The Horse Race

01/19/23-- This week on The Horse Race, we’ve got trains and transitions. We’re diving into a dysfunctional MBTA car factory in Springfield with Boston Globe reporter Taylor Dolven. But first, Lisa Kashinsky walks us through her recent conversation with newly sworn in Governor, Maura Healey.

This week on The Horse Race, we have a new state-wide poll about the challenges facing parents and students as they try to recover academically after COVID. The poll was conducted by MassINC Polling Group for EdTrust and The Barr Foundation. Then, we’ll preview the year ahead in Massachusetts politics with two local reporters; Mike Deehan from Axios Boston and Katie Lannan from GBH.

12/22/22-- This week on The Horse Race we're recapping the year in Massachusetts politics, policy and elections. Steve and Jenn run through the highs and lows, from a lack luster governor's race, to the passed ballot questions. Stay tuned until the end to see if you think the AI chatbots could be taking over our jobs soon! Have a happy holiday season and thanks for listening to The Horse Race in 2...

12/15/22-- This week on The Horse Race, our hearts are warmed by the opening of the Green Line extension! Folks came out early to take a ride on the much anticipated train line. Steve also digs in to some new polling for the 2024 presidential race, and what those numbers could mean even this far out from the election. Lisa tunes in from Washington, D.C. to run us through the representation of wome...

12/8/22-- This week on The Horse Race we're talking crypto and BPS parents. The team does a rapid fire news update in the intro, following up on the rail strike, the opening of the Green Line extension, and Mayor Wu and Gov. Elect Healey's first sit-down. Later, Stephanie Murray. alum of The Horse Race, drops by the pod to give us a crypto lesson. She explains what happened with the collapse of FT...

12/1/22-- This week on The Horse Race the royals are in town! Lisa delivers a special report after seeing the Prince and Princess of Wales at an event Wednesday. Then Jenn and Steve dive into the news around a potential rail strike. Later, the team digs into what we can expect from Governor Elect Maura Healey's transition. Then Steph Solis of Axios, drops by the pod to chat about a recent article...

11/24/22-- Happy Thanksgiving to our loyal fans and listeners! To express our gratitude, The Horse Race team is offering a behind the scenes look at our production. Please enjoy these bloopers as another side to your Thanksgiving Day feast. Thanks for listening, we'll be back with our regularly scheduled programming next week!

11/17/2022-- This week on The Horse Race, we start off the show with a rundown of the latest Thanksgiving trends before diving into your weekly dose of MA politics. Sean Philip Cotter of the Boston Herald joins the pod to run through Mayor Wu's first year in office. Then later the team discusses the future of the Mass GOP.

11/10/2022-- This week on The Horse Race, we have election results! After debriefing Lisa's late night pizza endeavors, the team walks through statewide results of the midterm elections. From a predictable yet historic win by Maura Healey for Governor, to down ballot races we’ve kept our eye on, MA delivered sweeping blue results. We also run through the latest on the results of the ballot questio...

11/3/22-- This week on The Horse Race, Lisa and Jenn are easing out of spooky season and into more T drama. Steve Poftak, current general manager of the MBTA, will be stepping down on January 3, only two days before a new governor will take office. Later in the show, the team sets the stage for election day with the help of Yawu Miller of the Bay State Banner. From the top of the ticket, to down b...

10/27/2022-- This week The Horse Race goes spooky right in time for Halloween. The thick fog we've experienced in Boston this week has helped to set the tone. The team dives into a few down ballot sheriff's races at the top of the show as election day approaches. Next, we're joined by Chris Lisinski of the State House News Service to run us through the latest happenings on Beacon Hill. From transp...

10/20/22-- This week on The Horse Race the team finishes up the ballot question round-up! Before that, Steve and Jenn run through a new MassINC Polling Group transportation poll that covers everything from statewide elections to the state of the T. This week we take a deeper look at ballot question 4 on driver's license eligibility. The ballot measure would keep or repeal a law passed earlier this...

10/13/2022-- Today on The Horse Race, the team starts out with a quick Covid-19 update. Have you gotten your booster yet? Then Lisa runs through the latest with the migrant story we've been following in the past few weeks. It's another ballot question episode this week. Today we're running through Question 2. If passed, this ballot question would introduce new regulations on dental insurance compa...

