Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Our guest Jennifer Barrera has been President and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce since 2021. The venerable institution – founded in 1890 as the California State Board of Trade – advocates for pro-business policies and investments. Barrera is well known and well respected in the capitol community, and has been an effective messenger for the CalChamber’s many causes, including reform of the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). She spoke with us about the Chamber’s approach to the state’s affordability crisis, the increasing calls to tax the ultra-rich and a ballot measure to reform CEQA.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Today we welcome Clint Kellum, the new (as of November 2025) Director of the California Department of Cannabis Control. The CDCC licenses and regulates cannabis businesses, including regulation of cannabis growers, manufacture of cannabis products, and sales, transportation and tracking of cannabis goods. Kellum took the helm just after Governor Newsom signed AB 564, a bill to reset the state’s cannabis excise tax rate at 15% until 2028, giving California’s struggling legal cannabis market hope after a rough few years.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: This week we’re joined by lobbyist Jennifer Fearing of Fearless Advocacy. Fearing was a key player in the negotiations to pass SB 54, a landmark bill that regulates plastic waste in California. Governor Newsom signed the bill in 2022, but as we all know, passing legislation is one thing, implementation is another. Fearing walks us through the bill’s complicated journey, and gives us an updates on it, and other environmental actions in the state.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: The race to replace Governor Gavin Newsom has taken up most of California’s political oxygen so far this year, but there are other statewide races coming up, including Lt. Governor, State Insurance Commissioner, and – potentially – a slew of Ballot Measures. Capitol Weekly Editor Rich Ehisen, reporter Leah O’Tarrow and podcast co-host Tim Foster take a look at the 2026 ballot. Plus – Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: We’re joined today by longtime capitol consultant – now retired – Brian Green, who worked in communications for the Senate Dem Caucus from 2011 until last year. As principal consultant, Green prepared talking points and issue updates, recorded videos, set up press conferences and hosted the “Then There’s California” podcast featuring in-depth interviews with Democratic senators. One year into retirement, he has launched his own podcast, “California Voices, with Brian Green.”
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Jack Ohman has been a political cartoonist for 48 years; he got his start at the Minnesota Daily when he was still a college student, and at 19 he became the youngest-ever syndicated cartoonist in the United States. He has worked at major papers across the US, including The Detroit Free Press, The Oregonian, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Sacramento Bee, where in 2016 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. He joined us to talk about his history in the news biz, the state of editorial cartooning, the death of Scott Adams, and much, much more.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: We’re joined today by Clarissa Laguardia, Executive Director of the California Center for Civic Participation (CalCenter). CalCenter is a non-profit organization that works to engage young people in the democratic process. Laguardia is passionate about CalCenter’s projects – she knows firsthand the importance of engaging in the political experience. She grew up in El Salvador during the Salvadoran Civil War and migrated to the United States after high school.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: We’re joined today by Mission Local Managing Editor and columnist Joe Eskenazi, who looks back over Mayor Daniel Lurie’s first year, and gets us up to speed on other San Francisco political news, including the race to replace Nancy Pelosi, the possibility of an initiative to reopen the Great Highway to auto traffic, and the effort to form a municipal power company that would take over PG&E’s electrical infrastructure via eminent domain – a movement that got a boost following last week’s massive power outage.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster are joined by Politico’s Chris Cadelago for a look back at the Top 10 California political stories of 2025 – and a look at what’s coming next year.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Brian Ebbert, Chris Micheli and Alex Vassar joined us to chat about their just published The California Capitol Cocktail Trivia Book, a lively and engaging collection of little-known facts, anecdotes, and curiosities drawn from the rich history of California’s state government. We’re also joined by Sac State president Luke Wood, who spoke with us about his controversial edict that freshman must live on campus, and the proposed Downtown Capitol Center. Plus – Who had the Worst Week in California politics?
Jennifer Barrera, President and CEO of CalChamber
