Dasha Burns
- Playbook Co-Author, Host & Managing Editor, The Conversation and Global Anchor, POLITICO
Dasha Burns is a co-author of POLITICO Playbook, POLITICO's flagship newsletter covering politics, policy and power in the United States, and anchors the Playbook Podcast. Burns is also the host and managing editor of "The Conversation," Playbook’s weekly interview show, and serves as POLITICO’s Global Anchor.
Burns is known for her deep sourcing and in-depth interviews with leaders across politics, business and media. Her interview with President Donald Trump on "The Conversation" drove national headlines for days and created viral moments such as Trump's "A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus" rating of the economy.
The major stories she broke as POLITICO's White House bureau chief included the news that then-national security adviser Mike Waltz's team had set up at least 20 Signal group chats for crises around the world, and that deputy chief of staff James Blair was temporarily departing the White House to run Trump's political operation.
Each week on "The Conversation," Burns presses global power players on some of the world's most important issues. In addition to Trump, guests have included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Prior to joining POLITICO, she reported for NBC News, where she covered Ron DeSantis' 2024 presidential campaign and then the Trump campaign, leading NBC's coverage of the first assassination attempt on Trump, reporting on-site from Butler, Pennsylvania.
Born in Ukraine and raised in California, Burns is a proud graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, with degrees in Media Studies and Anthropology.
