Pod Virginia

In this final episode of Pod Virginia (before the Virginia Press Room launches next week!), Michael is joined by co-host Lauren Burke, producer Aaryan Balu, and advertising manager David O'Connell to reminisce about the podcast, announce winners for Pod Virginia's trivia contest and game shows, and take one last look around the watercooler.   Happy New Year!

In our penultimate episode, Michael looks back at the five most popular episode of Pod Virginia in 2024. LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media

LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media IN THE NEWS: Last week, Governor Glenn Youngkin presented his budget proposal, highlighting a budget surplus which he used to propose a rebate on the car tax, an initiative to eliminate taxes on tips, stricter policies on sanctuary cities. a new police training facility, expanding mental health services, and more. He's also going all-in...

It's finally here! This week, Michael is joined by Chris Piper, Executive Director of VPAP, and Steve Humble, Chief Content Officer for VPM, who explain how both organizations are partnering to create the next evolution of Pod Virginia... The Virginia Press Room,  a weekly round-table podcast bringing news and analysis from journalists across the Commonwealth. Every Monday, Michael will lead journ...

LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media IN THE NEWS: Holding inmates longer than their release date is hard ask for many sheriffs, who say they won't be voluntarily holding people for 48 hours after their release date -- even if federal immigration officials request it for specific people. Now the Virginia Sheriffs Association is supporting legislation that removes discretion...

On this special FINAL live-to-tape game show, Michael sits down with the Pod Virginia All-Stars Sarah Taylor, Senator Scott Surovell, Delegate Alfonso Lopez, and Delegate Marcus Simon to get their opinions on approving resolutions before sessions, catered press conferences, tabloid newspapers, hackneyed phrases, and the end of Pod Virginia. LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Me...

LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media IN THE NEWS: License-plate readers will be on the agenda next month when the General Assembly gavels into session next month. Critics of surveillance-state politics worry about misidentification -- innocent people getting caught up in a high-tech frenzy. Back in 1997, then-governor George Allen signed a bill achieving a long-term goal of...

LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media This week, Michael is joined by Warren Fiske and Bob Holsworth to discuss the 1993 gubernatorial race between George Allen and Mary Sue Terry--including how Terry had a double-digit advantage in early polls and a significant fundraising lead, only for Allen to win in a landslide. They wrote about the election in their chapter of The New...

LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media IN THE NEWS: People who are incarcerated at the infamous Red Onion Supermax Prison in Wise County say conditions are so bad there that they are setting themselves on fire to protest conditions. Allegations include: racial epithets, physical abuse, medical neglect, solitary confinement, violent dog attacks, and inedible food with maggots....

LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media This week, Michael is joined by Frank Atkinson, author of The Dynamic Dominion , to discuss the 1973 "Armageddon" gubernatorial race between Henry Howell and Mills Godwin, which Atkinson wrote about in his chapter of  The New Dominion: The Twentieth-Century Elections That Shaped Modern Virginia.

LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media IN THE NEWS: Earlier this year, Democrat Abigail Spanberger seemed to have cleared the field of opposition among Democrats, though Congressman Bobby Scott may still throw his hat into the ring. Last week, Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears was able to clear the field of Republican opposition, and now she stands alone as t...

LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media Former State Senator John Bell joins Michael to break down his decision to sponsor the 2021 resolution to censure then-Senator Amanda Chase after she repeated baseless election fraud claims and spoke in support of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media IN THE NEWS: Freshman House Delegate Kannan Srinivasan will be the Democrat on the ballot in the January 7 special election to fill the seat vacated by Congressman-elect Suhas Subramanyam. Loudoun Democrats chose him as the party’s nominee over the weekend in an election that will determine which party controls the Senate. Republicans al...

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media Pod Virginia all-star Sam Shirazi joins Michael to break down the special elections happening in the next few weeks (filling the House seats vacated by Suhas Subramanyam and John McGuire), as well as the Virginia statewide elections in 2025.

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media IN THE NEWS: Senator Tim Kaine's margin of victory was almost double the margin of victory for Kamala Harris in Virginia, which seems to indicate some cross-party voting.  The election is not over yet. Two sitting members of the state Senate were elected to Congress last week, which means at least two special...

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum Tyler Englander, Cameron Thompson, and Brad Kutner join Michael and Lauren to react to the 2024 election results--Kamala Harris' razor-thin victory in the state, Tim Kaine's victory, and the possibilities for Republican leaders to be shuffled into the upcoming Trump administration as we already look toward the 2025 gubernatorial election.

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media IN THE NEWS: Donald Trump closed out his campaign for president in the most unlikeliest of places over the weekend, Salem Virginia in deep red Southwest Virginia. The rally featured Governor Glenn Youngkin and the entire Republican establishment, including Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earl Sears finally endorsi...

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media Pod Virginia all-star Sam Shirazi returns to break down next week's election: where does Virginia fall in the race for the presidency? What about all of the competitive downballot races? And just how many millions are getting spent on political ads that blanket the airwaves?

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media IN THE NEWS: During a dramatic hearing in federal court last week, a lawyer representing the governor said he believes some of the people whose voter registration was canceled are noncitizens. Judge Patricia Giles wasn’t having it. She stopped him and said she wasn't dealing with beliefs, she was dealing with...

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media This week, The Washington Post's Laura Vozzella and Greg Schneider join Michael to explain the purges of Virginia's voter rolls. They start with Governor Youngkin's Executive Order 35, which called for registrars to report voter roll changes on a daily basis, rather than the monthly basis required by law. They...

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media Guest hosts Cameron Thompson, Tyler Englander, and Brad Kutner take the reins... IN THE NEWS: The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Virginia over its purging of the voter rolls. The lawsuit alleges the Commonwealth is violating a federal law -- the National Voter Registration Act -- by systematically removin...

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media This week, Michael is joined by the University of Richmond's Associate Professor of Leadership Studies, Dr. Julian Hayter, to discuss the historic 1989 election of Virginia's first Black governor, Doug Wilder--including context, aftermath, and lasting legacy. Hayter wrote the chapter on Wilder's election for t...

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media Check out Black Virginia News IN THE NEWS: A coalition led by the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy is advocating for peace during a tense election cycle. They're also participating in "Souls to the Polls" Sunday voting across the state. Campaign finance documents compiled by the Virginia Public Acc...

SPONSORS: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media This week, author Kenneth C. Davis (of the  Don't Know Much About history books) joins Michael to break down 52 great works of short nonfiction that span from the beginning of history to the modern era--and what they say about history, culture, and humanity. The World in Books on Amazon

SPONSOR: The Richmond Forum LINKS: Pod Virginia | Patreon Learn more about Jackleg Media Check out Black Virginia News IN THE NEWS: On question after question in a televised debate last week, Republican Senate candidate Hung Cao responded by mentioning undocumented immigrants. He also tried to claim that Kaine is a feckless senator based on the number of bills he sponsored that became law--a rate...