Politics Podcast | KQED News

Hours after the state Assembly passed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s legislation to create new oversight for the oil industry, Scott and Marisa discuss the proposal and its evolution since last fall. They also chew over this week’s Los Angeles school strike — and what it means for new L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. Then, California Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jennifer Barrera joins to offer the industry take on the oil legislation, and talk about the business climate here in California.

Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos sit down with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to talk about her role selling President Biden’s infrastructure and jobs bills — including how she’s working to convince skeptical Americans that clean energy jobs will benefit them. The former UC Berkeley professor and Michigan governor also reflects on how she approached governing in a purple state, and the challenges — and opportunities — she and her husband faced after Granholm ran for office and he put aside his own political aspirations.

In several important ways, the road ahead in California political circles became a little more clear this week.

Our podcast examines some potentially game-changing 2016 ballot initiatives that were introduced this week. And we take a look back at a few more of the decisions made by Gov. Jerry Brown on bills — decisions that could offer hints about legislative battles next year.

We also offer a programming note, in this final episode of the existing politics podcast. Thanks to all of you for listening!

There was a steady drumbeat of political news this week, led on the California front by Gov. Jerry Brown passing final judgment on some closely watched pieces of legislation.

This week’s podcast examines some of those decisions, from Brown’s signing of the hotly debated medically assisted suicide bill to his veto on a series of crime-related proposals.

We also examine the emergence of a new player in the brewing 2016 electoral fight over California’s tobacco tax: billionaire activist Tom Steyer.

It’s not even 2016, and yet it’s starting to feel like someone will soon shout, “Let’s get ready to rumble!”

Welcome to some pre-election skirmishing.

This week’s California Politics Podcast tackles the jockeying for which initiative will  try to lay claim as the rightful heir to 2012’s Proposition 30 and its tax hike on those who earn the most. We also discuss a brewing Democratic showdown between a sitting state senator and the Assembly speaker.

And the one group who, surprisingly, doesn’t seem to be fighting? California Republicans, for a change.

Capitol watchers all wanted to know the same thing after legislators wrapped up their work for 2015 and headed home: Who won what, and why?

This week, our California Politics Podcast hit the road for a live session at the annual meeting of the Bay Area Council. The region’s business leaders also had a few questions of their own about high-profile legislative battles, and we’ve recorded the entire event for this week’s episode.

It was a quintessential Gov. Jerry Brown quip, the moment when his frustrations over climate change legislation all spilled into a single sentence.

“My zeal has been intensified to a maximum degree. And nothing, nothing is going to stop this state from pushing forward!” he said on Wednesday.

A pretty good title for a podcast, no?

This week, our California Politics Podcast focuses on the final battles and changes to the big climate change proposal, Senate Bill 350. And just for good measure, we throw in a quick look at the other big midweek announcement: The delay of a fix for the state’s transportation woes.

We’ll have a full wrapup of the end of the legislative session next week.

Any good chef will tell you it takes just the right ingredients and the right amount of time on the heat to produce a great soup — a not too different scenario from how negotiations over new bills come together in the final days of a legislative session in Sacramento.

This week’s podcast, a day early given the fluidity of so many of these topics, takes a look at everything from leadership changes to the latest climate change negotiations. We also discuss two bills that cleared big hurdles this week, most notably the landmark legislation on paycheck equality for women and men.

We’re joined by Anthony York of the Grizzly Bear Project.

Sometimes, you don’t know how to evaluate what happens in front of the public in Sacramento until you understand what happened behind closed doors.

On this week’s California Politics Podcast, we examine a busy week of policy and political wrangling over bills clearing the legislative fiscal committees and their “suspense files,” a place where bills are killed without any legislator fingerprints.

We also discuss a presidential boost for a closely watched climate change effort, and a change in leadership for state Senate Republicans.

It was a hot week in Sacramento, with triple-digit temperatures outside and heated debate and accusations under the state Capitol dome.

This week’s California Politics Podcast examines some new clashes over climate change legislation and a news story looking back at one 2012 environmental ballot measure. We also discuss Gov. Jerry Brown’s careful choice of words on how to fund transportation.

And we examine two bills that caused some buzz in Sacramento this week: a new effort to legalize medically assisted suicide and a quick fix for some students who couldn’t take the state’s high school exit exam.

I’m joined by KQED News’ Marisa Lagos.