The Chuck ToddCast

(Note: Most of this episode was recorded prior the Wednesday’s vote in the house)
Chuck Todd breaks down Republicans electing John Thune and Jim Jordan to leadership — arguing Jordan is who you pick when you’ve accepted being in the minority for a while, a choice that makes the base feel better without winning anything back, with the GOP now facing a two-cycle deficit. The bulk of the episode is Thomas Massie’s impeachment resolution against Pete Hegseth over unauthorized hostilities in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen. He argues Hegseth’s press conference was performed for an audience of one, that hiding behind the troops was disgusting, and that civilian military leadership should be held to the highest account — the military belongs to all of us, not to Trump. The public deserves to hear the evidence a trial would produce, particularly on war powers and the Caribbean boat strikes. He also breaks down several important ballot measure results from across the country.
Then, veteran sports labor attorney Jim Quinn joins the Chuck ToddCast with MLB barreling toward a December 2 lockout. The collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, owners are pushing a salary cap and floor — currently proposed to phase in by 2028 at roughly $258 million and $180 million — and the players’ association has vowed never to accept one. Quinn walks through the nuclear option nobody’s modeled out: if the union decertifies, it’s unclear who could stop a lockout, whether guaranteed contracts survive, and whether every superstar in the sport suddenly hits free agency. He explains why owners failed to win a cap in 1994, why MLB franchise values haven’t kept pace with other leagues because of media rights, and why Rob Manfred doesn’t want a lockout defining his legacy. Plus a detailed turn to college sports, where Quinn gives the Protect College Sports Act zero chance of passing.
Finally, Chuck presents the ToddCast Top 5 states that will enter battleground status for the 2028 election and answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment.
Timeline:
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
04:00 Thune, Jordan, and what the leadership picks signal
12:00 The Hegseth impeachment push and a Pentagon in disarray
20:30 A devastated GOP conference and the vote math
27:00 Would a trial happen in this Senate or the next one?
30:00 The Mayorkas precedent and what Thune could do
37:30 Headaches for Thune and Johnson, and chaos in DC
42:15 War powers, the boat strikes, and the evidence voters deserve
45:45 The “warrior ethos” and hiding behind the troops
1:00:30 Amendment 3 and a possible rural revolt in Florida
1:02:30 Missouri rejects the map, and the fight over ballot measures
1:09:30 Ranked choice survives in Alaska
1:12:15 Tax measures fail, and Washington’s anti-trans sports bill passes
1:24:00 Jim Quinn joins the Chuck ToddCast
1:26:45 Decertification and who could stop a lockout
1:30:15 December lockout, ongoing talks, and the pressure on both sides
1:33:30 Would contracts be voided? And the superstar free agency risk
1:35:45 What success looks like for owners — and the 1994 precedent
1:42:00 Franchise values, media rights, and why MLB lags
1:45:30 Manfred’s legacy and whether players accept an incremental cap
1:50:45 The Dodgers problem and which owners can reach Manfred
1:57:00 Is there a revenue sharing deal to be had?
2:00:15 Fixing college sports’ labor structure
2:03:00 Why the Protect College Sports Act is dead
2:06:30 The NLRB’s role, mock negotiations, and the NIL correction
2:13:00 ToddCast Top 5 states to end up in the fall 2028 battleground
2:14:00 #5 Minnesota
2:16:15 #4 Mississippi
2:17:15 #3 South Carolina
2:18:00 #2 Florida
2:19:45 #1 Texas
2:20:45 Honorable mentions
2:21:00 Ask Chuck
2:21:15 What happens if popular vote compact elects a Republican?
2:24:45 Should congress ask Trump for a written SOTU rather than speech?
2:26:00 Shouldn’t the Utah Utes get more love from the ToddCast
2:29:30 Election night coverage in the US versus Europe
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Veteran sports labor attorney Jim Quinn joins the Chuck ToddCast with MLB barreling toward a December 2 lockout. The collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, owners are pushing a salary cap and floor — currently proposed to phase in by 2028 at roughly $258 million and $180 million — and the players’ association has vowed never to accept one. Quinn walks through the nuclear option nobody’s modeled out: if the union decertifies, it’s unclear who could stop a lockout, whether guaranteed contracts survive, and whether every superstar in the sport suddenly hits free agency. He explains why owners failed to win a cap in 1994, why MLB franchise values haven’t kept pace with other leagues because of media rights, and why Rob Manfred doesn’t want a lockout defining his legacy. Plus a detailed turn to college sports, where Quinn gives the Protect College Sports Act zero chance of passing.

