The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast

Early tallies for the midterm primaries show that Arizona Republicans have put their trust in MAGA-style candidates for the top three spots on the November ballot.

For the most part, the primary races were decided soon after an unexpectedly smooth election day. Voting in Maricopa County, a hotbed for election denialism and backbiting over election responsibilities, went off without any major glitches.

This week on The Gaggle, we are joined by fellow Arizona Republic politics reporters for initial thoughts on midterm primary night 2026.

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Leave us a voicemail: 602-444-0804

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Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stacey Barchenger, Laura Gersony

Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ron Hansen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Stephanie Murray

Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amanda Luberto⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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The primary election is on July 21 and with only a few days left, there are still major questions and contentious races that political professionals are keeping an eye on.

The impact of Turning Point USA's backing, candidates aligning with artificial intelligence and major ad spending are all key factors that are leaving even the most in-tune politicos wondering.

This week on The Gaggle, we are joined by two political strategists to talk about the big storylines, the big spenders and the big unknowns heading into primary night.

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Leave us a voicemail: 602-444-0804

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Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jon Seaton, Stacy Pearson

Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephanie Murray

Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amanda Luberto⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Debates over Flock cameras, license plate readers that use artificial intelligence, are riling up citizens in Chandler and South Tucson who argue that the tech is invading their privacy.

But proponents say that Flock is helping local police, the U.S. Border Patrol and agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This week on The Gaggle, we are joined by two reporters who have been keeping tabs on how some communities in Arizona are handling the fight over Flock.

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Leave us a voicemail: 602-444-0804

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Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sarah Lapidus, Lauren De Young

Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ron Hansen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Stephanie Murray

Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amanda Luberto⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Two longtime Congressmen want to leave Washington, D.C., to instead lead Arizona as its next governor.

Congressman Andy Biggs and Congressman David Schweikert both have decades worth of experience in politics and both want to the chance to take on incumbent Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs in November.

First they'll need to win the Republican nomination in the July 21 primary election.

In this bonus episode of The Gaggle, state politics reporter Stacey Barchenger walks you through the similarities and differences between the Republican candidates running for Arizona governor.

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Leave us a voicemail: 602-444-0804

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Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stacey Barchenger

Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amanda Luberto⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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This week, Americans across the country will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

While it should be a time for reflection and patriotism, research shows that Americans have complicated feelings about the country ahead of this milestone.

This week on The Gaggle, we turn the microphone over to Arizonans to find out how they're feeling about the country as the country's 250th birthday approaches.

We asked them how the anniversary is making them feel, what they would change about America if they could and what makes them proud to live here.

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Leave us a voicemail: 602-444-0804

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Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ron Hansen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Stephanie Murray

Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amanda Luberto⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Walk into the Museum of African American History on Boston’s Beacon Hill right now and the Revolution looks different from the one most of us learned in school.

The museum’s new exhibition, "Black Voices of the Revolution: Liberty, Emancipation, and the Struggle for Independence," asks what independence meant to people who were themselves enslaved or only tenuously free.

In this Outspoken conversation, I spoke with the museum’s president and CEO, Noelle Trent, about how that lens reshapes our understanding of 1776 and what we should be teaching the next generation as the Declaration of Independence turns 250. 

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It's something we can all feel right now at the gas pump, the aisles of the grocery store and just about anywhere you spend money: prices are high.

President Donald Trump's foreign tariffs and the war in Iran have put pressure on American consumers

In addition, the administration's immigration crackdown and higher fees for foreign travelers have turned off tourists from other countries.

This week on The Gaggle, we're joined by an economic expert for a state and nation wide look and the mayor of a small town near the Grand Canyon to talk about how the lack of foreign tourism is impacting them.

Email us! [email protected]

Leave us a voicemail: 602-444-0804

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Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jim Rounds, Mayor Clarinda Vail

Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ron Hansen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Stephanie Murray

Producer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amanda Luberto⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Additional audio in this episode comes from C-SPAN

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As we move toward another Fourth of July, it feels especially urgent to revisit the American Revolution through the lives of people who rarely make it into our textbooks or monuments.

Art historian Zara Anishanslin does exactly that by recasting the founding era through the artists — many of them women, enslaved people, and immigrants — who used art, espionage and activism to shape a new nation from unexpected places, including London. 

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In my home, the founding era has long been a family affair — something talked through on early‑morning walks to school, road trips to historic sites, and debates about what the nation’s promises actually mean in practice for each new generation.

That personal history is the backdrop for this Outspoken conversation with my son, Blake Burton, a financial crimes analyst and deeply read student of history and philosophy. 

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As president of Arizona State University since 2002 and the architect of what he calls a New American University, President Dr. Michael Crow has spent 2 decades trying to design a public institution that aligns itself with the country’s founding promise of government by and for the people — not by and for the already‑privileged few. 

In this Outspoken conversation, Crow argues that if America was born in conscious rejection of hereditary power, its universities should be just as intentional about breaking from the exclusionary, class‑bound traditions they inherited from Britain and Europe

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