Pod Virginia

IN THE NEWS: Guns at Polling Places: This election cycle is seeing a rise in armed poll-watchers, raising concerns about voter intimidation. Guns are prohibited at polling places in Virginia, but that only applies to 40 feet from the front door of the voting location. As Thomas, Michael, and Lauren discuss, there's a clear difference between ordinary gun-carrying citizens and clear attempts at vot...

On this episode, Thomas and Michael are joined by Chris Piper, former Virginia Elections Commissioner and now COO of the nonpartisan Elections Group. Chris explains how Virginia's Department of Elections prevents voter fraud in multiple ways--from strict protection of Internet-free voting machines to coordination with other states and the "Master Death File" that keeps track of recently-deceased V...

IN THE NEWS: Early Voting Processing: A new Virginia law will make it easier for localities to process absentee ballots before election night, hopefully avoiding the "Red Mirage"-- a phenomenon where Republican Election Day voting totals look higher until early votes and absentee ballots, processed later, swing things back toward Democrats. Still, there's little evidence that increased voting help...

On this episode, Michael is joined by CNalysis' Chaz Nuttycombe, as well as Nathan Moore and Alana Bittner from WTJU's Bold Dominion podcast, to discuss the upcoming midterm elections in November. From Congressional races to local elections, Virginia could be a bellwether--are we in store for a Red Wave or the Democrats holding control? Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia Sponsored by the...

IN THE NEWS: Place Your Bets: Virginia may soon have four casinos up and running by 2025. Last week, members of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission received a report titled “Oversight and Administration of Gaming in the Commonwealth" which details the pros, cons, and recommendations for Virginia casinos going forward. Another new report from JLARC maps out ways to reduce the tax burd...

Check out Michael's launch party today, Thursday 10/20 at 7 PM at the Atheneum in Alexandria, Virginia! On this episode, Pod Virginia producer Aaryan Balu interviews Michael Pope about his new book, "The Byrd Machine in Virginia: The Rise and Fall of a Conservative Political Organization." They discuss the origins of machine politics in the early 20th century, the legacy of Byrd's anti-union and m...

Live from the Linden Row Inn in Richmond, Virginia, where we attended the RESONATE Podcast Festival this weekend! https://www.resonatepodfest.com/ IN THE NEWS: New polling numbers from the Wason Center at Christopher Newport University reveal a host of interesting results: Virginians overwhelmingly support legal abortions, but also show narrow majority support for a 15-week ban. Meanwhile, Preside...

Dr. Jatia Wrighten, Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University, joins Thomas and Michael to discuss a notable political trend--that Black women are more likely to win seats in state legislatures and achieve leadership positions at a faster rate than both Black men and white women. To explain this phenomenon, she discusses her "heavy lifters" theory, which suggests Black wom...

Michael is out with a new book! "The Byrd Machine in Virginia: The Rise and Fall of a Conservative Political Organization" https://www.amazon.com/Byrd-Machine-Virginia-Conservative-Organization/dp/1467139203 IN THE NEWS: Collective bargaining in the classroom: With restrictions against public-sector collective bargaining removed, teachers, firefighters, and other government employees have now been...

Christine Kuglin, Director of Truth in Accounting's Daniels College of Business, explains how Virginia's constitutionally-required "balanced budget" can be reconciled with the Commonwealth's billion-dollar debt burden. While some debt can be good, it also carries risk, such as when worker pensions are leveraged and tied to stocks and bonds. Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia Sponsored by...

IN THE NEWS: The conservative Heritage Foundation recently gave Virginia a perfect score on its "Election Integrity Scorecard" because of the strong security around its election drop boxes. As Michael and Thomas discuss, that news directly counters fearmongering around election integrity issues in the state. Researchers at Virginia colleges are on the cutting edge of semiconductor research--that's...

Markus Schmidt of Cardinal News joins the show to discuss the contentious Republican primary for Virginia's 47th District, where redistricting pits two incumbents against each other, Marie March and Wren Williams. March filed criminal charges against Williams for assault and battery, alleging he shoved her at a GOP event. Schmidt discuses the security camera footage and political implications. Car...

