8/14/19--A new co-host joins us in the bunker this week. That's right, folks, Steve's on vacation and the Politico Massachusetts Playbook composer Stephanie Murray is busting up the joint.

She broke the story on the puzzling, anonymous live caller poll circling around the commonwealth a few weeks ago, pitting Senator Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III in a hypothetical Senate race that Kennedy never announced he would entertain. There's news on that front as a group has emerged pushing for Kennedy to do just that. They did not say that they conducted the poll, only that they were "inspired" by it.

Then, it's time to talk about the ever-tenuous relationship between Governor Baker and the MassGOP. Tensions reached a high point when a disagreement broke out over who gets access to donor data. This all culminated in a postponement of a fundraiser, wherein MassGOP chair Jim Lyons and Baker were set to raise funds side by side.

Today's first guest is Boston Globe reporter Milton Valencia, who breaks down the recent events that haven't been kind to Boston Mayor Martin Walsh's administration -- namely, the verdict convicting two of his aides for extorting a concert promoter into hiring union labor, and the backlash surrounding Operation Clean Sweep.

Next, joining the hosts remotely is Jeff Gross, formerly of the MIRA Coalition, to discuss a budget provision aimed at increasing the number of physicians able to provide care for underserved communities. To do this, the commission will look at the extremely difficult process that foreign-trained medical professionals must undergo to obtain a license to practice in the United States. The goal is to make that process less obstructive so that more doctors can be licensed to work here in the commonwealth, and serve those communities needing physicians.