I am unsubscribing from Deep Dive, as well as the other major Politico-associated podcast, Politico Playbook. Politico seems to be devoted chiefly to advancing the priorities of their corporate owners, rather than reporting unbiased news. I’ve listened to dozens and dozens — maybe hundreds? — of episodes from these shows over the last few years; for a while I had been listening to Playbook every single day. More and more it seems the people responsible for producing content are either unwilling or incapable of pushing back against inconsistencies, dishonest characterizations, and even outright lies that are featured there, either in stories or in interviews. Instead, Politico prefers to let increasingly brazen disinformation stand unchallenged, and simply acts as a platform to spread whatever messaging campaign their subject — usually someone or something associated with right-wing politics — happens to be pursuing at the time. I’ll admit they sometimes provide interesting insider info on American politics, but these days the intended purpose of this ‘news’ organization seems to be legitimizing mid-right and far-right politicians, and sanitizing their histories and positions. While the ‘both-sides-ism’ at Politico has always been an issue — FYI refusing to call out wrong/bad behavior by one ‘side’ or the other, regardless of the legitimacy of their positions, is not being centrist or moderate, it’s just being a coward — this pattern of partisanship seems to have become particularly blatant since the 2021 purchase of Politico by the right-wing German publishing house Axel Springer and their billionaire CEO, Mathias Döpfner. Since then, they seem much more eager to try and put their thumb on the scale — usually in ways that benefit the personal finances and politics of their corporate owners. Unfortunately the idea that the people at Politico don’t know what is happening is ridiculous, so ‘bad faith’ and ‘bad journalistic principles’ are the only logical explanations for this behavior that I can see. In my opinion, it’s truly a shame for it to go this way. Having a news organization that provides some of that ‘inside the beltway’ insight on DC is invaluable. Unfortunately Politico no longer has the legitimacy of an organization that is devoted chiefly to Truth. Like many before them, they are now a ‘news’ organization more interested in convincing people to believe in a particular worldview, rather than providing newsworthy information in an unbiased way. Advancing their agenda is more important to them than expanding your knowledge. Which is to say, they are no longer a news organization in which you should place your trust.

…And I just have to add, Bob Good R-VA sounds like a typical sanctimonious bloviating politician. Tough to get through his hurt interview.

It is really distracting trying to figure out what you are saying with a mouth full of Halibut (or whatever you were eating). Some people listen with headphones on and I can hear every bite (not just this recent episode). Now if you are interviewing at a bar I will listen, when you are at a restaurant I turn it off, and the recent show is a great example. Not that you care Ever since I wrote this review the problem I had seems to have gone away. I assume there had been just a lot of people with the same complaint, either way I’m happy not to have to listen to you eat at 4:30am. Thank you …

Potentially good topics and guests, but interviewing them in a noisy restaurant is unbelievably annoying. Why?

Trying to listen to these “conversations” is frustrating. Everyone involved is smart and has interesting stories to tell and points to make, but they all talk at once, talk too fast, and all I can hear is a mumbled mess. The hosts and producers need coaching.

A lot of silly things are said that aren’t responded to in substantive ways. Maybe the format is to blame if there’s not enough time to dive deep(er)

Just listened to a podcast giving summers credit for predicting inflation. He sounds like a neoliberal. How would things have been different if we hadn’t given out money? Weren’t we fighting a recession by ensuring jobs and providing basic needs for many. How much of inflation is due to the huge corporate welfare or the much smaller money sent to the people?

First episode I’ve listened too and I am extremely frustrated by the hosts interview approach. Let your guest speak! Quit talking and listen. The filmmaker was about to share his thoughts on Trump and you took over and offered your own. Maddening.

Great interview. Just wish it had been longer.

Episode 360, 'He absolutely betrayed me,’ was very riveting and surprising. Thank you for showcasing the different voices and points of views that make up the political system. Great content. I will 100% keep listening to this podcast.

Not worth airing at all, what a moron that guy was and never gave us any actual information about Meghan’s behavior or what the McCains did to him. He also called it a “geo-blastoma” while claiming the cancer runs in his family which tells me he’s not very bright and by extension that must apply to everyone running this country.

An attempt at an NPR-level reporting but keeps failing with snarky anti-trump rhetoric. We want mature conversations. Not teenagery and snarkiness from the host. See, e.g., cast 252. I’m a wide-consumer of podcasts and this keeps happening on this podcast, temporary host or not. I do NOT care for it. *****Stop being part of what is wrong with today’s news media.***** Stop juvenile attacks. You say you don’t like it? Then show us. Don’t do it. To be respected you act respectful. Be professional. A screeching bomb goes off when you don’t. Do better.