10/6/22-- This week Jenn and Lisa kick off the show with an update on last week's Martha's Vineyard story. Then we dive into ballot questions 1 and 3 as election day approaches. Question 1, also known as the Fair Share Amendment or Millionaire’s tax, would impose an extra 4 percent tax on incomes over one million dollars, with the money designated for state education and transportation funding. On...

9/29/2022-- The Horse Race is back after a two-week break! Steve, Lisa and Jenn have lots to catch up on. The seasons have changed, the Orange Line is back, but where are the debates? The team chats about the lack of debates this season and what the Republican party is up against in MA. Earlier this month, Florida Governor Ron Desantis flew 48 asylum seekers from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard without...

9/8/2022--- On this week's episode the team breaks down the results of the primaries in Massachusetts and who will be going head to head on the ballot in November. Steve discusses the significance of name ID in getting elected and how polling comes into play during primaries. Jenn also runs through the results of down ballot elections mentioned on previous episodes. Tune in for the full list of re...

9/1/22-- This week on The Horse Race there is just too much news! A report released this week by the Federal Transit Administration highlighted the failures of the MBTA when it comes to safety, staffing and system needs. We're less than a week away from primary day and candidates have been pushing to garner support. The team discusses the departure of Quentin Palfrey from the race for AG and what...

8/25/22--- This week on The Horse Race Jenn and Steve are thrilled that it's cooled down. We then dive into Orange Line updates with Rowan Walrath of the Boston Business Journal. It's been nearly a week since the shutdown, but the full impact has not been quite felt as students have yet to return to school. Later, we talk to Bera Dunau of the Daily Hampshire Gazette about the race to fill Lieutena...

8/18/2022 -- On this week's episode, the team breaks down a new MassINC Polling Group poll. The poll looks at upcoming policy questions like the Fair Share Amendment, as well as what the numbers look like for the upcoming democratic primary. Then Jenn talks to Yawu Miller of the Bay State Banner, and Marco Cartolano of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette about the domino effect of elected officials...

8/11/2022 -- On this episode of The Horse Race, Steve and Jenn start the show off with updates of the ongoing MBTA woes. Then Lisa tunes in from the beach to give us a rundown of the latest election season updates. Later, Evan Allen of the Boston Globe, joins the pod to walk us through her recent investigative reporting surrounding controversy at the Suffolk County DA's office. With an election co...

8/4/2022 -- This week on The Horse Race Steve and Lisa start the show off with a rundown of the recent democratic primary debates. Then we dive into the Wednesday announcement from the MBTA: The orange line will be down for 30 days! Lisa gives us the rundown on what this means for riders. On Monday morning the legislative session ended after 23 long hours. During the marathon, lawmakers passed bil...

7/28/2022-- This week, a surprise amendment to the State Senate’s version of the economic development bill would give cities and towns the option of ending a decades-long ban on happy hour for their own municipalities. To talk about it more, Jenn and Steve are joined by the amendment's sponsor, Senator Julian Cyr. Later, Jenn takes a closer look at the history behind the ban and the other attempts...

7/21/2022-- This week is a scorcher! Jenn and Steve start the show off chatting about this extreme heat. There's talk of water restrictions in the Commonwealth within the next few weeks. Ironically enough, President Biden is in Mass this week talking about climate change. It also doesn't look like T service will be improving anytime soon. A shortage of dispatchers will continue to be a hurdle. Sta...

7/14/22-- This week we divert from our regularly scheduled programming for the first ever musical episode of The Horse Race! Jenn and Steve walk us through the seven official state songs one by one. Lenny Gomulka, writer and performer of "Say Hello to Someone From Massachusetts" joins the podcast to talk about the inspiration for the tune and how it came to be the official state polka. Later Joyce...

6/30/2022--This week on The Horse Race, Jenn and Steve unpacking the whirlwind of a news week that just was. Before diving into national news, a statewide race changed drastically this week when state senator and gubernatorial candidate Sonia Chang-Diaz dropped out of the race. She told reporters there was no reasonable path to victory, and she'll instead turn her focus to supporting down-ballot c...