Peachpod

On this week's show, we discuss the Milledgeville Republican forum held in October between the five candidates running for the Republican nomination for Governor.

This week, we're joined by Patrick Husbands, the Executive Vice President of the Young Democrats of Atlanta, to discuss the Tuesday runoff between Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mary Norwood to decide who will be the next mayor of Atlanta.

On this week’s show, we talk with Melissa Johnson, Senior Policy Analyst at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, about her recent paper, “Laying the Foundation: A Wealth Building Agenda for Georgia Women”. We discuss her proposals in the areas of paid family and medical leave, entrepreneurship, and home ownership. We also talk with Stacey Abrams, former Minority Leader in the Georgia House of Representatives and a Democratic candidate for Governor, about her experience starting businesses and the important role access to capital plays in enabling women, particularly women of color, in starting and growing Georgia businesses.

On this week’s episode, we recap several off-year elections, including special elections for two state house seats that flipped from Democrats to Republicans. We also talk about the results from the Virginia state elections and what those can tell us as we look forward to the midterms in Georgia and nationally next year. We also check in on the Atlanta municipal elections, which feature a runoff between Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mary Norwood.

We briefly discuss the news that during the 1970s Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore was alleged to have dated teenaged girls and molested a 14 year old when he was in his 30s.

Luke talks with Jason Dozier, who is running for Atlanta City Council District 4.

On this week’s episode, Luke is joined by Sachin Varghese, candidate in the special election for House District 89. Sachin discusses his ideas for improving the affordability of housing, including a cap on property taxes and affordable housing project requirements. They also talk about Sachin’s background and why he jumped in this special election to replace Stacey Abrams, who left her seat to run for Governor.

Luke sits down with Jonathan Wallace, who is running for state house, to discuss the campaign, why we need to deal with poverty to improve education, and his support for an independent redistricting commission.

On this week’s show, Luke sits down with Richie Knight, candidate for Mayor of Athens. They talk about Richie’s vision for Athens, his background in business, and why Richie thinks workforce issues are one of the most pressing challenges the Classic City faces.

On this week’s episode, we discuss President Trump’s decision to decertify the Iran Nuclear Deal and what it means for the future of the international agreement. We also discuss Gill vs. Whitford, a supreme court case that could revolutionize the future of gerrymandering. And we look at Trump’s toxic relationship with Republicans and Democrats on the opposite end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

On this week’s episode, Kyle takes an extended look at the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). In September, President Trump announced that he was ending DACA, a temporary protection from deportation program, enacted through executive action from President Obama. The program allowed immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, many of whom are now young adults, to stay in the United States and get authorization to work, drive, and go to college.

This week we discuss the resignation of Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services and we look over to our neighbors in Alabama to talk about their special election Senate race.

On this week’s episode, we discuss the first major policy proposal released in the 2018 race for Governor. Stacey Abrams, a Democratic candidate and former Minority Leader of Democrats in the Georgia House of Representatives, released a proposal to increase the number of alternative energy jobs in the state of Georgia. Through worker retraining, the establishment of a Georgia Green Bank, and coordination across state and local government, Abrams estimates her administration could increase the number of alternative energy jobs by 25,000 – 45,000.

On this week's show we are joined by German Lopez of Vox to take a national look at the opioid epidemic. We also discuss the North Korean nuclear threat and white supremacist-led violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

On this week’s episode, we are joined by Grace Starling, a law student and organizer with Students Against HB 51 and Aisha Yaqoob, the Policy Director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta. Grace and Aisha tell us about the policy issues they worked on last session, what testifying before a legislative committee is like, and how they organized groups and individuals to make their voices heard.

On this week’s episode we take our first look at the 2018 Governor’s race as a few of the candidates hit the ground running. We cover Michael Williams’ attempt to uncover Casey Cagle’s “reprehensible behavior” and how it might have backfired on Williams. We also discuss the ongoing feud over voting between Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp. And we preview the Democratic debate over which voters the party should mobilize and how early fundraising totals set the tone for what is to come.

We’re back for an emergency podcast about the collapse of the Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare. On Monday, two Republicans announced their opposition to the Senate’s repeal proposal and joined two other Republicans and united Democratic opposition to kill the bill. We discuss missteps by Mitch McConnell, Trump’s lack of leadership on the issue, and what Democrats should propose we do next. For our second topic, Luke talks with Gabe Shippy about his experience during the Ossoff race and where he sees the Democratic party going from here.

On this week’s show, Luke joins RJ Hadley, a Democratic candidate for Secretary of State. RJ discusses his view of the current Secretary of State’s decision to release voter information to the Trump Administration, his previous campaigns for the U.S. Senate and Rockdale Tax Commissioner, and the future of the Democratic party.

On this week’s episode we return to a little bit of normalcy in the world of Georgia politics. We take a look at the first meeting of the legislature’s transit governance study committee and what might be on the table for increasing transit options in Georgia. We also discuss Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s decision to partially comply with a data request from President Trump’s voter integrity commission. And we discuss Tommy Benton’s Civil War fan fiction and why the issue of remembering the Confederacy still divides southern politics and culture so sharply.

“Donald Trump’s empathy might be the greatest fraud in modern American politics” On this week’s episode we look back at a year of PeachPod. We began this show as the 2016 election transitioned from the primary to the general election. So we take a look back at what we got wrong about 2016, how anger influences our politics, and whether or not we can sustain the chaos that defines our politics today. We also discuss the challenges in reporting on the legislature, how we miss Jon Richards’ excellent reporting that helped us understand the Gold Dome, and what goals we have for this show going forward.