North Dakota politics, argued at close range.
Plain Talk is a North Dakota politics show built around current fights, local texture, and the consequences of policy choices. It mixes ideological back-and-forth with reported context, recurring trivia, and conversations about issues such as property taxes, trade, schools, oil, and elections.
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Plain Talk covers North Dakota politics with the feel of an active newsroom conversation and the patience of people who know the state’s political habits. The show is local first. Rob Port and Chad Oban bring a stated left-right contrast to the table, which lets many episodes work through disagreement instead of simply reporting that disagreement exists. The result is brisk and practical. Recent segments have moved from property tax reform to public schools, oil and natural gas, trade policy, ballot measures, and the unusual shape of an election year topped by a U.S. House race. The show often begins with sponsorships and civic messages, then shifts into a looser opening rhythm. Chris from the Forum has appeared with North Dakota trivia, giving the program a recurring local signal before the heavier topics arrive. The banter can be casual. The policy talk is more pointed. Trade arguments, for example, become discussions about tariffs, national security claims, farmers, food supply, and the difficulty of removing barriers once they are in place. Energy coverage stays similarly concrete. When Harold Hamm and drilling activity come up, the discussion turns to production decline, business climate, the Bakken oil boom, and why new wells matter over time. Plain Talk also pays attention to political trust and reputation. Episode titles about regaining public trust, not burning bridges, and being represented accurately point toward a show interested in how politics is practiced, not only who is winning. It does not hide its conversational seams. The hosts talk about new recording systems, holiday timing, top columns, and the stories that dominated the year. That informality helps the show feel close to the daily churn of North Dakota news. It is not a polished national panel show. It is a state politics room, with arguments, context, local names, and a sense that everyone will probably see each other again. For listeners who care about North Dakota legislative races, business issues, taxes, schools, oil, and campaign dynamics, Plain Talk offers a grounded way to keep up.
Made for: Plain Talk is for listeners who follow North Dakota government, campaigns, business issues, schools, taxes, energy, and local political personalities. It fits people who want state-level context rather than national political noise.
What sets it apart: The show’s left-right host dynamic is paired with unusually local detail: Forum trivia, Bakken oil context, ballot-measure talk, and policy debates tied to North Dakota institutions. It feels less like punditry and more like a continuing conversation inside the state’s political ecosystem.
Plain Talk is a podcast hosted by Rob Port and Chad Oban focusing on political news and current events in North Dakota. Port is a columnist for the Forum News Service published in papers including the Fargo Forum, Grand Forks Herald, Jamestown Sun, and the Dickinson Press. Oban is a long-time political consultant.
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A clear, grounded look at what tariffs are meant to protect and why trade barriers can linger.
The episode takes up the logic of tariffs through a trade-policy discussion that starts with the promise of better deals and moves toward the harder question of what protection is actually meant to do.
A blunt North Dakota health care discussion shaped by rising costs, distrust, and the search for leverage.
Plain Talk frames health care costs as a pressure point that reaches workers, employers, hospitals, insurers, and state budgets, with the government shutdown hanging over the conversation.
D.C. business with civic stakes.
Civic interviews from a San Francisco lens.
Hosts Rob Port and Chad Oban discuss a year-end review of 2025's top political stories in North Dakota and preview upcoming elections and ballot measures.
The hosts discuss the political year 2025 in North Dakota, review top stories and columns, and look ahead to upcoming elections and ballot measures.
This episode of Plane Talk discusses North Dakota politics, focusing on legislative races in Bismarck and Minot, with hosts Rob Port and Jamie Selzer covering local news and debates.
Plain Talk hosts Rob Port and Chad Oban interview Chris Jones, former North Dakota Health and Human Services commissioner, about the looming crisis in healthcare access and costs.
This episode discusses property tax issues in North Dakota, promotes local businesses and the oil industry, and includes trivia about notable figures from Scranton, North Dakota.
Plain Talk interviews North Dakota pediatrician Chris Tiongson, a District 41 Democratic candidate who says nearly 30 years in pediatrics showed him how poverty, housing insecurity, food insecurity, racism, and bullying affect children outside the exam room.
Plain Talk episode 724 interviews pediatrician Chris Tiongson, a District 41 candidate who wants to address health, education, and mental-health problems beyond the exam room.
Plane Talk host Rob Port, fill-in co-host Zach Gista, and Adrian Cummings of the Forks Builders Association examine why North Dakota has shifted toward a majority-renter housing market.
Plane Talk host Rob Port, Zach Gista, and Adrian Cummings examine why North Dakota has shifted toward a majority-renter housing market.
This episode discusses property tax issues in North Dakota and efforts to regain public trust through reform, while also touching on public education.
This episode discusses property tax issues in North Dakota, highlights public education, and includes sponsor messages and trivia.
This episode discusses the value of public schools in North Dakota, highlighting how they prepare students and build confidence while connecting this to the state's oil and natural gas industry as an investment in the future.
This episode discusses North Dakota's public schools, oil and natural gas industry contributions to jobs and tax revenue, and includes trivia about the state's representation on the U.S.
This episode of Plain Talk features North Dakota trivia, including a question about a future governor of New Mexico born in Minot, alongside sponsor messages about recovery centers and the state's oil industry.
Plain Talk hosts Rob Port and Matt Fern interview John Bitson about tariffs, North Dakota farmers, and the claim that Trump's trade policy would produce better deals.
This episode discusses concerns about North Dakota's business climate and oil industry, focusing on Harold Hamm's decision to halt new drilling and featuring an interview with Ron Ness from the North Dakota Petroleum Council.