Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is the latest Republican presidential candidate to drop out, a victim of bad poll numbers that show him far behind Donald Trump. Why do polls carry so much weight? And how do they shape voters' impressions of candidates? Scott talks with veteran pollster David Binder about the science of polling and the art of telling good ones from bad ones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 23, 2024•33 min
There’s a new entry into the 2026 race for Governor of California. State Senate President Toni Atkins is seeking to become the first woman and first openly LGBTQ person to be governor. Plus, Scott, Marisa and Guy test out an AI bot made by Silicon Valley billionaires trying to get Dean Phillips elected as president. Relisten to past Political Breakdown interviews with some of the candidates running for California Governor in 2026: She Broke 2 Glass Ceilings in Sacramento. Will She Try for 3 Tony...
Jan 20, 2024•22 min
It’s a common complaint among Democrats: The GOP is winning the messaging war. So how can they do better? Marisa and Scott are joined by Democratic strategists Anat Shenker-Osorio and Jenifer Fernandez Ancona who released new research examining what economic messaging is most likely to work for Democratic candidates this election year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 19, 2024•32 min
California Democrats are split on immigration and border security, according to a new poll. KQED's immigration editor Tyche Hendricks joins Scott to break down how this could affect the 2024 elections. Then, Scott is joined by former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to talk about what security means in the age of AI and rising doubts about the integrity of our elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 18, 2024•28 min
There were no big surprises in Monday’s Republican Iowa Caucuses. Donald Trump grabbed more than half the votes, leaving Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley to fight over the crumbs. Now it’s on to New Hampshire, where those three will once again square off. Scott and Marisa talk to POLITICO's Brakkton Booker about the state of the presidential race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 17, 2024•29 min
Scott, Marisa and Guy analyze the week's top political stories, including a fresh poll showing California's U.S. Senate race is still very much up for grabs and the very real possibility that the top two will include one Republican and one Democrat. Plus, they look ahead to next week, when Republicans will brave the snow and cold in Iowa to caucus for their candidate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 13, 2024•22 min
Toni Atkins is the only person in California to have served as both speaker of the Assembly and president of the Senate in the past 150 years. The San Diego Democrat has broken several glass ceilings as a woman and a lesbian. Will she try to break another by running for governor in 2026? Marisa and Scott chat with Atkins about her path from growing up in Appalachia to the top of the California State Legislature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 12, 2024•32 min
Governor Gavin Newsom today rolled out his plan for solving California's budget deficit. And the good news is the deficit according to Newsom is $38 billion, far less than the $68 billion shortfall that had been expected by many. Scott is joined by Marisa, who is in Sacramento covering the governor's budget blueprint. Then, they're both joined by Chris Hoene of the California Budget and Policy Center to sort through some of the big spending decisions ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...
Jan 11, 2024•29 min
The 2024 election will be the first where artificial intelligence, or AI, could play a big role — and not necessarily a good one. Today in Sacramento, the head of California Common Cause announced proposals to address the potential problems from things like deepfakes intended to confuse voters. Scott Shafer is joined by Jonathan Mehta Stein, head of Common Cause, to discuss threats posed by technology for this election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 10, 2024•30 min
KQED is launching a new daily version of Political Breakdown today! So what should you expect and why now? Co-hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos sat down to talk about it. Then the rest of the KQED politics team joins them to chat through the big political news of the day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 09, 2024•31 min
The 2024 legislative session is just underway and in addition to agenda items like closing a massive $68 billion budget deficit, the governor and lawmakers face many big issues on the docket. Scott Shafer and Guy Marzorati check in with CalMatters reporter Sameea Kamal, who is in Sacramento as the Legislature kicks off with a Gaza protest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 05, 2024•31 min
Political Breakdown debuted in 2017 as a podcast and radio program that unpacked politics with a California perspective. The show is an essential part of KQED, especially during presidential election years. That’s why we’re launching a daily version of Political Breakdown — on the air and in your podcast feed. Political Breakdown will be informative, fact-based and focused on democracy. It will be a news-driven show, unflinchingly taking on the topics of the moment while providing context. Learn...
Jan 02, 2024•4 min
Marisa and Scott close out the year by looking back at two interviews recapping legislative highlights at the state Capitol. They revisit a conversation with labor leader Tia Orr on 2023's "hot labor summer" and historic accomplishments by and for organized labor. Then, they revisit a conversation with the governor's chief of staff Dana Williamson and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg about historic reforms on mental health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 29, 2023•31 min
Marisa, Scott and Guy wrap up 2023 by looking ahead into what's sure to be a wild election year. They're joined by KQED's Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez and Politico's Melanie Mason to chat about big issues and campaigns to watch and even make some predictions for the new year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 22, 2023•31 min
The American West used to be Republican territory. But in recent years, Democrats have gained ground in formerly red states like Arizona, Nevada and Colorado. Marisa and Scott chat with LA Times political columnist Mark Z. Barabak about his series "The New West" and how this political shift transpired. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 15, 2023•31 min
Scott talks to CalMatters reporter Sameea Kamal about the state's $68 billion budget deficit and the petition from Capitol staffers calling for a permanent cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Plus, as the death toll in that war continues growing in the Middle East, a very different kind of toll is being felt at elite universities. Scott dives into how the war is roiling campuses across the country with LA Times columnist Robin Abcarian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...
