Political Breakdown

After weeks of trying to make nice with the president, Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta head to court, saying Trump’s unilateral tariffs are messing up California’s trade-dependent economy. Scott, Marisa and Guy discuss California’s latest federal lawsuit against the Trump administration.Plus, KQED's Alex Hall joins to discuss the results so far in the Oakland mayoral election, which is still too close to call. The first batch of votes favor former City Councilmember Loren Taylor over former Congresswoman Barbara Lee, but there are still tens of thousands more ballots to be counted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump is targeting higher education. Colleges and universities in California are feeling the heat as the administration threatens funding, cancels student visas, pressures schools to end diversity programs and cracks down on pro-Palestinian campus protests. Scott and Marisa are joined by the Los Angeles Times reporter Jaweed Kaleem to discuss how California schools are responding to the latest federal policies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cal Calamia is a nonbinary transmasculine runner and an activist who has successfully pushed to create nonbinary running categories in some of the world’s largest marathons. Calamia joins Marisa in studio to dig into the debate over transgender participation in sports.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Tuesday's Oakland mayoral special election just days away, Marisa and Guy are joined by Oakland resident and KQED Forum co-host Alexis Madrigal. Madrigal is the author of a new book, “The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City," about how the port of Oakland and global commerce shaped the city and its residents. They discuss the city's history and upcoming election.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barbara Lee is running for mayor of Oakland in next week’s special election. If she wins, it would be the capstone of a long and storied political career that took her from the East Bay to Sacramento and Washington D.C., where she spent nearly three decades in Congress. Lee joins Marisa and Guy in studio to discuss why she wants to lead Oakland now, as the city faces a significant budget deficit and ongoing challenges related to public safety, homelessness and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump is going after big law, slapping sanctions and punishments on firms whose past work or lawyers he doesn’t like. Although several big firms have capitulated to Trump, others are fighting back — including San Francisco firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters. Marisa joins the firm's co-founder and partner John Keker at his San Francisco office to discuss why the law firm is willing to put its own business at risk to take on the president.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The debate over transgender athletes was the focus of a heated hearing in Sacramento this week. California lawmakers rejected two bills sponsored by Republicans that would have limited trans high school athletes from participating in girls' sports. The San Francisco Chronicle's politics reporter Sophia Bollag joins Scott and Guy to discuss the "Capitol showdown." Plus, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced his bid to become California's first Latino governor. Becerra sued  the Trump administration 120 times as attorney general of California and enters an already crowded field of Democratic candidates.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 15th, Oakland voters will elect a new mayor to finish out recalled mayor Sheng Thao's term. One of the leading candidates is former city councilmember Loren Taylor. Taylor narrowly lost to Thao three years ago and faces former Congresswoman Barbara Lee in the special election. Scott and Guy are joined in studio by Taylor to hear why he thinks he has what it takes to lead Oakland at a time when the city is facing some tough challenges, including serious budget problems and concerns over public safety.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump is promising that tomorrow will be “Liberation Day” when he rolls out another round of tariffs. California, a major trading partner with Mexico and Canada, is right in the cross hairs of the tariff tumult. Scott is joined by Christopher Thornberg, an economist and founding partner of Beacon Economics, to unpack the impact on California industries.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency guts the federal workforce, Tesla’s electric cars have a major brand problem, triggering protests at Tesla dealerships and reports of vandalism of Tesla cars. Scott, Marisa and Guy discuss the fallout and the Trump administration's response. Plus, Democrats are buzzing over journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's book "Abundance," which spells out how liberals have become their own worst enemy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices