The Political Life

On today's special July 4th episode,  Maggie Mick  hosts  Michael O'Brien  - executive coach, cyclist and host of a new podcast,  A Perfectly Imperfect Union. They discuss his new project, the podcast's origin story, and its aim. In each podcast, Michael sits down with a real American from every state in our union, plus Washington, D.C. to discuss what America means to them, where the current tens...

In the 2026 season opener of The Political Life,  Maggie Mick  hosts  Brody Mullins.  Mullins is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. He spent nearly two decades covering the intersection of business and politics for The Wall Street Journal. He is underway in reshaping how Washington is covered and understood through his new media ventures including  The Deciders  and  535 .

In this week's episode,  Maggie Mick  hosts  Layla Zaidane, CEO & President of the Future Caucus (formerly Millennial Action Project). The discussion focuses on Layla's professional trajectory and the lessons picked up along the way which have enabled her to be a driving force in the organization's growth and relevance in a hyper-partisan and polarized America. The two also explore the greatest ch...

For the first The Political Life taping of 2026,  Maggie Mick  sits down with West Virginia Speaker of the House of Delegates,  Roger Hanshaw. The Speaker shares his professional and political path and how they intertwine to serve his constituents and state, current conditions impacting federalism, and his participation in the new Assembly for State Legislative Leaders. Finally, he previews the We...

In today's episode,  Maggie Mick  sits down with  Deana Lykins, Lead for State Government Affairs at Haleon. A Kentucky native and now New Jersey resident, Deana has worn essentially every hat in state policy making and advocacy. From campaigns to state capitol aide before crossing over to the private sector where she's held roles as a contract lobbyist, running a state association, and now her ro...

For The Political Life's final episode of 2025, and to prepare our listening audience for state legislative sessions in 2026, we stood up a MultiState Group Chat to discuss all the emerging issues that may be coming to a state capitol building near you. This fall, MultiState released a 2025 Issues Review and 2026 Forecast Report. An extensive and large undertaking, the report pulls from the expert...

Next year is huge for gubernatorial races, but don't take your eye off the 30 state attorneys general races set for 2026. Increasingly, AGs play an outsized role in state policymaking, multistate investigations, and federal activity. Beyond that, more of them are ascending to higher office including governor, Congress, and federal cabinet positions. In the eight 2024 gubernatorial races, three AGs...

This week and next week's episodes on 2026 attorneys general races are rebroadcasts of recent MultiState client webinars.  Next year is huge for gubernatorial races, but don't take your eye off the 30 state attorneys general races set for 2026. Increasingly, AGs play an outsized role in state policymaking, multistate investigations, and federal activity. Beyond that, more of them are ascending to...

Senator  James  Maroney was first elected to represent the 14th District (Milford) in 2018. Senator Maroney currently serves as the Co-Chair of the General Law Committee.  In his time as co-chair of the committee, he has passed comprehensive consumer data privacy laws, children and consumer health data privacy laws, a law governing state government use of AI, laws modernizing and expanding the pra...

In this week's episode,  Maggie Mick  hosts  David Hallock, president of Two Capitols Consulting in Virginia. With 30 years of experience working in the Virginia Governor's office and General Assembly, the United States Senate, and the private sector, David is one of the most seasoned and respected operatives in the Commonwealth. Maggie and David walk through the evolving dynamics in this year's s...

In today's episode,  Maggie Mick  hosts  Bill Maer , senior partner wtih Public Impact Strategies. Bill is a well-respected New Jersey lobbyist and onetime political operative with a career spanning more than 30 years. He was appointed to Governor Phil Murphy's 2018 Transition Committee to advise the incoming Administration on State related policies. Maggie and Bill discuss the Garden State's colo...

On today's special episode,  Maggie Mick  hosts Minnesota state  Sen. Julia Coleman  to reflect on the life and legacy of her friend and mentor Charlie Kirk. The conversation took place on September 12, two days after he was assassinated while addressing an audience on the campus of Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah. Sen. Coleman began her political career on the staff of Turning Point US...

On today's episode,  Maggie Mick  hosts  Amanda Nguyen,  President & CEO of the  American Distilled Spirits Alliance.  Amanda, an accomplished attorney and seasoned government affairs executive, recently took the helm at ADSA. The two discuss Amanda's time working in a state legislature, her path to Washington, D.C. and raising her daughter as a single mom while building a successful career. 

In today's episode,  Maggie Mick  sits down with  Vartan Dijhanian , Director of Global Government Affairs for LAM Research. Vartan has worked on political campaigns since middle school and went on to serve on the staff for multiple Members of Congress before transitioning to the private sector. A native of Lebanon, he has a deep appreciation for American politics and how anyone can pursue public...

In this week's episode,  Maggie Mick  hosts  T.J. Birkel,  Head - Government Affairs, West, for Kroger and host of his own podcast,  Common Fan .  They chat about  T.J. 's time on Capitol Hill, his transition to the private sector and state affairs, building businesses and of course, Nebraska football. Go Big Red. 

On today's episode,  Maggie Mick  is joined by  New Mexico Speaker Javier Martinez . They discuss his ascent into politics and legislative leadership, the issues that matter most to him, how he leads his chamber, the big issues that the legislature tackled this session and what's ahead in 2026. 

In today's episode,  Maggie Mick  welcomes back to the show  Tim Storey , CEO of the  National Conference of State Legislatures to mark the organization's 50th anniversary. The two discuss the origins of NCSL, its impact on states as well as thousands of state legislators and staff, current programs and NCSL's important role in states rights. Tim also shares a preview for the 50th Legislative Summ...

In today's episode,  Maggie Mick  is joined by  Nneka Chiazor , the newly installed President for the  Public Affairs Council.  The two discuss Nneka's career, her vision for the Council moving forward, and she shares all the ways any professional in public or government affairs can get involved. More about upcoming Public Affairs Council events  here .

In the wake of the tragic political assassination of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark,  Maggie Mick  sits down with  Cristine Almeida  of Almeida Public Affairs in St. Paul, Minnesota. The conversation explores Speaker Hortman's career and legacy in Minnesota as well as the impact of her death reverberating in the community of states and the challenge to our country which faces...

Today, we are rebroadcasting a recent MultiState virtual client event hosted by  Maggie Mick  on the budget reconciliation bill which contains President Trump's domestic policy agenda currently moving in the U.S. Senate. In May, the House narrowly passed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" — which would cut taxes, increase border and military spending, and notably scale back Medicaid, among other pro...

On today's episode,  Maggie Mick  hosts  Fred Zeytoonjian,  President of the  State Government Affairs Council.  This year, SGAC celebrates its 50th anniversary. Fred shares an 101 on SGAC and how the organization is marking this milestone year with a national campaign to celebrate the state government affairs profession and raising funds for  Faces of Voices of Recovery. He also talks about his f...