For the final days of the year, we’re rebroadcasting some of our favorite shows from 2024. 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 ...
Dec 31, 2024•19 min
For the final days of the year, we’re rebroadcasting some of our favorite shows from 2024. President-elect Donald Trump rarely strays from his red tie, white shirt and blue suit, while Vice President Kamala Harris’ uniform consists of tailored suits in a variety of colors. But what does it all mean? What are they saying to voters? And why do fashion choices in politics even matter? Marisa talks about the politics of fashion with Vanessa Friedman, the fashion director and chief fashion critic at ...
Dec 28, 2024•31 min
For the final days of the year, we’re rebroadcasting some of our favorite shows from 2024. Governor Gavin Newsom calls Jason Elliott his “Swiss Army knife.” Elliott is Newsom’s longest serving aide, and he’s had his fingers in just about every major issue, from homelessness and housing to COVID, mental health care and regulating AI. As Elliott prepared to leave the administration, he joined Scott and Marisa to reflect on those many years of service in government. Learn more about your ad choices...
Dec 27, 2024•33 min
Today we're revisiting an interview with the Bay Area's newly elected U.S. House representatives. Democrats Lateefah Simon and Sam Liccardo will be among the 119th Congress when they’re sworn in next month. The two have very different life stories, but they share a commitment to getting things done, even though Democrats will be in the minority. Simon and Liccardo join Scott in studio to discuss their agenda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 24, 2024•32 min
The 118th Congress is in its final days, and it’s not going quietly. With a government shutdown looming, Republicans killed a bipartisan budget deal then resurrected another plan that Democrats rejected. The chaos in Washington could be a preview of what’s coming in the second Trump administration, with a closely divided House and a bitter partisan climate. Scott and Marisa talk with two Democratic members of Congress: Sydney Kamlager-Dove from Los Angeles and Jared Huffman from Marin. They disc...
Dec 20, 2024•27 min
As the year comes to an end, Marisa and Scott are joined by Politico California Bureau Chief Christopher Cadelago to look ahead to 2025, mulling over questions like: What's next for Vice President Kamala Harris? How is the California governor's race shaping up? Will Speaker Mike Johnson be able to keep his job as a government shutdown looms? Are Democrats learning any lessons from their losses and looking to turn the page to a new generation of leadership? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Dec 20, 2024•32 min
Republicans will soon have control of Congress and the White House, leaving Democrats concerned that they might call for a constitutional convention to rewrite our country’s constitution and fundamentally change anything from abortion access to immigration. California has several dormant calls for a constitutional convention on the books, and now, State Senator Scott Wiener wants to rescind those calls. Scott talks with Wiener and New York Times San Francisco Bureau Chief Heather Knight about th...
Dec 19, 2024•26 min
One of the House races that Democrats flipped from red to blue this election was California’s 45th congressional district in Orange County. Democratic newcomer Derek Tran narrowly defeated the incumbent Michelle Steel by about 650 votes in the nation’s most expensive House race. Melanie Mason, senior political reporter at Politico, covered that race and says Tran’s victory “blew up the Democratic Playbook.” She joins Scott to discuss how Tran managed to beat Steel in what was a very challenging ...
Dec 18, 2024•25 min
Educated liberals have won the culture war, but that hasn't necessarily translated into winning elections. The Republican party is attracting larger numbers of working class voters without college degrees while Democrats are now the party preferred by educated Americans. This shift, referred to as the "diploma divide" reveals a new political alignment that is shaking up our politics. It's the subject of the book "Polarized by Degrees: How the Diploma Divide and the Culture War Transformed Americ...
Dec 17, 2024•28 min
President-elect Donald Trump signaled his intention this week to make Harmeet K. Dhillon the deputy attorney general, running the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Dhillon is a San Francisco attorney who has long been a supporter of Trump. On this special edition of Political Breakdown, we're sharing an interview from 2018 when Marisa and Scott interviewed Dhillon about Republican politics, being an outspoken conservative living in liberal San Francisco, her time as a board member of t...
Dec 14, 2024•26 min
Today marks the day California Secretary of State Shirley Weber certifies the final election results for all the races and measures voters cast their ballots on last month. The certification puts the November 2024 election officially in the history books, and so we’re bringing you an episode of our sister podcasts The Bay and Bay Curious breaking down how Californians voted on each of the statewide propositions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 14, 2024•27 min
San Francisco Mayor London Breed was president of the board of supervisors when former Mayor Ed Lee suddenly died in 2017. She was sworn in as acting mayor in the middle of the night then went on to win election the following year. Breed has led the city through most of the first Donald Trump presidency, the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. She joins Marisa and Scott for an exit interview as her six years leading the city comes to a close, having lost reelection to Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie. ...
Dec 13, 2024•31 min
Betty Duong made history last week when she was sworn in as the first Vietnamese-American supervisor in Santa Clara County. The county has one of the largest Vietnamese-American populations in the country and Duong is among a generation of children of refugees shaping life in the South Bay. Guy talks with Duong about decisions over housing, labor and health care that she’ll face as a member of the board of supervisors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 12, 2024•31 min
When President Joe Biden gave his son Hunter an unconditional pardon, there was scathing criticism, including from fellow Democrats like Governor Gavin Newsom and Senator Adam Schiff. Some criticized the president for giving President-elect Donald Trump cover to follow through on pardoning anyone from himself to the January 6th rioters. But historian and Politico Magazine contributor Joshua Zeitz disagrees and argues that Biden’s pardon is neither unique nor uniquely polarizing. Scott talks with...
