Welcome to Trial Balloon, a weekly podcast from Chris Riback and Taegan Goddard.

The free version -- which you can get here -- is limited to episodes every two weeks.

To get the full version, subscribe to Political Wire or Chris Riback's Newsletter to get your own private feed.

Paid subscribers get:
  • A private feed for your podcast player.
  • New episodes every week.
  • New episodes a few hours earlier. 
  • An occasional "emergency pod" as events warrant. 
And of course, you'll also get all the other benefits of Political Wire and Chris Riback's Newsletter.

Latest Episodes

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Before Political Wire and before Chris Riback's Newsletter -- in the very early days of the internet -- there was Political Insider. Meanwhile, an economic civil war h...

Every Four Years We Discuss a Third Party

We evaluate the odds that a third party "Unity Ticket” might finally break through in 2024. And we look at the Chicago mayoral primary results and what they say about ...

Biden Sneaks Into a War Zone

President Biden makes a surprise visit to Ukraine, a grand juror talks too much and Fox News hosts text too much. Other links: Political WireChris Riback's Newsletter ...

Biden's Third Rail Dare

We review President Biden's challenge to Republicans at the State of the Union address, the GOP's focus on schools and the power to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy.Links...

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