Stories From The States

Since the 2022 Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, state governments decide how they’ll regulate abortion. This includes which organizations receive reproductive health funding. 

Crisis pregnancy centers, religiously affiliated organizations that advertise free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds but dissuade women from pursuing abortions, are seeing an influx of taxpayer dollars. At the same time, officials are pulling funding from Planned Parenthood and other health clinics across the country.

States Newsroom conducted a 50-state investigation examining state and federal budgets, as well as the tax records of hundreds of crisis pregnancy centers around the country. 

In Episode 18, you’ll hear from States Newsroom reproductive rights reporter Sofia Resnick, who will break down how this is playing out and how public money is being spent. 

You’ll also hear from Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OB-GYN based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Since 2013, Lyerly has worked in rural Minnesota, Arizona and a Wisconsin Planned Parenthood clinic. She’ll share her firsthand experiences at the center of the fight over abortion access.

Finally, Evening Wrap newsletter author Danielle Gaines shares the top stories she’s watching.

Episode produced and edited by Mallory Cheng. Music for Stories From The States composed by David Singer. 

Click here for the full transcript.

Relevant reading from States Newsroom outlets and partners: 

Got questions? An episode idea? Email us at [email protected]

Photo: Crisis pregnancy centers have been the beneficiary of at least a half-billion dollars since the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections in June 2022, a States Newsroom investigation found. The centers discourage women from seeking abortion and contraception, which medical experts say compromises public health. (Illustration by David Jack Browning for States Newsroom)

For years, voucher and scholarship programs that used taxpayer dollars for private school tuition were limited to low-income or special needs students. 

Now, states like Arizona, Iowa and Texas have universal programs that allow any student to use public money for private school tuition. By the 2026-2027 school year, at least 17 states are expected to have that policy. 

There’s been a significant shift in the conversation about school choice in state legislation. Advocates say it gives parents options. Critics argue there’s not enough oversight over public dollars that billionaires are lobbying for.

In Episode 17, you’ll hear about the culture shift on school choice. Joining us will be Joshua Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University who wrote “The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers.” 

And we’ll look at South Carolina, where legislators are dealing with some unintended consequences of a school voucher law they wrote in 2025. They’re now debating whether homeschooled students should be included in the voucher system. 

South Carolina Daily Gazette reporter Skylar Laird, who has been covering this, will discuss her reporting.

Finally, Evening Wrap newsletter author Danielle Gaines shares the top stories she’s watching.

Episode produced and edited by Mallory Cheng. Music for Stories From The States composed by David Singer.

Click here for the full transcript: 

Relevant reading from States Newsroom outlets and partners: 

Photo: A sign held by a teacher at a rally at the Arizona Capitol on June 5, 2024, to advocate for restrictions on the state’s school voucher system, known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror)

Since President Donald Trump’s return to office, elections have been a priority for his administration. 

The FBI raid of an election warehouse in Fulton County, Georgia, seizing 2020 ballots. The Department of Justice demanding voter registration lists and other information from all states. Mail-in ballots at risk of not being postmarked. Trump’s threat of a federal takeover of state elections.

Trump has continued to push false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. The DOJ sued 21 states plus the District of Columbia in an attempt to gain access to state voter rolls.

But in Georgia and across the states, election officials and lawyers are trying to prevent the Trump administration from succeeding.

In Episode 16, you’ll hear from Fulton County Commissioner Rob Pitts. He sued the DOJ to get the county’s election records back and to find out why they were taken. 

You’ll hear from Elisabeth Frost, the Litigation Chair at Elias Law Group, who has been leading the effort to push back against lawsuits filed by the DOJ to access states’ sensitive voter data.

And Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman, who covers democracy, will fill us in on potential problems with mail-in voting and how those ballots will be counted.

Finally, Evening Wrap newsletter author Danielle Gaines shares the top stories she’s watching.

Episode produced and edited by Mallory Cheng. Music for Stories From The States composed by David Singer. 

Click here for the full transcript: 

Relevant reading from States Newsroom outlets and partners: 

Photo: Fulton County Police officers stand by outside county election headquarters while FBI agents seize documents related to the 2020 election. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

President Donald Trump is still pushing Republican-led states to redistrict their congressional maps to help the GOP maintain control of the House of Representatives after the 2026 midterm elections.

It led to an unusual burst of mid-decade redistricting in some states, such as Texas and North Carolina that have passed new maps increasing a GOP advantage.

Democratic-led states California and Virginia are pushing for redraws of their congressional maps to counter them.

Meanwhile, Maryland state legislators are at an impasse on whether to change their maps, after a House-approved redistricting plan got stalled in the Senate. 

