National Review's Radio Free California Podcast

By National ReviewNews Government Politics

Favorites
106
Followers
Typical duration
65 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

National Review's Radio Free California Podcast episodes

December 09, 2025Episode 421: Newsom to Dems: ‘Be More Normal’
Governor Gavin Newsom spent much of last week in New York City, criticizing Wall Street, Democrats, SEIU, and Trump at a New York Times books conference -- and then went begging for handouts in D.C. with predictable results. Back home in California, things got less normal. Music by Metalachi.
Email Us:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Follow Us:
@DavidBahnsen
@WillSwaim
@TheRadioFreeCA
Show Notes:
America 250: Presidential Message on the Anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine
Newsom Warns That Trump Is ‘Trying to Wreck This Country’
Newsom takes it to Wall Street
Gavin Newsom fires back after Halle Berry accuses him of ‘devaluing’ women
Halle Berry’s Respin Health
Newsom accuses Trump of wildfire aid snub
The Los Angeles Times Misses the Forest Fire Scandal for the Trees
To protect underage farmworkers, California expands oversight of field conditions
SFUSD escapes worst fiscal rating, but looming cuts and a strike threat cloud recovery
Source: S.F. General staff raised fears about troubled patient in weeks before fatal stabbing
DPH Security Services Staffing Plan Proposal
San Francisco sues nation's top food manufacturers over ultraprocessed foods
With state pushing back, Oakland delays vote on controversial homeless encampment policy
Students push for LBCC to ditch the Viking mascot, become the Dolphins

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr 4 min
December 03, 2025Episode 420: The Noise Behind Newsom’s Very Quiet Week
California Governor Gavin Newsom did almost nothing this week. But if you listen carefully, you can hear the state budget crashing and his erstwhile allies beginning to rebel. Bonus! Two hundred and seven years ago this month, a French-born pirate attacked California and broke the back of the Spanish empire. Music by Metalachi.
Email Us:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Follow Us:
@DavidBahnsen
@WillSwaim
@TheRadioFreeCA
Show Notes:
Gov. Newsom orders Capitol flags to fly at half-staff after Stockton birthday party shooting
Gavin Newsom Trolls Donald Trump’s MRI Scan With His Own Medical Memo
Newsom 2028: Hollywood Donors Start Lining Up Behind Expected White House Bid; “He’s A Fighter, That’s What We Need!”
Newsom’s 911 debacle is California’s latest failed tech adoption
Gov. Gavin Newsom reacts to ex-aide’s arrest — ‘real surprise and shock’
Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends
America’s AI future lies in the hands of California’s governor
What does CA’s dreary budget mean for state worker negotiations in 2026?
Should billionaires pay more? California unions want voters to decide
California Loses a Taxpayer Per Minute

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
54 min
November 24, 2025Episode 419: Low-Energy Gavin Newsom
California Policy Center policy genius Edward Ring discusses California’s coming energy crisis -- and why he sees signs of hope. Music by Metalachi.
Email Us:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Follow Us:
@DavidBahnsen
@WillSwaim
@TheRadioFreeCA
Show Notes:
The Belem-to-Bakersfield pipeline
New drilling and more spilling? New oil and gas drilling threatens Central Coast
Gas lines coming to California
Oil extraction reduces methane seepage
Silicon Valley’s growing anti-woke, pro-abundance rebellion
Edward Ring’s “Abundance California” website

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
41 min
November 20, 2025Episode 418: Totally Consistent Lunatics
Gavin Newsom runs into Brazilian protestors in the Amazon, while back home his former chief of staff faces federal charges that she stole millions. The U.S. DOJ sues California over Prop 50; Harmeet Dhillon promises to investigate Berkeley’s anti-Turning Point USA protest; and why unions love environmentalists. Music by Metalachi.
Email Us:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Follow Us:
@DavidBahnsen
@WillSwaim
@TheRadioFreeCA
Show Notes:
Big Ten's $2.4 billion private capital plan paused after Michigan, USC opposition
Keeping an AI bubble from hurting you
‘Buy the Dip’ Investors Save Stocks From a Brutal Week
Trump Backs Moratorium on State AI Regulation, Placing Him at Odds with GOP Governors
Gavin Newsom’s bad news day
Newsom's Former Chief, Described as 'Mob Boss' by Fellow Dem, Failed to Report $1.7 Million in Income
The Belem-to-Bakersfield pipeline
Trump administration sues California to invalidate Prop 50 maps ahead of 2026 midterms
DOJ investigation into Berkeley’s Turning Point protest sends warning to other colleges
'Nobody wants to be here': New Central Calif. mega development gets pushback
Sprinkler shock: Owners of S.F. high-rise condos stunned by $300K mandate
Sacramento Jesuit High alumni protest school’s ‘final’ decision to include girls