Dec 11, 2024•30 min
Since the successful recall of three school board members and progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin two years ago, moderate politics have been on the rise in San Francisco. The 2024 election saw the ousting of two of the city’s most progressive supervisors. Nancy Tung is the chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party and joins Scott to talk about the party's move toward the middle and a new policy on sexual assault and harassment following a string of allegations against local politicos. L...
Dec 10, 2024•24 min
Nearly a month after election day, Democrat Adam Gray was declared the winner in California’s 13th congressional district race in the Central Valley. It was the last House race called in the nation. So why does it take so long for California to process votes? Scott and Guy talk with Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, who chairs the Assembly Elections Committee, about how to make elections more efficient. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 07, 2024•22 min
Bay Area Democrats Lateefah Simon and Sam Liccardo will be among the newest members of Congress when they’re sworn in next month. The two have very different life stories, but they share a commitment to getting things done, even though Democrats will be in the minority. Simon and Liccardo join Scott in studio to discuss their agenda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 06, 2024•32 min
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors is calling on Sheriff Christina Corpus to resign over allegations of abuse of power, conflicts of interest and using fear and retaliation to run the department. The sheriff says she’s done nothing wrong and refuses to step down from a job she was elected to. Scott talks with San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller, who is leading calls to have Sheriff Corpus removed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 05, 2024•22 min
President-elect Donald Trump is promising to enact mass deportations of people in the U.S. without documents. Scott is joined by KQED’s senior editor for immigration Tyche Hendricks to talk about how those policies could play out, how immigrant communities and legal advocacy groups are preparing and the extent to which so-called “sanctuary” laws can protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. Read more: California Is a Sanctuary State. How Much Will That Protect Immigrants From Trump's Dep...
Dec 04, 2024•29 min
California lawmakers began a special legislative session today to protect the state from President-elect Trump's administration on issues like immigration, climate change, abortion and gun safety. Governor Gavin Newsom, who called the special session, wants to add funding to the state Department of Justice to prepare for upcoming legal battles with Trump. Scott is joined by KQED politics correspondent Guy Marzorati, who's in Sacramento talking with lawmakers about the special session and what's ...
Dec 03, 2024•29 min
This holiday week, we are revisiting a series of conversations examining what a second Donald Trump term could look like. Trump focused his campaign around cracking down on immigration and promoting a more isolationist foreign policy which, he’s coined American First. Marisa and Scott spoke with Franco Ordoñez, White House Correspondent for NPR's Washington Desk about what that could all look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 28, 2024•29 min
This holiday week, we are revisiting a series of conversations examining what a second Donald Trump term could look like. Marisa talks with Vann R Newkirk II, senior editor at The Atlantic and the host of the podcasts “Floodlines” and “Holy Week,” about how Trump and his allies want to change the federal government and what it would mean for civil rights and democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 27, 2024•31 min
This holiday week, we're revisiting a series of conversations examining what a second Donald Trump term could look like. Although Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025 during the campaign, the president-elect has already named some of its authors as members of his incoming administration. Back in July, Marisa and Scott talked with Washington Post columnist Philip Bump about what Trump and those close to him have signaled they want to do with another four years. Learn more about your ...
Nov 26, 2024•27 min
Voters chose Daniel Lurie to be San Francisco's next mayor, and he'll be the city's first leader in over a century with no previous elected government experience. Lurie made a lot of promises on his way to an impressive victory over the incumbent, Mayor London Breed. From homelessness to public safety, housing and the economy, Lurie will have his hands full when he takes office in January. Scott and Marisa are joined in studio by Lurie to discuss his agenda, his mandate and how how he’ll keep th...
Nov 22, 2024•28 min
Nathan Hochman will be sworn in as Los Angeles County’s new district attorney next month. He’s promised to roll back his predecessor’s progressive policies and return order to the sprawling county, but has also said he won’t restore the mass incarceration policies of the past. Marisa and Scott talk with Hochman about how he plans to strike that balance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 22, 2024•32 min
Today, we bring you an episode from our sister podcast The Bay: A conversation about the future of Oakland now that voters have recalled Mayor Sheng Thao, making her the first mayor in the city’s history to be removed from office by her constituents. It leaves a lot of unanswered questions about who will lead the city in the coming months and years. Host of The Bay Ericka Cruz Guevarra talks with The Oaklandside’s Eli Wolfe. Who is running for Oakland mayor after Sheng Thao’s recall? Learn more ...
Nov 21, 2024•22 min
President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominations have been a series of surprises, comprising of people widely regarded as unqualified or worse — potentially dangerous to national security. Scott and Marisa talk with The Atlantic staff writer David A. Graham about what Trump’s picks say about his priorities and agenda for the next four years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 20, 2024•30 min
In the 1960s and ‘70s, political organizer Marshall Ganz worked with Cesar Chavez and the farmworker rights movement. He also worked on campaigns with Nancy Pelosi, Jerry Brown and others. Scott talks with Ganz, whose new book “People Power Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal” comes at a time when Democrats are finding themselves without clear leadership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 19, 2024•29 min
It’s clear Republicans have enough seats to maintain their majority in the House of Representatives – barely – and once again a few seats in California are still too close to call with thousands of ballots left to be counted. Democrats have picked up at least one seat in California and could possibly grab a few more, but even if the outstanding races all go their way, they’ll still be stuck in the minority for at least two more years. Scott, Marisa and Guy about what happened there and ask the q...
Nov 15, 2024•26 min
In this year's election, Latino voters shifted along many of the same lines as the electorate as a whole: such as gender, age and educational attainment. Marisa and Scott talk to Christian Paz, senior politics reporter at Vox about 2024 voting trends, whether it's still relevant to talk about "Latino voters," and what potential immigration policy under the Trump administration will mean for both parties moving forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 15, 2024•30 min
