National Review's Radio Free California Podcast

California’s Civil Rights Department finds no wrongdoing at computer-game maker Activision Blizzard -- but still wins a $54 million settlement. Gavin Newsom warns all state agencies to stop spending ahead of a looming budget crisis. We celebrate two San Francisco anniversaries: the birth in 1916 of horror writer Shirley Jackson and the 20th anniversary of Gavin Newsom’s first ten-year plan to eliminate homelessness. Music by Metalachi.

Fresno officials raise the Palestinian flag -- and this question: Should city officials really intervene on outside issues? Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers is a win for the tax man. Kevin McCarthy steps out of the House and into a flaming bag of poop of his own creation. Biden throws Newsom half a lifeline on California’s disastrous high-speed-rail project. Is that Kamala Harris’s gas stove? Looking back at Thomas Starr King, the golden-throated orator of 1860s California. Music by Metalachi.

Newsom shuts down the public Christmas tree lighting ceremony for fears of anti-Israel protests, faces a $58 billion budget deficit, and (if columnist Joe Mathews is right) may have a road to the White House in 2024. Also: Income-based utility bills are coming, the University of California erupts over calls to confront antisemitism, and Oakland’s teacher union proposes a new reading curriculum it calls “‘I’ is for Intifada.” Music by Metalachi.

Will breaks down the raucous Newsom–DeSantis debate with help from California Policy Center’s Lance Christensen and Representative Kevin Kiley. Music by Metalachi.

California Democrats’ state convention closed early after anti-Israel demonstrators crashed the party. LA mayor Karen Bass celebrates Gavin Newsom’s ability to “manage the world” while reopening the fire-damaged Santa Monica Freeway. Moving from Alameda County to Vegas, the Oakland A’s run from -- and directly into -- union trouble. Illegal immigrants literally risk life and limb to come to a country progressives hate. How the Biden administration made California’s water crisis worse, and how Barack Obama wrecked the San Gabriel Mountains. Music by Metalachi.

In this special Thanksgiving week episode, David and Will discuss your questions about Donald Trump, what football fandom can teach us about California politics, Gavin Newsom’s affection for surveilling the public, the politics of immigration, and how to “save” the Golden State. Music by Metalachi.

Defense attorneys say Paul Pelosi’s attacker was motivated by far-right conspiracy theories. San Francisco bathes before dinner with Xi. A secret history of rebuilding the Santa Monica Freeway. New poll shows Biden and Newsom tanking among California Democrats. What to make of anti-Israel violence outside Los Angeles’s Museum of Tolerance. Music by Metalachi.

California governor Gavin Newsom returned from China with a renewed enthusiasm for social-scoring Californians, ushering in a new world of cleanliness and order. The meanings of Sam Bankman-Fried and John Eastman. California’s Unhappy Meal. Music by Metalachi.

Richmond, Calif., continues its slide toward bankruptcy, but city officials still found the time to condemn Israel for “ethnic cleansing.” Why property insurers are fleeing California. A mystery city is arising east of the Bay. Federal agents arrest the owner of the secret Chinese lab in Reedley. Why parent notification in schools matters. The truth about “low teacher-pay.” Music by Metalachi.

Governor Gavin Newsom travels to China. Representative Tom McClintock unleashes a parody bomb on the House that Gaetz unbuilt. U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler’s former employer still hasn’t returned Sam Bankman-Fried’s dirty, dirty money. Surprise: Stanford prof says there’s no such thing as free will. The Sacramento Bee says poverty hurts the poor. San Francisco mayor London Breed asking the “conservative Supreme Court” to help solve her city’s homeless crisis. Los Angeles DA George Gascon doesn’t want illegal migrants to work. Bonus: Celebrating 70 years of Ray Bradbury’s 'Fahrenheit 451.' Music by Metalachi.