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Politics is Personal with Leslie + Cole
Politics is Personal is a weekly video and audio podcast hosted by former Colorado legislators Leslie Herod and Cole Wist. Built on a real friendship forged through years of legislative work, the show brings together a Black queer Democrat from Denver and a straight white former Republican from rural Colorado to have the kinds of honest, complicated conversations that feel increasingly rare in American politics.
Rooted in the “Colorado Way,” the podcast offers a grounded, relatable approach to national conversations. Designed for the “exhausted majority,” Politics is Personal invites listeners back into political dialogue with curiosity, respect, and the belief that real conversation is still possible.
Politics is Personal with Leslie + Cole
Politics is Personal Pilot: Media, Mergers, and Misinformation
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Ft Leslie Herod, Cole Wist, Tony Kovaleski
In this pilot, Leslie and Cole kick things off by catching up on life after the Capitol—what they’ve been working on, what’s changed, and what’s stayed the same. From there, they scroll through what’s showing up in their social feeds, unpacking the stories, narratives, and noise shaping how we all see politics today.
Then, they sit down with Tony Kovaleski for a conversation on media, mergers, and what it all means for trust, accountability, and political journalism.
To close it out, Leslie and Cole get personal—sharing what’s currently bugging them in politics, where they agree, and where they don’t.
"Agree to disagree lets go get a drink" -Leslie