(Opinion) ‘Don’t Get Political’ podcast comes to life with Binnie Media

A new non-political, political podcast highlights the person behind the government role

Brennan Ward

 MEDIA

By: Brennan Ward

New Hampshire is a remarkable place. We go first in the presidential primary. Our citizen legislature sends people to Concord who hold day jobs and show up anyway. Politics here is personal, and the people doing the hardest work in this state are far more complicated than any press release or campaign ad has shown.

But the political climate across the country has gotten meaner by the year. Cable news turned disagreement into warfare, and social media turned neighbors into enemies. Somewhere in all that noise, the most thoughtful voices get drowned out by the loudest.

For nearly two decades, I have worked in New Hampshire as a public and government affairs consultant. In that time, my most meaningful conversations were never about policy. They were about why people in public life do what they do. What shaped them? Who are they once the polished public persona comes off?

That question became the basis of “Don’t Get Political,” a new non-political, political podcast co-produced by Binnie Media. Binnie is the local company behind Frank FM, The Wolf, WJYY and The Pulse of New Hampshire. As New England’s largest locally owned media company, with a storied history in politics, the folks there were the perfect partners to bring this show to life.

This season’s guests include prominent Republicans and Democrats, elected officials and the operatives who got them there, and people who have spent their careers working across the aisle. In each episode, I sit down with someone who helps shape state government and the political system, where I ask each guest one simple question: Who are you, really? Some guests are elected officials. Others are the pollsters, consultants and public servants who do the thankless work of keeping our government running.

I have already had these conversations with our first guests, including a longtime UNH pollster and professor, who helped guide my early professional career. I also sat down with a former U.S. Attorney who started the job three months after September 11, and with a lobbyist with 40 years’ experience in the State House who thinks this state is worth fighting for. The first run of episodes also includes the president and CEO of one of New Hampshire’s most respected banking associations, along with a veteran political reporter who has watched a generation of lawmakers come and go in Concord.

Don’t expect campaign talking points or policy debates. The episodes are relaxed, candid conversations about the person behind the title. We talk about where they came from, what shaped them, what they are most proud of, and what the rest of us can learn from them.

The goal is to put people before their politics, and right now that feels like the right conversation to have. “Don’t Get Political” won’t fix what divides us as a country. It is one small way to see these high-profile public professionals as the private citizens, neighbors and devoted Granite Staters that they are. Episodes will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube, with new episodes every two weeks.

Brennan Ward is the vice president of Novus Public Affairs, a North Country native, and a contributing columnist for NH Business Review.