Our House: The Capitol Project Podcast

Four people take us on their emotional journey through the landscape of government. How do you manage the personal toll that comes with trying to make change? 

Part 2 Guests: Michael Quadrozzi and Cheniqua Johnson 

1:32: Introduction to Michael Quadrozzi 
5:18: Recently, you've been more cynical. Can you describe how your feelings have shifted?
9:58: Introduction to Cheniqua Johnson 
20:02: Have you ever had a moment in your career where you thought I cannot? 
22:42: Do you have advice for younger people wanting to find their place to affect change? 
24:02: Conclusion 

Four people take us on their emotional journey through the landscape of government. How do you manage the personal toll that comes with trying to make change?

Part 1 guests: Jamie McGeathy and Blanca Martinez 

7:50: Introduction to Jamie McGeathy
8:10: What did you do to answer your own questions about state government?
11:45: What did you do with your frustration about lack of access to information? 
14:07: Now how do you feel about it all?
15:35: Introduction to Blanca Martinez
14:46: Was there a particular moment in which you realized you wanted to work in public policy?
18:50: How did you first get involved?
21:30: Who did you learn from in terms of how to affect change?
24:25: What were the lessons you learned about how to navigate the state capitol and structures of power? 
28:14: Did you feel like you were able to be effective? 
30:58: What sent you in a different direction from working at the legislature?
38:21: How do you show up for public policy today? 
41:20 Do you have anything else to share about the idea of how we find our place and stick to it? 

We brought three people together to discuss the recent legislative wins around reforming the incarceration system, but the conversation becomes much deeper. These guests share insight on how to build a loving, stable, successful, sustainable community within the most difficult circumstances. Guests: Justin Terrell, Raymond Dehn and Brother Shane Price 

0:00- Intros
13:39- Can you say a little bit about the context of POP, the Power of People Personal Development and Leadership Institute?
21:19- How do you humanize the people that have had a dehumanizing myth told about them for so long?
33:22- What were the key pieces that lined up this year to get things done?
50:30- How do you find shared purpose to get things done, when everyone has their own ideas? 
54:15- What advice would you give someone just starting out? 

The second act of the play you've heard in the podcast. Find out where the Capitol's newest employee ends up, as she navigates change, relationships, power, history, information and so much more at the Minnesota State Capitol.  

Listen to the first act of the play you've heard referenced so many times in the podcast:  While a chorus of activists, legislators, lobbyists, civil servants, and tour guides attempt to get their way, an idealistic new employee finds herself at the center of an unexpected controversy. Misunderstandings and mistaken identity lead to a crash course in the realities that both constrain and inspire the men and women who have devoted themselves to public service (inside a building brimming with idealism, cynicism, absurdity, significance, and power—plus more than a few old ghosts who have something to say).

What does it feel like to be the pieces on the game board rather than the players? Two activists who advocate from outside the system remind us that its the community that matters. Guests: Monica Hurtado and Vina Kay 

0:00 Introductions 
3:08 How is the reality of working at the capitol different than what you were taught?7:16 Do you have a story that about a time decision makers didn’t have the full picture? 15:12 What barriers make the capitol inaccessible?
24:00 Can you share a story about the abundance mindset, and how one community being raised up helps another?
34:34 Are the barriers themselves explicitly racist or white supremacist or are they just, they just happen to work well to protect a system that will began white supremacist?37:44 What keeps you coming back to this work? 
41:06 Do you think it’s good to agitate people? 
43:11 What do you see in Minnesota 20, 50 years from now? 

Follow the 40 year journey of one piece of legislation about adoption and how it finally got passed this year! Guests: Gregory Luce and Penelope Needham 

0:00 Introductions
4:26 How did you think this process was going to work when you first started advocating at the Capitol?
9:00 How do you work to fight a dominant narrative that you want legislators to unlearn? 
10:39 Who in this process had power to be helpful? 
11:34 Can you say more about the time when you came close, but it fell apart? 
19:14 How do you keep showing up? Can you talk about your emotional journey with this? 
23:12 How are relationships a part of what makes this happen? Are they authentic? 
26:25 Is there advice you’d give yourself when you were first starting out? 
29:54 Is there work ahead about overseeing the implementation of this bill? 

If you learn nothing else about Minnesota state government, learn this: Relationships, relationships, relationships! Guests: John Apitz and Henry Jimenez 

0:00 Introductions
4:16 How did your relationship with the Capitol start? 
7:50 Over the length of your work, how have you stayed engaged? 
14:43 Throughout your career, how have you come to understand how important relationships are to the work that you do?
26:40 In your respective roles, where do you see the potential for access becoming more equitable? Is the culture shifting? 
35:17 How have you learned to be more effective? Are you getting better at the work? 
46:48 Information is power. Where do you get your information? How do you learn?51:04 Any words of advice you’ wish you’d gotten in the beginning?

Though not officially part of state government, the press play an essential role. The information they traffic in can make things happen. Guests: Briana Bierschbach and Lori Sturdevant 

0:00 Introductions
2:30 How did you begin your careers at the capitol? 
10:08 Why are reporters the “least cynical” people in the building? 
11:32 How do you determine what is news and what isn’t?
16:04 Do you have a story about a time when your work has made a difference? 
22:55 What are things that work to make a difference, other than money? 
28:40 What pushes you to cover an issue? 
29:45 Have you seen a lot of change in the culture of the capitol?
35:19 How do you navigate covering what legislators want to show, versus what’s actually happening? 
38:40 Omnibus bills 
42:12 Is there a story you wish you had written, but weren’t able to? 
44:56 What makes your job difficult? How could it be better? 

In some ways the state capitol is like theater. In other ways, it really IS theater. Guests: Sam Fettig and Jim Schowalter 

0:00- Introductions 
5:25 Do you remember a moment when you were younger when something with your work went differently than you expected it to? 
8:06 How are hierarchies important in the capitol? 
15:10 When working in communications, are you really a spin doctor? 
21:29 If people are confused by the performance, how do you recommend they can find out what’s really happening? 
24:45 Do you remember a moment that clarified for you what was important at the capitol? 
30:14 Is the conflict performative? 
41:25 How do you personally emotionally endure the way these issues affect people? 
43:58 Was this particular session different?
50:24 What’s happening in “the room” where deals are getting made?