The Codcast

CommonWealth Beacon's Jennifer Smith is joined by former Gov. Jane Swift to discuss political changes since her time in office, her current policy work, and the process of public grieving.

This week, Paul Hattis and John McDonough of Health or Consequences are joined by Barbara Fain, executive director of the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety. They discuss the state of knowledge around medical care errors, as well as ongoing efforts to respond to and reduce it.

Ranked-choice voting and rent control will not be on the 2024 ballot in Massachusetts, but supporters are still pushing the policies in the legislature and locally. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon's Jennifer Smith is joined by Paul Craney and Jennifer Braceras of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance to discuss their opposition to both issues.

This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon's Jennifer Smith is joined by Chrissy Lynch, the new president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, to discuss the current pivotal moment for organized labor, the changes she's seen in the movement over the years, and her policy priorities.

Are we a beacon? This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon's Michael Jonas is joined by Steve Koczela of the MassINC Polling Group and Erin O'Brien of UMass Boston to discuss new polling data on how Massachusetts residents see the Commonwealth relative to other states, and relative to 20 years ago.

In this live episode of The Codcast, Commonwealth Beacon's Jennifer Smith is joined by Danielle Allen of Harvard University and Partners in Democracy to discuss how Massachusetts's democracy is doing.

CommonWealth's Jennifer Smith is joined by the head of the Boston Housing Authority, Kenzie Bok, to discuss housing justice, the role of public housing in the city and commonwealth, and what's on the horizon in the world of public housing.

Co-hosts John McDonough and Paul Hattis are joined by Robbie Goldstein, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, to discuss what he learned working at the CDC, his thoughts on public health issues facing the Commonwealth, and more.

This week on the Codcast, CommonWealth's Jennifer Smith is joined by Jack Schneider, coauthor of Off the Mark: How Grades, Ratings, and Rankings Undermine Learning (but Don’t Have To). They discuss the book's argument in the context of current debates over Massachusetts's testing requirements and proposals to rethink them.

CommonWealth's Jennifer Smith is joined by State Auditor Diana DiZoglio to discuss her attempt to audit the Massachusetts legislature, as well as other audits her office is conducting.