Next Round

Our podcast this week is a recording of a Festschrift celebration with Charles Kesler, editor of the Claremont Review of Books and professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. A group of his former students came together to publish essays in his honor in the book Leisure with Dignity, edited by Glenn Ellmers and Michael Anton. PRI invited essayists in Leisure with Dignity to offer their reflections on Charles Kesler. This event took place in Newport Beach, California.

The PRI All Stars are back to hand out their annual year end awards to the biggest winners and losers of 2024. What were the year's best and worst ideas? What were the fairest and bummest wraps of the year? Who is destined for stardom and oblivion? Sit back and enjoy the honorees selected by the PRI All Stars, handed out in the style of the annual McLaughlin Group year-end awards.

Adam Abolfazli, Sacramento-area public high school student and author of the new book Permission to Fail, shares with us his firsthand view from the classroom on how recent changes in public education such as increased parent and student apathy toward the learning process and a lack of academic rigor, have been detrimental to student learning and negatively impact America's future. Plus, Tim and Ro discuss the special session called by Gov. Newsom to fight the incoming Trump administration.

Manhattan Institute fellow and director of policing and public safety Hannah Meyers joins us this week to discuss what's next for public safety policy in California after voter approval of Prop. 36 on retail theft. She also discusses her new paper on the impact of Prop. 47 on crime and drug abuse, "Not Taking Crime Seriously."

This week, Tevi Troy – acclaimed presidential historian, former White House aide and Deputy Secretary of Health, joins us to discuss his terrific new book, The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry. Plus Rowena and Tim discuss the latest Trump cabinet nominations, Gov. Newsom's plan to hand out even more electric vehicle subsidies, and preview PRI's 2024 Holiday Book List.

This week's guest is Dallas Lawrence, a communications pro who has worked at the highest levels of government, the military, and corporate America, who joins us to discuss his new book Communicating Under Fire. The book offers terrific advice for communications novices and PR pros alike on how to prepare and respond to communications crises that everyone will eventually face in our cancel culture era. Plus, Tim and Ro discuss President-elect Trump's cabinet appointments and Gavin Newsom ramping up his efforts to become the head of the liberal resistance against Donald Trump.

Now that the 2024 election is finally over, the PRI All Stars (Rowena Itchon, Tim Anaya, Lance Izumi and Kerry Jackson) share their thoughts on the election results. They discuss what went wrong for Kamala Harris, preview what policies we might see from an incoming Trump administration and break down Gavin Newsom's campaign fighting everything from the incoming administration. Plus, they share their way-too-early predictions for who the 2028 presidential nominees will be.

Our guest on this week's podcast is Norton Rainey, CEO of Ace Scholarships, an organization focused on securing financial support for low-income kids to attend great schools. We chat with Norton about their recent education survey of parents and their thoughts on school choice. We also discuss the many advancements of school choice across the states and the further challenges ahead.

PRI's All Stars – Lance Izumi, Kerry Jackson, Rowena Itchon, and Tim Anaya – are back with our usual preview of the 2024 presidential election. We preview what a potential President Harris or re-elected President Trump would do in their upcoming terms, discuss the key propositions including Prop. 36 on retail theft and Prop. 33 on rent control, and breakdown the hot House races in California and the campaigns you should be paying attention to but aren't. Stay tuned to the end to hear our Electoral College predictions.

With housing - including rent control and development policies – and homelessness key issues for voters across California this election year, we present an expanded version of our recent conversation between the Manhattan Institute's Judge Glock and our Steven Greenhut of PRI's Free Cities Center. The two discuss government housing mandates, NIMBY-ism, free market housing policy solutions, rent control and more. Plus, Ro and Tim discuss the latest developments in California and national politics including the controversy over Kamala Harris' "60 Minutes" interview and a major refinery announcing its closure just days after Gov. Newsom signs gas price supply legislation.