Sen. Smith on the Shutdown, Democrats’ Future, and Retiring Early

Sen. Smith on the Shutdown, Democrats’ Future, and Retiring Early

At age 67, Sen. Tina Smith (D, MN) is doing something that’s still rather rare for senators: retiring at a relatively young age, after just one full term in office. Smith’s open Senate seat is one of five Democrats will have to defend in next year’s midterm elections, in what’s shaping up to be a tough cycle. But with a little more than a year left in office, she still has to work on the big problems facing the Democratic Party, and the nation more broadly, including a rise in political violence and this week’s looming government shutdown. In a live conversation recorded Saturday at the annual MinnPost Festival in downtown Minneapolis, Kara and Smith talk about why she thinks Democrats shouldn’t cave to Republican demands to keep the government open; how more of her colleagues should opt to retire instead of run for re-election; and what Democrats need to do to come out ahead in next year’s midterm elections. Smith also reflects on the recent spate of political violence, including the assasination of her friend and fellow Minnesota Democrat, Melissa Hortman, in June. (The gunman reportedly included the senator on his hit list.) Thank you to MinnPost for hosting this conversation. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(379)

A Silicon Valley Satire That Feels Uncomfortably Close to Reality

A Silicon Valley Satire That Feels Uncomfortably Close to Reality

"Raising money off frothy numbers to sugarcoat the rotten apple is what built this town.” That’s according to Duncan Park, the protagonist of "The Audacity," a new dark comedy from AMC about tech CEOs...

19 Mar 55min

Sen. Mark Warner On What Trump Is Risking With War in Iran

Sen. Mark Warner On What Trump Is Risking With War in Iran

As the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Gang of Eight, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner is among the select few members of Congress who get to sit in on top intelligence ...

16 Mar 51min

Matt Belloni on WarnerMount, Disney Succession, Oscars & More

Matt Belloni on WarnerMount, Disney Succession, Oscars & More

Kara sits down with Matthew Belloni, author of the flagship Puck newsletter What I’m Hearing and host of The Town podcast, to take the entertainment industry’s temperature just a few days before the A...

12 Mar 1h 18min

Survivors Speak Out: Taking On the ‘Epstein Class’

Survivors Speak Out: Taking On the ‘Epstein Class’

It’s been more than a month since the Justice Department released the latest tranche of files related to its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein — around 3 million in total — yet the fallout shows no sig...

9 Mar 1h 13min

Friction Matters: Resistance Is a Feature, Not a Bug

Friction Matters: Resistance Is a Feature, Not a Bug

Friction gets an bad rap, according Jennifer Vail. As a tribologist, she studies interacting surfaces in relative motion, and she’s worked on everything from aerospace materials to syringes to dog foo...

5 Mar 53min

Gavin Newsom on His Memoir, Trump, and Plans for 2028

Gavin Newsom on His Memoir, Trump, and Plans for 2028

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the current front runner on the list of Democrats eyeing a 2028 White House run. While he hasn’t made his presidential ambitions official, he has a new memoir out, call...

2 Mar 1h 13min

Why ‘Playing It Safe’ In Your Career Doesn’t Pay with VC Bill Gurley

Why ‘Playing It Safe’ In Your Career Doesn’t Pay with VC Bill Gurley

Bill Gurley, accomplished venture capitalist, longtime Silicon Valley “worrywart,” and early Uber backer, joins Kara Swisher to discuss how to build a career you love and the tech industry’s sharp tur...

26 Feb 1h 3min

The Story Behind Netflix’s Most Popular Film Ever

The Story Behind Netflix’s Most Popular Film Ever

Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters” wasn’t just one of the biggest movies of 2025; it was Netflix’s most popular title — movie or show — ever. Four songs from the film’s soundtrack also simultaneously crac...

23 Feb 57min

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