Steve Hayes and Dispatch panelists argue through the week's Iran, DOJ, and Supreme Court news.
The Dispatch Podcast gathers a rotating panel for sober, sometimes wry analysis of American politics and world affairs. Recent episodes move from Iran and Cuba to the Supreme Court, midterms, gambling, the Justice Department, and Congress’s budget habits.
PRESS PLAY
The Dispatch Podcast is a panel-format news and politics show produced by The Dispatch, structured as a weekly roundtable rather than a one-on-one interview show. Steve Hayes is the primary host and moderator, with John McCormick also appearing as a co-host on some episodes. The rotating panel draws heavily on Dispatch in-house writers, including Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Mike Warren, and regularly adds outside contributors such as Mike Nelson (a retired Army Special Forces officer covering military operations), Sarah Isker (a Dispatch staff writer discussing Supreme Court history), and specialists like a Cato Institute economist or a Hudson Institute foreign policy fellow for single-topic deep dives. Recurring subject matter includes the Iran conflict and its spillover into U.S.-China relations, Supreme Court rulings and judicial independence, Department of Justice turnover under the Trump administration, tariff and trade policy, energy policy, and the ongoing relitigation of the 2020 election. Episodes are framed around a current event and typically move through several linked topics in a single sitting rather than staying on one theme. Some installments are recorded live at Dispatch events, such as an energy policy conference panel in Dallas. The tone leans toward argumentative debate among panelists who often disagree with each other and with the Trump administration's positions, rather than a unified editorial line. Sponsor reads (e.g., Pacific Legal Foundation) and Dispatch membership pitches typically bookend episodes. Listeners who follow this show are generally looking for right-of-center but institutionalist commentary that treats legal and foreign policy process in detail rather than partisan cheerleading. It suits an audience already following U.S. foreign policy toward Iran and China, Supreme Court news, and Trump administration personnel and policy churn.
Made for: Listeners following U.S. foreign policy toward Iran and China, Supreme Court and DOJ news, and Trump administration policy who want an argumentative, institutionalist panel rather than a single commentator.
What sets it apart: Unlike single-host political commentary shows, it runs multi-person roundtables pairing in-house Dispatch journalists with outside specialists (military officers, economists, judiciary scholars) who often openly disagree with each other on the same news event.
Host Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Megan McArdle and guests for a thoughtful discussion on politics, policy and culture.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
A sharp roundtable that tests political claims against institutional limits, military realities, and the consequences administrations prefer not to foreground.
The Dispatch Podcast turns current political developments into a probing roundtable, with Steve Hayes, Jonah Goldberg, and Sarah Isgur rotating through the host's chair.
This is the roundtable that makes room for military strategy, constitutional history, and a well-aimed jab.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A brisk Dispatch roundtable on Iran, the Hormuz blockade, and how China could become the next pressure point.
The Dispatch Podcast turns Trump's claimed blockade of the Strait of Hormuz into a broader foreign policy argument about failed U.S.-Iran talks, military risk, and the political calendar.
A Dispatch roundtable on Supreme Court politics, Iran ceasefire uncertainty, Sarah Isker's book, and the banter around getting it finished.
Presidents vs. the Supreme Court centers on Sarah Isker's forthcoming book, Last Branch Standing, and uses it to open a broader conversation about partisan attacks on the Supreme Court.
A brisk Dispatch roundtable on Bondi, DOJ pressure, and the fiscal limits behind Trump's proposed 2027 budget.
The Dispatch Podcast opens with Donald Trump's firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi, asking whether she was ever the attorney general Trump wanted.
A sharp Dispatch roundtable on Iran, Hormuz, and the gap between battlefield dominance and political victory.
The Dispatch Podcast treats Trump's pledge to wrap up the Iran war as a test of whether blunt political confidence can survive contact with military reality.
A focused Dispatch roundtable on Cuba's blackouts, regime pressure, Russian oil, and Trump's possible foreign-policy next move.
Jonah Goldberg steers a Dispatch roundtable on Cuba's nationwide blackouts, the future of its ruling Communist Party, and whether the Trump administration might put the island next in its foreign-policy sights.
A sober Dispatch roundtable on Iran that tests military success against strategy, escalation, and unclear war aims.
The Dispatch Podcast takes up the Trump administration's campaign against Iran less than a week in, focusing less on battlefield mechanics than on the unanswered policy question: why this war, and why now?
A sharp Dispatch roundtable on Colbert, FCC rules, and the conservative case against government-managed fairness.
