(CNN) – CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry is in Europe with President Barack Obama for the G20 and NATO summits.

CNN Correspondent Dick Uliano and CNN Deputy Political Director Mark Preston in Washington talk to Ed about how Obama's trip is going.

The hosts are also joined by CNN's Dana Bash to talk about the recently passed budget.

To subscribe to this podcast go to cnn.com/podcast

The $410 billion spending bill before the Senate includes 9,000 earmarks - funding for specific projects inserted into the bill by lawmakers, a longtime Washington practice.

Over the past few weeks, as political controversy rages over earmarks, some members of Congress have stepped forward to defend the process. That group includes Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye, chairman of the appropriations committee, who tells CNN's Bob Costantini that "earmarks are not a dirty word."

To subscribe to this podcast, go to cnn.com/podcast.

Thousands of conservatives from across the country gathered in Washington late last week to consider the future of the movement. The first Conservative Political Action Conference since last fall’s election took place in a radically different environment than the one held right after the last presidential cycle: That year, there was widespread talk of a permanent GOP majority, and a never-ending housing boom. Now, Democrats sit in the White House and hold the power on Capitol Hill - and the housing bubble seems like a distant memory.

This year’s event was held as financial woes mount nationwide, and elements of President Obama’s blueprint for economic recovery continues to make its way through Congress. As House Republicans face an uphill climb in their quest to help shape the country’s fiscal agenda, Rep. Paul Ryan - ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, and the first speaker at CPAC this year - gave CNN's Bob Costantini his take on the latest developments.

To subscribe to the podcast go to cnn.com/podcast.

His delivery of the GOP response to President Obama’s congressional address may have gotten some mixed reviews, but Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is considered a “rising star” by many in the Republican Party. CNN's John Lisk and CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley give a little Politics 101 on what it takes to achieve that status.

To subscribe to the Political Notebook podcast go to http://www.cnn.com/podcast

It wasn’t an official State of the Union speech, but President Obama’s debut address to a joint meeting of Congress, and viewers across the country, drew the same kind of spotlight — and scrutiny — that generally accompanies that annual event. CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley and CNN's John Lisk discuss the speech, and the day-after reaction, in today’s CNN Radio Political Notebook.

To subscribe to the Political Notebook podacst, go to http://www.cnn.com/podcast

President Obama addresses a joint session of Congress tonight for the first time.  CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley and CNN's John Lisk give us an idea of what Americans can expect to hear.

As the battle over the spending bill heats up in Washington, CNN's Bob Costantini talks with Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez about President Barack Obama's first month in office - from his stimulus plan and housing proposal to this week’s fiscal responsibility summit.

Some new numbers on the President and how he's doing his job show a bit of a decline, but remain high. CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser and CNN's John Lisk go over the latest poll numbers, and what they mean.

Listen to the latest Political Notebook

Read about the poll numbers here

To subscribe to the Political Notebook podcast go to www.cnn.com/podcast