The Blueprint with Jen Psaki

Don’t Calm Down, with Maxwell Alejandro Frost

The youngest person in Congress, Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost of the Florida 10th, says he’s "very pissed off" about the eight senators who agreed to a deal with the GOP to end the shutdown. He says that group – average age 69 – is behaving as though we’re not in a new political era. “When we have Democrats living in a political world that doesn't exist anymore, and Republicans living in reality, we will lose.” He says to be effective, Democrats need to “unshackle ourselves from the way things have been so we can be more like ourselves.” And the party needs to really fight for Americans to get decent health care, not just restore Republican cuts. "A lot of people have healthcare and it sucks,” he says. “So it's not just that we need everyone to have sucky healthcare. It is: we need everyone to have good healthcare.” Before that, Jen and Democratic strategist Lis Smith rewind the emotional rollercoaster of the last seven days – a blue wave crashing into a backroom deal.  Subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening to this and other podcasts. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content from this and other shows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com/] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We’re Not Dead, Baby!, with David Plouffe

Last night felt like a make-or-break moment for Democrats, as voters handed decisive victories to the party, especially in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City. The three candidates that won in those places (Mikie Sherrill, Abigail Spanberger, and Zohran Mamdani respectively) are very different from each other and ran very different campaigns, showing that there isn’t only one face of the Democratic party.  David Plouffe, Democratic strategist and former campaign manager to Barack Obama, joins Jen Psaki and Lis Smith to analyze the races, the key takeaways, and how the Dems can take advantage of the momentum to stage a return to power.  Subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening to this and other podcasts. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content from this and other shows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com/] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Blueprint with Jen Psaki: Decision 2025

On November 2nd, Jen Psaki hosted a pre-election “Blueprint” special live on MSNBC. She spoke with Jen Palmieri, former communications director for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Pennsylvania state representative Malcom Kenyatta, New York City comptroller Brad Lander, and more about two governor races in New Jersey and Virginia, state Supreme Court races in Pennsylvania, and the mayoral election in New York City. Plus, Prop 50, the redistricting proposal out to voters in California. It might be an off year, but there is a ton going on. And a lot of it has implications for the 2026 midterms. Listen here to an audio version of that TV special so you can have the most up-to-date news and analysis from around the country as voters head to the polls this week. Subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening to this and other podcasts. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content from this and other shows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Grace Is Necessary, with Sarah McBride

The freshman Congresswoman from Delaware has been a politics nerd from a young age. Sarah McBride had Joe Biden’s autograph on her wall growing up, interned in the Obama White House, and then was elected a Delaware State Senator. In that role, she helped pass the largest increase in the social safety net in the state’s history. McBride is known for being the first openly transgender member of Congress, and she says it’s been difficult, and lonely. But she’s in the fight to win – which she says is only possible by rejecting purity tests and welcoming everyone with good intentions to the Democratic coalition. "I think too often we find ourselves wanting the comfort of preaching to our own choir,” she says, “rather than exercising the courage to truly grow our congregation.”  And before we hear from McBride, Lis Smith is here to discuss the lessons Democrats can learn from Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger about how to weather a crisis. Want more from “The Blueprint”? On Sunday, November 2nd, Jen will lead a primetime weekend pre-election special, “The Blueprint with Jen Psaki: Decision 2025,” at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC. Subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening to this and other podcasts. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content from this and other shows.

We Cannot Abandon Our Convictions, with Andy Beshear

The two-term governor of Kentucky is a Democrat – and he runs a state Trump won by 30 points last year. He’s got plenty to say about what’s holding Democrats back and where they go from here. His most direct advice? “Talk normal.” And he doesn’t shy away from standing up for things he believes in even when they’re unpopular in his deep red state. As one of the most popular governors in the country, it's a pretty safe bet he’ll join the field of Democrats running for president in 2028. Before that, Jen and Democratic strategist Lis Smith talk about how Democrats can win on the immigration debate, becoming a party that stands for more than being anti-Trump, and the gerontocracy fights back via Cincinnati Bengal Joe Flacco.