C-span Radio - The Sidebar

June 17th marks the 45th Anniversary of the Watergate break-in. This week we revisit the first months of the scandal with Nixon-era White House General Counsel John Dean. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Like, rate, and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

This week we examine the history of congressional investigations with Ray Smock, the director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies at Shepherd University and a former Historian of the House of Representatives. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Like, rate, and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

This week Fabrice Pothier, former Director of Policy Planning for NATO, discusses the organization's history, mission, and budget. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Like, rate, and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

This week's guest is Washington Post reporter Max Ehrenfreund. We spoke with him about a new report examining declining American wages and the shrinking middle class. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Like, rate, and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

This week's guest is Robert Danin, a senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and former Deputy Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs during the George W. Bush administration. We spoke with him about the history of the Arab-Israeli peace process. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Like, rate, and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

With President Trump's dismissal of now-former FBI Director James Comey dominating the news we spoke to Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Weiner, author of Enemies: A History of the FBI. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Like, rate, and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

With both parties recruiting candidates to run for office during the 2018 midterm elections, our guest this week is LuAnn Bennett, who lost in 2016 to Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock in the race to represent Virginia's 10th District. We talked with her about her experience running for office. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Like, rate, and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is presidential historian and author Richard Norton Smith. We talked with him about using a president's first 100 days in office as a measurement of success and why FDR set a standard that may not be matched. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". like, rate, and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is Nile Gardiner, a former aid to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom. We talked with him about Brexit and the upcoming general election in the U.K. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". like, rate, and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is the Maya MacGuineas, She is the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the head of the Campaign to Fix the Debt. We talked with her about the differences between the $20 trillion debt and the year-to-year deficit and why failing to raise the debt ceiling could be catastrophic for the U.S. and global economies. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is the former Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson. As a diplomat and Special Envoy, Gov. Richardson has received four Nobel Peace Prize nominations, and has successfully won the release of hostages and American servicemen in North Korea, Cuba, Iraq and Sudan. We talked with him the current state of tension between North Korea and the U.S. and why he thinks the U.S. needs to change its approach to engaging with what many describe as "the Hermit Kingdom." Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

With the Senate set to vote on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court, our guest this week is Don Ritchie. He is the Historian Emeritus of the U.S. Senate. We talked with him about the Senate filibuster rules and how the threat of the so-called nuclear option has been used by both parties. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is Steve Bell, a senior advisor at the Bipartisan Policy Center. He's a veteran of the Senate Budget Committee, working in various roles – including Staff Director – from the early 1980's until 2009. We talked with him about the process of creating the federal budget and why the President's budget proposal is important. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is Jeffrey Rosen, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. We talked with him about the evolution and significance of the Supreme Court confirmation process. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is former ABC News White House Correspondent and co-host of "This Week," Sam Donaldson. He gave us his assessment of how this White House press corps is covering President Trump and the job of Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is Jose Antonio Vargas, journalist, filmmaker, immigration rights activist, and founder of the non-profit group Define American. We talked with him about how the media covers the immigration issue, the rapidly changing look of immigration in the United States, President Trump's immigration policy, and why he went public with his undocumented status in 2011. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is Jay Cost, senior writer for The Weekly Standard. We talked with him about the atmosphere of fear surrounding the current state of American Politics. We also discussed President Trump's fight with the press, what will happen with the Affordable Care Act with the GOP in control of Congress and the White House, and where he stands with the Republican Party, which he left last year. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank. We talked with him the resignation of Gen. Michael Flynn just 24 days into his tenure as National Security Adviser. We also discussed what he calls the "chaotic" Trump White House, how Congressional Republicans are dealing with a new type of President in the White House, and how the Washington Post is approaching its coverage. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. We talked with him about how the Senate has changed since he left in 2007, what he thinks needs to be done to get both parties to work together, and lessons from Watergate, the Clinton impeachment trial, and some of the grand political bargains of the 1980's and 1990's. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.

Our guest this week is Stephen Wermiel, a Professor of Constitutional Law and Associate Director of the Summer Institute of Law and Government at American University's Washington College of Law. He's also a contributor to the SCOTUS Blog and spent a decade covering the Supreme Court for The Wall Street Journal for over a decade. We discussed what to expect during the confirmation process for President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch. We also talked about the legacy and lessons of the confirmation processes from Nixon to George W Bush, including Judge Robert Bork, who was rejected by the Senate in 1987. We also talked about what he thinks potentially could happen if there is another vacancy to the high court during the Trump Presidency. Follow C-SPAN Radio on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag "CSPANSidebar". Be sure to rate and review us on your podcast player. Every C-SPAN podcast is available on the FREE C-SPAN Radio App for Apple and Android devices.