JD Vance’s trip abroad—and what his chances are for 2028—before turning to the midterms and the wide-open Democratic race for the White House. All that and much more! Photo by Roger Simmons/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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TACO Tuesday (with Morris Katz)
2026/04/01
This week, Axe and Heilemann dive into Trump’s Oval Office presser on the state of the war with Iran—and, of course, his ballroom. The Hacks also break down kitchen table issues, potential watershed moments, Republican influencers turning on Trump, redistricting, the midterms, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mad King Politics (with David Plouffe)
2026/03/25
This week Axe and Murphy are joined by Campaign Manager Hackeroo David Plouffe — who ran Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, later served as a senior White House advisor.The Hacks dive into another week of war with Iran, unpack Trump’s motivations (and re-motivations), break down how negotiations on the Hill are going, dig into the politics of the SAVE Act, check in on Illinois primary results, and review some spicy Texas ads — and, as always, so much more. Photo by Heather Diehl via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Luck of the Midterms (with Amy Walter)
2026/03/17
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Hackeroos! This week, Axe and Heilemann are joined by one of the greatest Hacks in all the land, Amy Walter—publisher and editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. The Hacks dive into Joe Kent’s resignation, unpack the Iran war and its costs at home and abroad, check in on midterm kitchen table issues, take a look at today’s Illinois primary, and so much more! Photo by Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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On the Road (with Jonathan Martin)
2026/03/10
This week, Axe and Murphy are joined by frequent flier in the Hackeroo Lounge, Jonathan Martin. JMart gives the Hacks a preview of his new Politico show, On the Road with Jonathan Martin, including his conversation with Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The Hacks also discuss the war with Iran — how it’s affecting Americans at home, the administration’s shifting rationales, and the U.S. Tomahawk strike that hit a school. Plus: Donald Trump firing Kristi Noem, the first cabinet dismissal of his administration, the Texas runoff, and the Hacks close with a tribute to Jesse Jackson. Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Midterm Crossfire (with Mark McKinnon and Billy Begala)
2026/03/04
This tumultuous week in the news, the Hacks are joined by not one but two expert Hackeroos. First up, Mark McKinnon — former adviser to George W. Bush and co-creator and co-host of The Circus — jumps in with Axe and Murphy to break down the strikes in Iran: what led up to them, what’s happened since the initial attacks and retaliatory strikes across the region, and what the Trump administration is saying (and not saying) about its strategy amid shifting justifications and questions about long-term planning. Then they’re joined by Hacks kin Billy Begala, veteran Democratic strategist and co-founder of The Barbed Wire, to preview tonight’s Senate primary in Texas and what the outcome could signal for the midterms. Photo by Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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SOTU Special
2026/02/25
This week Axe and Murphy burned the midnight oil to break down Trump’s State of the Union with Hackeroo extraordinaire Jonathan Martin. No spoilers here — the Hacks have kept you waiting long enough. Hit play and find out what went down. Photo by Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Map-a-Lago (with Dave Wasserman)
2026/02/17
This week Murphy and Heilemann were joined by the one and only Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report. The Hacks dive into Trump’s polling, the standoff over ICE funding, and the attention economy — then put Wasserman on the map (literally) for a midterm check-in across Texas, Alaska, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, and so much more. Photo by Joel Angel Juarez/Bloomberg via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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A Bigger Bowl (with Lis Smith)
2026/02/10
This week, Axe and Heilemann were joined by Lis Smith, veteran Democratic strategist and political advisor. The Hacks dive into the Super Bowl and Bad Bunny’s halftime show, the battle for views, the Trump economy, inflation and mortgage rates, proposed voter ID laws, the latest Epstein files dump, ICE reform, Trump retweets, and—because it’s been that kind of week—so much more. Photo by Kevin Sabitus via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Reading the Map (with Jonathan Martin)
2026/02/03
Happy Tuesday, Hackeroos! This week Axe and Murphy are joined by repeat guest and all-around savant Jonathan Martin of Politico. The Hacks dive into the latest news, including the FBI raid of a Georgia election center, Trump’s cryptocurrency exposé in The Wall Street Journal, Trump’s mixed messaging on the economy and inflation, what an increasingly abnormal election looks like, and a check-in on several key states as the midterms come into focus. Photo by Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Intentional Mayhem (with John Avlon)
2026/01/27
This week Axe and Heilemann are joined by former Chief Beast, current journalist, and author John Avlon. The Hacks dig into the aftermath of a tumultuous weekend in Minnesota — and across the Trump administration — following the killing of Alex Pretti. They unpack ICE and citizen accountability, the administration’s evolving claims versus video evidence that challenges them, and the tangled web the White House has woven around the Second Amendment, DHS funding, and the looming threat of another government shutdown. Plus, Greenland, Mamdani battling the storm (literally), and so much more. Photo by Arthur Maiorella/Anadolu via Getty Images Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Ugliest American
2026/01/20
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
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Flood the Zone, Lose the Plot (with Mark McKinnon)
2026/01/13
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
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Podcast reviews

Read Hacks On Tap podcast reviews


4.7 out of 5
7778 reviews
541red 2026/04/19
Back to roots
Bring on some HEAVY hitters - John Ellis and Joe Klein — Bruce mehlman - let’s go! 🤙
Elisabeth-Ann 2026/04/22
Please…
Please consider LESS Rahm Emanuel. I don’t mind that he’s been around forever (and wants to run for President? Seriously?) It’s that he has so little ...
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MPCRPH 2026/04/04
More Morris!
Great show today! Morris Katz is great! Please have him back. We should listen to him too!!
MT Blues Lover 2026/03/09
Humor and Hope
Always a pleasure to listen to these political insiders give us the low-down about current affairs. And they laugh a lot!!
Charm city runner 2026/04/01
heillman is a little of control
I love this podcast but whenever Heillman is on he nearly ruins it. He repeats himself endlessly, and answers questions addressed to guests when he i...
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danshapiro 2026/04/01
Heilemann … breathe
A long time listener because of the funny but serious and experienced analysis of Axe and Murph… John recently has created a hyped up schizophrenic pa...
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Joe's View 2026/04/01
Where’s Mike?
Too many episodes without Mr. Murphy recently. He has a way of bringing his bloviating co-hosts down to earth.
PlayingInScottsdale 2026/04/01
Heileman SHUT UP!
Unlistenable. Just drones on and on. I can’t stand it anymore. Why have a guest if you never let him talk?
Rip off sponsor  2026/03/24
Rip off sponsor
This is truly one of my favorite podcasts. However, the over the top endorsement of Quince is nothing but a rip off. I’m sure if they knew they would ...
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WrigleyFieldMarshal 2026/03/13
Mike Murphy has Zero Credibility
Mike Murphy lit a pile of money on fire in 2015 and shouldn’t be considered a serious political operative at this point. His predictions are always wr...
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