Timeline:
00:00 Jim Quinn joins the Chuck ToddCast
02:45 Decertification and who could stop a lockout
06:15 December lockout, ongoing talks, and the pressure on both sides
09:30 Would contracts be voided? And the superstar free agency risk
11:45 What success looks like for owners — and the 1994 precedent
18:00 Franchise values, media rights, and why MLB lags
21:30 Manfred’s legacy and whether players accept an incremental cap
26:45 The Dodgers problem and which owners can reach Manfred
33:00 Is there a revenue sharing deal to be had?
36:15 Fixing college sports’ labor structure
39:00 Why the Protect College Sports Act is dead
42:30 The NLRB’s role, mock negotiations, and the NIL correction
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

(Note: Most of this episode was recorded prior the Wednesday’s vote in the house)

Chuck Todd breaks down Republicans electing John Thune and Jim Jordan to leadership — arguing Jordan is who you pick when you’ve accepted being in the minority for a while, a choice that makes the base feel better without winning anything back, with the GOP now facing a two-cycle deficit. The bulk of the episode is Thomas Massie’s impeachment resolution against Pete Hegseth over unauthorized hostilities in Iran, Venezuela and Yemen. He argues Hegseth’s press conference was performed for an audience of one, that hiding behind the troops was disgusting, and that civilian military leadership should be held to the highest account — the military belongs to all of us, not to Trump. The public deserves to hear the evidence a trial would produce, particularly on war powers and the Caribbean boat strikes. He also breaks down several important ballot measure results from across the country.


Finally, Chuck presents the ToddCast Top 5 states that will enter battleground status for the 2028 election and answers listeners’ questions in the Ask Chuck segment.

Timeline:
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
04:00 Thune, Jordan, and what the leadership picks signal
12:00 The Hegseth impeachment push and a Pentagon in disarray
20:30 A devastated GOP conference and the vote math
27:00 Would a trial happen in this Senate or the next one?
30:00 The Mayorkas precedent and what Thune could do
37:30 Headaches for Thune and Johnson, and chaos in DC
42:15 War powers, the boat strikes, and the evidence voters deserve
45:45 The “warrior ethos” and hiding behind the troops
1:00:30 Amendment 3 and a possible rural revolt in Florida
1:02:30 Missouri rejects the map, and the fight over ballot measures
1:09:30 Ranked choice survives in Alaska
1:12:15 Tax measures fail, and Washington’s anti-trans sports bill passes
1:21:30 ToddCast Top 5 states to end up in the fall 2028 battleground
1:22:30 #5 Minnesota
1:24:45 #4 Mississippi
1:25:45 #3 South Carolina
1:26:30 #2 Florida
1:28:15 #1 Texas
1:29:15 Honorable mentions
1:29:30 Ask Chuck
1:29:45 What happens if popular vote compact elects a Republican?
1:33:15 Should congress ask Trump for a written SOTU rather than speech?
1:34:30 Shouldn’t the Utah Utes get more love from the ToddCast
1:38:00 Election night coverage in the US versus Europe
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Ohio Governor John Kasich joins Chuck Todd and J.A. Adande to share his firsthand experiences with Ohio State football, from his friendship with legendary coach Woody Hayes to his relationships with Bo Schembechler, Jim Tressel, and Urban Meyer.
Kasich shares behind-the-scenes stories about Ohio State's greatest coaches, including the time he encouraged Urban Meyer to let Joe Burrow leave Columbus. He also discusses the Buckeyes' heated rivalry with Michigan, Ryan Day's relationship with Ohio State fans, Archie Griffin, and the changing landscape of college football with NIL and the transfer portal.
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Chuck Todd’s MVP of the midterms is John Roberts. In the first Super Tuesday after Democrats swept the House, the Senate and a majority of governorships, Chuck and Chris Cillizza go straight to superlatives — five best-run campaigns, five worst, five most overrated ideas, five biggest ironies — and the thread through all of them is that Republicans beat themselves. Mid-decade redistricting is Chuck’s worst campaign of the cycle: maps drawn off Trump’s 2024 numbers blew up in South Texas and South Florida, while the Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act helped produce what may be the largest Black midterm turnout on record. Plus the best-run campaign nobody mentioned on election night, the case that polling isn’t broken (paying for polling is), why Trump’s voters showed up and declined to vote Republican, what Stephen Miller replacing Susie Wiles means for the next two years, and a personal account of Miami’s loss at Notre Dame.
Timeline:
00:00 The first post-election show, and the five best-run campaigns of the cycle
08:00 Ayotte, Colom, Andrews, Ossoff — and why Talarico didn’t make the list
14:00 Five worst campaigns: redistricting, Paxton, and Vivek Ramaswamy
20:00 Marshall, Platner, and whether any Democrat actually blew it
25:00 Overrated ideas: vouchers, third parties, and super PAC money
30:00 Polling isn’t broken, and the Roberts court as a turnout machine
36:00 Voter ID everywhere, a red undertow, and the Schumer question
44:00 Media winners and losers, and Silicon Valley’s failed bet
50:00 Why the Miller pick is catastrophic, and the Sun Belt’s takeover
56:00 South Bend: the call, Catholics versus Convicts, and the ghosts of 1988
1:04:00 Notre Dame deserved it, a tribute to a friend’s mother, and 100,000 subs
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.