Political Breakdown

Latest Episodes:

Behind The Scenes with Political Breakdown May 04, 2024

Show notes

Political Breakdown started as a way to give our listeners a peek behind the curtain of politics. Over the past six years, we’ve brought you conversations with presidential candidates, governors, mayors, political consultants, pollsters and regular people involved in politics. This work is important because the policy debates that will shape our country are happening in California first. That's why this election year, we're bringing you those insights EVERY weekday.

Our journalism is totally independent — we're mostly funded by individual donors, so we can operate free from corporate interests and ask hard questions of powerful people. If you want to support us continuing this work, please consider visiting donate.kqed.org/podcasts and give any amount you can.

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Congressional Recount Drama and Questions About Campus Protests May 04, 2024

Show notes

Scott, Marisa and Guy tackle the political intrigue behind the race for Anna Eshoo’s congressional seat, where a recount knocks out one contender. Plus, they dig into the ongoing turmoil and controversy involving campus protests over Israel's war in Gaza, how campuses are responding and the political implications for November.

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When Presidential Candidates are the Source of Election Year Disinformation May 03, 2024

Show notes

As America’s presidential election approaches, we are facing an unprecedented rise in mis and disinformation fueled by populist political movements, foreign actors and online platforms. Marisa and Scott are joined by NPR disinformation correspondent Shannon Bond and University at Buffalo professor Yotam Ophir to talk about why this has become such a problem, the impact it's having and practical advice for spotting and combatting disinformation.

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Kanishka Cheng: The Most Influential San Franciscan You’ve Never Heard Of? May 02, 2024

Show notes

When the San Francisco Chronicle recently compiled a list of the 20 most influential people working mostly behind the scenes in San Francisco, Kanishka Cheng was first on the list. She co-founded and heads the group TogetherSF Action and its sister organization TogetherSF. Like similar groups recently created in the city, TogetherSF wants to push city policy from the left toward the middle. Cheng joins Scott to talk about their priorities, tactics and potential conflicts of interest.

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She Heads the Most Trusted Source of Political Data in California May 01, 2024

Show notes

California Target Book is a goldmine of information for campaigns, journalists, and political insiders. For three decades, Target Book has provided non-partisan research on voter registration, campaign contributions, candidate profiles and more. Scott and Marisa talk with publisher Marva Diaz, the first woman and first Latino to have that position.

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The Politics and Policy Around Newsom’s Vatican Climate Summit Trip Apr 30, 2024

Show notes

Governor Gavin Newsom will be heading to Rome next month as one of several state and local officials invited from around the world to speak at the Pope’s Vatican Climate Summit. The governor will focus on how the changing climate is affecting California’s ability to cope with droughts, wildfires and floods. Scott is joined by Marisa and Guy to talk about the politics and policy of Newsom’s trip.

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California Moves To Create a “Sanctuary” for Arizona Women Seeking Abortions Apr 27, 2024

Show notes

A bill to ban non-disclosure agreements while outside groups negotiate legislation failed in committee, creating some interesting alliances in the process. Meanwhile, a bill to allow licensed doctors from Arizona to perform abortions in California moves forward. Scott, Marisa and Guy discuss it all in this week's roundtable.

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UC Regent John Pérez on the Gaza Protests Roiling College Campuses Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

As protests over the war in Gaza roil college campuses from New York to California, Marisa and Scott sit down with UC Regent John Pérez, who has served on the board overseeing the University of California system since 2014 and was recently appointed to another 12 year term. Pérez was also Speaker of the State Assembly from 2010 to 2014.

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Voters Under 35 Have A Lot At Stake in November. Here’s What They’re Thinking About Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

As part of KQED's Youth Takeover Week, we’ll hear from young voters and what they care about most. From the war in Gaza to climate change, student debt and how they might vote in November. In addition to hearing from young Bay Area voters, Scott talks with Erin Heys, policy director and senior researcher for the Berkeley Institute for Young Americans and Saa’un Bell with Power California, which focuses on young people of color and LGBTQ voters throughout the state.

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Writer Mark Leibovich on Newsom, Biden, Trump and the “D.C. Carnival” Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

Writer Mark Leibovich of The Atlantic is known as a shrewd observer of presidents, Congressional leaders, insurgents and insiders, capturing it all in books like “This Town," which describes what he calls “the carnival that D.C. has become.” He just wrote a profile of Gov. Gavin Newsom, and he joins Scott to talk about this strange and unsettled moment in U.S. politics.

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