IN THE NEWS: Republican Delegate Phillip Scott says Virginia's 45-day early voting period is too long, causing an undue burden on Virginia's registrars and Department of Elections. Thomas and Michael discuss early voting and the possibility of getting a recurring absentee ballot sent directly to your house. Transparency in government: Senator Mark Warner has introduced the Financial Data Transpare...

Dr. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo, Associate Professor of Political Science and Research Lab Director of the Judy Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, joins Michael and Thomas to talk about the hotly contested midterm election for Virginia's 2nd District. Democratic incumbent Elaine Luria faces a challenge from Republican Jen Kiggans in a newly-redrawn district: what do the...

IN THE NEWS: Child poverty fell to a record low of 5.2% this week. Analysts say that's partly the result of pandemic programs like stimulus payments and the Child Tax Credit. But with many of these programs expired or expiring, what does that mean for American children? A new mandate from a California board now applies in Virginia, requiring all new automobiles delivered to Virginia will be electr...

As Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project continues, negotiations with the SCC will help determine how much it will cost for Virginians to receive the newly-captured wind energy. Harry Godfrey (Managing Director of Virginia Advanced Energy Economy) and Tim Cywinski (Communications Manager for the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club) join us to talk about the latest development in...

IN THE NEWS: Attorney General Jason Miyares is creating a new election integrity unit he says will “restore confidence in our democratic process.” Democrats responded by asking--who doesn’t have confidence in a system that just elected Republicans to all three statewide offices? Will Governor Youngkin appoint a new head POPE: Stalemate at the State Corporation Commission: Members of the General As...

Between a 1999 grant program and a 2010 tax credit program, Virginia taxpayers are paying roughly $10 million every year to help attract film and television productions to the state. The Virginia Film Office says the incentives have a 1.85x return on investment. We're joined by Professor Michael Thom of USC's Price School of Public Policy, who disagrees--he says incentive programs are a bad invest...

"The State of Working Virginia," a new report from the Commonwealth Institute and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, details a variety of new findings, including a shocking headline: Hispanic workers in Virginia are paid an average of 68 cents on the dollar, while Black workers are paid just 74 cents on the dollar. The study's recommendations to help working Virginians include raisi...

Professor Stephen Farnsworth, Director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, joins Michael and Thomas to talk about the hotly contested midterm election for Virginia's 7th District. Democratic incumbent Abigail Spanberger faces a challenge from Republican Yesli Vega in a newly-redrawn district: what do these candidates want their voters to take away a...

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is giving the Mountain Valley Pipeline an additional four years to obtain all the necessary permits to finish construction. This isn't the first time FERC has granted an extension--but some experts say it's a bad deal for Virginians, both environmentally and economically. According to a new Roanoke College survey, consumers are feeling better about the econ...

Executive Director of Safer Country Paul Friedman joins Michael and Thomas to talk about the true costs of gun violence in America--not only the priceless lives lost, but the material cost to American citizens in the forms of economic destruction, healthcare costs, and community harm. They also discuss the economic forces fighting against gun reform, as well as gun policy solutions to help build a...

IN THE NEWS: Thousands are behind bars right now, even though they should've been released--that's the result of a recent budget amendment that changed how "earned sentence credits" worked. A lawsuit by the ACLU challenges whether the amendment can undo the credits earned since the 2020 law was passed. Also in the news: While conversion therapy is illegal to perform on LGBTQ+ children, it's still...

In this episode taken from our Patreon feed, Lauren Burke of the BURKEFILE podcast joins us to discuss the latest trends in journalism, as well as 10 tips for elected officials and communications directors trying to work with reporters. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PodVA Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia BURKEFILE: https://burkefile.libsyn.com/ Sponsored by the Substanc...

IN THE NEWS: With the federal passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Mountain Valley Pipeline may be back on the table--potentially bringing fracked natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia. Thomas and Michael discuss the environmental impact, as well as the merits of arguments related to energy storage and the state's soon-to-be-built wind farm. Also in the news: As Kansas overwhelmingly v...