The Fall of a Progressive Prosecutor

San Francisco was in meltdown, and the district attorney had lost control. That was the story that ousted Chesa Boudin, the city’s progressive prosecutor: Get rid of Boudin and San Franciscans will be safer. Now, a few months out from a successful recall, how is the city faring? What was behind the campaign to demolish the former district attorney—and, crucially, who was bankrolling it? On episode 57 of The Politics of Everything, hosts Laura Marsh and Alex Pareene discuss the flaws in the narrative used to unseat Boudin and what has happened since his departure. Guests include Peter Calloway, a public defender who lives in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood; California journalist Gil Duran; and Jacob Silverman, who wrote about David Sacks, one of the backers of the recall, for The New Republic. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices