The Ron Show

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, ri...

Dr. Janet Frick , a University of Georgia psychology 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.

⁠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...

Protestors clashed with Emory & Atlanta police and Georgia State Patrol officers yesterday leaving us with some awful optics - two professors among the 28 arrested - and lingering concerns about the electoral ramifications. Even in the Emory aftermath, divisions persisted. Between pushback from younger voters on the U.S. support of Israel at the expense of Gaza citizens, a looming TikTok ban a...

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...

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 a...

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...

We've been hearing a lot of guff lately over dueling development proposals - one in Forsyth, the other in Alpharetta - with professional hockey arenas as centerpieces. Well, there seems to have been movement (literally) putting either or both on hold or providing some doubt for the near term. Governor Brian Kemp is getting ahead of everyone and crapping on any notion of potential Medicaid expa...

Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens & police chief Darin Schierbaum held a press conference in the aftermath of recent vandalism allegedly at the hands of anti-public safety training facility. In this presser, the mayor and chief made the case that protestors were shirking peaceful and democratic means, but isn't actually true that those opposed to "Cop City" tried the peaceful & dem...

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 we...

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 "J...

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 pol...

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...

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 Rep...

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 guid...

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&qu...

In late February, I reached out to ⁠ Chitra Ragavan ⁠ , a CEO and c-suite coach, journalist journalist  ⁠ and podcaster  whose  ⁠ op/ed in the AJC last week ⁠  discussing Fani Willis and the perils of being an ambitious "dominant" woman in the workplace caught my eye.  Hear us discuss Fani's dilemma, her mis-steps and how treacherous being a career-driven and successful woman in the...

Originally airing May 6, 2023 HERE I got to hang out with CNN producer, Kennesaw State professor & Anecdotal ATL creator & host Will Edmunds. DO follow @anecdotalATL on  ⁠ Instagram ⁠  and/or  ⁠ TikTok  ⁠ and learn SO much Atlanta history that's not "textbook history" and get to know how it came to be and meet Will with me!

Today's show originally aired July 10, 2023. In Hartwell, a rural Georgia lake community, pastor Grant Myerholtz convenes a growing "Baptist" congregation in an unusual way (for a baptist church, anyway): he chooses inclusivity. In an era where churches big and small are seeing declines in attendance, his Mt Hebron Baptist Church has grown from a dozen to more than a hundred.  Featur...

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 conve...

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 diat...

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 - provid...

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...