I Hate Politics Podcast

Latest Episodes:

OBBA Impacts, County as Energy Supplier, Trayon White wins Jul 22, 2025

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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: One Big Beautiful Act impacts with MD Delegate Marc Korman and MD Health Care for All Executive Director Vincent DeMarco: "Could have been worse!" Fall General Assembly Special Session now unlikely. Montgomery County Council considers pilot to become a retail energy supplier to residents. MD Delegate Lorig Charkoudian explains the concept. MoCo Council will vote on a law to allow duplexes/triplexes in single-family-zoned areas. Trayon White wins the DC Ward 8 Special Elections despite pending bribery charges. Analysis from once-Ward 8 candidate Markus Batchelor. Music by Washington DC art-pop rock band, Catscan!

The Unbearable Opacity of How MCPS Writes to Parents Jul 18, 2025

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One of the biggest complaints against Montgomery County Public Schools, the largest school district in Maryland and 17th nationwide, is communication style. When Superintendent Thomas Taylor took office in 2024 set a new tone with a funny snow day video, but as the school district seeks a major overhaul of school attendance boundaries, the school district is losing control over its strategy and communications. Sunil Dasgupta talks to Michael Ricci, a MCPS parent and former communications director for Governor Larry Hogan and US House Speakers Paul Ryan and John Boehner, about MCPS' inscrutable style and how to fix the problem. Music by Anna Rubin.

I Hate the News Jul 15 Jul 15, 2025

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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: The DC Council looks to undo two citywide referendums: Initiative 82, which provided a path to equalize tipped minimum wages, and Initiative 83, which would change the district's elections to ranked-choice voting (RCV) and holds firm. The Moore administration in MD makes an employee buy-out offer and restaffs cabinet positions as reelection year approaches and the state's fiscal worries grow. Howard County, Maryland, considers a new approach to Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance even as school overcrowding eases. Former Congressman and billionaire David Trone endorses Even Glass for Montgomery County Executive. Music by Washington DC art-pop rock band, Catscan!

Do Civil Servants Serve the Constitution or the President? Jul 11, 2025

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The Trump chaos has brought a key constitutional principle to the fore: What happens when bureaucrats believe the president is not living up to his pledge to the Constitution? Sunil Dasgupta talks with Hamilton College, NY, Associate Professor of Sociology Jamie Lee Kucinskas about her new book, The Loyalty Trap: Conflicting Loyalties of Civil Servants Under Increasing Autocracy, where she reports prescient findings from 127 interviews she conducted with civil servants during the first Trump administration. https://a.co/d/75tNqQ2 Music by Anna Rubin.

I Hate the News Jul 8 Jul 08, 2025

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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Wrongly-imprisoned Baltimore man James Langhorne speaks to the difficulties of returning to society after 27 years in prison even as he is awarded $2.9 million. Maryland's new 3 percent tech services tax started July 1 Montgomery county, Maryland, gas leaf blower ban went into effect July 1, but Gabe Albornoz, wants a 3-year fall season exemption for commercial landscapers. Councilmember Dawn Luedtke explains her "house party" bill. Music by Washington DC art-pop rock band, Catscan!

Pivoting From Federal Work Jul 04, 2025

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Three stories about introspection, learning, change, and hope from the destruction of federal worker layoffs and budget cuts. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Kevin Gash of Rockville who went from a 14-year career as a USAID contractor to starting a food truck called PLAN B Sausages. Liza Achilles, also of Rockville, was a technical writing contractor for USDA hoping for a new career in creative writing. And Robbyn Lewis, a Maryland state delegate from Baltimore, who for most of her professional life worked on USAID global health contracts and is struggling with finding the right new direction. Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.

I Hate the News Jul 1 Jul 01, 2025

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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Breaking down two of the most consequential Supreme Court rulings that came down last week: the ban on universal injunction and the expansion of religious rights of parents in public schools. The Trump Administration's case against all 16 judges in the federal District of Maryland. The second Trump Administration has built a sophisticated legal team that seemed impossible in the first term. How? Lessons for Ranked Choice Voting from Zohran Mamdani's victory in the New York Democratic primary. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Cato legal scholar and RCV advocate Walter Olson. Music by Washington DC art-pop rock band, Catscan!

How Punishment Precedes Trial in State Courts Jun 26, 2025

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How broken is the criminal-justice system? If you are charged, you might have to pay for your own pre-trial supervision, that is, if you can make bail. The cost may be high enough that you take a plea deal even if you are innocent. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Natasha Dartigue, Maryland Public Defender and the new president-elect of the Maryland Bar Association, about pre-trial detention, bail reform, and disproportionate outcomes in state courts. Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.

I Hate the News Jun 24 Jun 24, 2025

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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: A new report offers the first real breakdown of the impact of federal cuts and layoffs in Maryland. The neighborhood next to the RFK Stadium wants a community benefits agreement guaranteeing developer commitments. WMATA launches new bus routes next week. Adjunct faculty at Stevenson University, outside Baltimore, unionize. West Virginia University strips voting powers from faculty, students, and staff representatives on its Board of governors. Tips for hunting and fishing based on Maryland's Natural Resource police blotter. And more. Music by Washington DC art-pop rock band, Catscan!

Escalating Fight Over LGBTQ Rights "Distracts" Frederick School Board Jun 20, 2025

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Frederick County, MD, school board saw escalating tensions between conservative activists and liberal school board leadership over LGBTQ rights in county schools. A newly elected board member attacked trans rights from the board table, a conservative activist tried to forcibly seat herself on at the board, and a man fake-mooned a board meeting. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Frederick Board of Education President Rae Gallagher, and Vice-President Dean Rose about the fight over LGBRTQ rights and its impact on school governance. Music by Silver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.

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