In this installment of our series, "A Look at Labor," Rockefeller Institute Director of Labor Policy Maria Figueroa interviews Roberta Reardon, commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor, about the work of the department to empower and protect New York's workers. The discussion spans a broad swath of timely and perennial labor issues, including expanding capacity in the childcare industry, promoting green jobs, improving apprenticeship programs, advancing workplace safety protections, and more.

Guests

• Roberta Reardon, Commissioner, New York State Department of Labor
• Maria Figueroa, Director of Labor Policy, Rockefeller Institute of Government

Learn More

• Office of Just Energy Transition (OJET)
• NYS Department of Labor Home Page

On January 3, 2026, US military forces removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power and charged him with drug trafficking crimes. The event brought renewed attention to the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and the plight of displaced Venezuelans in the US and across the globe.

On this episode of Policy Outsider, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy Deputy Director & Intergovernmental Liaison Guillermo Martinez interviews two Venezuelan not-for-profit leaders about the crisis in Venezuela, how they support Venezuelans from their positions in the US and the UK, and their hopes for the country and its people.

Guests

• Jesús Aguais, Founder, Aid for AIDS
• Alejandro Arenas Pinto, Trustee, Healing Venezuela
• Guillermo Martinez, Deputy Director & Intergovernmental Liaison, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy

Shifting demographics, sweeping changes to federal health policy, and technology and market forces are reshaping the healthcare industry. On this episode of Policy Outsider, we speak with Rockefeller Institute Senior Fellow for Health Policy Courtney Burke about the healthcare trends for policymakers to watch in 2026. The discussion covers Courtney's most recent trends blog and details the factors pushing issues like consolidation, affordability, the use of artificial intelligence tools, and pharmaceutical costs into the spotlight.

Guests

• Courtney Burke, Senior Fellow for Health Policy, Rockefeller Institute of Government

Learn More

• Six Trends in Healthcare to Watch in 2026 (blog)
• How Federal Health Policy Changes Will Impact New York (series)

New York State Assemblymember Harry Bronson is chair of the Assembly Labor Committee. On this episode of our Policy Outsider series, “A Look at Labor,” Rockefeller Institute Director of Labor Policy Maria Figueroa interviews the assemblymember about his legislative efforts in 2025 and what his focus will be in 2026. The conversation touches on the assemblymember's work to protect workers and businesses, an increase in unemployment benefits, developments in green jobs and the green economy, and the latest on regulations for gig work.

Guests

• Harry Bronson, New York State Assemblymember, Assembly District 138
• Maria Figueroa, Director of Labor Policy, Rockefeller Institute of Government

On Thursday, December 18th, President Trump signed an executive order seeking to expedite the rescheduling of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. On this episode of Policy Outsider, we do a lightning round with Heather Trela, Rockefeller Institute's resident cannabis policy expert, on what the executive order does and does not do, what rescheduling means for the marijuana industry, and what we can expect in the months to come.

Guests

• Heather Trela, Director of Operations and Fellow, Rockefeller Institute of Government

On this episode of Policy Outsider, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy Deputy Director & Intergovernmental Liaison Guillermo Martinez leads a conversation with leaders in the Providence Farm Collective, a non-profit organization in Western New York with a mission of cultivating farmer-led and community-rooted agriculture and food systems to actualize the rights of under-resourced peoples.

Guests

• Kristin Heltman-Weiss, Executive Director, Providence Farm Collective
• Hamadi Ali, Deputy Director, Providence Farm Collective
• Guillermo Martinez, Deputy Director & Intergovernmental Liaison, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy

Learn More

• What is Providence Farm Collective (PFC)?

Included in one of the bills to fund the federal government and end the government shutdown was a provision closing what is known as the "hemp loophole." This gray area, created by a 2018 law, allowed an industry of hemp-derived intoxicants that were federally legal to be sold throughout the US in places where states hadn't stepped in to regulate these products. On this episode of Policy Outsider, Heather Trela, the director of operations and a fellow at the Rockefeller Institute, spells out the distinction between hemp and marijuana, details how the "hemp loophole" came to be, and explains what closing the loophole means for this industry.

Guests

• Heather Trela, Director of Operations and Fellow, Rockefeller Institute of Government

The Elder Economic Security Index is a tool that quantifies how much income older Americans need to meet their basic needs and age in place with dignity. On this episode of Policy Outsider, we unpack how the index works, what the latest findings tell us about economic security in later life, and how policymakers, advocates, and communities can use the index to shape better policy and programs.

Guests

• Maria Alvarez, Executive Director, NY Statewide Senior Action Council
• Nidya Velasco Roldán, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Gerontology Institute, UMass Boston
• Dina Refki, Executive Director, Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy

Learn More

• Late-life Financial Security in New York: Evidence from the 2024 Elder Index (PDF)

The Supreme Court's interpretation of the Second Amendment has changed significantly over the last 20 years. Rulings in cases like DC v. Heller in 2008 and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen in 2022 recast the "right to bear arms" in a new legal framework that makes it more challenging to create effective firearm regulations. On this episode of Policy Outsider, we speak with a New York State legislator and a political science scholar about constitutional originalism—the theory underlying aspects of these rulings—and the practical considerations of legislating in the complex legal environment created by the Court's decisions.

Guests

• Honorable Charles D. Lavine, New York State Assemblymember, Assembly District 13
• Robert J. Spitzer, Member, Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium; Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Political Science Department, SUNY Cortland

In the third part in our series, "A Look at Labor," Vilda Vera Mayuga, commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), is interviewed by Rockefeller Institute Director of Labor Policy Maria Figueroa. Their discussion covers the goals of DCWP and how they approach their work, implementing and enforcing protections for workers in the digital economy, securing restitution for retail and other workers, and the labor priorities that the next mayor will have to address.

Guests

• Vilda Vera Mayuga, Commissioner, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP)
• Maria Figueroa, Director of Labor Policy, Rockefeller Institute of Government