New York Times Audio To Release "The Run-Up" Politics Podcast Next Week

 When The Run-Up launched in August 2016, The New York Times tried to make sense of the “final, delirious phase of the presidential campaign” that defied all predictions.

 Now, “The Run-Up” is back to assess the rapidly approaching with the 2022 midterm elections.

It's possible that what is not needed is yet another politics podcast. In the land of Trumpism, we have Dan Bognino, Ben Shapiro, and the pardoned felon Steve Bannon screaming about "owning the libs" and other nonsense. In the progressive paradise, we have predictions of blood in the streets if the Republicans gain control of the House of Representatives.

It's like the audio version of those 70s disaster movies like The Towering Inferno.

On The Run-Up, host and New York Times political reporter Astead Herndon will apparently take us beyond the horse race to explore how we got to this fraught moment in American politics.

“This is a different type of political podcast — for what is a different type of midterm elections. I’m really excited for listeners to hear the scope of people and political ideas we explore, all handled with the care and nuance people expect from Times audio. I think ‘The Run-Up’ will be fresh, illuminating and challenging. An explanatory guide to a unique political moment,” said Astead.

Paula Szuchman, The Times’s director of audio, added: “The stakes of this election couldn’t be higher, and there’s no better guide to understanding this inflection point than Astead. Listeners of ‘The Daily’ will know his reporting in the field, in conversation with voters across the country and in the studio as a longtime guest host. I’m thrilled Astead is now bringing his reporting chops and expertise to ‘The Run-Up,’ where he’ll help listeners make sense of the current state of play.”

Astead Herndon has been a national politics reporter at The Times since 2018, and was an integral part of the Times political coverage in the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 presidential elections — anchoring the Times coverage of Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris. Before joining The New York Times, Herndon held several reporter positions at The Boston Globe, including as a national politics reporter in the Washington, D.C., office, covering the Trump White House. In 2020, Herndon was named to the Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 media list. His work, on white grievance and grassroots voters, was included among the New York Times package that was named a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prizes. Herndon is also a political analyst for CNN.

The first episode of The Run-Up premieres on September 6. New episodes drop weekly on Thursdays. Listeners can subscribe wherever they get their podcasts.

“The Run-Up” joins The Times’s slate of audio shows and series, including “The Daily,” “Modern Love,” “Still Processing,” “The Book Review,” “Popcast,” “The Ezra Klein Show,” “The Argument” and “First Person.”