We talk a lot on our show about, well, issues. But we don't always get a sense of what it's like for the people on the frontlines of those issues. How do you keep working to fix the issue, when others don't know, don't care - or want you to stop?
From healthcare to education: it's dispatches from the frontlines.
Guests:
Stephanie Arnold, founder of Seven Hills Family Medicine
Mary Graham, Chief Executive Officer of READ RVA

It’s budget season in Richmond. We know government budgets are important, but they’re about much more than numbers. Rich sits down with an expert to ask: what’s the human cost of budgeting?
Featuring:
Elliott Fullmer, Professor of Political Science at Randolph-Macon College

[Originally released 6/11/25]

For the first time in 50 years, the city’s zoning code – the rules that say what can be built where – is being revised. It’s definitely time: the need for housing is desperate! But with a stunning reversal of white flight – an influx of young professionals into the city – how do we preserve the Richmond we love for everyone? Rich talks to City Council’s Ellen Robertson and Home of VA’s Tom Fitzpatrick about how to counter displacement while providing for Richmond’s future. Plus we hear from Cyane Crump of Historic Richmond. Amid all the code changes, how do we preserve the city’s historic fabric?

Flock cameras take pictures of your license plate, and they’re everywhere in RVA. Are these cameras a powerful tool for getting the bad guys? Or a dangerous step towards mass surveillance?

Featuring: 

Kunle Falayi, data journalist with the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO

The two biggest words in VA Politics right now? DATA and CENTERS. From a state budget battle to heated local opposition, how did they land at the very center of Virginia politics?

This episode is part of GENERAL ASSEMBLY REQUIRED, a new series from RVA's Got Issues focusing on state government's impact on RVA.

Featuring:

Patrick Larsen and Lyndon German, VPM News Reporters

The national battle for district lines has come to Virginia, and Democrats want to redraw our Congressional map. Critics want them to play fair. But what does "fair" mean these days?

This episode is part of GENERAL ASSEMBLY REQUIRED, a new series from RVA's Got Issues focusing on state government's impact on RVA.

Featuring:

Brian Cannon, No Gerrymandering Virginia

This year may bring a big shift in Virginia labor laws, changing the game for workers here in RVA – and throughout the Commonwealth. Will these changes help or hurt us - and do we really have to choose between business and labor?

This episode is part of General Assembly Required, a new series from RVA's Got Issues focusing on state government's impact on RVA.

Featuring:

Michael O'Connor, journalist at VA Dogwood

Chris Saxman, President of Virginia FREE

Do you want to be more civic-minded, but don’t know how? We’ve got three stories about civic engagement, from the general assembly to the People’s Assembly to drawing a line on a map and making it real.

Features:

Nick, Isabelle, and Ashley from Randolph Macon College

The Richmond's People's Assembly

Brantley Tyndall, Director of Bike Walk RVA.

The federal government may be cutting food benefits, drastically - is Richmond ready? What does the safety net for hunger look like in RVA? What COULD it look like, and how do we get there?

Guests: 

Eddie Oliver, Federation of Virginia Food Banks

Ayanna Ogaldez and Irina Rogova, MADRVA

Kimberly Battle, VCU School of Nursing

Richmond has a plan called Vision Zero – the goal is zero pedestrian deaths. But so far this year, that goal seems farther away than ever. Rich talks to experts to ask: what are we doing to make our city safer, and is it enough?

To learn more about pedestrian safety in Richmond, check out VPM's Curious Commonwealth: Curious Commonwealth asks: How does Richmond prioritize road safety work?

Guests:

Tara Fitzpatrick, GreaterRichmondFit4Kids

Richard Hankins, Partnership for Smarter Growth

Whittney Evans, VPM News