Tom Morello performing on the west steps of the capitol, September 21, 2022. Photo by Tim FosterCAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Tom Morello, the fiery, activist leader of the rock band Rage Against the Machine, brought his guitar to Sacramento last week to lend support to the United Farm Workers and their effort to pass AB 2183, what UFW spokesman Marc Grossman calls “The Farm Worker Voting Rights Act.”
Mark Ghaly, in conversation with John Howard. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyCAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: This is a Special Episode, recorded live at California Health, a one-day conference held in Sacramento on September 13, 2022. The Keynote for the event featured an interview with Secretary of Health and Human Services Mark Ghaly, conducted by Capitol Weekly editor John Howard.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Longtime politics oppo research specialist Joe Rodota has lately turned his skills toward historical events and storytelling, first with a book on the Watergate complex, The Watergate: Inside America’s Most Infamous Address, and now with a new podcast, Hillside: The Investigation and Trial of the Hillside Strangler.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST:It’s Labor Day, so we’re just offering up a very brief episode, looking at the sad fate of AB1577, the bill that would have allowed legislative staff to unionize. We’ll be back with a full regular episode next week.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Political data guru and “District Whisperer” Paul Mitchell joins us for a status update on the November election. Since Paul’s last visit to the podcast we’ve had a sea change: the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade has galvanized the Democratic electorate, and seems to have overturned conventional expectations about Midterm elections.
Rob KorinkeCAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Today we are joined by Robb Korinke, a principal, along with Mike Madrid, at GrassrootsLab. We asked Robb, a Democrat, about working with a Republican partner, the dramatic party shift that has taken place at the local level since 2015 and the LA Mayor’s race.
Capitol Weekly Podcast: Each year Capitol Weekly publishes The Top 100 – our rundown of the 100 people in California who are NOT in elected office, but who have had the biggest impact on California public policy and politics. We published the 2022 edition on August 9, and on this episode Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster discuss some of the names on this year’s list, some of the folks on past lists and the process that produces The Top 100.
Plastic Water Bottle Floating in Pacific Ocean, Santa Monica, California, USA. Photo by Danita DelimontCAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: On June 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB54, what most stakeholders characterized as the most aggressive plastic packaging recycling/reuse law in the United States. Lobbyist Jennifer Fearing, was a key player in the negotiations; She walks us through the compromise, explains what SB54 will actually do, and talks about the differences between the ballot proposal and the final bill.
Photo of Governor Gavin Newsom by Gage Skidmore. Used with permission.CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Proposition 30 has qualified for the November ballot. The initiative, a proposed 1.75% tax on Californians making over $2 million per year to fund electric vehicle infrastructure and combat wildfires, has fragmented traditional Democratic coalitions, splitting unions and putting Gov. Gavin Newsom – who has pursued an aggressive strategy to phase out gasoline-powered cars – in opposition.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: On today’s episode we were delighted to speak with the realassemblyman himself, former California legislator Bruce Young. We enjoyed a rollicking interview about his adventures in the legislature and Willie Brown’s leadership lessons – and he joined us for the wildest “Worst Week in California Politics” conversation we’ve ever had.