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr 21 min
November 11, 2025Episode 417: Laundering Lunacy
Following his big Prop 50 win last week, Governor Gavin Newsom hit the road, denouncing the Democrats’ deal to end the federal shutdown, accepting the thanks of worshipful Democrats in Houston, and appearing as the highest-ranking American representative at the U.N.’s climate talks in Brazil. In other news, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and OpenAI’s Sam Altman say they feel bad about making so much money, Santa Barbara County officials stand bravely athwart common sense and yell stop, and a federal judge orders AG Rob Bonta to explain himself on the state’s policies regarding gender fluidity in California schools. On this day in history, we remember the Rickenbackers of California -- the World War I flying ace and his guitar-making cousin. Music by Metalachi.
Email Us:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Follow Us:
@DavidBahnsen
@WillSwaim
@TheRadioFreeCA
Show Notes:
Newsom, Eyeing 2028, Tries to Mess With Texas: ‘Don’t Poke the Bear’
Newsom blasts shutdown deal
‘China gets it. America is toast,’ Newsom warns, blasting US climate drift
Newsom in Brazil Blasts Trump, Praises China
Sable’s no good, very bad week
OpenAI's Sam Altman defends Bay Area billionaire when grilled over wealth gap
OpenAI is asking for the federal government to help power a massive expansion of its data center network
Judge Orders California Education Officials to Explain Why They Shouldn’t Be Sanctioned
Sacramento: Charter school renewal denied by Sacramento school district. What comes next?

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
57 min
November 07, 2025 Episode 416: Prop. Fiddy (Emergency Episode!)
Jon Fleischman steps into this emergency episode to break down Governor Gavin Newsom's gangsta moves in pushing Proposition 50 over the finish line. In other news, we consider Representative Nancy Pelosi’s just-announced retirement, and the rise (again) of antisemitism. Music by Metalachi.
Email Us:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Follow Us:
@DavidBahnsen
@WillSwaim
@TheRadioFreeCA
Show Notes:
Jon Fleischman’s “So Does it Matter?” podcast

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
42 min
November 03, 2025Episode 415: Shafting Shafter
More than $100 billion over budget and five years late, Governor Newsom’s high-speed rail project has settled on a new strategy: shortcuts -- including one through the middle of Shafter, Calif. In other news: The secret life of NYC’s David Bahnsen, Newsom tells ABC’s Jonathan Karl he’s a border hawk, we remember the 1947 flight of Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose, and what Ronald Reagan said about tariffs that Ronald Reagan Presidential Library officials can’t remember. Music by Metalachi.
Email Us:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Follow Us:
@DavidBahnsen
@WillSwaim
@TheRadioFreeCA
Show Notes:
New York’s Golden Handcuffs: Why the City Has a Special Hold on the Rich
Trump Is Mad at Canada, but Not for Misquoting Reagan
Newsom says US faces '5-alarm fire' and warns 'we won't have a country'
The feds want to know more about the people on food stamps. How Newsom responded
Newsom Gives Trump’s Vanity Ballroom Brutal New Nickname
What is Gov. Gavin Newsom's role in the California Capitol Annex project?
Exxon sues California over new laws requiring corporate climate disclosures
California’s War on Oil Finally Prompts a Response
CA state retirement fund lost 71% of $468M put in clean energy, won’t say how
Why an entire Calif. town is standing up against the high-speed rail
Idaho official investigating Millbrae police chief over property tax break
Principal resigns after investigator finds Grindr app used to pursue sex with student

