National Review's Radio Free California Podcast

In pursuit of “clean” energy, Gavin Newsom has become the world’s leading lithium-mining pitchman. Dianne Feinstein represents California’s future. California legislature moves forward on a bill to penalize Covid-related “misinformation.” Don’t hassle Mike Tyson in San Francisco, and don’t push Florida governor Ron DeSantis into a corner -- even if you’re the world’s largest entertainment corporation. Bonus! Lance Christensen answers the question on everyone’s mind: Why would a conservative run for California’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Music by Metalachi.

San Francisco-based Yelp announces it’ll pay for employees to travel to California for abortions. In Newsom News: how the governor wins if Dianne Feinstein is found “mentally unfit for office” and why he spends so much time bashing red states. Disney gears up for its war on Florida with a key new hire. Parents force state legislators to abandon Covid-vaccine mandates for kids. Kamala Harris is just a regular guy who plays Wordle. We mark the passing of Art Rupe, music-biz genius, free-market advocate, Californian. Music by Metalachi.

Thirty-six years ago this month, Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel. Biden nominates a Pelosi staffer to the SEC. Chuck Schumer declares that L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti unfit to serve as U.S. ambassador to India. A state bill legalizing infanticide (or “pregnancy loss”) moves closer to approval. Every time Gavin Newsom says “clean energy,” another eagle loses its wings. New study shows that Florida outperformed California on Covid. California’s math wars get ugly. Inside Black Lives Matter’s Los Angeles mansion. Music by Metalachi.

Despite his abject failures, Governor Gavin Newsom will be the Democrat’s presidential nominee in 2024. The Sacramento shootout leads to calls for more gun regulation in the most tightly regulated state in the nation. Representative Maxine Waters tells angry people in L.A. to “go home.” Newsom’s clampdown on oil produces more pollution than all of California’s vehicles combined. Will Elon Musk bring free speech to Twitter? Fresh off a campaign to shut California’s parents out of public ed, California School Boards Association is moving to Washington, D.C. Bonus! Celebrate the 162th anniversary of the Pony Express. Music by Metalachi.

VP Kamala Harris goes missing, but eyewitnesses place her in Mississippi and the Caribbean. State senator Scott Wiener (D., Crazy Town) says he has learned the lesson of unintended consequences. Rumors of Walt Disney’s cryogenically frozen head turn out to be true: Woke activists are seen wearing it. California’s reparations commission rules 5-4 on the identity of black people. Straight people not welcome in Palm Springs and West Hollywood. Unnamed Assembly Democrats kidnap Kevin Kiley’s gas-tax reduction bill, stuff it full of tax hikes, approve it. Music by Metalachi.

A Russian parliamentarian says the U.S. must return all properties “stolen” from Russia, including a sliver of Sonoma County once defended by Russian artillery. How Disney fumbled its response to Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill. Progressives open a new line of attack on attempts to ban critical race theory in K–12 schools. A new state law will force health insurers to pay all abortion costs. Even if you don’t buy gas, Governor Newsom has a gas-tax rebate for you too. Will massive fraud kill California’s community-college system? More evidence that fellow Democrats are Kamala Harris’s most dangerous political threat. Music by Metalachi.

David and Will go Jacques Derrida on “The California Way,” Newsom’s State of the State address. Kamala Harris motivational posters. Disney is outraged by Florida’s education bill but silent on the catastrophe in California’s public schools. Teamsters join Sonoma County teachers on the picket line. A federal judge tells Santa Clara County officials to lay off an anti-masking church. Bonus: The origins of Sebastopol, California -- involving Russians, the Crimean War, and a boiled chicken. Music by Metalachi.

VP Kamala Harris reaches new depths of shallow. Governor Gavin Newsom demands an end to state pension investments in Russia but is silent on California’s contribution to America’s reliance on foreign oil. Hastings Law prof urges students to shout down visiting lecturer Ilya Shapiro. California’s reparations commission is struggling to figure out who’s black. Democrats love democracy but not in the state’s largest government union. San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin teams up with super friend (and state Senator) Scott Wiener to draft a law for a problem that has occurred precisely once. Music by Metalachi.

Fresh from Munich, Kamala Harris returns to the forced-union campaign that made her famous. Hawthorne-based SpaceX aids Ukraine. Representative Tom McClintock says woke initiatives have undermined U.S. national security. An amazing new state Senate bill threatens U.S. energy security even as it imperils government retirement programs. Progressives nationwide learned the wrong lessons from their failed attempt at state-run health care in California. How a Santa Ana cop may bring down state finances. California’s parents give public schools and teachers' unions failing grades. Music by Metalachi.

What the hell is Kamala Harris doing? Does Gavin Newsom recognize his hypocrisy on gun rights? Are California’s dogs and cats people too? Why does California need a law to criminalize crime? What’s the real meaning of San Francisco’s ground-shaking school-board recall? Is the L.A. teachers union the only group that hasn’t gotten the memo on defunding the police? Can government cure homelessness? Why does a balloon illustrate the problems of Palo Alto’s climate-change initiatives? Also: Remembering the Japanese naval bombardment of Santa Barbara 80 years ago this week. Bonus track! Will talks with Orange County Board of Education president Mari Barke about her board’s legal effort to end Gavin Newsom’s emergency authority. Music by Metalachi.