Susan and Josh welcome Bode Gower, the Founder and Chair of the Northern California Youth Policy Coalition, which aims to amplify rural youth voices on state-level issues, as well as the host of his own podcast, “The Gower Hour,” which offers a youth perspective on politics by interviewing local elected officials, for a discussion of how young people are thinking about and participate in politics these days.

Susan and Josh are joined by their former colleague State Senator Tom Umberg, a decorated Army veteran, former prosecutor and assistant drug czar and current Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee for a conversation about recent events around immigration enforcement and the use of federal military assets in its conduct.

Susan and Josh are joined by their former colleague State Senator Tom Umberg, a decorated Army veteran, former prosecutor and assistant drug czar and current Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee for a conversation about recent events around immigration enforcement and the use of federal military assets in its conduct.

Susan and Josh are joined by their former colleague State Senator Tom Umberg, a decorated Army veteran, former prosecutor and assistant drug czar and current Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee for a conversation about recent events around immigration enforcement and the use of federal military assets in its conduct.

Susan and Josh are joined by Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association, the trade association representing companies involved in petroleum exploration, production, refining, transportation, and marketing in the five western states of the US: Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the transportation energy economy in California and the politics around it.

Susan and Josh are joined by Professor Thad Kousser of UC San Diego, a nationally renowned political scientist and authority on legislative politics and governance, for a conversation about past and proposed changes to California's state constitution and electoral processes in the pursuit of responsive governance and political reforms.

Susan and Josh are joined by CalMatters reporter Ryan Sabalow, who in addition to covering the Capitol is part of the team behind CalMatters's innovative “digital democracy” project, an initiative deploying technology and data to increase transparency, accountability and understanding about California state legislators and the policy decisions they are making.

Susan and Josh are joined by Jim Cooper, current Sacramento County Sheriff and former member of the California State Assembly, for a wide-ranging conversation on crime, mental health, legal marijuana, and other topics, while exploring his insights as someone with a fairly unique perspective, having previously made laws and now being charged to enforce them.

Susan and Josh welcome Chris Micheli, longtime Sacramento lobbyist, as well as attorney, author, professor, and recognized authority on Sacramento arcana and minutiae, for a deep dive and discussion on why things work the way they do in the State Capitol, and some of the ways they might be improved.

Susan and Josh are joined by Curt Augustine, Senior Director of State Affairs for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the industry trade association which represents the interests of automobile manufacturers, for a conversation about issues, policies, and plans involving cars, which play such a central role in California's economy and culture.