The Drain

It's no secret that former Orange County congresswoman Katie Porter is leading the race to become California's next governor. But it's also no secret that she can be kind of a dick. You know, like Amy Klobuchar mean. So, inexorably, the Democratic establishment was going to trot out old clips of Porter yelling at her aides. What we didn't foresee was that she was also going to just go on TV and ha...

**This is a preview of our premium Friday show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to  patreon.com/thedrain .** Today we're discussing the fascinating story of the southern California son of a billionaire real estate magnate who is facing a lawsuit from investors in his idea for the Ultimate Rich Guy's Man Cave, called "The Bunker," which has not come to fruition despite millions in inves...

Today we're discussing Governor Gavin Newsom's hardest-hitting interview from the Left in ages , which was conducted by a Twitch streamer named ConnorEatsPants on Fortnite Friday. Listen to our discussion on their talk, but you'll definitely want to hop over to his YouTube channel and watch it as well. It includes a phenomenal discussion on a one-state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict, lo...

**This is a preview of our premium Friday show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to  patreon.com/thedrain .** Today we're taking a look at Governor Gavin Newsom's podcast episode discussing economic nihilism, online communities, and gamer culture, with Brandon Ewing (a.k.a. @atrioc). If you don't know who that is, don't worry--Kempa didn't either. But we're gonna learn today. Don't forg...

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**This is a preview of our premium Friday show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to  patreon.com/thedrain .** Today, Max regales us with a chilling story about a California public utility--the Sacramento Municipal Utility District-- sharing its power usage data with cops to help them find "illegal" marijuana grow operations in the region . Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The...

Today, we discuss the loss of a California staple, our old punk/anti-fascist friend Ground Chuck. We also Discuss the passing of another Chuck , whom you may or may not have heard of: Chuck (Charlie) Kirk. Then we talk about some California bills coming to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk: “Anti-semitism” bill – AS UC BERKELEY SHARES 160 names with Trump administration:  Energy bill tied to wildfires,...

Hello, Plug brethren and Drain cisterns. Kempa had to take a few weeks out east for some family business, but we are BACK and ready to discuss the federal redistricting battles. You may have heard that California is responding to Texas Republicans' redistricting push to ensure fascism in the US in 2026, with a little redistricting of their own . What does that mean? Well, Democrats in the Golden S...

It's all old hat at this point, but it bears repeating that Zohran Mamdani's historic nomination as Democratic candidate for New York City mayor is largely thanks to his groundbreaking policies for city welfare, as well as his commitment to social justice. Less examined, however, is the role of ranked choice voting in the success of his campaign. Today we sit down with Josh Rosa of Better Ballot S...

Today we're talking with our friend Coyote Marin, Executive Director of the Independent California Institute, about the new poll they've put out with YouGov on California sentiment towards autonomous rule . The highlights? 50% of Californians say they trust Sacramento more than Washington, D.C.—only 23% say the reverse. 71% say California would be better off with special autonomous status within t...

**This is a preview of our premium Friday show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to  patreon.com/thedrain .** Welcome, to our lovely paid listeners, to an exploration of the rogue benches showing up all over San Francisco . Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms. Questions? Comments? Pitches? Email us at  thedrainpodcast@gmail.com . Oh,...

Today we're taking a look at how President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is going to affect Californians struggling to get by. As Governor Newsom gears up for his 2028 presidential bid with a trip to genuflect to Jim Clyburn in South Carolina , those of us back home are steeling ourselves for the effects of this legislation. You may have noticed that every Democrat and two members of the GOP opposed...

**This is a preview of our premium Friday show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to  patreon.com/thedrain .** Today Palma and Kempa convene to discuss a Democratic establishment podcast that Kempa forced his poor cohost to listen to: The Latino Vote, whose panel--which includes a Californian who helped launch the Lincoln Project--is ringing the alarm about Zohran Mamdani's historic win...