The Dispatch Podcast uses the Stephen Colbert controversy to reopen an old fight over broadcast rules, equal time, the Fairness Doctrine, and whether federal regulators can police media fairness without creating worse incentives.
A pointed Dispatch roundtable on Justice, Commerce, tariffs, and loyalty politics in Trump's second-term Washington.
Steve Hayes leads Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Megan McArdle through a roundtable centered on the Trump administration's failed attempt to indict six Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to refuse unlawful orders.
Sharp political debate with policy detail and real disagreement.
Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson debate Canadian politics, from Alberta separatism to Ottawa's bureaucracy.
Robert Evans, Katie Stoll, and Cody Johnston build fake conspiracies and mock right-wing media.
Jonah Goldberg's solo political rants and author interviews on conservatism, courts, and current events.
John Donvan moderates two-sided debates on AI, bioethics, feminism, and film's future.
A former Trump donor's solo case for ballot audits, Article 5 conventions, and court reform.
The Iran talks failed.
Steve Hayes starts with Sarah's book, and the table uses Last Branch Standing to get into the long habit of partisan shots at the Supreme Court.
Pam Bondi is out.
Jonah Goldberg opens with a quick level set.
Cuba's blackouts set the table.
The Dispatch Podcast episode "A Strategic Stalemate in Iran" opens with Steve Hayes asking whether Iran is actually winning, whether the United States and Israel are aligned on war goals, and whether the timing of a homeland security funding fight matters.
A roundtable discussion on Republican prospects for the 2026 midterms and the Democratic Party's identity crisis.
A roundtable discussion on gambling and prediction markets in America, US-Israel objectives regarding Iran, and a pro-vegan candidate in Texas.
A roundtable discussion on the US-Iran war, Ukraine-Russia conflict, and political analysis from conservative commentators.
Steve Hayes opens a Dispatch Energy Conference panel at Old Parkland in Dallas, Texas, with Jonah Goldberg, Kevin Williamson, and Alex Trembath.
A roundtable discussion on the latest political news, including the war with Iran and splits within the MAGA coalition.
Nearly a week in, the why still feels thin.
A roundtable discussion on Texas Senate primary campaigns and political analysis.
Dispatch Live opens with the U.S.
A roundtable discussion on national debt, Trump's fraud war, teenage dating trends, and unread emails.
The Dispatch team analyzes President Trump's State of the Union address, focusing on his messaging, political strategy, and implications for upcoming elections.
Steve Hayes opens The Dispatch Podcast with Mike Warren, John McCormick, and Scott Lincecum, who is the vice president for general economics at the Cato Institute and writes the Dispatch's Capitalism newsletter.
Stephen Colbert's pulled interview starts things off.
The Dispatch Podcast roundtable opens with Steve Hayes joined by Mike Warren, John McCormick, and Stephen Richer, whose former role as Maricopa County recorder frames the discussion of the 2020 election.
A failed attempt to indict six Democrats starts the table talk.
A discussion on U.S.
A roundtable discussion on a Washington Post report about a man visited by DHS after an email, debating the use of terms like authoritarianism and fascism.
A roundtable discussion on new vaccine and dietary health guidelines, criticism of those policies, and other political news.
A roundtable discussion on the aftermath of Alex Prettie's death, Trump's stance, Iran protests, and US show of force.
A roundtable discussion on recent news including a shooting in Minneapolis, US-Iran tensions, and the rebuilding of Mosul, Iraq.
A panel of conservative commentators reflects on the first year of Donald Trump's second term.
Dr.
Host Mike Warren interviews Mike Cosper about his essay on the unbundling of human identity and its connection to politically motivated violence, touching on conservative Christianity and figures like Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson.
Host Steve Hayes interviews Tim Chapman about the current state of the conservative movement amid controversies involving Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes.
Host Steve Hayes interviews journalists about a book covering the 2024 election and Trump's second term.
A roundtable discussion on Trump's tariffs impact on farmers and the militarization of law enforcement.
Host Steve Hayes interviews C-SPAN CEO Sam Feist about whether the political news consumer is better off today than 30 years ago.
Kevin Williamson and Philip Rossetti discuss the abundance movement and its impact on permitting reform, energy policy, and affordability.
Host Steve Hayes and guest Jonathan Martin discuss Donald Trump's campaign of retribution and its implications.
Host Steve Hayes and guests discuss politics, policy, and culture, with this episode featuring an interview on mass violence and ideological killings.