The Ron Show

Fani Willis signals ⁠she'll defy any calls to testify⁠ before a GOP-led Senate committee looking to investigate her. ⁠Georgia's dumped 300,000 kids off health insurance⁠ and a Georgia State Supreme Court candidate - John Barrow - is ⁠suing to be able to campaign on issues⁠. He joined me today to discuss why he knows he's the right to discuss women's reproductive choice - and he has the words of An...

Last week, President Joe Biden gave a statement and took two (literally two) questions on the matter of college campus protests in support of the Palestinian people, and in the process of that address, managed to alienate himself further from activists needed to win close races. Okay, so will he need to ride on "reverse coattails?" Surely that's how he gets re-elected, if he does, right? Also, why...

⁠Dr. Janet Frick⁠, a University of Georgia philosophy professor and head of the school's ⁠Infant Research Lab⁠, has been a ⁠vocal critic⁠ of her employer's response to pro-Palestinian protests - and she's not wild about Governor Brian Kemp's rhetoric either. She and I discuss that and what she makes of that crucial young voting bloc in a turbulent election cycle.

Chris Dowd, aka ⁠"Athens Politics' Nerd"⁠ joined to update us on the situation in Athens/Clarke County and on the University of Georgia campus, plus VPOTUS Kamala Harris launched her economic opportunities tour in nearby College Park and I have ⁠her entire sit-down⁠ to review together.

The prior weekend's White House Press Correspondents' Dinner - given all that's going on - may have felt a bit 'out of touch' to some (myself included) but Colin Jost's 23-minute set was loaded with laughs. It was also punctuated with a ⁠touching tribute by Jost for both his recently departed grandfather ⁠and the President. I thought it poignant to share the whole thing, sure (mostly to give mysel...

Huzzah - most the Atlanta Beltline will be done in time for the World Cup in 2026. And? Most soccer fans will be nowhere near it, so forgive me if I don't understand the celebratory tone over that milestone. Aid to Ukraine - tied to aid to Israel and Taiwan AND a potential TIkTok ban - may have damning effects on support for the incumbent President from the under-30 voter. I discuss that and more...

Yesterday we glossed over Friday's ⁠"Politically Georgia" podcast⁠ featuring a Thursday Q&A - recorded before an audience - with Governor Brian Kemp. Today, we hone in on his hardline stance on Medicaid expansion. The man is stubborn(ly refusing to admit his 'Pathways' program is failing & costs Georgia taxpayers more than outright expansion would). Jay Bookman writes an op-ed in the Georgia Recor...

Georgia governor Brian Kemp did a wide-ranging interview with the "Politically Georgia" podcast hosts last Thursday, which aired last Friday morning on WABE-FM and via podcast (⁠listen here⁠). In it, Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy and Bill Nigut grilled the governor to figure out where his support for the GOP presidential nominee is (we know where wife, Marty, stands, for now), his...

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr ⁠joined Tuesday's "Politically Georgia" podcast ⁠and had strong thoughts about enjoining a lawsuit against the Biden administration's efforts to ramp up student loan forgiveness but not much to say about why he chose (seemingly unilaterally) not to pursue that "rule of law" preening posture when attempts to overturn the 2020 election were on his desk. Marge Gree...

The former President swooped in last week for some Buckhead bucks-grabbing but made an impromptu (or was it?) stop in Vine City to close the deal on an astroturfed photo op. That's right,⁠ it was staged⁠. Dr. Jason Johnson and podcast host Clay Cane ⁠autopsied the whole thing⁠, and while I take issue with Dr. Johnson casting aspersions on the Chick Fil-A franchise owner for not going all "Joe the...

It had been a minute since ⁠'Atlanta Voice'⁠ editor-in-chief Donnell Suggs had been on the show, so I reached out to him last night to see if he had some time today and, fortunate for me, he did! We covered a range of topics - from the Mets getting the better of the Braves this week (what?!?) to OJ Simpson's passing and social media making light of it to Trump's Atlanta visit and polling data for...

Former president Donald Trump swooped into metro Atlanta Wednesday (that explains the traffic ... ) for a Buckhead fundraiser but made a Vine City Chick Fil-A stop where he ordered "30 milkshakes and some chicken" (Strips? Nuggies? Sandwiches? Wraps?) which went viral, as did his taking photos with mostly black patrons. We call this "astro-turfing" because the truth is, ⁠it was all a set-up⁠. More...

Another example of "dog catches car" in Arizona yesterday as a (GOP-packed) ⁠state Supreme Court believes an 1864 law (that predates Arizona even being a state) is where reproductive rights is properly codified. ⁠The former governor who packed that court, the ⁠current GOP Senate candidate⁠ (and Trump pet) - who on the record two years ago supported going back to that 1864 law - and other Republica...

