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Political Breakdown: Daily Summaries Delivered
by KQED
Join hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos as they unpack the day in politics with a California perspective. Featuring interviews with 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 an insider’s glimpse at how politics works today.
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- 2 days ago30 min
Who Pays for Wildfire Damage? And Other Fights Awaiting California Lawmakers
The state Legislature returns to Sacramento from summer recess on Monday, and they’ll face big questions about California’s messy energy transition. Who should bear the cost of damaging wildfires? How should the state prioritize its shrinking climate fund? What regulations should they impose on the rapid buildout of AI data centers? Guy discusses all that with two contributors to Politico’s California Currents newsletter: California environment reporter Camille von Kaenel and California energy reporter Noah Baustin. Check out Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 3 days ago42 min
Dave vs. Goliath: The Union Man Behind CA's Billionaire Tax
Dave Regan built his career fighting for the underdog. Now he’s taking on California’s billionaires. Regan leads SEIU-UHW, a union representing more than 120,000 healthcare workers in the state. He’s known for taking on the state’s most powerful interests and using ballot initiatives as leverage to force negotiations. His latest proposal is a controversial billionaire wealth tax on the November ballot that has split the labor community and Democratic party in California. The measure aims to offset looming MediCal cuts from President Trump’s so-called “big beautiful bill” by issuing a one-time, 5% tax on the assets of the state’s billionaires. Marisa sits down with Regan to talk about his upbringing, how he got into organizing and the backroom negotiations with Gov. Gavin Newsom to pull the measure off the ballot that ultimately failed. Check out Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 5 days ago39 min
Voter Suppression Didn’t Start with Trump. A Historian Tracks Its Origins
This week, President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow him to implement an executive order aimed at making it much harder to vote by mail. The order would direct the Department of Homeland Security to create “state citizenship lists” of eligible voters and require the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to people on those lists. It’s part of the president’s ongoing attacks on the election system. Political Breakdown has been examining election integrity in America over the past few weeks, and today they revisit the first episode in that series. Host Marisa Lagos talks with historian Carol Anderson, a professor of African American Studies at Emory University and author of “One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying our Democracy.” They take a look at the nation’s history of voting from Reconstruction and Jim Crow to the civil rights era and the recent gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Check out Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago24 min
Newsom Says Return to Office, Fall in Love?
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order requiring state workers to return to office four days a week took effect this month. The governor says it’s about battling a “crisis of loneliness” and wanting people to “develop relationships, friendships, fall in love.” But the mandate has been met with protests and lawsuits, putting him at odds with California’s powerful public employee labor unions. Marisa and Guy talk with CapRadio politics reporter Laura Fitzgerald about why Newsom is picking this fight and how it could affect his political ambitions. Plus: the Trump administration withholds $867.5 million in Medicaid payments to California, claiming fraud in in-home care and immigrant eligibility. Who does the funding freeze impact and how are state officials responding? Check out Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago31 min
The Roadblocks on Democrats’ Path to Retaking the House in 2026
The party in power in Washington, D.C. typically heads into a midterm election at a disadvantage. Democrats are favored to retake the House this fall, but the Democratic party brand is still deeply unpopular with voters. Plus, a national redistricting battle and recent Supreme Court case changing how party committees can spend money chip away at the party’s advantage. Marisa sits down with Guy and CalMatters politics reporter Maya C. Miller to check in on the state of play for congressional races nationally and in California. Check out Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago35 min
The California County at the Center of the Election Integrity Fight
Political Breakdown continues an ongoing series on election integrity in America. Shasta County has been ground zero in California’s fight over election security. Election officials took control of the deep red county’s Board of Supervisors and elections office. Although some of those officials lost reelection bids in June, voters also passed a ballot measure to overhaul how the county runs elections, including eliminating mail-in voting and requiring voter ID and hand-counting ballots. That measure is now tied up in court after the Secretary of State and Attorney General sued, arguing it it violates a number of state laws. Marisa discusses it all with Jefferson Public Radio reporter Roman Battaglia. Later, Marisa is joined by Joanna Francescut, the county’s newly elected Registrar of Voters, about what it’s like to be an election official in Shasta. Francescut hs worked in the elections office since 2008 and takes over in January 2027 just after the consequential midterm elections. If you missed it, you can listen to the first and second episodes of our election integrity series. Check out Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago25 min
Trump Targets California's Elections in Primetime Address
President Donald Trump used a primetime speech Thursday night to cast doubt on the integrity of America’s election system. He claimed that hundreds of thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote in California and other Democratic-led states. He also attacked the Golden State's primary election for governor and Los Angeles mayor as an "example of the insanity." Marisa and Guy dig into the president's claims and the lack of evidence for them. Then, they discuss a new statewide poll showing Californians say they care deeply about the environment but don’t want to pay more to protect it. Check out Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago35 min
The Politics of Data Centers
Nearly half of U.S. House Democrats voted yesterday to eliminate $3.3 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Israel. Although the amendment failed 314-104, it revealed a sea change in the party’s views on U.S.-Israel relations. Marisa and Guy discuss the trends behind which members voted yes, no or present and how Republicans are capitalizing on this party split. Then, Marisa talks with Wired senior reporter Molly Taft about the politics of data centers. The construction of hyperscale data centers to power Artificial Intelligence have become a flashpoint in communities across the nation ahead of the November election, and both parties are trying to capitalize on the anti-data center movement. They discuss why the data centers draw such strong opposition, how communities are responding and whether Americans will ever receive equity shares in AI companies. Check out Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
About Political Breakdown
Join hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos as they unpack the day in politics with a California perspective. Featuring interviews with 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 an insider’s glimpse at how politics works today.
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