Political Breakdown

In San Francisco, the county Democratic Party this week adopted resolutions aimed at repositioning themselves on issues like public safety, education and, most controversially, possible age limits for elected officials. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass is trying to overcome the damage from being out of the country when the devastating fires struck her city while also dealing with a huge budget deficit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Engardio built his political profile by backing the successful recalls of members of San Francisco's Board of Education and its progressive district attorney. Now he may be facing a recall of his own. Engardio, who represents the city's Sunset District on the Board of Supervisors, is being targeted for backing a voter-approved ballot measure that permanently closed most of the Great Highway to car traffic. In its place: Sunset Dunes, a newly opened park that's drawn both praise and protest. Scott talks with Engardio about the new park, the recall effort against him and his career in San Francisco politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump faces lawsuits over his actions on immigration, mass firings, funding threats and tariffs. But are his administration’s showdowns with the courts are heading to a constitutional crisis? Scott and Marisa are joined by Ilya Somin, who teaches law at George Mason University and is the chair of constitutional studies at the Libertarian Cato think tank in Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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