In Episode 15, Maryland Matters reporter Bryan Sears will break down on what’s going on in Annapolis. 

Over in Alabama, they’ve enacted new state Senate maps drawn by an unexpected mapmaker — a college freshman.

You’ll meet Daniel DiDonato, a student at the University of Alabama and a cartographer. 

Finally, Evening Wrap newsletter author Danielle Gaines shares the top stories she’s watching.

Episode produced and edited by Mallory Cheng. Music for Stories From The States composed by David Singer. 

Click here for the full transcript: 

Relevant reading from States Newsroom outlets and partners: 

Got questions? An episode idea? Email us at [email protected]

Photo: Daniel DiDonato, an 18-year-old student at the University of Alabama, working on a state Senate district map in a common study area in Martha Parham Hall in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. DiDonato created the map that a federal judge ordered to be implemented for Alabama's 2026 and 2030 elections after ruling that the Montgomery-area districts violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)

For years, private prison companies have been a key partner to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the government carried out its immigration agenda. In 2025, they’ve been rapidly expanding, though they’re also facing pushback in several states. 

CoreCivic is one of the biggest private prison companies in the United States, whose pockets have gotten substantially deeper after President Donald Trump was reelected into office. 

With larger projected revenue, CoreCivic is expanding its operations. 

One place they’ve been eyeing is in Leavenworth, Kansas, where they’d like to reopen the Leavenworth Detention Center, which was closed in 2021. 

They’re meeting fierce opposition, though, as many former CoreCivic corrections officers and community members are speaking out against it.

In Episode 14, you’ll hear from William Rogers. He is a former employee of CoreCivic and has become a grassroots advocate speaking out against the Leavenworth Detention Center reopening. 

The company is also facing hundreds of lawsuits that accuse the company of failing to keep detainees safe.

Meanwhile, CoreCivic is facing hundreds of lawsuits across the country that accuse the company of failing to keep detainees safe. Most notably, Tennessee's largest state prison run by CoreCivic is drawing scrutiny from state officials who are questioning how the company handled a June 2025 riot at its Trousdale Turner Correctional Center.

Tennessee Lookout reporter Sam Stockard will help explain how entrenched CoreCivic is in the Volunteer State.

Finally, Evening Wrap newsletter author Danielle Gaines shares the top stories she’s watching.

Episode produced and edited by Mallory Cheng. Music for Stories From The States composed by David Singer.

Click here for the full transcript: 

Relevant reading from States Newsroom outlets and partners: 

Photo: William Rogers speaks about his experience at the facility. Rogers wore a graphic shirt with images of injuries sustained by corrections officers while employed by CoreCivic. (Natasha Torkzaban for Kansas Reflector)

For decades, government funding was withheld from historically Black public colleges and universities, such as Tennessee State University. 

States across the South have grappled with the question: What could be possible if those debts were repaid?

In Episode 13, we’ll hear from our colleagues at the Tennessee Lookout and WPLN News. 

Together, they produced The Debt, a reported project and podcast that traces Tennessee State University’s decades-long fight for fair funding. 

You’ll hear from journalists Emily Siner and Camellia Burris, whose reporting examined an overlooked Civil Rights lawsuit, a historic merger with a predominantly white university, a dramatic student hunger strike, and a lawmaker who discovered his father’s old research on underfunding. 

Episode produced and edited by Mallory Cheng. Music for Stories From The States composed by David Singer. A special thank you to Tennessee Lookout and WPLN News.

Relevant reading from States Newsroom outlets and partners: 

Got questions? An episode idea? Email us at [email protected]

Photo: Almost since its founding after Reconstruction, Tennessee State University has fought for funding. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Diversity, equity and inclusion programs have faced constant attacks from the current Trump administration. 

Early in his second term, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders to terminate federal programs with any mention of DEI. This included the end of funding to some National Institutes of Health programs. 

Some states pushed back, and now the Trump administration has agreed to drop anti-DEI criteria for stalled health research grants.

However, for one former Georgia professor, his state didn’t participate in this legal battle.

In Episode 12, you’ll meet Géza Kogler. He most recently was a professor at Kennesaw State University, but was one of the many recipients who lost their NIH grant. 

His program aimed to train the next generation of orthotists and researchers who specialize in designing, constructing and fitting medical devices such as braces, splints and supportive footwear. 

Kogler believes that his NIH funding was terminated because it specifically supported researchers from underrepresented backgrounds. 

At the University of North Carolina System, they’ve been tackling to repeal the system’s policy on DEI in favor of “principled neutrality” since before Trump’s second term. 

You’ll hear from NC Newsline Deputy Editor Clayton Henkel on what is going on at the 17-campus system.