No matter the topic of the week, this podcast is always worth a listen. Even when you feel like an issue has dominated the cycle and been reported/discussed ad nauseum, this podcast finds a fresh presentation. I mourned the loss of Ryan Lizza from the New Yorker’s Political Scene podcast, but he’s leveled up. h/t the production team - there are many political talking-head podcasts, so instead this show takes listeners into the field to give texture to interviews, even if ‘the field’ is just a phone and the texture is simply banter between reporter and subject before the formal questions begin. (One caveat - maybe no one should be interviewed while they chew their breakfast?). Bravo and thank you for your work.

Listening to the 1/14 episode and the guy being interviewed is chewing/eating into the mic for over 30 minutes. Absolutely disgusting 😵‍💫

Politico has gotten a bit of a reputation as a left-leaning medium and their website deserves that. But, as a Libertarian often looking for non-partisan reporting, I have to say these podcasts seem to stick mostly to just reporting w/o extolling. Sure there was an episode that seemed Biden friendly, but there was also another that benefited the win of GOP Governor-elect Youngkin. It’s tough to avoid a partisan slant in reporting these days but I feel this podcast walks the line about as well as can be expected.

Most shows are pretty good. But every time Ben White gets on the show, regardless of the host, things get wildly more partisan, filled with more one-side arguments, and filled with more wild conjecture and hyperbole. It cannot be that hard to report the news, inform people of the information they need to know to make informed decisions, and keep your personal opinions out of it. But every time Ben gets on the podcast, it’s an echo chamber of Ben’s partisanship where the host feels the freedom to hype up Ben’s conclusory ideas of “Republicans = mean-spirited hypocrites, Democrats = do-no-wrong, pure-hearted actors.” Mitch McConnell is doing the same thing now with the debt ceiling the Dems did 4 years ago, and now they have switched places. But only McConnell gets called a hypocrite. This is trash journalism.

Once they brought it Eugene Daniels it was over.

I listen to podcasts to hear people talk, the background music is TOO MUCH.

I’m not really seeing how the host is coming at current issues with any honesty? I like to hear arguments from both sides, but this host and the guests that I have listened to so far don’t really use any real arguments, and they claim that the other side is spreading miss-information while they present “arguments“ (more like a quasi rebuttal opinion with next to no evidence to back their claims). Why aren’t there any honest left-wing new sources…?

This company is definitely very bias to the left

good show. Historical guilt, all white americans need to have a helping of that. i am an old white woman so when i hear things i should have been taught in public school regarding hideous horrible things whites have done that i didn’t know about. it makes me angry that we weren’t taught truthful history.

Specifically about ep 309 ... the “ummmm,” and “hmmmms” and the “okayyyys” by the male host distracts the wonderful thoughts and insights of the female guests. Why not just let the women speak without taking away the spotlight?

The episode with Manchin and Murkowski was fantastic. More Burgess please!

And a great conversation!! This is exactly the content I have been wanting. A Real conversation with real members. Excited to hear more.

I enjoy the non inflammatory info in this show. Thank you wonderful nerds 💐 (the vaccine episode was really good. Eugene Daniels is a great guest host)

Informative, pithy - no wasted words.

Episode 288 is a one dimensional perspective lacking any depth & infused with bias. The implications of anti racist and critical theory are foundational to this episode. These are ideologies that are solely a Progressive perspective and only marginally a Black community perspective. This is disappointing coming from Politico.

An overproduced repetitive podcast that takes some interesting issues but fails to develop them. It doesn’t help to repeat one idea over and over using different voices. It is close to being shallow and sensationalist. But there is hope - the podcast could develop the ideas a lot more and seek out more points of view.

Don’t need sound effects. Don’t need musical cues. What the heck happened to this show? It went from serious and interesting to... whatever it is now. Change it back please.

Great podcast. Informative with great guests. Not a fan of music in background. It distracts from guest interviews otherwise so grateful for these topics!

I listen every week, but after a minute or two I had to turn it off on Friday. Please stop the weird distracting sound effects.

Why won’t people point out that TikTok users embarrassed trump. This is a part of the Storey no one discusses. Disappointing.

I listened to your podcast as I took my morning walk around town. Not only was the odd jarring background music behind the speakers way too much for early morning I g exercise but startled me in several places as I crossed streets and intersections. It was so out of place that I worried that the sounds were around me in the street or construction nearby. Almost impossible to focus on the speakers when random sounds squawk through the headphones. Completely unnecessary to the absorption of the podcast - is it compensation for a lack of quality or a final swan song of a summer intern trying to impress someone?

