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Political Breakdown Political Breakdown unpacks politics with a California perspective. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos examine the political intersection of California and the nation, from the inside out. Joined by reporters and other insiders involved in the craft of politics--including elected officials, candidates, pollsters, campaign managers, fundraisers, and other political players--Political Breakdown pulls back the curtain to offer a glimpse at how politics works today.
Political Breakdown

Podcast Directory
Political Breakdown

Political Breakdown

From KQED

Political Breakdown unpacks politics with a California perspective. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos examine the political intersection of California and the nation, from the inside out. Joined by reporters and other insiders involved in the craft of politics--including elected officials, candidates, pollsters, campaign managers, fundraisers, and other political players--Political Breakdown pulls back the curtain to offer a glimpse at how politics works today.

Most Recent Episodes

A Split-Screen Moment for Racial Politics

The Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action in college admissions. Hours later, a California task force studying reparations for African-Americans delivers a groundbreaking final report. Marisa and Guy Marzorati discuss the political crosscurrents at play with Stephen Menendian, the Assistant Director and Director of Research at the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley. Plus, Alexei Koseff, State Capitol Reporter at CalMatters joins to discuss the final state budget deal.

Anthony Rendon Reflects on Historic Speakership

Anthony Rendon will soon step down as Assembly Speaker after the second-longest tenure in California history. Marisa and Guy Marzorati talk to Rendon about fatherhood and child care, the legislature's historic 2017 session, losing his speakership to Robert Rivas and his plans for the future.

Liz Ortega on the State Budget and Interpreting for Her Community

Marisa and Guy Marzorati discuss the legislature's budget agreement and Governor Gavin Newsom's interview with Sean Hannity. Then, Assemblywoman Liz Ortega joins to talk about her journey to America, interpreting for family members and neighbors as a kid, her career in organized labor, her reaction to the budget deal to aid public transit and her thoughts on labor disputes over CEQA and housing. PLUS: Take our Political Breakdown newsletter survey.

Migrant Flights and Marlene Sanchez on Bringing Incarcerated Voices to the Halls of Power

Marisa and Guy Marzorati react to Governor Gavin Newsom's proposal for a 28th amendment on gun safety and talk to KQED politics editor Tyche Hendricks about the political and legal fallout from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' flights carrying migrants to California. Then, Marlene Sanchez, executive director of the Ella Baker Center, joins to talk about getting arrested at age 11, her work bringing the voices of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated Californians to the halls of power, her views on the appropriate policy response to the fentanyl crisis and her support of Senate Bill 94, a controversial bill to allow the review of some older life sentences.

Migrant Flights and Marlene Sanchez on Bringing Incarcerated Voices to the Halls of Power

Listen · 32:11

Annie Fryman on Public Transit in 'Emergency Mode'

Marisa and Guy Marzorati discuss how the deal to raise the federal debt limit divided California House Democrats, with implications for the 2024 U.S. Senate race. Then, Annie Fryman, Director of Special Projects at SPUR joins to discuss her work with State Senator Scott Wiener crafting landmark changes to California housing law. She also lays out the stakes for California transit agencies in the ongoing negotiations over the state budget.

Willie Brown at KQED Live (Pt. 1)

In the first part of a conversation at KQED Live, Scott and Marisa talk to former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown about his childhood in Texas, the unlikely clients who propelled his early law career and how he met Dianne Feinstein.

Dane Strother on AI in Campaigns and Big Wins in Wisconsin

Then, veteran political strategist Dane Strother joins to discuss his father's role in inventing modern political consulting, what ended his career in journalism, the use of artificial intelligence in campaigns, his firm's recent campaign victories in Wisconsin and why he thinks Gavin Newsom is "the most adroit politician in America."

'I Worry About the Public Trust': Former California Chief Justice on Supreme Court Ethics

Scott and Marisa talk Sen. Dianne Feinstein's return to D.C. and Gov. Gavin Newsom's upcoming May budget proposal, which is expected to feature an ever-growing deficit. Then, former California chief justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye joins the show to talk about her new role as president and CEO of the Public Policy Institue of California, her legacy on the bench, and weighs in on the recent Supreme Court ethics scandal as reporting shows Justice Clarence Thomas accepting lavish gifts.

'I Worry About the Public Trust': Former California Chief Justice on Supreme Court Ethics

Listen · 32:09

Robert Rivas Prepares to Become Speaker of the State Assembly

Scott and Marisa sit down with Robert Rivas, the incoming Speaker of the state Assembly, to discuss his grandfather's farmworker activism, politics in San Benito County, the legislature's response to the fentanyl crisis, his priorities as Assembly speaker and how he will address concerns about conflicts with his brother's political work.

History of the Anti-Abortion Movement with Professor Mary Ziegler

Scott and Marisa talk about the booming business of massive warehouses sprouting up in Riverside as lawmakers seek to curb their climate impacts on neighbors, and President Joe Biden's 2024 re-election bid. Then, abortion historian and UC Davis School of Law professor Mary Ziegler joins the show to discuss how early concepts of "fetal personhood" influenced decades of arguments from abortion access opponents, and the future of the abortion pill Mifepristone, which is facing a legal threat.

Political Breakdown

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