A local politics roundtable that turns debate strategy into plain-English campaign context.
Political Breakfast is at its best when it explains why debates and forums still matter, and the hosts make that case in clear, grounded language.

Georgia politics before the day starts.
Political Breakfast from WABE follows Georgia politics through a brisk strategist roundtable, with attention to races, bills, turnout, and power inside the Capitol. Its best moments turn campaign chatter into practical explanation of who has leverage and who may feel the results.
PRESS PLAY
Political Breakfast from WABE treats Georgia politics as a working system, not a distant spectacle. The show is centered on the moves that shape power in Atlanta, at the Capitol, and across the state’s contested districts. It has a brisk roundtable pace. Lisa Rayam keeps the conversation moving while Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson and Republican strategist Brian Robinson test each other’s readings of races, bills, candidates, and public messaging. The exchanges are often lively, but the useful part is the translation. A debate over candidate forums becomes a discussion about risk, preparation, and who gains from being onstage. A fight over House Bill 369 becomes a practical argument about party primaries, general-election voters, and who gets a voice in county government. A congressional runoff in a former district becomes a turnout story, not just a headline. The show is especially strong when campaign gossip turns into machinery: qualifying week, special elections, polling samples, fundraising rules, candidate shifts, and the timing of a possible special session. It is also very local. DeKalb County, Fulton County, Atlanta’s airport, youth gun violence, Macon-Bibb County, and Georgia’s 14th congressional district all appear as places where political decisions land. The panel brings perspective from both party worlds, including communications strategy, ground energy, and the awkward ways candidates can damage or rescue a message. It does not pretend state politics is tidy. Polls are challenged, rumors are labeled as rumblings, and strategic compliments can become a point of suspicion. The tone is conversational enough for quick handoffs and dry jabs. The center of gravity remains analytical. For a listener trying to understand why Georgia campaigns behave the way they do, Political Breakfast offers a useful mix of Capitol literacy, partisan candor, and local consequence.
Made for: For listeners who follow Georgia elections, Atlanta civic life, and state Capitol maneuvering closely enough to care about process as well as outcomes. It also works for national politics followers who want a grounded view of how campaigns and legislation play out locally.
What sets it apart: The show pairs WABE’s local-news frame with recurring Democratic and Republican strategist perspectives, so campaign claims are quickly tested against vote math, polling details, and institutional rules. Its advantage is not volume; it is proximity to Georgia’s political machinery.
Every Tuesday and Thursday morning on the Political Breakfast podcast, veteran Atlanta journalist Lisa Rayam, Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, and Republican strategist Brian Robinson deliver Georgia’s best analysis of local politics with a weekly dose of informed, respectful and lively discussion.During Georgia’s state legislative session, Political Breakfast presents the pop-up podcast Gold Dome Scramble every Friday morning as host Lisa Rayam talks with reporters Sam Gringlas and Rahul Bali from the WABE newsroom to break things down for our listeners — the issues being considered, and the bills getting sorted through various committees at the Georgia State Capitol.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
It makes Georgia campaigns and governing legible by putting opposing strategists under Lisa Rayam's steady, clarifying scrutiny.
Political Breakfast from WABE turns Georgia politics into a sustained argument between Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson and Republican strategist Brian Robinson, with Lisa Rayam keeping the discussion specific.
A Georgia poll's turnout math gets challenged before you have to believe its headline.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A local politics roundtable that turns debate strategy into plain-English campaign context.
Political Breakfast is at its best when it explains why debates and forums still matter, and the hosts make that case in clear, grounded language.
A clear look at House Bill 369, county politics, and who gets to choose local leaders.
Political Breakfast moves from Masters Week chatter into a more serious look at House Bill 369 and the five counties it would affect. The hosts do the basic job well: they lay out the fight over whether county offices should be decided in primaries or by the wider…
Georgia politics talk that moves from campaign travel to primary polling and gubernatorial positioning.
Political Breakfast stays on Georgia politics, moving from campaign travel and primary math to Republican gubernatorial positioning. The hosts also press into polling assumptions, especially who shows up in Democratic primaries, and they spell out their critique of one Emerson…
A grounded Georgia politics listen on candidates changing lanes, endorsements, and the races taking shape.
Political Breakfast gives Georgia qualifying-week maneuvering a steady, locally grounded read. It follows State Senator Nabila Parks as she shifts from the state insurance commissioner race to lieutenant governor after Seth Clark's resignation in Macon-Bibb County triggers a…
A focused look at how a Georgia campaign stop tests primary strategy, fundraising, and coalition politics.
Gavin Newsom's planned Atlanta stop gives this episode a clean strategic question: whether Keisha Lance Bottoms can use a high-profile liberal ally to strengthen a primary bid while still reaching the wider Democratic coalition she would need later.
A Savannah workplace raid tests Georgia's industrial ties with South Korea and the visa questions behind specialized factory work.
A raid at an electric vehicle battery plant near Savannah turns into a sharp test of Georgia's relationship with South Korea. Plugged In traces the story from a months-long federal investigation and judicial search warrant to a Korean Air flight carrying about 300 detained South…
A Georgia politics panel follows a five-county election fight and the chance of a May or June special session.
Political Breakfast looks at Georgia politics through a county-government fight over who gets a voice in local leadership, and whether a special session could come as early as May or as late as June.





Victorian dread, read with grave restraint.

This episode analyzes a new poll showing Keisha Lance Bottoms leading among Democrats and Burt Jones leading among Republicans in Georgia's crowded governor's race.
This episode discusses Jon Ossoff's political campaigning tactics, including his efforts to divide the MAGA base over the Epstein files, and covers a Georgia Republican's apology for a $140 million Ponzi scheme.
A federal immigration raid at a South Korean-owned electric vehicle battery plant near Savannah detained 300 workers, straining Georgia's economic and diplomatic ties with South Korea.
Host Lisa Rayam and strategists Brian Robinson and Theron Johnson analyze the contentious end to Georgia's legislative session.
Political Breakfast starts with a relaxed studio check-in and then shifts into candidate forums and debates.
Political Breakfast opens with a lighter Masters Week check-in, then moves into Georgia politics and the post-session tension still hanging over the Capitol.
This episode discusses a special runoff election in Georgia's 14th Congressional District to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, featuring analysis from Democratic and Republican strategists on the candidates and key factors like voter turnout.
Political Breakfast opens with a lively check-in before moving into the Georgia governor's race and the back-and-forth around Burt Jones and Rick Jackson.
This episode analyzes the Georgia District 14 runoff election between Democrat Sean Harris and Republican Clay Fuller in former MAGA representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's territory, focusing on voter turnout and political dynamics.
Lisa Ram sits down with strategists Brian Robinson and Theron Johnson for a Georgia politics roundtable.
Political Breakfast returns to Manuel's Tavern for a discussion of Gavin Newsom's early Georgia appearance in connection with Keisha Lance Bottoms' campaign.
This episode previews a podcast investigating the mysterious origins and destruction of the Georgia Guidestones monument through an exploration of quarries, cults, and southern lore.
This episode examines the fallout from a federal immigration raid at a South Korean-owned electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia, which is straining U.S.-South Korea relations and creating political tensions over investment and immigration policy.
This episode covers the Trump administration's controversial attempts to fire top federal officials with Atlanta connections, including a Fed governor and the CDC director, and explores related political developments in Georgia.