Finally, Evening Wrap newsletter author Danielle Gaines shares the top stories she’s watching.

Episode produced and edited by Mallory Cheng. Music for Stories From The States composed by David Singer. 

Click here for the full transcript: 

Relevant reading from States Newsroom outlets and partners: 

Got questions? An episode idea? Email us at [email protected]

Photo: A photo of a building at University of North Carolina's Chapel Hill campus. (Photo: Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline)

In the days since Jan. 7, when Renee Nicole Good was killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis, the public is getting a closer look at how many communities are resisting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. 

Volunteer rapid-response teams and loosely organized patrols in Minneapolis and other cities are tracking and following federal immigration agents to disrupt operations and alert neighbors.

The work has become increasingly risky as tensions soar and confrontations between federal agents and volunteers escalate. Yet even after Good’s death, volunteers continue to mobilize in targeted neighborhoods. 

In Minneapolis, a Minnesota Reformer reporter rode along on a recent patrol and spoke with several volunteers determined to keep up their work.  

In Episode 11, you’ll also meet Carlos Ochoa. He is a volunteer for Vecindarios 901, a rapid response network reporting on Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities.

They were established during the first Trump term. Now in Trump’s second term, Vecindarios 901 has kicked into high gear to document the activities of the Memphis Safe Task Force. The multi-agency law enforcement force launched September 15, 2025 by President Donald Trump.

Then, you’ll hear from Minnesota Reformer reporter Madison McVan who has been reporting on the ground in Minneapolis. 

Finally, Evening Wrap newsletter author Danielle Gaines shares the top stories she’s watching.

Episode produced and edited by Mallory Cheng. Music for Stories From The States composed by David Singer. 

Click here for the full transcript.

Relevant reading from States Newsroom outlets and partners: 

Subscribe to Stories From the States on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Youtube.

Photo: A masked ICE agent knocks on the window and tells observers in Minnesota to stop following ICE vehicles while on an early morning watch Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

With the rise of AI development, tech companies are investing billions to build massive data centers. 

Virginia is home to over 500 data centers and counting. State officials there say their construction will boost local economies and create long-term jobs. 

One former data center technician in South Carolina doesn’t agree.

And anxious residents are pushing back against the projects worried they could harm drinking water, spike electricity rates and bring noise pollution.  

In Episode 10, you’ll meet Shannon Wait. She was a temporary worker at one of Google’s data centers in Berkeley County, South Carolina. 

While there, Wait spoke out against the unfair labor practices, but was suspended. She filed a case with the National Labor Relations Board, and won.  

Now she’s a senior organizer at Alphabet Workers Union-CWA and a data policy advisor at TechEquity speaking out against the working conditions inside the facilities.

Northern Virginia has especially been seeing a boom in construction, but as more buildings are planned for Southern Virginia, residents are growing concerned about how this will hurt their water and wallets. 

There aren't any statewide data center regulations, so localities are putting their foot down.  

You’ll hear from the Virginia Mercury’s Energy and Environment reporter Shannon Heckt who has been covering this.  

Finally, Evening Wrap newsletter author Danielle Gaines shares the top stories she’s watching.

Episode produced and edited by Mallory Cheng. Music for Stories From The States composed by David Singer.

Click here for the full transcript.

Relevant reading from States Newsroom outlets and partners: 

Photo: Shannon Wait speaks at a Colleton County public hearing for a proposed 860-acre data center campus proposed for South Carolina’s Lowcountry. (Photo courtesy of Shannon Wait)

State lawmakers have taken the lead on regulating kratom. The controversial herbal supplement is often used for pain relief, anxiety and opioid withdrawal symptoms. 

Last summer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pushed to ban 7-hydroxymitragynine, also known as 7-OH, saying it posed serious health risks and should be classified as a controlled substance with heroin and LSD. 

In Louisiana, legislators initiated a statewide ban on kratom because of that ingredient. 

In Episode 9, we’ll hear from our States Newsroom colleagues at the Louisiana Illuminator. For their podcast called The Light Switch, they took a deep dive into kratom as Louisiana lawmakers debated the ban in 2025.

Louisiana Illuminator editor Greg LaRose will help us understand both sides of the kratom discussion. This was done in partnership with WWNO, New Orleans Public Radio station.

Episode produced and edited by Mallory Cheng. Music for Stories From The States composed by David Singer. A special thank you to Greg LaRose from the Louisiana Illuminator and WWNO, New Orleans Public Radio. 

Got questions? An episode idea? Email us at [email protected].

Click here for the full transcript: 

Relevant reading from States Newsroom outlets and partners: 

Photo: An advertisement for kratom at a shop in Phoenix, Arizona. (Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror)