Next Round

This week's guest is Dallas Lawrence, a communications pro who has worked at the highest levels of government, the military, and corporate America, who joins us to discuss his new book Communicating Under Fire .  The book offers terrific advice for communications novices and PR pros alike on how to prepare and respond to communications crises that everyone will eventually face in our cancel cultur...

Now that the 2024 election is finally over, the PRI All Stars (Rowena Itchon, Tim Anaya, Lance Izumi and Kerry Jackson) share their thoughts on the election results.  They discuss what went wrong for Kamala Harris, preview what policies we might see from an incoming Trump administration and break down Gavin Newsom's campaign fighting everything from the incoming administration.  Plus, they share t...

Our guest on this week's podcast is Norton Rainey, CEO of Ace Scholarships, an organization focused on securing financial support for low-income kids to attend great schools.  We chat with Norton about their recent education survey of parents and their thoughts on school choice.  We also discuss the many advancements of school choice across the states and the further challenges ahead.

PRI's All Stars – Lance Izumi, Kerry Jackson, Rowena Itchon, and Tim Anaya – are back with our usual preview of the 2024 presidential election.  We preview what a potential President Harris or re-elected President Trump would do in their upcoming terms, discuss the key propositions including Prop. 36 on retail theft and Prop. 33 on rent control, and breakdown the hot House races in California and...

With housing - including rent control and development policies – and homelessness key issues for voters across California this election year, we present an expanded version of our recent conversation between the Manhattan Institute's Judge Glock and our Steven Greenhut of PRI's Free Cities Center.  The two discuss government housing mandates, NIMBY-ism, free market housing policy solutions, rent c...

Our guest this week is journalist Tim Carney.  We recorded his talk on his new book, Family Unfriendly , at a recent PRI luncheon in Newport Beach, California.  Tim discusses what's ailing so many families these days – record rates of anxiety, depression and medication among children, and stress suffered by parents.  His book focuses on how we got here as a society and how families can begin to re...

Phil Goldberg, special counsel with the Manufacturers Accountability Project of the National Association of Manufacturers, joins us to discuss a key upcoming Supreme Court case that could impact the future of state and local climate change litigation.  We discuss with Phil why these lawsuits drive up energy costs and hurt innovation, and why a comprehensive, national legislative session is the way...

In a special episode, we interview co-host Tim Anaya and his co-author Kerry Jackson on their new book, The California Left Coast Survivor's Guide , which chronicles the bad policy ideas that have been emanating from Sacramento for years and now are inspiring the Biden-Harris administration and policymakers nationwide.  They talk about the state's myriad bans on everything from plastic hotel shamp...

As we conclude our look back at the 2024 legislative session, PRI senior fellow in tech and innovation Bartlett Cleland joins us for a look back at this year's big tech debates on issues ranging from AI to how social media companies are disrupting traditional media outlets.  We also explore how a Trump administration or Harris administration would approach tech policy over the next for years and l...

After the big debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, PRI's team of former speechwriters (Tim Anaya, Rowena Itchon and Lance Izumi) are back with their analysis of the (second) first presidential debate.  They weigh in on the strong and weak moments for each candidate, how each addressed their policy weaknesses, the debate over the rules and the moderators, and whether the debate ultimately...

Free Cities Center director and longtime Sacramento journalist Steven Greenhut joins us for a review of the just-completed 2024 legislative session.  We break down the year's hottest legislative debates, including retail theft, the state budget, insurance reform, tech policy, and more. We also discuss Gov. Newsom's dwindling influence over lawmakers this year as his political ambitions turned east...

Tune in as PRI's former speechwriters - Rowena Itchon, Lance Izumi and Tim Anaya - review the just-completed Democratic National Convention.  They break down President Biden's farewell speech, discuss whether Kamala Harris' big speech ticked all the boxes and set her on a strong path to the general election, evaluate how well Tim Walz introduced himself to the American people, and, of course, talk...

