Nate Cook, Chief Strategy Officer of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, is a West Point graduate who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and later as the Army’s liaison to the U.S. Senate. He makes the case that the tools of combat leadership might be exactly what advocacy in Washington needs.

Scott Mulhauser, partner and global public affairs lead at Bully Pulpit International, has worked everywhere from Senate Finance to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Preparing clients for a possible Democratic wave, he argues a legal defense alone won't protect companies, and that winning now takes an outside game built on reputation and culture.

S-3 Group co-founder John Scofield spent nearly a decade shaping strategy and messaging for the House Appropriations Committee. He explains why decoding complexity is still one of the best things he brings to clients, and why his formula for 15 years of growth is surprisingly simple.

Anne Bradbury is president and CEO of the American Exploration and Production Council, the trade group for the independent producers responsible for about 80% of the oil and 90% of the natural gas produced in the United States. A former floor director for the Speaker of the House, she argues America isn’t resource constrained but infrastructure constrained, and that policy which expires with each administration isn’t tenable for companies investing on a 20-year horizon.

Will Dunham, President and CEO of the American Investment Council, spent over a decade on Capitol Hill working on major bipartisan legislation where understanding both sides was critical. He now applies that same skill to a very different challenge: leading the trade association for an industry worth trillions of dollars that remains widely misunderstood in Washington.

Mike Catanzaro is CEO and co-founder of CGCN Group, one of Washington's leading all-Republican lobbying and public affairs firms. He argues the working-class voters who flipped 63 of the 100 poorest congressional districts to Republicans now define the party's base — and that corporate America can't lobby around them. He also makes the case for why CGCN turns away private equity, refuses to go bipartisan, and believes trust is the one asset that survives every political cycle.

Jim VandeHei is co-founder and CEO of Axios, and before that he co-founded Politico — twice building some of the most influential media companies in Washington. In this episode, he argues AI backlash is quietly building into a real political fault line and walks through the simplification framework behind his new book, Simplify: Do 50% More with 50% Less.

Doug Thornell has spent his career helping candidates and corporations find their authentic story. The SKDK CEO argues that today, urgency is just as important — politicians and brands must move fast or get left behind. He details the campaign that took Wes Moore from 2% to the governor’s mansion — and the blueprint it sets for Democrats who want to win.

Doug Thornell has spent his career helping candidates and corporations find their authentic story. The SKDK CEO argues that today, urgency is just as important — politicians and brands must move fast or get left behind. He details the campaign that took Wes Moore from 2% to the governor’s mansion — and the blueprint it sets for Democrats who want to win.

A Republican and a Democrat who served at the highest levels of Congress built one of Washington’s only independent bipartisan firms — and turned down the buyers. Ron Bonjean and Rodell Mollineau of ROKK Solutions on what bipartisan means in 2026, why they stayed independent, and how the rules of corporate advocacy are changing.

Rhonda Bentz is Executive Vice President of Public Affairs at the Consumer Brands Association, the trade group representing the food, beverage, home, and personal care companies in America. In this episode, Rhonda explains how the MAHA movement is reshaping the regulatory landscape, why a patchwork of 50 state ingredient laws is creating chaos for companies and consumers alike, and how the only way to win in Trump's Washington is to stop making policy arguments and start making deals.

Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie oversees more American industries than any other committee in Congress. He explains how he moved the biggest entitlement reform since welfare, why the AI race depends on permitting reform, and what Mitch McConnell taught him about politics.

Chairman French Hill explains his strategy for moving bipartisan legislation through a divided Congress, discusses the unique circumstances of the housing and crypto bills, and makes the case that citizen-legislators and cross-aisle relationships still make Washington work.

PhRMA CEO Steve Ubl on America’s leadership role in developing the treatments and cures that transform lives — and on defending it against China’s challenge abroad and polarized politics at home.

VA Congressman Morgan Griffith on regulating opioids, embracing AI, and protecting the American Dream.

David Chavern on representing the $8.5 trillion life insurance industry that thinks in decades in a Washington that changes by the minute.

Colin Allen of the American Property Owners Alliance on representing 86 million homeowners, the populism reshaping American elections, and the affordability crisis freezing millions out of the American Dream.

Assistant Secretary Chris Pilkerton explains how CFIUS reviews foreign investment in U.S. companies, what a national security risk actually looks like from a case officer's perspective, and why his new outbound program represents the next frontier in investment security.

Amanda Eversole of the Financial Services Forum on leading America's largest banks through a new era of advocacy.

Ken Spain of Narrative Strategies on the new era of political risk facing corporations in 2026.