Today, we're discussing a vile piece of Islamophobic legislation wending its way through the California legislature designed to muzzle the state's public school teachers who want to discuss the ongoing genocide in Gaza. But FIRST, we get to spike the football on Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. The youth vote mobilized for this campaign, unfazed by the...

**This is a preview of our premium Friday show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to  patreon.com/thedrain .** It's Pride Month, so of course when the California legislature puts forward a resolution recognizing LGBT humanity, the Republicans need to trot some mouth-breather out to go on an anti-trans rant. You may have seen it on Asm. Carl DeMaio's (R-San Diego) Twitter . When he took t...

Today we're discussing a little story from Politico's California Playbook , which noted that California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter recently received a maximum personal contribution of $39,200 from billionaire Chris Larsen, co-founder of the crypto firm Ripple. Why does that matter? First, it signifies that Porter has perhaps made amends with California's crypto elites, whose Fairshake PA...

**This is a preview of our premium Friday show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to  patreon.com/thedrain .** Today we're running a very special reading series on the incredible story featuring the dean of a California charter school who runs his own alpha-male lifestyle coaching business and says, on his YouTube channel, that women must submit to men. Folks, meet Mr. 1950 (a.k.a. Ken P...

As Governor Gavin Newsom sues to get President Donald Trump's National Guard troops and Marines out of Los Angeles, Californians are taking things into their own hands. Throughout the state, folks are setting up rapid response networks to stop ICE from detaining their neighbors, or to get legal representation for ICE detainees (find a network near you here: https://www.ccijustice.org/carrn). Sacra...

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been lurching to the right ever since he started eyeing a 2028 run for the White House: he's invited fascists such as Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk onto his podcast; he's conducted state violence against the unhoused community (most notably using his own hands to throw out their belongings); and he's genuflected to the far right on issues surrounding trans righ...

**This is a preview of our premium Friday show, The Plug. To listen to the full episode, go to patreon.com/thedrain .** Today we're discussing Ro Khanna, Democratic representative from Silicon Valley--the wealthiest district in the United States at $14 trillion--who is clearly planning a 2028 presidential run as he tries to court fascist Elon Musk back to the Democratic party. Khanna impressed the...

Today we're joined by a very special guest, Priscilla Grim, a dear old friend of Kempa's and one of 61 people facing RICO and terrorism charges by Georgia's Attorney General related to the 2023 protests to stop Atlanta's Cop City--a movement that gained international attention when Georgia officials murdered an unarmed demonstrator named Tortuguita. Now, nearly two years later, prosecutors are fin...

This special episode starts with a brief discussion on President Trump's new plane before devolving fast into discourse on the many drugs we have both consumed in South America, Central America and Spain. This one's also got some phenomenal travel tips--particularly in Panama and El Salvador. Don't forget to like, rate and subscribe to The Drain on your favorite podcast platforms. And  subscribe t...

Today we're doing a deep dive into Governor Gavin Newsom's proposed budget for the state of California. Facing a $12 billion deficit--due in large part to President Trump's tariff wars and rising costs--Newsom is tasked this year with making some big cuts. Many of these moves will serve as an outline for the direction he takes in his presumed 2028 presidential run. We tackle two of the biggest bud...

This is a preview of a premium installment of The Drain. To listen to the whole episode, subscribe at  patreon.com/thedrain .  Today Kempa is sharing the story of the misguided vendetta by former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Assemblymember Maggy Krell against the publishers of the alt-weekly empire New Times Media, how they shuttered papers all over the country and endangered sex wo...

You may have heard of AB379 , the 'sex trafficking' bill put forward by Republican Shannon Grove and--surprise, surprise--freshman Democrat Maggy Krell. Robin Epley at the Sacramento Bee immediately clocked this bill for its major issues , without even touching on its implications on cops messing with the gay cruising community (see the next Seeking Derangements for a discourse on that).  The Bee'...