The Political Risk Brief

Feb 17 2025 26 ep. 39 mins 83
The Political Risk Brief Podcast artwork

Baron guides clients through the most challenging political terrain. The firm has advised members of the Fortune 10, several of America’s largest privately-held businesses, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Located in Washington, D.C., Baron’s team of strategists and analysts draws on vast experience at the nexus of politics and business.

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Earthquake

Feb 17 2025 39 mins  
President Trump’s return to the White House already has sent shockwaves through “permanent Washington.”  The changes underway constitute the greatest political reform effort attempted in decades. Amid this upheaval and uncertainty, business leaders must navigate unfamiliar challenges and deploy unconventional solutions.  This episode of the Political Risk

Boom: America’s Big Bang Election

Nov 15 2024 46 mins  
Election 2024 already has reshaped the American political landscape. The Baron team details the “four great betrayals” that produced the most remarkable presidential campaign in decades.  Now, once and future President Donald J. Trump leads a fractious coalition on the Right, and the business community must navigate an unfamiliar and changing competitive environm

Trump's Big Beautiful Influencers

Oct 08 2024 31 mins  
As the country hurtles toward a presidential election, surprising uncertainty surrounds the specific policy preferences of a possible second Trump Administration. In this episode, the Baron team highlights trends from the firm’s recent Influencer Analytics study of the most important outside influencers around President Trump and his campaign.  Based on Baron’s c

Summer Travelogue: Planes, Trains, and Empires

Aug 30 2024 38 mins  
The Baron team delves into the political stability of Europe and examines the future of the European project.  Based on Baron principal Jonathan Baron’s recent trip to the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, the discussion also covers potential scenarios for the revitalization or decline of Europe as an important consideration for America’s approach to geopoliti

K Street Blues

Jul 10 2024 31 mins  
The denizens of “Gucci Gulch” have fallen on hard times.  For even the largest lobbying firms, average monthly retainers have declined during the last decade.  To add insult to injury, this lobbying recession has occurred amidst unprecedented overall prosperity for Washington, D.C.  Episode 22 of the Political Risk Brief podcast explores this curious trend and co

Falling Apart

Feb 21 2024 32 mins  
Leaders in government and business should recognize America’s social capital collapse as the most serious threat to the nation’s political stability and economic strength.  In this episode, Baron analyzes the policy implications of a nation “falling apart” and explores potential solutions.

Seeing through the Great Wall

Jan 04 2024 37 mins  
Even as the U.S.-China economic relationship remains pivotal, Beijing increasingly denies outsiders visibility into the nation’s intentions and governance.  Previous approaches to understanding and shaping Beijing’s views – whether utilizing either high-prestige “fixers,” or on-the-ground data sources – have proven unreliable. In episode 20 of the Politic

The Invisible Hand

Nov 06 2023 27 mins  
Philanthropic foundations today act as major competitors in policymaking, often dwarfing the efforts of even the largest private enterprises. Although commonly unrecognized or underestimated, massive not-for-profit organizations increasingly shape the elite policy consensus. In this episode, the Baron team discusses this “invisible hand” guiding political competition

Health Care Wars

Sep 12 2023 30 mins  
The health care sector has entered a period of intensified political conflict. Building for decades and accelerated by powerful external forces, this clash of some of the nation’s largest companies promises to affect millions of Americans and reveals important lessons regarding corporate competition waged through the arena of government. The Baron team reviews the histo

Zientsgeist

Jun 26 2023 34 mins  
Often in American political life, an individual or small group embodies an era. In this episode, Baron explores Washington’s current man of the moment: Jeffrey Zients.  His rise to the pinnacle of national political power reveals fundamental insights into America’s contemporary political elite.