Barnstorming PA

Here’s something out of left field! Taylor produced this audio piece from his recent trip to Sweden about the the reunion gathering for the Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Masters program at Lund University. This piece is a collage of different interviews I did with my colleagues, excerpts from a few speeches, and...

Jordi and Taylor record an outdoor pod with returning champion, Sam Pearson! This wide-ranging conversation covers local election news stories from the recent 2023 primaries, RGGI, and a wild letter to the editor from the Daily Item. In addition, find out our ‘Darth’ name and favorite springtime plants! Bank Robberies in Denmark

DISCLAIMER: We are only speaking for ourselves and none of the opinions here reflect the positions of any other organization or entity. Taylor and Jordi launch the long-awaited and seldom-solicited Season 5! Governor Shapiro’s first budget address was just the prompt we needed to record some thoughts and do some real damage to economic policy...

Denise Maris comes on the pod to talk about her candidacy for State Rep.

Amanda Waldman is on the pod — she’s running to represent PA’s 9th in the US Congress. Waldman introduces her brand of unapologetic and un-bossed politics and brings this perspective to topics like healthcare, inflation, and ag policy. We also talk about the complexities of campaigning in a highly-polarized environment and how she would lead...

We’re re-airing our John Fetterman interview at Knoebel’s Grove in Elysburg, PA from 2018. Plus, some additional retrospective commentary!

Terryane Myricks, Jenna Henry, Jordi Comas, and Taylor Lightman are back recording after a nice summer break. They begin with some show and tell about summer break then discuss a piece in The Atlantic by Elaine Godfrey from December 2021 on 5 pathways the Democrats can take to salvaging their 2022 election odds. They end...

Taylor and Jordi are joined by Meghan Beck and Le Paliulis to talk about the Susquehanna Valley Community Education Project. This project is seeking to establish a new community college to Union, Snyder, Northumberland, and Montour Counties. Together, they envision a future where there are cost-effective, local opportunities for training/up-skilling, associate degrees, and workforce development......

An all-star cast of returning champs, newcomers, and even a “doctor in the house” joined us for a review of the 2022 PA Primary- one of 538’s “Top 16 GOP Primaries to Watch” (yo, the Dem side is interesting too, ya number nerds). We are joined by Terrayne Myricks of Alcoholitics, Jess Brittain (long time...

Dwayne Heisler, Jordi Comas, and Taylor Lightman share thoughts on one of the more recent PA Democratic Senate Debates. After some headlines, they listen and respond to clips from the debate. The first clip is about whether or not the candidates would support ending the gas tax in response to inflation and high gas taxes....

We listen to highlights from the Democratic Senate Primary debate with Terrayne Myricks, the laughing and wry host of Alcoholitics (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alcoholitics/id1403073002). We focus on key moments from Rep Conor Lamb (https://www.conorlamb.com/) , State Rep Malcolm Kenyatta (https://www.malcolmkenyatta.com/), and Lt. Governor John Fetterman (https://johnfetterman.com/). We...

Jordi and Taylor sit down with Rep. Conor Lamb who is currently running in the Democratic primary for US Senate. The free-flowing conversation covered the opioid epidemic, his vision for healthcare, climate change, hydrogen, and more. Visit www.conorlamb.com for more information. Visit www.barnstormingpa.org/shop to buy some merchandise! Visit www.patreon.com/BarnstormingPA/ to donate!

May 7! Community Health Fair in NEPA! (https://stayhappening.com/e/gwv-nurses-community-health-fair-E2ISU9IARIO) 12-4 at Kirby park! Organized by the Greater Wyoming Valley Nurses! Join Logan, and his dad, nurse Ryan, as we discuss this great community event. Solely organized by had-working nurses and frontline health care workers as a day to celebrate, health, wellness, community, resilience and...

Terrayne, our friend from the Alcoholitics podcast [https://anchor.fm/alcoholitics], makes the case for voting for Malcolm Kenyatta as the Democratic candidate for US Senate.  Jenna [https://twitter.com/End_LWOP), Henry, Taylor, and Jordi join the roundtable.   We believe in competitive primaries and open platforms so that voters, not party bosses, decide who wins nominations. We also pl...

We welcome back Stacy Richards, Union County Commissioner, to check in about rural news and updates.  Long time friend, Stacy shares her insights and perspectives on the steady work of making positive changes through good policy.  We talk about election integrity and threats to democracy.  The county commissioners are a key element of a good...

“Don’t wait on your neighbor because your neighbor may be waiting on you.” Malcolm Kenyatta (https://www.malcolmkenyatta.com/) discusses his vision for a politics that heals a broken social contract with working people of all backgrounds. He also shares stories of uniting people across regional and other kinds of difference across PA as part of his own...

We welcome back Mayor Derek Slaughter (https://www.cityofwilliamsport.org/government/mayors-office/) of WIlliamsport two years after his sea-change victory to become the first African-American mayor, as well as a major shift from an old guard to a younger, more progressive cohort of local electeds. Check out our prior show with him. KJ Williams, newly a resident of Williamsport, joins...

Intrepid hosts Taylor, Jordi, and Jess try to record a quick podcast and fail — there was too much to talk about! They begin with some quick headlines. Jordi talks about how Chambersburg, PA became the first municipality in PA to repeal their Non-Discrimination Ordinance. Taylor talks about Dr. Oz’s campaign to become the next...

Jordi and Taylor are joined by Jenna Henry from Better PA and Dwayne Heisler from SEIU to do a J6 retrospective. They begin by talking about how their feelings today are different than their immediate feelings after J6. This launches them into a longer free flowing conversation about how the insurrection happened, what are the...

On this episode, Jordi and Taylor interview Colin Jerolmack, author of ‘Up To Heaven And Down To Hell: Fracking, Freedom, and Community In An American Town’. This book examines the sociology of fracking in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, artfully telling this story through a mix of personal biographies and social theory. Jordi and Taylor begin by asking...

Ahead of a public forum in Williamsport on Saturday, Nov 3 at 1 in Brandon Park, Jordi was honored to have David Garlock (https://twitter.com/DavidLeegarlock) and Tyree Little of the newly formed Straight Ahead organization in PA (https://twitter.com/TowardAbolition). Thanks to Jennifer Black for helping to produce this episode. David and Tyree share their stories of being...

We pulled together smart people from all over PA to cover local races we each had an eye on as well as the results from the PA-wide judicial elections. We, too, fell into the trap of not waiting for all the votes to be counted. Since this was recorded, Judge Lori Dumas has pulled ahead...

Biden released on Oct 27 his framework for the Build Back Better reconciliation bill (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/28/build-back-better-framework/). Along with the already-passed physical infrastructure bill, these two are the centerpiece of the very agenda Biden and Democrats ran and won on at the national level. With Dwayne Heisler (SEIU Healthcare PA http...

Election day is just around the corner and today we release an interview with Dan Greak who is running for Union Township Supervisor in Union County! Dan has lived in the area for most of his life working as a contractor and teaching Tae Kwon Do first in East Lewisburg and now in Winfield. If...

Welcome to Season 4! We start the season off by interviewing Judge David Spurgeon who is currently running for Commonwealth Court. We begin the interview by talking about his upbringing in McKeesport in the Monongahela Valley and how his background led him to a successful career in law. Next, we talk about his decision to...