In their premier episode, Nicholas and Crampsie dive into The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by acclaimed biographer Walter Isaacson. The episode explores the radical, lasting impact of the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence (We hold these truths to be self-evident...).

The hosts break down Benjamin Franklin and John Adam's influential edits, historical contradictions regarding early American slavery and women's rights, and even the unique Caslon typeface chosen by Franklin to produce the original printing. [The typeface used here is Garamond, a favorite of both hosts.] They also tackle Isaacson's modern sociological observations, engaging in a spirited debate over the "skyboxification of America" and the erosion of the shared public commons.

Veteran political consultants and frequent TV sparring partners Christopher Nicholas and Brittany Crampsie are breaking free from the tight constraints of that medium to launch a vibrant new podcast, Red, White and Read: The Bipartisan Book Club. The show offers an opinionated, balanced, and humorous deep dive into the books shaping our political and historical landscape.

Hosted by Republican political consultant Christopher Nicholas of Eagle Consulting Group and Democratic consultant Brittany Crampsie of Brit Crampsie Communications, the podcast brings their weekly television chemistry from This Week in Pennsylvania into a compelling long-form audio format.

more here.

Welcome to my new podcast series...Red, White and Read: The Bipartisan Book Club, which I am hosting along with Democratic politico Brittany Crampsie. As I say in our press release:

"Veteran political consultants and frequent TV sparring partners Christopher Nicholas and Brittany Crampsie are breaking free from the tight constraints of that medium to launch a vibrant new podcast, Red, White and Read: The Bipartisan Book Club.

"The show offers an opinionated, balanced, and humorous deep dive into the books shaping our political and historical landscape. Hosted by Republican political consultant Christopher Nicholas of Eagle Consulting Group and Democratic consultant Brittany Crampsie of Brit Crampsie Communications, the podcast brings their weekly television chemistry from This Week in Pennsylvania into a compelling long-form audio format."

In each episode we will review a book on politics/history...this is two friends, from two different political spheres, talking and laughing about the political issues set before us, whilst we review a book...not always from my side of the aisle - or Brittany's. And you'll learn about the 1st rule of Red, White and Read...which we've adopted from the movie, Fight Club.

Today's teaser episode previews what the pod is about, which is sponsored by the good folks at PMA - the Pa. Manufacturers Assoc. Coming soon are episodes 1 and 2, where we review:

*The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, by Walter Issacson, which Brittany rightly and historically-accurately refers to as a "pamphlet." It is a small, but very precise overview, of the 2nd sentence in the Declaration (We hold these truths to be self-evident...)

*In Episode 2 we review Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign (specifically her 2016 race for president), by Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen. Brittany had a tougher time reading that one, tho I enjoyed the excuse to re-read it.

*Episode 3 features the book Bag Man, which was based on a podcast by Rachel Maddow. It explores the depths of corruption from ex-VP Spiro T. Agnew.

What should we review in Ep. 4? If you have a suggestion for that, or would like to help sponsor the new pod, please drop an email to mailto:PaPoliticalDigest@gmail.com

Thanks and enjoy!

• Chris (and Brittany)

On the latest edition of the PA Political Digest Podcast, I sat down with three sharp beat reporters - Fallon Roth of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Tom Shortell of the Lehigh Valley News, and Borys Krawczeniuk of Scranton's WVIA-TV - for a rapid-fire breakdown of the key developments across our four hottest congressional battlegrounds: PA-1, 7, 8 and 10.

This mid-summer sit-down with the reporters covering these races (I served in that role for the PA-10 match-up as I live there), All Roads Still Lead to PA, is part 3 of our coverage of those top races…and of course, PA is the only state which has 3 races seen as being true toss-ups (7,8,10); PA-1 is still listed as Lean GOP.

At the top of the show, in lightning-round style, we serve up what we see as the top 2 recent developments in each race.

The Bottom Line

In 2024, GOP candidates survived by staying close to, or slightly behind, the national ticket. In 2026, with presidential approval underwater and Shapiro actively stoking Democratic turnout, Republican incumbents cannot simply do that again. To hold the House majority, PA Republicans must outrun the top of the ticket across all four battlegrounds.

For sharp analysis of PA politics and campaigns writ large, subscribe to PA Political Digest newsletter.