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr
October 28, 2025Episode 414: Did the New York Times Just End Scott Wiener?
State Senator Scott Wiener is angling for Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat but a New York Times magazine investigation links Wiener’s 2022 “Safer Streets for All Act” to a boom in the sex-trafficking of children in California. In other news: Newsom matches Trump in the theatrical use of National Guardsmen, the Los Angeles school teacher who called for armed resistance to immigration enforcement, the “Wealth Tax” makes a California comeback, and how I Love Lucy changed television and the world. Bonus: Lance Christensen discusses some 800 bills now turned into law, as Gavin Newsom force-feeds Californians already choking on regulation. Music by Metalachi.
Email Us:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Follow Us:
@DavidBahnsen
@WillSwaim
@TheRadioFreeCA
Show Notes:
Can Anyone Rescue the Trafficked Girls of L.A.’s Figueroa Street?
Newsom Says Trump Is ‘Rigging the Election’ With Federal Poll Monitors
Inside the Tech CEO Campaign to Stop Trump From Sending Troops to San Francisco
National Guard troops, deployed by Newsom, arrive at LA Regional Food Bank amid government shutdown
The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012 The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012
Los Angeles teacher says ICE agents are 'not the only ones with guns' following shooting of federal agent
Should billionaires pay more? California unions want voters to decide
The Force awakens in San Jose
Cash payments to unhoused people likely won't end homelessness, but recipients spent wisely, California study says
Phillips 66, Kinder plan first-ever California-bound fuel pipeline
Bill-O-Rama with Lance Christensen:
SB 414 (Ashby) – Regulating charter schools to death (cf AB 84, Muratsuchi) – VETOED
SB 848 (Perez) – Stop passing the trash teachers bill from the Senate Ed Chair – SIGNED
AB 1454 (Rivas) – Holding school districts accountable for literacy scores now that AB 1454 (Rivas) passed
AB 1370 (Patterson) – NDA prohibitions for the legislature (Zavala interview) – SIGNED
SB 237 (Grayson) – Allowing more oil drilling in CA – SIGNED
AB 1207 (Irwin) – Continuing cap and tax program – SIGNED
Is cap and tax slowly dying to accommodate need for massive increase in electrical production to provide for more AI, datacenter capacity? (CalMatter's piece)
AB 628: A Costly New Mandate For California Landlords – SIGNED
AB 1264 that eliminated ultra processed foods for kids, but is still gung-ho on sterilizing and mutilating them (Gov press release) – SIGNED

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr 30 min
October 23, 2025Episode 413: Newsom 2028!
He is among the nation’s very worst governors, but Gavin Newsom is among America’s most skillful politicians — and has the inside track on the race for the White House. In other news, bombs bursting in air (at the Marine Corps' anniversary celebration starring JD Vance), the California Faculty Association is ready to fight fascists (but first wants to know if you're a Jew), Nancy Pelosi is still alive (and maybe not a fan of State Senator Scott Wiener), and the Pioneer League's Ballers bring a baseball championship back to Oakland. Music by Metalachi.
Email Us:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Follow Us:
@DavidBahnsen
@WillSwaim
@TheRadioFreeCA
Show Notes:
Ballers bring home Oakland’s first baseball title since 1989
How military’s ‘safe’ plan to fire munitions over Interstate 5 went off the rails with CHP cruiser hit
National Guard deployed to help food banks amid federal shutdown, Newsom says
How Did California Spend Billions on Homelessness Only for It to Get Worse? Two New Criminal Cases Offer a Clue
Gavin Newsom, Pharma Baron
Pelosi succession intrigue in San Francisco
Scott Wiener is done waiting on Nancy Pelosi. He’s running in 2026, sources say
Federal Judge Certifies Class Action for All Parents and Teachers Opposing Gender Secrecy Rules
School spending surged. Academic achievement? Not so much
Newsom signs bill to prevent sex abuse in schools
Faculty union targets Jewish political money
State Supreme Court declines to hear West Covina’s appeal in ex-fire chief’s wrongful termination case

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
1 hr 6 min
October 14, 2025Episode 412: Porter Potty
David and Will consider gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter’s trouble with humans and the prospect of co-parenting your kids with Governor Gavin Newsom. Music by Metalachi.
Email Us:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Follow Us:
@DavidBahnsen
@WillSwaim
@TheRadioFreeCA
Show Notes:
How Berkeley Became the First City to Ditch Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples Day
Sonoma State president on leave for ‘insubordination’ after supporting anti-Israel boycott, divestment
A California Campus Brings Anti-Israel Activism to Its Jewish Studies Program
Violence erupts at UCLA as protests over Israel's war in Gaza escalate across the U.S.
Confrontation erupts at dinner for law students at UC Berkeley dean’s home
‘Get out of my f--king shot’: Katie Porter tears into staffer in newly released video
Katie Porter targeted ‘softer spoken’ underlings for abuse, was ‘downright mean’, ex-staffer warns voters
Newsom’s Forced-Density Fix Won’t Solve California’s Housing Crisis
Newsom signs controversial bill letting relatives care for kids if parents are deported
Marking World Mental Health Day, Governor Newsom signs AB 727 to make mental health resources more accessible to LGBTQ youth
California Assembly Looks to Hand Children to Traffickers and Gender Activists
Governor Newsom signs bill expanding fuel options to cut gas prices
Oil prices prediction: Brent, U.S. crude crash to lowest since May. Experts predict what to expect
‘Slap in the face’: Marc Benioff’s Trump turn stuns San Francisco
Benioff appears to back off calls to send National Guard to SF, but sparks response from Musk
Arts Uproars: Open, Shut, Fired, Down for the Count, and Nowhere to Be Found

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
58 min

About National Review's Radio Free California Podcast

From the publisher's feed

A show about the perilous state of the Golden State—and what that means for you, wherever you live. California is the hothouse lab of the Left, the nation-state creating the statist policies, art, and…