Governor Gavin Newsom, hosts Scott Wilk and John Bovee attempt to find the "positive" highlights of Newsom’s first seven years in office. Finding the task difficult on their own, they welcome the show's first-ever guest, Congressman Kevin Kiley, author of The Case Against America’s Most Corrupt Governor, to provide a reality check on the current state of California.
The episode centers on the stark contrast between the Governor’s "slick" public narrative and the "felt economic reality" for California citizens. While Newsom often touts California's status as the world's fourth-largest economy and its high number of IPOs, the hosts and Kiley counter these figures with troubling data: California currently faces the highest poverty rate, the highest taxes, and the highest unemployment rate in the country.