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A weekly show helping you make sense of the biggest health, jobs, politics, and more critical events in the world's fifth-largest economy. Because no matter where you live, California is truly a state of mind.
43 Episodes
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After a year of California political coverage, California State of Mind is coming to an end. We have really enjoyed this experiment with a weekly California-focused show, and we hope you have too!
In this final episode, we reflect on how Covid upended our lives, and politics in a lot of ways. Now that things are cooling down from the Delta surge and the recall is over, what will the political landscape look like for 2022? Nicole peeks inside a crystal ball with Politico’s Carla Marinucci and CalMattter’s Dan Walters.
Also, Nigel and Nicole walk us through the highlights, the headlines and the scandals of the past year.
As tensions over racial and economic inequality continue to play out across the country, many people are wondering about the balance of power within their cities and institutions, and how those places spend their money. Some argue that citizens should play a greater role in deciding how to spend their tax dollars instead of relying on city leaders.
The city of Vallejo launched an experiment with citizen budgeting about a decade ago. How is that working out? CapRadio’s News and Features Editor Pauline Bartolone became obsessed with participatory budgeting while covering this story and she joins Nicole and Nigel to explain why.
As most people know by now, Gavin Newsom gets to keep his job. He’ll stay on as California’s governor, surviving the special recall election with an almost 2-to-1 margin. Will it change how he governs the Golden State in any way? Do Republicans have a future in leadership here? And what did we miss while we were all paying attention to this off-year election?
Nicole talks with CalMatters Reporters Ben Christopher and Laurel Rosenhall about lessons learned from the recall and how it may have played a role in this year’s drama-free legislative session.
The recall election for California Governor Gavin Newsom is on Tuesday, Sept. 14 and things are ramping up on the campaign trail. The White House is showing support for the governor, but some Californians are not fans. They’re critical of his handling of wildfires and haven’t forgotten the huge mistakes at the unemployment department.
On this episode of California State of Mind, Nicole talks with CalMatters’ Emily Hoeven and CapRadio’s Scott Rodd about some of these issues as we head into the final stretch before the election.
California’s ag industry uses 80 percent of the state’s water. As the drought continues, can the Golden State continue to operate its fields as usual? On this episode of California State of Mind, Nigel talks with the person charged with promoting California ag to the rest of the world.
Karen Ross has served as Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture since 2011. She grew up on a small farm southwest of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, so she’s no stranger to the demands of a working farm. We’ll hear about the drought, almonds and the fate of her football team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
There are many sexual assault survivors who never report their experiences to law enforcement for a variety of reasons. And then there are times when they do decide to go to the police. Sometimes, they find the case is cleared, but they weren’t notified or given a reason why.
On this episode of California State of Mind, Nicole talks with CapRadio reporters Sammy Caiola and Emily Zentner. They spent time reporting this story as part of their After the Assault podcast investigation. Hear how one department in the Sacramento area is using a special designation to “clear” rape cases without sending a perpetrator to court. It’s a trend that reporters and researchers have found in several California police departments.
The Delta variant has thrown a wrench into California’s plans to resume life as normal, as Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to increase across the state. Amid this summer surge, school districts, teachers, parents and kids have been getting ready to return to classrooms without a statewide mandate requiring vaccinations for teachers. That changed this week when Gov. Newsom announced all teachers must be vaccinated or tested weekly for Covid-19. Nigel talks with CalMatters’ education reporter Joe Hong about what changed.
We’ll also hear from CapRadio healthcare reporter Sammy Caiola about how health care workers, who must be fully vaccinated to work in congregant settings, have reacted to the new requirements.
California’s Governor is facing a recall election Sept. 14 and some of the Republican candidates challenging Gavin Newsom recently met for their first debate. Did voters notice? Nicole talks about the state of the recall with two campaign veterans, Garry South and Rob Stutzman. South worked for Democratic governor Gray Davis, who was recalled in 2003, and Rob Stutzman was a spokesman for Republican Arnold Schwarnzegger, who replaced Davis in that election.
We’ll also hear more about a growing push to change how recalls are conducted in California and what it would take to change those rules with Kim Nalder, a political science professor at Sacramento State University.
To jab or not to jab? That’s a question still facing many Californians as the Covid-19 pandemic continues and the Delta Variant makes a surge across the state. But for healthcare and state workers, Governor Newsom is pressing the issue, requiring all private and public employees in those fields to provide proof of vaccination or face weekly testing at work. Meanwhile, the state continues to burn. CalMatters’ Emily Hoeven and Ben Christoper and CapRadio’s Scott Rodd join Nigel to talk about all how the new vaccine requirements and Newsom’s handling of wildfires might play out with voters during the recall election on Sept. 14th.
