Political Breakdown

Just in time for LGBTQ Pride month, the Pentagon appears ready to rename a naval ship named for gay rights icon Harvey Milk. Milk was the first openly gay official elected in California and a Navy veteran who was discharged during the Korean War because he was gay. Scott, Marisa and Guy discuss the latest in a series of attacks on the LGBTQ community by the administration.  Also in President Trump’s crosshairs: California’s troubled high speed rail project. The Department of Transportation announced this week it will pull $4 billion in federal funding for the project because they say it has no hope of being completed.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is upending the nation’s public health system and he’s found some staunch supporters for his cause right here in the Bay Area.  Marisa and Scott are joined by KQED health correspondent Lesley McClurg to talk about the Marin County town that's seen a political schism centered around distrust of government and public health.  Then, they're joined by Dr. Céline Gounder, a physician, epidemiologist and editor-at-large for Public Health at KFF News, to discuss what Kennedy is doing on vaccines, drug testing and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few books have captivated the nation’s capitol like “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.” It describes in excruciating detail how a small circle of family and political insiders isolated and insulated President Joe Biden as his mental and physical condition declined throughout his term in the White House. Scott and Marisa are joined by the authors, CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson, who interviewed more than 200 people who described how Biden’s true condition was hidden from his own cabinet, congressional leaders and donors.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2026 governor’s race is still more than 500 days away, but there is already a crowded field of candidates. On the Democratic side, they're all waiting to see if Vice President Kamala Harris decides to jump in.  KQED’s Marisa Lagos and Guy Marzorati are joined remotely by San Francisco Chronicle Senior Political Writer Joe Garofoli who is in Orange County where Democrats are gathering for their biannual state party convention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As San Francisco’s elected assessor-recorder, Joaquín Torres’ office decides the value of property in San Francisco, and tells you how much you owe in taxes.  But he’s also spent the last dozen years as president of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission, which oversees the city's public housing developments as well as its Section 8 program.  Torres joins Scott and Marisa on his last day as president to reflect on his time there and talk about what’s next for both himself and the agency Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buffy Wicks is a leading champion in Sacramento for building more housing in California. Her early political activities include working on both of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns. Now she represents parts of Contra Costa and Alameda Counties in Sacramento where she chairs the powerful Assembly Appropriations Committee. To get more housing built, Wicks is taking on a sacred cow in state politics, the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. Wicks joins Scott and Marisa to talk about why reforming CEQA is such a hot button issue, and why she thinks it's so necessary to increase housing production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco is looking for a new police chief after Bill Scott announced earlier this month that he is stepping down after eight years on the job through three mayoral administrations.  Although the city’s civilian-led police commission will draw up a short list of candidates, Mayor Daniel Lurie will make the final decision.  Scott and Marisa are joined by KQED Politics Reporter Sydney Johnson to talk about that choice and what the next chief’s success or failure may mean for the mayor.  They’ll also talk about the recall effort against San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio after organizers announced this week that they’ve gathered enough signatures to put the recall question up to a vote.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two young leaders are making waves in the Democratic Party. Oakland Congresswoman Lateefah Simon joins Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos, just hours after the House narrowly passed a sweeping policy bill that would cut trillions in taxes and slash safety net programs, including Medicaid and SNAP. Plus, Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg, who became a gun control activist after surviving the Parkland school shooting in 2018, explains his plan to bring fresh perspectives — and elect younger candidates — to the Democratic party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump’s four-day visit to the Middle East featured splashy business deals, very little talk about human rights abuses and plenty of ethical questions – like ones raised by the gift of a lavish $400 million plane from Qatar for Trump to use as a temporary Air Force One. In many ways trip was a reset of relations – especially with Saudi Arabia, whose president was shunned by the Biden Administration, and Syria, whose new leader will benefit from Trump ending U.S. economic sanctions despite concerns over the country’s new leader. NPR White House Correspondent Franco Ordoñez covered the trip and he joins co-hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this week, Governor Newsom unveiled his new plan to balance the California's $12 billion budget deficit--with cuts that are raising controversy. The governor wants to put the scalpel to Medi-Cal -- California’s version of Medicaid. Newsom said that he wants to save the state money by capping enrollment of adult immigrants that are here illegally. He also proposed charging these individuals a $100 monthly co-pay for Medi-Cal access. Hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined by KQED Politics Correspondent, Guy Marzorati, to take a deep dive into how this all could play out in Sacramento. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices