Inside the Issues: The Podcast

This is an encore episode. To listen to the original podcast from Dec. 17, 2021, click here.

Republicans talk in headlines, Democrats speak in fine print, so how can those on the Left do a better job of messaging?

Last December, Ben Meiselas, host of "The MeidasTouch" podcast, joined us to talk about creating an effective political message and why many Democrats are lousy at it.

Plus, Rep. Katie Porter shared her approach for selling the American public on the Build Back Better Act.

Get in Touch

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

In this Episode

• Watch Rep. Katie Porter break down the Build Back Better Act
• Watch the Let's Go Brandon video

This is an encore episode. To listen to the original podcast from Sept. 3, 2021, click here.

In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Assemblyman Rob Bonta to the role of California Attorney General after Xavier Becerra was confirmed as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Bonta sprung into action in his first hundred days by combating hate incidents against the Asian American Pacific Islander Community and cracking down on privately owned prisons and immigration detention centers. Bonta joined "SoCal in 17" to discuss these actions and what he sees as his role as California's first Filipino attorney general.

Get in Touch

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

In this Episode

• Rob Bonta on Twitter: @RobBonta and @AGRobBonta

This is an encore episode. To listen to the original podcast from Oct. 1, 2021, click here.

Last fall, after weeks of speculation, Rep. Karen Bass made it official she was running to be the next mayor of Los Angeles.

At the time, she joined us to share why.

Find out more about just how deep her LA roots go and why she almost did not get into politics at all. Plus, we discuss what went wrong with the bipartisan police reform bill she co-authored and Congress failed to pass.

Get in Touch

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

This is an encore episode. To listen to the original podcast from Feb. 4, 2022, click here.

As tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine, we're bringing you a conversation with Russia expert Dr. Fiona Hill, who dives into her experience working in the Trump administration and what it was like to testify before Congress on Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Hill recently penned a memoir called "There is Nothing for You Here," where she reveals a lot about her life, work and how gender has played into her career in politics.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

This is an encore episode. To listen to the original podcast from July 30, 2021, click here.

This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia duked it out on Twitter over vaccines.

Find out why politicians thrive on spewing COVID-19 falsehoods and why regular Joes are using codewords like Maxine instead of vaccine and Moana instead of Moderna with former White House COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt.

The "In the Bubble" podcast host explains why he's not too concerned about vaccinated folks getting COVID-19 and why requiring vaccinations or regular testing for city and state employees is the right move right now.

GET IN TOUCH

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

IN THIS EPISODE

• Andy Slavitt's twitter: @aslavitt
• Watch the video Andy and Alex discuss
• A list of code words people use to discuss vaccines without being flagged
• In the Bubble podcast
• Gov. Newsom and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Twitter feud

This is an encore episode. To listen to the original episode from March 11, 2022, click here.

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Adam McKay is with us to talk about his latest film "Don't Look Up" and how life imitated art, which imitated life. The man behind the "Anchorman" franchise also opens up about his beef with broadcast news and how he thinks it could be better.

Get in Touch

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

As a filmmaker, mother of four and wife of California's governor, Jennifer Siebel Newsom knows a thing or two about trying to balance work and family. Her new documentary "Fair Play" looks at the imbalanced gender dynamic that exists in many American households and the toll it takes on our society. The first partner joins host Alex Cohen to discuss the film, her own personal experiences in this realm and her thoughts on Roe v. Wade.

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

• Follow Jennifer Siebel Newsom on Twitter: @JenSiebelNewsom
• "Fair Play" website: https://www.fairplaylife.com/documentary

As the House Committee on Jan. 6 wraps up its fifth public hearing, we're joined by member Adam Schiff of Burbank. The Democrat breaks down what the goals of the committee are and how they hope to get there.

Plus, Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State University, San Bernardino, discusses the role of groups like the Proud Boys and the Oathkeepers and why their rhetoric resonates so strongly in places like Southern California.

Get in Touch

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

In this Episode

• Find the January 6th Committee on Twitter at: @January6thCmte
• Find Rep. Adam Schiff on Twitter at: @RepAdamSchiff
• Find Brian Levin on Twitter at: @proflevin

This Father's Day weekend, we talk about dads and how they are portrayed on television with Geena Davis. Her Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media recently published a new report titled "This is US? How TV Does and Doesn't Get Men's Caregiving."

Davis explains why Hollywood needs to do better than bumbling dads like Homer Simpson.

Plus, local writer and mom Suzanne Barston sheds light on the long-standing debate over formula feeding and why it's getting more heated as formula has been scarce.

Get in Touch

Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

In this Episode

• Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media: @GeenaDavisOrg
• Suzanne Barston's book, "Bottled Up"

One big night with so many contests — this week, voters cast their choices on dozens of political contests with huge implications for California's future. We break down the results with "Inside Golden State Politics" host Sherry Bebitch Jeffe and CalMatters reporter Ben Christopher.

Get in Touch Want to ask Alex a question?

• Visit the SoCal in 17 page
• On Twitter using hashtag #SOCALIN17 or her handle @alexcoheninla

In this Episode

• Find Sherry Bebitch Jeffe on Twitter: @sbjusc
• Find Ben Christopher on Twitter: @FromBenC