Despite bumps in the road, literally and politically, driverless cars and trucks continue expanding their reach even as critics – including organized labor, regulators and some local governments – say “not so fast.” KQED Transportation Editor Dan Brekke to joins Political Breakdown to talk about several bills being heard in Sacramento that aim to regulating the autonomous vehicle industry. That plus this week’s protester shutdown of Bay Area bridges and the impact on commuters and the overall ma...
Apr 18, 2024•32 min
Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, leaving abortion access up to the states, extreme legal decisions and abortion restrictions from Florida to Arizona have mobilized women and supporters of abortion access. Heidi Sieck, co-founder of #VOTEPROCHOICE, joins Scott and Marisa to discuss the changed political landscape and how it's impacting the 2024 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 17, 2024•29 min
After the U.S. Supreme Court decimated much of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, casting a ballot has become harder, not easier, in many states. Limits on how and where to vote, gerrymandered voting districts that diminish the power of voters of color, challenges to vote-by-mail laws and former President Donald Trump's lies that legitimate election results were not valid all contribute to the problem. Richard Hasen is a professor of Law and Political Science at UCLA Law School, where he directs the...
Apr 16, 2024•29 min
The name Willie Brown is synonymous with power politics in California. He became the first Black Speaker of the State Assembly in 1980 and held the job for a record 14 years, often with help from Republicans. After term limits forced him to leave the legislature, he ran for mayor of San Francisco, serving 8 years in that job. Scott and Marisa sit down with Brown in his San Francisco office to discuss his path from segregated Mineola, Texas to the height of power in California. Learn more about y...
Apr 13, 2024•27 min
Jessica Bartholow has worked behind the scenes at the state capitol for years. She’s known for her fierce anti-poverty advocacy and budget expertise, as a lobbyist and more recently as Chief of Staff to East Bay State Senator Nancy Skinner. Bartholow now works for SEIU, the state's largest and most powerful union. She joins Scott and Guy to talk about the revolving roles she's played inside and outside of state government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 12, 2024•31 min
Why are voters of color shifting toward Republicans, including Donald Trump? Black, Latino and Asian American voters have long been solid Democratic Party voters, but polls and voting trends show that is changing. Scott talks about why and how the trend might affect the 2024 elections with Brakkton Booker, a national political correspondent for POLITICO where he covers the intersection of race, politics, culture and power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 11, 2024•25 min
Sneha Revanur is quickly establishing herself as the leading Gen Z voice on generative AI. In 2020, at the age of 15, the San José native founded Encode Justice, a youth-led group pushing policymakers and AI companies to put people at the center of the AI revolution. Plus, a package of bills introduced Tuesday in Sacramento aims to target large scale retail theft operations. KQED's Guy Marzorati joins to explain the bills, how they would change theft prosecutions and how they fit within the cont...
Apr 10, 2024•27 min
San Francisco has long been a beacon for liberal politics and social causes. But lately a steady diet of viral videos of car break-ins and smash-and-grabs have put the city on something of a mid-course correction. Plus, the recalls of progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin and three members of the San Francisco school board, and the recent passage of measures bolstering police powers and requiring drug screenings, have added to the sense that something is shifting in San Francisco. Scott is ...
Apr 09, 2024•28 min
The race for mayor of San Francisco gets a new heavyweight contender as Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin throws his hat into the ring. Peskin is the most prominent progressive challenging incumbent Mayor London Breed. Scott and Marisa are joined by KQED politics reporter Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez to talk about the San Francisco mayor's race. Plus, in the race to replace retiring Congresswoman Anna Eshoo in Silicon Valley, Assemblyman Evan Low and County Supervisor Joe Simitian tied for...
Apr 06, 2024•22 min
Summer travel season is approaching, but after months of headlines about safety issues on airplanes, some travelers may be questioning whether air travel is the best bet. Marisa and Scott are joined by East Bay Congressman Mark DeSaulnier who has some thoughts on the matter after years of digging into aviation safety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 05, 2024•31 min
Yesterday, Gov. Gavin Newsom surveyed the Sierra snowpack and outlined a new state water plan focused on climate change. Scott and KQED climate reporter Ezra David Romero are joined by California's former top water regulator Felicia Marcus. As the state’s top water czar, she navigated severe droughts, balancing demands for scare water by cities, farms, businesses and homeowners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 04, 2024•30 min
After two years of work examining the legacy of slavery and racism, the California Legislative Black Caucus is prioritizing 14 bills aimed at addressing past wrongs. The bills range from ending involuntary servitude in prison to banning discrimination based on hair styles and a formal apology for the damage done by California’s role in supporting slavery before the Civil War. But one thing that's not on the agenda is cash payments for California residents who are descendants of slaves. Scott is ...
Apr 03, 2024•29 min
Fewer people are being held in county jails across California than a decade ago, and yet record numbers of incarcerated people are dying while in custody. Among the leading causes of death are drug overdoses and suicide. Scott talks with CalMatters reporter Nigel Duara, who spent the last nine months looking at the roots of these increased deaths in county jails and what's being done to address it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 02, 2024•25 min
As California grapples with how to reduce homelessness, Marisa and Guy sit down with Governor Gavin Newsom’s top housing official. Tomiquia Moss spent her career trying to chip away at the state's homelessness crisis, starting as a social worker in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood to now, as the Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 29, 2024•32 min
The Supreme Court took up abortion access this week for the first time since overturning Roe v. Wade two years ago. This time, they're considering whether to restrict access to abortion pill mifepristone. Marisa talks with POLITICO health care reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein about what the conservative-led court might do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 28, 2024•31 min
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his running mate in Oakland today: Silicon Valley lawyer Nicole Shanahan. Guy and Marisa talk about what the Oakland native brings to a presidential ticket that's adding a wild card to the 2024 race for the White House. Plus, can California Democrats find a way to transition to clean energy while promoting equity and affordability? Guy talks with New York Times reporter Ivan Penn about the political question lurking beneath the s...
