Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie has been criss-crossing the state for his annual summer tour but news that Republicans in Texas planned to redraw that state’s congressional maps brought him back to Albany this week.

We spoke with Heastie about New York’s redistricting process, why he has beef with former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and what he expects next year amid changes in federal funding.

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Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado is the only Democrat who’s challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul for their party’s nomination in next year’s race for governor. He says she’s not leading on key issues important to New Yorkers.

We talk about why he jumped into the race, how New York could lower energy prices for ratepayers and why the cost of health care is so high.

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Inspector General Lucy Lang’s job is to investigate alleged misconduct at state agencies. But her office also plays a role in investigating the aftermath of a situation gone wrong. That’s what happened 10 years ago, after two men led police on a wild goose hunt after escaping a state prison in Dannemora. We chat with Lang about the breakout and what her office is focused on now, including the state’s prison system.

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There’s new opposition to movements grounded in the values of diversity, equity and inclusion in today’s politics and that presents a new challenge for advocates like L. Joy Williams, the president of the NAACP New York State Conference. The NAACP was first founded in New York more than a century ago and, while a lot has changed, the fight for equity remains strong. We sat down with Williams to chat about her vision in New York and her plan for achieving it.

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The big buzzword at the state Capitol this year was “affordability,” with lawmakers trying to find ways to lower New York’s cost of living. Whether you think they made headway there depends on which side of the aisle you’re on.

We never get to just sit and talk about affordability. So, this week, we sat down with Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt for an open-ended conversation about what he sees as the easiest solutions to New York’s cost of living problem.

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Artificial intelligence is evolving at a pace that’s been hard for regulators to match. Some systems can now generate videos, images and sound that mirrors what you would expect in the real world. That kind of power comes with a lot of risk.

So what can New York do to prevent artificial intelligence from being used in nefarious or problematic ways? We talk about that this week with Assemblyman Alex Bores, a Democrats who’s been focused on A.I. since he joined the Legislature in 2023.

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New York just approved the latest state budget in 15 years, prompting criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over how the spending plan comes together each year. Sen. James Skoufis is one of those lawmakers and joins us with his thoughts. Physician-assisted death, also called medical aid in dying by supporters and physician-assisted suicide by opponents, is a top end-of-session bill that’s prompted a lot of questions. We answer them with Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, its sponsor.

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New York has considered building high-speed rail for decades. Gov. George Pataki made a push for it when he was in office but it lost steam. Senate Transportation Chair Jeremy Cooney talks about how New York could get on track.

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It’s been a while but we’re back. You’ll now start seeing new content from the CapCon podcast in your feeds, starting with this episode.

State Budget Director Blake Washington joins us to talk through ongoing negotiations on the state budget, what’s happening behind the scenes and what potential cuts from the federal government will mean down the line.

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New York’s top executive sat down with Times Union Capitol Correspondent Dan Clark this week for an exclusive interview at Hearst Tower. They talked about the 2024 elections, her support for President Biden, climate change, congestion pricing, and more.

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