The Sacralegis Podcast

Susan and Josh sit down with State Senator John Laird, one of the most accomplished and effective members of the state legislature, for a wide-ranging conversation across a range of current issues, to include the impact of federal cuts on California, the prospective impacts and implications of the controversy over Congressional redistricting in Texas and possibly California, and his experience and...

On this week’s episode, Susan and Josh welcome not one but two distinguished guests to the podcast. The first guest is Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, a non-partisan organization comprised of the senior executive leadership of the state’s major companies, to talk about some of the recent developments on the national stage and how they affect California.

Susan and Josh gather for their weekly podcast on Sacramento-related goings on, looking forward to having as this week's guest Tim Myers, former member of the rock band OneRepublic and recently announced candidate for Lieutenant Governor. As you'll hear in this slightly abbreviated version of the Sacralegis Podcast, not everything goes as planned, although of course the show must go on...

Susan and Josh are joined by their former colleague Cristina Garcia, who represented the Long Beach area in the Assembly from 2021 to 2022. While in office, she was a fierce and fearless champion for women, local communities, and the environment, and has continued to fight for and support similar causes in her post-elective life as well.

Susan and Josh mull over some recent items in the news, along with revisiting four of their favorite conversations from earlier episodes of The Sacralegis Podcast, with a particular eye on legislative progress and other developments since then.

Susan and Josh welcome Mike Madrid, a recognized authority on Latino politics, the principal of California-based public affairs firm Grassroots Lab, and author of a critically acclaimed book, "The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy," which was published last June, for a spirited conversation on the impact of changing Latino attitudes toward politics in Califor...

Susan and Josh welcome former colleague State Senator Catherine Blakespear for an in-depth discussion on some of her current legislation in the critical areas of dignity-in-dying and making progress on California’s ongoing homelessness crisis, as well as her thoughts on the legislation providing for exemptions from the California Environmental Quality Act, which were tied to the recent passage of...

Susan and Josh welcome Bode Gower, the Founder and Chair of the Northern California Youth Policy Coalition, which aims to amplify rural youth voices on state-level issues, as well as the host of his own podcast, “The Gower Hour,” which offers a youth perspective on politics by interviewing local elected officials, for a discussion of how young people are thinking about and participate in politics...

Susan and Josh are joined by their former colleague State Senator Tom Umberg, a decorated Army veteran, former prosecutor and assistant drug czar and current Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee for a conversation about recent events around immigration enforcement and the use of federal military assets in its conduct.

Susan and Josh are joined by Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association, the trade association representing companies involved in petroleum exploration, production, refining, transportation, and marketing in the five western states of the US: Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the transportati...

Susan and Josh are joined by Professor Thad Kousser of UC San Diego, a nationally renowned political scientist and authority on legislative politics and governance, for a conversation about past and proposed changes to California's state constitution and electoral processes in the pursuit of responsive governance and political reforms.

Susan and Josh are joined by CalMatters reporter Ryan Sabalow, who in addition to covering the Capitol is part of the team behind CalMatters's innovative “digital democracy” project, an initiative deploying technology and data to increase transparency, accountability and understanding about California state legislators and the policy decisions they are making.

Susan and Josh are joined by Jim Cooper, current Sacramento County Sheriff and former member of the California State Assembly, for a wide-ranging conversation on crime, mental health, legal marijuana, and other topics, while exploring his insights as someone with a fairly unique perspective, having previously made laws and now being charged to enforce them.

Susan and Josh welcome Chris Micheli, longtime Sacramento lobbyist, as well as attorney, author, professor, and recognized authority on Sacramento arcana and minutiae, for a deep dive and discussion on why things work the way they do in the State Capitol, and some of the ways they might be improved.

Susan and Josh are joined by Curt Augustine, Senior Director of State Affairs for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the industry trade association which represents the interests of automobile manufacturers, for a conversation about issues, policies, and plans involving cars, which play such a central role in California's economy and culture.

Susan and Josh welcome to the podcast Lance Hastings, President and CEO of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association for a conversation about manufacturing and its place in California's economy, especially in light of recent developments around trade and tariffs in Washington, DC

Susan and Josh welcome to the podcast Ashley Zavala, Capitol Correspondent for television station KCRA, and past president of the Capitol Correspondents Association, to talk about the current state of media coverage in Sacramento, the state of media today, and the relationship between a healthy democracy and a free and active press.

In this week's episode, Susan and Josh welcome Dr. Jack Brouwer, Director of the Clean Energy Institute at the University of California Irvine, for a discussion on the role of hydrogen as part of California's ambitious plans to transition to a clean energy economy. Dr. Brouwer is also an ordained minister, and the latter portion of the podcast includes a discussion of the relationship between his...

This week's topic is social media and its impacts, especially on young people. Susan and Josh are joined by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, who has been a leader within the Legislature on advancing policies that seek to hold social media platforms responsible for the potential harm that their applications can cause to the young people who have so thoroughly incorporated social media into their live...

In this week's episode of The Sacralegis Podcast, Susan and Josh welcome former California State Senator and current US Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove, to get her typically unvarnished take on what it's like to be in DC in these days of partisan tribalism and political uncertainty.

Susan and Josh are joined by California State Senator Ben Allen to talk about the benefits and challenges associated with recycling in California, to include his groundbreaking work on SB-54, a first-in-the-nation framework for recycling and reducing plastic waste, in the news recently as the result of changes to its implementation plan.

In this week's episode, Susan and Josh welcome Dr. Hannah Thompson a public health researcher and noted authority on the role of physical education and play as part of a quality educational experience for children in school. Dr. Thompson discusses the importance and benefits of PE and recess, as well as some of the recent challenges associated with the discontinuation of the collection of fitness-...

Susan and Josh discuss an issue that has been in the news and at the top of the Legislature's to-do list: California's affordability crisis. Joining the discussion is Ben Golombek, Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff for Policy. for the California Chamber of Commerce.

Recently elected Assemblymember Anamarie Avila-Farias joins Susan and Josh to share her experience and perspective as a new member of the Legislature...

On this, the inaugural episode of The Sacralegis Podcast, Susan and Josh welcome veteran Capitol lobbyist Paula Treat for a wide-ranging discussion on the impact of changes in California's politics and processes, such as term limits, the top two primary, the residual impacts of the pandemic, changes in news coverage and, of course, Elon Musk.