Next Round

This week on Next Round, we talk with Michael Mische, Associate Professor of the Practice of Management and Organization at the University of Southern California, about his new study showing just how much more Californians will pay at the pump for gas when two of the state's major refineries shut down operations in the coming years. Plus, Tim and Matt discuss the debate over the State and Local Tax Deduction in Congress and legislation to make it easier and cheaper to build housing.

This week, we present a special recording of a recent PRI webinar with Jason Riley, Manhattan Institute fellow and longtime Wall Street Journal columnist. Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI's Center for Education, interviews Jason about his new book, The Affirmative Action Myth (Basic Books).

PRI senior fellow in business and economics Dr. Wayne Winegarden joins us with his initial analysis of Gov. Newsom's May Revise budget proposal. Wayne shares his thoughts on Gov. Newsom's plan to close the state's $12 billion budget deficit, including controversial plans to expand Medi-Cal eligibility to the undocumented and how tariffs and the "one big, beautiful bill" being crafted in Congress will affect the state budget going forward.

Ben Austin, longtime politico who has worked in both Democrat and Republican administrations in California and Washington, DC and now founding director of Education Civil Rights Now - a national non-profit with the mission of establishing a constitutional right to a high-quality public education for all students - joins PRI's Matt Fleming and Lance Izumi to discuss the potential for policymakers to enact badly-needed education reforms in these highly polarized times in California and nationwide.

This week, we feature a special recording of our live webinar featuring PRI scholars and policy experts exploring key green topics being debated and discussed in Washington, DC and in the states – from Cap and Trade and gas and carbon taxes to green appliance mandates. Learn about the latest study from PRI detailing just how much the green transition in California will cost you – you'll grab on to your wallet when you hear the figure! Panelists include PRI's Dr. Wayne Winegarden and Todd Myers from the Washington Policy Center.

Sacramento Bee editorial page editor Marcos Bretón joins us to discuss the many challenges facing the City of Sacramento, including homelessness and the poor state of the city's public schools, along with opportunities like the Athletics playing in the city as its temporary home. They also discuss the struggles of legacy daily newspapers like the Bee to stay afloat in a changing media landscape, and the Bee's efforts to feature more conservative voices on its editorial pages.

This week, we present a special panel discussion from PRI's recent California Ideas in Action policy conference in Sacramento discussing whether there is a war on suburbia in California. Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut moderates a lively discussion of policy experts exploring the themes of the latest Free Cities Center booklet.

This week, we're joined by former Congressman, state legislator, state Director of Finance and constitutional law scholar Tom Campbell – rated as the top government waste fighter during his tenure in the House. We discuss the President's tariff proposals and the DOGE effort, whether Elon Musk's team is following the proper legal path to downsize government, what Congress' priorities should be in cutting government waste, and what state budget directors should be doing today to prepare for significantly less resources from Washington.

Parents, students, and taxpayers are growing increasingly frustrated by the inability of California's schools to educate our kids for the future, and they are even more frustrated

to learn why our schools are doing so badly – outdated and ineffective learning models. From PRI's 2025 Sacramento policy conference, hear a special presentation of a conversation between Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI's Center for Education, and Assembly Member Blanca Rubio, who is a leader in the nationwide bipartisan movement to change how we teach our kids reading and math.