Mar 27, 2024•31 min
How can young Californians prepare for today’s turbulent economy? Supporters of personal finance education say a mandatory class in pocketbook economics is the answer. Guy Marzorati talks with Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of Next Gen Personal Finance, who's pushing to place a personal finance measure on the November ballot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 26, 2024•23 min
Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey owes at least $350,000 in back taxes. Plus, Gov. Gavin Newsom calls for a ceasefire and former Mayor of San Francisco Willie L. Brown Jr. celebrates his 90th birthday. Scott, Marisa and Guy talk about all that and other top political stories from the week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 23, 2024•22 min
More than two weeks after the primary election, Gov. Gavin Newsom's ballot measure to build housing and mental health treatment beds for Californians experiencing homelessness was narrowly approved by voters. Marisa, Scott and Guy talk about why it was such a close margin. Plus, Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna is a progressive stalwart who’s not afraid to take on his own party, but he’s all in on President Biden’s reelection. Marisa and Scott talk with Khanna about the 2024 election, the cr...
Mar 22, 2024•31 min
Behind the negative attack ads on candidates that we see on TV and social media is what’s known as opposition research — basically, digging up dirt on your opponent. Scott talks to campaign consultant Eric Jaye about how opposition research has changed in recent years and whether it still matters to voters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 21, 2024•26 min
After House lawmakers passed bipartisan legislation to force China to sell TikTok or face a ban in the U.S., the Senate seems to be putting the bill on a slower track. What would a ban mean for the economy and how could it affect tech companies in Silicon Valley? Scott is joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Stu Woo to talk about the coming legal battle between national security interests and First Amendment rights for users of TikTok. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...
Mar 20, 2024•29 min
In 2020, Oregon voters passed a first-in-the-nation law to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs, including heroin and fentanyl. The idea behind Measure 110 was that the criminal justice system was not the place to steer people away from drugs and deal with a user's addiction. But now, Measure 110 is widely blamed for the spike in overdose deaths in Oregon and a worsening homeless crisis. Earlier this month, the legislature sent a bill to the governor to recriminalize drug posse...
Mar 19, 2024•29 min
The March primary signaled a shift toward the middle of the political spectrum, as San Francisco voters approved Mayor London Breed’s measures to empower the SF police and screen public assistance recipients for drugs. Scott is joined by Marisa and KQED's Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez to talk about what this means for public safety and the San Francisco mayor's race, where Breed faces a growing field of challengers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 16, 2024•21 min
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas is coming up on one year as leader of the lower house. Rivas joins Marisa and Scott to talk about what he's learned and his priorities as the state faces a budget deficit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 15, 2024•32 min
President Joe Biden has been open about dealing with a stutter that sometimes trips him up during public speaking. But when former President Donald Trump mocked Biden’s stutter at a rally in Georgia this week, a San Francisco-based stuttering advocate launched a public relations campaign urging people with stutters to come forward Marisa and Scott are joined by Maya Chupkov, a stuttering activist and host of the podcast Proud Stutter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...
Mar 14, 2024•25 min
2024 has been a very mixed year for women in state politics. California is poised to have two male U.S. Senators for the first time since 1992, and men are replacing several women in the state’s congressional delegation. However, women still made gains in Sacramento. Scott and Marisa talk about the record numbers of women representing their districts in the California State Legislature with Susannah Delano, executive director of Close the Gap, which helps elect women to office. Learn more about ...
Mar 13, 2024•29 min
The process of creating laws is under new scrutiny after a political ally of Gov. Gavin Newsom – the owner of the Panera Bread chain – appeared to benefit from an exemption in a new state law taking effect next month that will raise the hourly wages of fast food workers to $20 an hour. Finding out exactly how the exemption got into the legislation was complicated after it was revealed that a major labor union required negotiators working on the bill to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Now a Repu...
Mar 12, 2024•20 min
President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech was an energetic and blunt performance, including many direct attacks on his political rival, former President Donald Trump. Scott breaks down the speech with KQED political correspondents Marisa Lagos and Guy Marzorati. Plus, updates on Super Tuesday election results for congressional races and Governor Gavin Newsom's Proposition 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 09, 2024•22 min
The votes are still being counted, but Tuesday's primary is shaping up to be a low-turnout election. Who voted and who stayed home? Marisa and Scott talk about turnout and the voter enthusiasm deficit with Paul Mitchell, vice president at Political Data Inc. Plus, Mitchell explains why Adam Schiff boosting Steve Garvey boosted Republicans up and down the ballot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 08, 2024•33 min
Democrat Adam Schiff will face off against former baseball star Republican Steve Garvey in November, ensuring that California will soon be without a female U.S. senator for the first time in 32 years. Plus, Democrats seem to have avoided disaster in a Central Valley House district that they want to flip from red to blue. Scott and Marisa break down results from Tuesday’s primary election with San Francisco Chronicle political writer Joe Garofoli. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...
Mar 07, 2024•29 min
