AZ Politicast

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein welcomes former Attorney General Terry Goddard and HighGround CEO Chuck Coughlin to explain their passion for shining a light on dark money and making the state's primary system fairer for Independents. And, what made these former adversaries come together as trusted partners in reform?

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein speaks with C. Owen Paepke, author of The Purple Presidency and supporter of No Labels, which recently announced that it wouldn't be fielding a unity ticket to compete with President Biden and former President Trump this November.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein gets insights from Barrett Marson of Marson Media on how the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will change with the retirements of Bill Gates and Clint Hickman and the likely election of Congresswoman Debbie Lesko to the board.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein checks in with First Congressional District Democratic candidate Conor O'Callaghan. O'Callaghan leads the pack in fundraising and recently received a shoutout from Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts, who predicted that he would end up being the Democratic nominee after the August primary.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein gets Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes' thoughts on his first year in that office, the importance of political truth-telling, and whether election results can be fast, accurate, and inexpensive.

On this edition of AZ Politicast, Host Steve Goldstein remembers the late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor with a pair of interviews he recorded with her nearly a decade ago--and a conversation he had with writer and attorney Linda Hirshman, author of a book about Justices O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg titled Sisters In Law.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein talks with Jaime Molera of Molera Alvarez about how dysfunction in the U.S. House is affecting Arizona and whether Representative Debbie Lesko's decision not to seek a fourth term will be a test of whether the state's GOP will support a traditional conservative or a MAGA supporter.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein asks Chuck Coughlin why his Make Elections Fair AZ campaign will help democracy, attract better candidates, and make registered independents equal to Democrats and Republicans.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein talks with Liam Julian of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute about a new report finding that, while mothers affect their kids' interest in civics and politics, the reverse is also true. Trickle-down and trickle up civics participation is the focus of this edition of AZ Politicast.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein is joined by Yale Professor Scott Shapiro, author of Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark History of the Information Age in Five Extraordinary Hacks. The conversation features Russia, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and the question of whether defending against cyberattacks is "sexy."

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein is joined by former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, now the President of the American Constitution Society. The two talk about protecting the Constitution while also finding better ways to amend it. Feingold also shares a memory or two of working with the late Senator John McCain.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein is joined by former State Senator and current Glendale mayoral candidate Paul Boyer, who explains why he's turned to municipal government for his next race and why Republicans need to leave the stolen election narrative in the past and offer a positive vision for the future.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein checks in with political analyst (and former legislative leader, former member of the Arizona Board of Regents, and former gubernatorial Chief of Staff) Chris Herstam to get his take on the state's U.S. Senate race--and new polls indicating Congressman Ruben Gallego is the candidate to beat.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein speaks with Attorney General Kris Mayes about her office's work on abortion, drug smuggling, and immigration. She also gives her take on having been elected to statewide office as both a Republican and a Democrat.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein talks with Conor O'Callaghan, the newest entrant in the state's First Congressional District Democratic primary. A first-time candidate, O'Callaghan explains why he's running, why the district is meaningful to him, and why the issue of immigration is so personal.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein talks with Mesa Mayor John Giles about the legislature's action--after an unprecedented break from the Capitol--that will give voters the opportunity in November of 2024 to decide whether to extend the Prop 400 sales tax to fund transportation projects in Maricopa County.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein welcomes Matt Grodsky of Matters of State Strategies. Grodsky was a key part of the team behind Adrian Fontes' successful Secretary of State campaign. Grodsky is also the author of Righteous Might: How Democrats Turned Arizona Blue and How You Can Flip Your Battleground State.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein welcomes Sybil Francis, CEO and President of Center for the Future of Arizona, the "Do" Tank on the verge of celebrating its 20th anniversary. The conversation touches on the importance of CFA's Arizona We Want and Arizona Voters Agenda surveys and how Francis' own perceptions of Arizona have changed over her two decades in the state.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein welcomes Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes for a conversation about election security, preserving democracy, and leadership.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein speaks with Marlene Galan-Woods, longtime journalist, about her initial run for office in the First Congressional District's Democratic primary. Galan-Woods weighs in on immigration, the economy, and how she's different from her former television colleague--Kari Lake.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein checks in with PHNX Arizona Coyotes beat writer Craig Morgan, who has covered the team for more than 20 years. With Tempe voters rejecting a plan to build an arena for the Coyotes in that city, Morgan explains how team management reacted and what could be next.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein learns why Mesa Mayor John Giles believes that extending the Proposition 400 sales tax is so important to Maricopa County's future--and why former Governor Ducey's veto of a bill to send the extension to voters last year was so surprising and disappointing.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein explains how "benches" work for political parties, and how the system, parties, and candidates could be helped by adopting trades like we see when pro sports teams swap players.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein comments on Kari Lake's upcoming book, how politicians utilize new books as part of connecting with voters, and whether Senator Kyrsten Sinema should write one about her career in D.C.

AZ Politicast Host Steve Goldstein explains why pragmatism may be the key for Democrats looking to oust incumbent Representative David Schweikert from Congress. (in the full episode of AZ Politicast, this follows Steve's conversation with Democratic congressional candidate Andrei Cherny).