National Review's Radio Free California Podcast

Senator Scott Wiener’s bid to raise bridge tolls has inflamed his more radical colleagues -- and reveals Gavin Newsom’s weakness on the budget he claims to master. In other news: Kamala Harris’s latest reputation rehab, LeBron’s experimental public school is an air ball, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass’s affection for police unions, state lawmakers consider a new tax to support striking workers, and David celebrates the death of the Pac-12. Music by Metalachi.

Cal Policy Center’s Lance Christensen talks with Will about CPC’s State Bar complaint against Attorney General Rob Bonta, Gavin Newsom’s theatrical call for a federal constitutional convention to amend the Second Amendment, Joe Biden’s Kamala Problem, and the role of Mormons in California’s founding. Bonus: Why Lance believes California has become Pinocchio’s children’s utopia, Pleasure Island, a place in which everything -- "cake, pie, dill pickles, and ice cream!” -- is free. Music by Metalachi.

A Los Angeles judge was ready to sentence Torey Lanez for shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion when he ran into an obstacle: a new California law that limits evidence of “creative expression” that might harm black defendants. The meaning of a DeSantis/Newsom debate on Fox. LA County health director Barbara Ferrer leveraged her connection to Representative Adam Schiff to silence her critics on Twitter. The Oakland NAACP demands more cops and an end to soft prosecutors. Gavin Newsom signs a new climate agreement with Chinese officials who have no intention of keeping their side of the deal. We celebrate 60 years of Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and the remarkable rise of attorney Charles Ogletree. Music by Metalachi.

David and Will discuss new revelations from the political scandal taking down Anaheim, and consider the impact of the state GOP’s new formula for presidential-delegate selection. China pulls out of the Paris climate agreement, leaving Governor Gavin Newsom naked and afraid. Bonus: Pee-wee Herman’s death reveals a story of heroism. State regulators say there’s no chance they’ll hit Newsom’s climate goals. Representative Kevin Kiley (R., Rocklin) wants to ban sanctuary states and cities. Music by Metalachi.

Vice President Kamala Harris thinks she’s found the ticket to her political resuscitation in Florida’s new history curriculum. San Francisco State University political scientist Aaron Belkin leads the progressive effort to destroy the Supreme Court, but only while the Court maintains its conservative majority. California’s population is likely to stagnate through 2060 -- bad news for the economy. Gavin Newsom’s war on parent-led school boards spreads statewide. San Francisco’s bittersweet relationship to the late Tony Bennett. Bonus: Will talks with Chris Micheli, lobbyist, attorney, law professor, and expert on the California legislature. Music by Metalachi.

How California’s lefties understand child sex trafficking (hint: It’s a fable crafted by the right). The murdering Menendez Bros. say they deserve a second shot at freedom. U.S. Senate candidate Katie Porter would prefer you forget her work for a "big bank." Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” goes country -- and some progressives are outraged. The Ninth Circuit sentences homeless people to miserable lives on the street. Music by Metalachi.

Guest host Lance Christensen helps Will break down the breakdown in the California Democratic Party over matters of race, crime, and punishment. Music by Metalachi.

Governor Gavin Newsom says recent decisions reveal the Supreme Court’s “willingness to bend the Constitution to favor conservative views.” Vanity Fair asks whether anyone can fix California. Bonus! Will celebrates the birth on July 4, 1883, of San Francisco’s Rube Goldberg. Music by Metalachi.

In this super-fast episode, David and Will discuss the underlying problem of California’s dysfunction: Californians. In other news, the Los Angeles teachers union’s recent strike produced a contract that will lead directly to the firing of 2,000 teachers. Hackers breached California’s -- and the nation’s -- largest government pension funds. The city council of Los Angeles can’t do anything right, so it’ll move into banking. Oakland’s eviction ban is crushing landlords who look an awful lot like the people progressives say they want to help. On June 30, 1864, during one of the darkest periods of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln secured Yosemite as a public park.

Conservative state senator Scott Wilk has seen a lot in eleven years in the statehouse, but now he’s telling families it’s time to “flee” the Golden State. The Los Angeles Dodgers honor anti-Catholic drag queens, but God -- and the San Francisco Giants -- get the last word. During a swing through the Bay Area, Joe Biden brags that American taxpayers will help fund California climate initiatives. State lawmakers are still working to overturn California’s ban on affirmative-action policies. Good News Bonus: Will talks with National Right to Work Foundation attorney Bill Messenger about the San Diego charter school whose faculty beat the powerful California Teachers Association. Music by Metalachi.