This week's guest is a recording of remarks by renowned historian Victor Davis Hanson.  We were honored to host Victor at a recent dinner in Napa Valley attended by more than 175 supporters.  Victor discussed his latest book The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation. With so many conflicts around the world – from the Russia-Ukraine War to the attack of Hamas on Israel – we wanted t...

This week's podcast is a recording of remarks by acclaimed historian and award-winning author Andrew Roberts at a recent PRI dinner.  He discussed the recent elections in the U.K. and the Labor Party's victory, elections in Europe, and his latest New York Times bestseller Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukrain e   (October 2023). The book was co-authored with General David Petraeus...

This week's podcast is a special presentation of our recent webinar following the Supreme Court's recent decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson , moderated by Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut. Go inside the historic decision with Theane Evangelis, partner with Gibson Dunn who represented Grants Pass before the Supreme Court and Erik Jaffe, PRI adjunct fellow in legal studies and partner wit...

Gov. Newsom recently ordered homeless encampments on property under the state's jurisdiction to be cleared due to the Grants Pass Supreme Court decision that ruled that it is not cruel and unusual punishment to forbid people from camping on public property. This podcast is an audio version of Free Cities Center director Steve Greenhut's interview with Erica Sandberg, a freelance journalist and fre...

This week, PRI's former speechwriters (Rowena Itchon, Lance Izumi, and Tim Anaya) give their take on the Republican National Convention.  They analyze former President Trump's speech, given just a few days after an assassination attempt. They also discuss vice presidential candidate JD Vance's speech and weigh in on how well the other speakers at the convention set up the GOP for the fall campaign...

Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI's Center for Education, joins us to discuss his latest book The Great Classroom Collapse , which investigates the implosion of rigor and learning in America's schools.  He shares the stories of some of the parents, teachers, and policymakers he profiles in the book and discusses what can be done to improve classroom learning and give all students a greater oppor...

Longtime Sacramento lobbyist and college professor Chris Micheli joins us to discuss his new book, The Complete Practical Guide to California Government . They discuss areas of state government that need reform, recent controversies over the use of non-disclosure agreements in the legislative process and whether efforts to enact tax and spending reform will ever succeed. Plus Tim and Ro discuss th...

Who won?  Who helped themselves the most in the polls? PRI's team of former speechwriters - Rowena Itchon, Lance Izumi, and Tim Anaya - analyze the First 2024 Presidential Debate.  They discuss President Biden's shockingly poor performance and whether President Trump learned his lessons from his 2020 debate mistakes, plus they grade the candidates' answers on immigration, the economy, foreign poli...

Our guest this week is Charles Kesler, one of the nation's most prominent political philosophers. He teaches government at Claremont McKenna and is the editor of the Claremont Review of Books. Prof. Kesler's former students have produced a book celebrating his work entitled: "Leisure with Dignity: Essays in Celebration of Charles R. Kesler." We'll let him explain the title.

Dr. Matt Beech, director of the Center for British Politics at the University of Hull and senior fellow at UC Berkeley's Institute of European Studies, is back with a preview of the upcoming UK elections on July 4.  We discuss the major contenders and their platforms, what kind of prime minister Keir Starmer would be if elected, how the lingering effects of Brexit will impact the vote, and whether...

Partner in Schaerr-Jaffe and PRI fellow in legal studies Erik Jaffe joins us this week for his annual preview of the decisions in the hot cases that will be handed down by the Supreme Court this month.  Lance Izumi and Erik discuss how the Court may rule on President Trump's immunity claims and the remaining legal issues following the Dobbs ruling.  They also talk about cases PRI is particularly i...

Join us for a special episode featuring a speech by Newsweek opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon at a recent PRI luncheon in San Francisco.  Ms. Ungar-Sargon discussed her latest book, "Second Class:  How the Elites Betrayed America's Working Men and Women."  Also, Ro and Tim discuss the legislature's recent House of Origin deadline, including legislation on retail theft, homework, and legalizing dr...