It’s no secret that the cost of rent and buying a house is one of California’s most persistent problems. And the pandemic has only made it worse. If there’s any group of people you’d think could force solutions on these issues, it’s Democrats. They hold a supermajority in the state legislature and the governor is a Democrat, but many of the housing bills brought up in recent years have failed. As CalMatters’ housing reporter and “Gimme Shelter” podcast host, Manuela Tobias regularly goes deep into the weeds on these issues. She joins us this week to help us figure out why Democrats can’t seem to agree on housing policy.
As Californians continue to bake in sizzling temperatures and parched conditions across the state, they’re also being asked to voluntarily reduce their water usage by 15 percent. Nigel Duara talks with Rachel Becker, environment reporter at CalMatters, about the severe drought and how different communities are confronting the current challenges.
California’s early blazes are prompting renewed fire conversations among lawmakers in Sacramento.
California’s governor misled the public about wildfire prevention efforts, according to a recent investigation by CapRadio and the NPR California Newsroom. Nigel talks with this week’s guest host Scott Rodd about his reporting into the topic and what the data had to say about how many acres of forest have been treated in wildfire prone areas.
Also, CalMatters’ Laurel Rosenhall and Byrhonda Lyons spent several months digging into a law that was supposed to put more limits on when police can use deadly force. Nigel talks with them about whether it actually has an impact on police shootings in the Golden State.
A big part of the pandemic recovery process for California will be getting people back out and about. The state is one of the biggest tourism destinations in the world, but the world isn’t totally back to normal yet. To meet that need, the state kicked off a campaign this week to encourage Californians to stay and play in the Golden State. Scott Rodd talks with CapRadio’s Mike Hagerty, who recently spoke with Visit California President & CEO Caroline Beteta about it. We’ll also hear from the driver of a Sacramento Brew Bike, which relies on tourism to survive.
Plus, California’s budget surplus should be good news for all. But some county health departments are concerned they’ll be left behind. Nigel Duara talks with CalMatters’ Barbara Feder Ostrov about why county health departments are fighting for more money.
California is preparing to re-open June 15th following the Covid-19 pandemic, but there’s still a lot of confusion about what that actually means for residents of the state. CalMatters’ Emily Hoeven joins Nicole and Nigel to talk about it.
Also, as the deadline for passing a state budget approaches, California lawmakers are grappling with an unprecedented surplus. How did we end up with so much more money than expected, despite a global pandemic? CalMatters’ Laurel Rosenhall and Ben Christpher break it down.
California looks to lead the way on making amends to Black Americans for slavery and its lingering effects. A first-in-the-nation reparations committee met this week to begin a two-year study. We listen back to an interview with Shirley Weber, who authored the bill Gov. Newsom signed into law that kicked this process off when she was an assemblywoman. She has since been appointed California’s first Black Secretary of State.
Also, Gov. Newsom has proposed spending $35 million over five years for “universal basic income pilot programs” in his recent budget proposal. Nicole and Nigel talk with Michael Tubbs, former mayor of Stockton, Calif., who implemented a guaranteed income program in his city. He is now advising the governor on the issue.
Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the opening of many campgrounds and state park facilities across California. But this year is a bit different. As the pandemic took hold, outdoor spaces were some of the few places people could safely go. What is the state of California’s State Parks following a tumultuous year of wildfire and a pandemic?
CalMatters’ Julie Cart describes a recent visit to Big Basin, California’s oldest State Park, which was destroyed by wildfire in 2020. We also hear from State Parks Director Armando Quintero about what it will take to rebuild Big Basin in a sustainable and fire resilient way and how the pandemic and climate change have affected his vision for our parks.
Alex Padilla made history by becoming California’s first Latino senator. He was appointed to fill the seat vacated by now Vice President Kamala Harris. He’s been in the Senate for only four months, but has already found himself at the center of debates over immigration, clean energy and infrastructure. Hear his take on everything from electric-powered manufacturing plants to what his pandemic year was like.
Gavin Newsom isn’t the first Governor to face a recall in California and he likely won’t be the last. Nigel Duara talks with CapRadio’s Mike Hagerty about the history of the recall in the state. We’ll also hear from CalMatters’ Laurel Rosenhall about what voters should expect to happen as the recall moves forward.
Also, how should history judge technology’s role in the pandemic response? Nicole talks with Josh Mendelsohn, a managing partner at the venture firm Hangar who spearheaded the idea for a White House task force on using technology to fight the pandemic.
The California Supreme Court recently handed criminal justice advocates a victory, when it ruled that people cannot be kept behind bars simply because they can’t afford to post bail. State Senator Bob Hertzberg has worked extensively on this issue and he spoke with Nicole and Elizabeth about why he thinks California’s cash-bail system is unnecessary and what lawmakers could do to fix it.
Also, California is racing to get as many residents vaccinated as fast as possible. We’ll hear from Anna Ibarra and Scott Rodd about obstacles to getting shots in the arms of the state’s hundreds of thousands of migrant farm workers.
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