Hacks On Tap

Hacks On Tap is what happens when you put three veteran political operatives in a room and let them talk shop. David Axelrod (Obama's chief strategist), Mike Murphy (longtime Republican consultant), and John Heilemann (journalist and co-author of Game Change) bring centuries of combined campaign experience to a weekly show that runs about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. The magic here is the behind-the-scenes perspective. These are not pundits guessing about campaign strategy from the outside. They have actually run campaigns at the highest levels, on both sides of the aisle. When Axelrod and Murphy spar about political tactics, they are drawing on real experience managing real races. That insider knowledge shows up in the specificity of their analysis -- they talk about ad buys, polling crosstabs, and ground game logistics with the fluency of people who have lived it. The show leans bipartisan by design. Axelrod from the left, Murphy from the right, Heilemann as the journalist referee. That structure keeps the conversation honest in ways that single-perspective shows cannot match. They regularly bring in guest experts -- political reporters, strategists, pollsters -- who add even more depth. With a 4.7 rating from over 7,700 reviews, it has earned a reputation as one of the smartest political shows around. If you want to understand how politics actually works rather than just who is winning today, Hacks On Tap delivers every week.