Dec 12, 2023•28 min
California is losing another high-profile power broker now that Kevin McCarthy has announced he is resigning from Congress at the end of the year. What does this mean for his hometown of Bakersfield and the half dozen vulnerable Republicans running for reelection in California? Scott is joined by KVPR's Joshua Yeager, Republican political consultant Mike Madrid and Washington correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle Shira Stein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 09, 2023•30 min
Utility companies are bracing for a future affected by climate change and evolving energy markets. Marisa and Scott are joined by Patti Poppe, the CEO of PG&E. Poppe has been trying to navigate these challenges and more since her tenure started in 2021, after the company emerged from bankruptcy for the second time in two decades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 08, 2023•31 min
On a special Tuesday edition of Political Breakdown, Scott Shafer and veteran political journalist Carla Marinucci give us the state of play in American politics. Then, they’re joined by KQED transportation reporter Dan Brekke to talk about whether public transit in the state is facing an existential crisis. Plus: Tune in to find out who’s already ordered their BART ugly holiday sweater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 06, 2023•34 min
What's up with Governor Gavin Newsom debating a presidential candidate? Marisa and Scott break down Newsom's motivations for going head-to-head with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tonight. Then, KQED science reporter Danielle Venton joins to dig into the home insurance crisis in California, brought on by a changing climate and the resulting natural disasters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 30, 2023•31 min
Scott and Marisa revisit a pair of conversations about politics and family, with California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and political strategist Dane Strother. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 24, 2023•31 min
Scott and Marisa are joined by KQED’s Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez to talk about the trial and verdict in the case of David DePape, who is accused of attacking Paul Pelosi with the hammer. Then, KQED politics and government correspondent Guy Marzorati joins to talk about protestors shutting down the Bay Bridge, Biden’s successful meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Guy’s weekend plans: covering the state Democratic Convention in Sacramento. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...
Nov 17, 2023•31 min
Scott and Marisa discuss the role of abortion in Tuesday's elections in Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia. Then, Eric Early, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, joins to discuss his background in the entertainment industry, why he joined striking actors on the picket line, why he believes former president Donald Trump's false claims about the 2020 election and how he would vote on abortion in the Senate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 10, 2023•31 min
Marisa and Scott talk to San Francisco Chronicle politics reporter Sophia Bollag about covering Governor Gavin Newsom's trip to China. Then, former governor Jerry Brown joins to discuss Newsom's trip, U.S.-China relations, the upcoming APEC conference and his work at the California-China Climate Institute. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 03, 2023•31 min
Scott and Marisa analyze Governor Gavin Newsom's trips to Israel and China and discuss a state review of San Francisco's housing approval process. Then, Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, joins to talk about her rise in the labor movement, wins for labor in this year's legislative session and the ballot measure fight she's focused on in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 27, 2023•31 min
Senator Laphonza Butler announces she won't run for a full term 2024. Scott and Marisa discuss the surprise announcement as well as Governor Gavin Newsom's trip to Israel and what the ongoing dysfunction in the House of Representatives means for vulnerable California Republicans. Then, in the second part of their conversation at KQED Live, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi talks to Marisa and Scott about her husband Paul's recovery, her decision to run for re-election, homelessness in San Franci...
Oct 20, 2023•31 min
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joins Scott and Marisa at KQED Live to talk about the Israel-Hamas war and the Republican scramble to find a new speaker of the House of Representatives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 13, 2023•31 min
Marisa and Scott recap Dianne Feinstein's memorial service and hear Nancy Pelosi's memories of the former mayor and senator. Guy Marzorati joins to discuss Feinstein's legacy, California's new Senator Laphonza Butler and the choice facing Butler over whether to run for a full term. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 06, 2023•31 min
Senator Dianne Feinstein, a champion of gun control who broke glass ceilings for women in local, state and national politics, died Thursday night. Marisa and Scott revisit their 2018 conversation with Feinstein about her life and career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 30, 2023•31 min
Scott and Marisa discuss the Republican presidential primary debate in California and preview this weekend's GOP state party convention. Then, San José Mayor Matt Mahan joins to discuss his childhood in Watsonville, the career advice he got from Mark Zuckerberg and his efforts to build temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness in San José. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 29, 2023•31 min