Wow episode 267 was the most irritating episode to sit through. Usually great informative content, but the constant dropping out of audio and connection mishaps— it’s cute and gets the point across about how gosh, life sure is challenging in a pandemic! But yeah, that’s a 20 second gag, not a “let’s not edit out the garbage and audio drop outs for the entire show” kind of gag. Not sure if you meant this to be entertaining but dude, your white color WFH audience experiences this zoom-meeting irritation daily in real life, please don’t subject them to a podcast of this.

Notification sounds can be very anxiety provoking. Particularly door ringing, door knocking, phone ringing, message pinging... and the first few minutes of this episode has incessant door knocking sounds! It was just filler content that made me want to throw my phone at the wall.

I couldn’t make it through. Every few seconds, someone is struggling to swallow or smacking their lips. Too distracting to listen.

Good review of timely topics but I think Eugene has a voice better suited to podcasts and kept the conversation moving more seamlessly

Over use of identity politics and sensationalism. Innuendos does not equate to facts.

I get the feeling that Ben White has a hard time hiding his partisan feelings towards Trump. I’m no fan, but I would hope for this news podcast to try to play the middle as closely as it can. Disappointing episode, and I hope we get better in the future.

It was sooo Sadz when u had the hope conversation! And kinda lol. Don’t worry, there is hope - you just gotta have a dark sense of humor and watch the current moment as an OMG / head smack. Stay safe and distanced. Decent humans will win

I really enjoy listening to this. My favorite podcasts are Nerdcast, Politico’s Dispatch, The Daily, Pod Save America, and Hacks on Tap. I’m always excited when you have a new podcast out. It’s especially fun as your reporters discuss little details about broadcasting from home such as sitting under a blanket or having a baby monitor in the room. Thanks for helping to keep us all dane during our new shut-in lives! Great producer in Irene Nagouchi(sp?) I think she produces Dispatch also — terrific.

The theme of this show is so good it’s reason enough to listen. Just a perfect song to encapsulate the political circus but gets me pumped to listen to all the shenanigans happening in DC!

I love the behind the curtain aspect of this show. I’m a political conservative but I like to consume media from a wide variety of perspectives. This show is always at the top of me my feed.

The nicest thing I can say about this podcast is that it's bland, mechanical, and no matter how many pundits participate, seems to be delivered in the same monotone. Very focussed on small process questions and when they do attempt a larger context, it seems to be a Reagan/GHWB/Bill Clinton context that's inappropriate for the times or a sports-ish context b/c most of these guys (and it's usually guys) sound like they really would prefer sports reporting. There's no sense that politics might be more important than Double A baseball or college basketball. By the time it's released on Friday, most of what they've said and attempted to analyze, is usually obsolete, which is fine b/c it wasn't all that interesting or helpful to begin with. And they never supplement it based on crucial news. Usually, by about 10 minutes into the podcast, it feels like they're just trying to get it done so they can pick their kids up from daycare. (Hope they made it on time!) I keep listening wondering when the sense of urgency or history will kick in, but it doesn't and I'll give up soon.

I started with “love the show” for a reason; you guys do an awesome job but I think the name Nerdcast is probably misleading for and unattractive to prospective new listeners! If my girlfriend hadn’t recommended the cast, I really doubt I would have started listening because of the name. Tbh I don’t really see what’s nerdy about it either 🤔. That being said, keep it up! Y’all are killing it with content. Would love to see the show move to a daily schedule too.

Outstanding reporting. Highly recommended.

I enjoy the podcast but you should keep this Ben guy off the show. Holy vocal fry. Hard to listen to. I had to turn this one off.

Thought it would be better. Basically they tell the news that was told yesterday by everyone else without any creativity nor wit. A corporate democrat viewpoint.

How many episodes have you don’t about a man getting angry about something? Fewer I bet than the one you did about a female politician crying. Shameful and sexist.

The analysis is reasonable, but rarely resulting in an “ah-ha” moment. Lack of diversity in age does adversely impact the podcast. All of the podcasters should listen to either Mark Shields, David Brooks, or David Gergen to get more historical context. For example bringing up impeachment as an issue. The election eliminates the relevance of impeachment and it becomes a non-issue. Democrats and Pelosi are only using impeachment hearings to put dents in Trump’s armor. Real impeachment voting will never occur this close to an election.