Next Round

This week's podcast is a special presentation of our recent webinar following the Supreme Court's recent decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, moderated by Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut. Go inside the historic decision with Theane Evangelis, partner with Gibson Dunn who represented Grants Pass before the Supreme Court and Erik Jaffe, PRI adjunct fellow in legal studies and partner with Schaerr | Jaffe who authored PRI's amicus brief in the case. PRI senior fellow in business and economics Dr. Wayne Winegarden discusses what cities and counties can now do to address homelessness in their communities following the ruling. PRI board member The Hon. Dan Kolkey gives opening remarks.

Gov. Newsom recently ordered homeless encampments on property under the state's jurisdiction to be cleared due to the Grants Pass Supreme Court decision that ruled that it is not cruel and unusual punishment to forbid people from camping on public property. This podcast is an audio version of Free Cities Center director Steve Greenhut's interview with Erica Sandberg, a freelance journalist and frequent commentator on San Francisco's homeless crisis.

This week, PRI's former speechwriters (Rowena Itchon, Lance Izumi, and Tim Anaya) give their take on the Republican National Convention. They analyze former President Trump's speech, given just a few days after an assassination attempt. They also discuss vice presidential candidate JD Vance's speech and weigh in on how well the other speakers at the convention set up the GOP for the fall campaign.

Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI's Center for Education, joins us to discuss his latest book The Great Classroom Collapse, which investigates the implosion of rigor and learning in America's schools. He shares the stories of some of the parents, teachers, and policymakers he profiles in the book and discusses what can be done to improve classroom learning and give all students a greater opportunity for a successful future.

Longtime Sacramento lobbyist and college professor Chris Micheli joins us to discuss his new book, The Complete Practical Guide to California Government. They discuss areas of state government that need reform, recent controversies over the use of non-disclosure agreements in the legislative process and whether efforts to enact tax and spending reform will ever succeed. Plus Tim and Ro discuss the controversy over Gavin Newsom's aborted effort to have legislators place an alternate Prop. 47 reform measure on the November ballot and President Biden's attempts the limit the damage after his disastrous debate performance.

Who won? Who helped themselves the most in the polls? PRI's team of former speechwriters - Rowena Itchon, Lance Izumi, and Tim Anaya - analyze the First 2024 Presidential Debate. They discuss President Biden's shockingly poor performance and whether President Trump learned his lessons from his 2020 debate mistakes, plus they grade the candidates' answers on immigration, the economy, foreign policy and more.

Our guest this week is Charles Kesler, one of the nation's most prominent political philosophers. He teaches government at Claremont McKenna and is the editor of the Claremont Review of Books. Prof. Kesler's former students have produced a book celebrating his work entitled: "Leisure with Dignity: Essays in Celebration of Charles R. Kesler." We'll let him explain the title.

Dr. Matt Beech, director of the Center for British Politics at the University of Hull and senior fellow at UC Berkeley's Institute of European Studies, is back with a preview of the upcoming UK elections on July 4. We discuss the major contenders and their platforms, what kind of prime minister Keir Starmer would be if elected, how the lingering effects of Brexit will impact the vote, and whether the "special relationship" between the US and the UK will be impacted by who is elected on July 4.

Partner in Schaerr-Jaffe and PRI fellow in legal studies Erik Jaffe joins us this week for his annual preview of the decisions in the hot cases that will be handed down by the Supreme Court this month. Lance Izumi and Erik discuss how the Court may rule on President Trump's immunity claims and the remaining legal issues following the Dobbs ruling. They also talk about cases PRI is particularly interested in, such as the Grants Pass case concerning the power of local governments to address homeless encampments.

Join us for a special episode featuring a speech by Newsweek opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon at a recent PRI luncheon in San Francisco. Ms. Ungar-Sargon discussed her latest book, "Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America's Working Men and Women." Also, Ro and Tim discuss the legislature's recent House of Origin deadline, including legislation on retail theft, homework, and legalizing drinking alcohol on city sidewalks.