How gamblers, party animals, and true believers are hitting it big in Washington
Ben Terris is a feature writer at The Washington Post, where he\u2019s carved out a unique role: reporting on what he calls, \u201cthe weirdo beat.\u201d While Ben\u2019s colleagues focus on what\u2019s happening on the main stage in politics, he keeps an eye on the freak show that\u2019s happening just out of sight.\xa0\nThis week, Ben published his much-anticipated book \u201cThe Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind.\u201d\xa0\n\u201cThe Big Break\u201d has a novel argument: that if you want to understand how American politics works in the post-Donald Trump era \u2013 then you really, really have to understand Ben\u2019s field of expertise: weirdos.\nOn this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Playbook co-author and Deep Dive host Ryan Lizza joins Ben to discuss the rise and fall of the influential oddballs chronicled in \u201cThe Big Break,\u201d and what their stories say about the future of politics.\nRyan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.Ben Terris is a feature reporter covering national politics for The Washington Post.Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.\xa0Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices