Next Round

Kenneth Green, Ph.D., PRI Senior Fellow in Environment, discusses the recent California wildfires, the state’s climate change policies, what he thinks about presidential candidate Joe Biden’s environmental agenda, as well as Pres. Trump’s performance on energy and environmental issues.

If you’ve ever had a medical procedure and received a large bill from your hospital because, unknown to you, one of your doctors was not in your insurance network – that’s the subject of this podcast. PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden discusses his recently released study on “Surprise Medical Billing.” He explains how it happens, why it happens, and the reforms that could prevent it.

PRI’s former speechwriters (Rowena Itchon, Lance Izumi and Tim Anaya) review the 2020 Republican National Convention.  They discuss how the convention dealt with outside events taking over the headlines, analyze the party’s use of real people versus big names, and weigh in on whether the Democrats or Republicans had a more effective “virtual convention.”  And, of course, they break down the big convention speeches, including those by Kevin McCarthy, Mike Pompeo, Kimberly Guilfoyle, the Trump Kids, Melania Trump, Mike Pence, and President Trump.

PRI’s former speechwriters (Rowena Itchon, Lance Izumi, and Tim Anaya) discuss the highs and lows of the first virtual convention in American history.  We share our thoughts on the key highlights from the -2020 Democratic convention, including John Kasich, Bernie Sanders, Michele Obama, Hillary Clinton, Jill Biden, Barack Obama – and, of course, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.  Stay tuned because you may be surprised by some of our takes on the convention’s big speeches.

This week’s podcast is a special presentation of PRI’s recent Young Leaders’ Circle webinar, which brought together distillery owners, craft brewers, and licensing experts to examine the impact that COVID-19 has had on the production of our favorite cocktails and beers.  The craft beer and distillery industry has seen incredible disruption, with states and counties opening and closing breweries almost overnight. California, like many other states, has adjusted its alcohol distribution and regulations to allow breweries and distilleries easier access to customers. Are these regulations working? Are there any changes needed? What does the rest of 2020 look like? Should temporary regulatory relief be made permanent?

The Hon. Dan Kolkey – former legal advisor to Gov. Wilson, former appeals court justice, and PRI board member – joins us to discuss how this year’s key public policy issues, such as the state’s response to COVID-19, the housing crisis, and efforts to prevent mass power outages during this year’s fire season, are being impacted by the courts.  He also discusses how the Attorney General is putting his thumb on the scale for several November ballot initiatives with biased titles and summaries.

R Street Institute’s Steven Greenhut returns for his annual look at the year’s legislative session in Sacramento.  We discuss how the Legislature and Governor have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising social unrest, a $54 billion budget deficit, and worsening homeless and housing crises.  He also looks ahead to November at what he calls the “scary propositions” that voters will decide, and previews his soon-to-be released PRI book on California water policy, Winning the Water Wars.

PRI Senior Fellow in Tech and Innovation Bartlett Cleland joins us to discuss the California Consumer Privacy Act, which took effect on July 1. He discusses the serious flaws with the new law and how it will impact consumers and business owners, looks ahead to November when voters would have a chance to enact an even tougher law in Proposition 24, shares the ideal free market version of a privacy law, and talks about how COVID-19 has affected technology and data privacy.

PRI senior fellow in health care studies Dr. Henry Miller gives us an update on what scientists are learning about COVID-19 and the progress in finding a vaccine.  He also weighs in on whether schools should be reopening this fall, gives his thoughts on what the Trump administration is doing good and bad in fighting the pandemic, and offers advices on how we can reduce our chances of getting the coronavirus.

This podcast is a special rebroadcast of a recent webinar featuring Damon Dunn, PRI fellow in business and economics, discussing his new book Punting Poverty:  Breaking the Chains of Welfare.  The former collegiate and pro football player turned entrepreneur pushes back against the universal basic income movement, calling it “fool’s gold that does not even attempt to offer economic empowerment.”