Not gonna lie; I hopped around the local & national headlines a bit, today, without much of an agenda, but did touch on a former ⁠city of Atlanta CFO admitting guilt⁠ in a near-decade long case where he was charged with use of funds for personal gain, among other things. Kudos to the AJC for its investigation into ⁠poor handling of 911 calls⁠ by Atlanta and other metro agencies. Also,⁠ new WIC gui...

Today begins ⁠a six-week⁠ (I bet it's at least eight) stretch where airport passengers and employees have to live ⁠without its MARTA station "at" Hartsfield-Jackson⁠ and with current transit woes and metro growth projections, of course the region and state is behind where it needs to be. So I felt it necessary to build off the conversation had on yesterday's ⁠"The Georgia Gang"⁠ (airing locally on...

Two Thursdays ago, Stacey Abrams joined a Howard University symposium - ⁠"Black Women in Politics"⁠ - and I'm sharing that audio today, along with a short Q&A after it, where Abrams referenced voter suppression tactics and Medicaid expansion filibusters here in Georgia. Meanwhile, last weekend, Fareed Zaharia invoked Abrams in a "whataboutist" stretch of sorts. In a conversation on 'Real Time with...

The 2024 Georgia legislative session came to an end Thursday night / Friday morning and while the GOP pushed through a number of ⁠awful bills awaiting Governor Brian Kemp's signature, not all of their "read meat" wish list made the cut⁠. Notably, ⁠none of their anti-LGBTQIA+ garbage made it⁠. So there's that. ⁠New voter challenge rules passed⁠, despite a spirited and fact-laden diatribe by Rep. Sa...

As Georgia's final legislative day on the calendar in 2024 - ⁠'Sine Die' - came today⁠, it's worth reviewing the ⁠bills jammed through both the Senate and House⁠ before the grande finale, so we'll eavesdrop on ⁠GPB's "Lawmakers"⁠ to get a feel for what's passing and what isn't. One I actually love - and spearheaded by a Republican I actually kinda like - provides renter protections & ⁠insists on l...

An Alabama statehouse race saw a Democrat run, well, like a Democrat and - what do you know - she won! Sure turnout was low, but that might be the case in an election cycle where no one's excited about the choices atop the tickets. It was also, after all, just a day ago, Georgia WIN List's Melita Easters said we still have plenty of "reckoning" coming, post-Dobbs. ⁠ NBC News pulled the plug⁠ on th...

With Mifepristone being debated before the Supreme Court, Georgia WIN List executive director Melita Easters joined me to explain how we even got here. Mayor Andre Dickens made major news at his "state of the city" address yesterday, but in doing so left more questions than answers; namely "is the money from those new MARTA in-fill stations coming at a cost to streetcar/Beltline rail expansion? It...

Over the weekend, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office hosted an Easter function for kids but naturally the media was there to ask probing questions, and while the threat of a gag order was brought up by Superior Court judge Scott McAfee last week, she spoke about the Trump election interference case anyhow. Argh. Meanwhile, Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens gave his 'state of the...

Business acumen means opening a place because you know that you not only have customers pining for your service, but that they also have an ability to pay for it. Georgia Republicans' push to loosen the state's 'certificate of need' regulations to allow for more hospitals to be built (like in Butts County on property ⁠the Lt. Governor's father owns⁠ - for example) makes no sense when the state's l...

Governor Brian Kemp and Georgia Republicans may be about the most stubborn(ly wrong) politicians known to man. They run one of only ten states still not to expand Medicaid, and insist their idea (Georgia Pathways) is superior in drawing down the number of uninsured in the state. The only problem is, ⁠they're (again) wrong about it⁠, and their insistence on sticking to their plan is deadly for thos...

A perfectly well-meaning bill introduced by freshman Rep. Omari Crawford passed out of the Georgia House and went into yesterday's ⁠Senate education subcommittee hearing⁠, where ⁠five ultra-right wing measures - some explicitly anti-LGBTQIA+ - were attached to it.⁠ Hear Crawford present his bill, ask that only it be considered (it wouldn't be) and then hear ⁠Sen. Clint Dixon pile on the "red meat"...

While Laken Riley's mom and stepfather cozied up to Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene, ⁠a somber biological father - Jason Riley - emerged via an interview with NBC News⁠ that show us a heartbroken man disgusted that his daughter's murder has been politicized. Meanwhile, the ⁠local newspaper sought feedback from Georgia sheriffs⁠ and they're not thrilled with the predicament state GOP lawmak...