Kudzu Vine Creators & Guests

Greg Bluestein is a political reporter who covers the governor's office and state politics for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.Previously, Bluestein reported on politics and legal affairs for the Atlanta bureau of The Associated Press.Bluestein contributes to the Political Insider blog and morning Jolt newsletter, hosts the podcast "Politically Georgia," and is a guest on local and national TV and radio programs.Bluestein's first book, "Flipped: How Georgia Turned Purple and Broke the Monopoly on Republican Power," was published in 2022.Bluestein received B.A.s in Journalism and in Political Science from the University of Georgia.

Dr. Rachel M. Blum is a political scientist whose work focuses on political parties, ideology, political behavior, and computational methods. Currently, she is Assistant Professor of American Politics at the University of Oklahoma. She also teaches at the Carl Albert Center’s National Education for Women leadership program.Previously, Blum was on the faculty at Miami University.Blum's first book, "How the Tea Party Captured the GOP: Insurgent Factions in American Politics," was published in 2020.Blum received her Ph.D. from Georgetown University.

Eric Benson is a Texas-based reporter. He is currently a senior editor for Texas Monthly.Benson began writing for Texas Monthly in 2014 and joined the magazine's staff as a senior editor in 2018. His work on politics, sports, film, and technology has appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, New York, Men’s Journal, Men’s Fitness, Hemispheres, and Grantland.Benson also wrote, reported, and hosted the podcast "Underdog: Beto vs Cruz" about the 2018 Texas gubernatorial election.Benson was raised in New York.

Matthew Taibbi is an author and journalist.

Kyle Kondik is an elections commentator, political analyst, and the Managing Editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball.

Steven Levitsky is an American political scientist and Professor of Government at Harvard University. At Harvard, he also serves on the Executive Committees of both the Weather head Center for International Affairs and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. He has taught at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.