Nigut and Bluestein: Power Team Recharges Podcast

Local treasures and veteran journalists/broadcasters, Greg Bluestein and Bill Nigut, have joined minds and sought after opinions in their upcoming new podcast, “Politically Georgia.”

Nigut stated, “I was caught off guard when Georgia Public Broadcasting suddenly cancelled ‘Political Rewind’ and dismissed me, especially since the show was enormously popular with listeners across the state. But being asked to join the great political team at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has turned out to be the best thing that could have happened for me, and the fact that I’ll get to talk about politics with Bluestein, [Patricia] Murphy and [Washington correspondent] Tia Mitchell every morning on Atlanta’s most popular NPR station is thrilling.”

High-profile AJC political reporter Greg Bluestein, who has often been featured in the Atlanta Jewish Times, most recently accompanying Gov. Brian Kemp to Israel, said from his corner, “We’re entering such an exciting time at the AJC. Our editors know we have to find new ways to reach our audience, and they’ve devoted a tremendous amount of resources to podcasts and audio reporting. This expansion of the ‘Politically Georgia’ podcast is just the latest example – and a huge opportunity.”

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Bill Nigut’s fawning fans sent flowers to his home and await the arrival of the new show.

The new show will launch in late October on WABE and will be a melding between “Political Rewind,” which Nigut created and hosted for nine years on GPB Radio, and “Politically Georgia,” the very popular podcast created by Bluestein, which developed into a political conversation between Greg and Patricia Murphy once she came on board as a new reporter/columnist for the AJC.

For the last six years, the “Politically Georgia” podcast has built a devoted audience with Bluestein and Murphy hosting the show since 2021 and producing twice-weekly podcasts with boisterous campaign rallies, from the likes of airplane terminals, Capitol press conferences, and rural Georgia diners. The new WABE show will be an hour-long show starting at 10 a.m. and also posted as a podcast each morning.

Bluestein, who graduated North Springs High School and gave the commencement address at his alma mater, the University of Georgia, continued, “Our goal is to help listeners understand what’s really going on at the Gold Dome, the halls of Congress, and on the campaign trail from a team of journalists who are talking to politicians, candidates, activists, and voters every day. We know Georgia politics can be bewildering – to say the least – but we’ve assembled a team of experts who can help listeners understand the biggest issues of the day. And we can rely on an extensive network of reporters at the AJC and WABE to make sense of the latest developments at a crucial time.”

Preparations began in early August when Mitchell and Nigut joined Bluestein and Murphy on the podcast. The new radio show will air live five mornings per week and will most often feature the four participants discussing Georgia political news and national stories in which Georgia plays a role. Next year is expected to be an extraordinary time in U.S. and Georgia politics with the following story lines playing out: Georgia is one of a handful of swing states and a crucial player in the Presidential election; Kemp and the pro-Trump wing of the state GOP are predicted to clash; and a federal court ruling could force the General Assembly to redraw Georgia’s maps to give Democrats an extra seat in Congress and perhaps expand Democratic power in the legislature.

Atlanta native and Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein will partner with Nigut to form the new WABE show.

Bluestein added, “There is so much to discuss. Georgia is the nation’s premier political battleground, and the state could yet again play a decisive role in the race for the White House. The Fulton County indictment against Donald Trump and his allies could bring the trial of the century in our backyard. We have a cast of ambitious and interesting politicians and policymakers who figure to be in the national conversation for years to come.”

Nigut concluded, “Fans of ‘Political Rewind’ are a committed and large cohort. Many of them have come over to join the large audience for the ‘Politically Georgia’ podcast, and I continue to get many emails and social media questions asking when I’ll be back on the radio. Just a lovely side note: a few weeks ago a very beautiful flower arrangement showed up at my house sent by followers of a Facebook group called ‘Political Rewinders Unwind,’ in which the note thanked me for the years of hosting my GPB show. They are among the people who will welcome the arrival of the new radio show and who already love my three colleagues who were regulars on my GPB show.”

Nigut served previously as the Southeast Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League in 2007, and later received the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust Humanitarian Award in 2013.