Founded by Brian Ballard in Florida in 1998, Ballard Partners has grown into the country’s leading public affairs firm, thanks to its experienced team of government relations consultants. As it has expanded nationally and internationally—with offices in cities like Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, and Istanbul—it has increased its profile through its podcast, 13th & Park.
Launched in 2022, 13th & Park is an interview-style podcast featuring guests from across the worlds of politics, entertainment, sports, business, and beyond. The show is hosted by award-winning media strategist Adam Goodman, who draws on his curiosity and interviewing skills to get to know each guest on a personal level.
Now in its third season, 13th & Park boasts more than 2.8 million subscribers on YouTube. Among its guests have been a number of prominent media figures. Let’s meet three of them.
Chuck Todd
Chuck Todd is best known to many as the former moderator of Meet the Press. He hosted the Sunday program from 2014 to 2023, during which time he also served as NBC News’ political director and hosted the network’s primetime political coverage. This coverage included two of the most-watched Democratic presidential debates in NBC history, each of which he co-moderated.
Todd’s tenure at Meet the Press saw him expand the longest-running show in television history into the digital space as the host of The Chuck ToddCast, an interview podcast he released weekly. Prior to becoming host of Meet the Press, he served as the chief White House correspondent for NBC News and hosted MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown. Todd was recruited to NBC by Tim Russert, then the moderator of Meet the Press, after Todd had spent six years as editor-in-chief of the National Journal’s “The Hotline.”
After stepping down as host of Meet the Press in 2023, Chuck Todd left NBC News in January 2025. A few months later, he joined 13th & Park to discuss the wisdom and insights he’s accrued over several decades covering politics.
Jake Sherman
Jake Sherman is a longtime political journalist who is one of the founders of Punchbowl News. He and Anna Palmer, along with cofounder John Bresnahan, launched the membership-based daily news website in 2021. Since then, its reporting on all things political in the nation’s capital has attracted more than 100,000 subscribers.
Sherman previously served for more than 11 years as a congressional reporter for Politico. Along with his responsibilities at Punchbowl, he appears regularly on NBC News. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the George Washington University.
Along with Palmer, Sherman is the coauthor of The Hill to Die On: The Battle for Congress and the Future of Trump’s America. Published in 2019, the book became a New York Times bestseller. In the spring of 2025, he reflected on his time in Washington, DC, as a guest on 13th & Park.
Jessica Tarlov
As a Fox News Channel contributor, Jessica Tarlov has the unique challenge of conveying progressive views to a largely conservative audience. She joined the cable news network in 2017 and is a rotating cohost of The Five, the highly rated roundtable program. She also shares her political insights on other Fox News and Fox Business Network shows.
Outside of television, Tarlov is a cohost, along with Scott Galloway, of the Raging Moderates podcast. Prior to coming to Fox News, she served as vice president (and later senior vice president) of research and consumer insight at global media company BDG, where she headed the Bustle Trends Group. Her background also includes experience as a Democratic pollster.
In 2024, Tarlov was named a Women of Impact by Variety. She holds a PhD and two master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a bachelor’s degree in history from Bryn Mawr College. In her August 2025 appearance on 13th & Park, she discussed everything from the state of the Democratic party to being a mother.
