Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: California’s Top Two Primary, also known as a Jungle Primary, was approved by voters as Proposition 14 in 2010. Sixteen years later, California voters are beginning to sour on Top Two. Fears of a GOP – or Democratic – lockout in this year’s race for governor have led many to call for a change. Recent polling by Capitol Weekly found the 79% of respondents wanted to revise or repeal the jungle primary. Longtime Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio has heeded that call, filing a ballot initiative proposing to repeal Prop. 14. He joins us today to talk about the race for governor, the legacy of the Top Two and why it needs to change.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Our guest today is Emmy Award winning journalist, producer, documentary filmmaker and podcaster Soledad O’Brien. O’Brien got her start in broadcast TV in 1991, and has held a wide variety of positions, ranging from on-air reporter, to anchor, to producer. Her work has been recognized with four Emmy awards, three George Foster Peabody Awards; she has also received the Gracie Award, which honors women in media. O’Brien joined us to talk about the state of journalism today.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Jeff Randle has been one of the Capitol community’s go-to political campaign strategists for decades. He has been a top advisor on five gubernatorial campaigns as well as serving as deputy chief of staff to Gov. Pete Wilson from 1991-1998. This year his firm Randle Communications celebrates its 25th anniversary so we figured it was a great time to have him joins us to share his perspectives on this year’s gubernatorial races and perhaps to share a war story or two.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: On this week’s podcast we share a lively and very candid discussion on affordability between two of the Capitol community’s most notable members – longtime political strategist, author and commentator Mike Madrid and former Assemblymember and current president of the California Federation of Labor Unions Lorena Gonzalez.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Affordability: The Cost of Living in California, which was held in Sacramento on April 30, 2026.
This is Panel 1: Energy Costs
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Affordability: The Cost of Living in California, which was held in Sacramento on April 30, 2026.
This is Panel 2: Food Costs
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Affordability: The Cost of Living in California, which was held in Sacramento on April 30, 2026.
This is Panel 3: Accountability
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Our guest is Darcy Totten, Executive Director at the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. The Commission was established by the legislature in 1965 for the purpose of developing recommendations “which will enable women to make the maximum contribution to society.” In 1971 Governor Reagan made the Commission a permanent, independent agency. Totten joined us to talk about the history of the organization, the challenges women and girls face today and what the future might look like.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan has spent more than three decades in Democratic politics and public policy, including 15 years at the Democratic Leadership Council, including serving as National Political Director and Chief of Staff, helping shape strategy for state and local elected officials across the country. We spoke with her on today’s show about NewDEAL and her work with leaders like San José Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Matt Mahan and Senator Alex Padilla, as well as a national network of leaders focused on pragmatic economic policy and opportunity.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: There was an old ad slogan for a well-known brokerage firm: When EF Hutton talks, people listen. The sentiment survives today, with a slight modification: When Fiona Hutton talks, people listen. Hutton runs one of the state’s premiere public affairs firms, with a score of employees handling strategic planning, research & insights, media relations and more for a host of high-powered clients. Fiona Hutton and Associates celebrates their 25th anniversary this year, and Hutton joined us to talk about her early years as a one-woman (and a baby) shop, what it’s like to do this work in LA, and the challenges of being a woman in this business.
Image created by The Poison Pen
