

Political Breakdown
KQED
Join hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos as they unpack the day in politics with a California perspective. Featuring interviews with reporters and other insiders involved in the craft of politics—including elected officials, candidates, pollsters, campaign managers, fundraisers, and other political players—Political Breakdown pulls back the curtain to offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics works today.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 2, 2025 • 26min
Kamala Harris Breaks Her Silence
After months of laying low, former Vice President Kamala Harris steps out with a speech in San Francisco, taking aim at President Trump and warning of a constitutional crisis.
Plus, the Trump administration is taking aim at sanctuary city laws limiting local law enforcement's cooperation with federal immigration agents. Scott, Marisa and Guy discuss all that on this Friday roundtable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 2, 2025 • 31min
Her Parents Couldn’t Vote in the South. Now She’s California’s Top Election Official
California’s Secretary of State Shirley Weber is speaking out against federal Republican policies and proposed laws she says will disenfranchise voters. Weber is the daughter of southern sharecroppers and knows what voter suppression looks like. Her grandfather was never given the opportunity to vote and her father didn’t cast a ballot until his 30s, after fleeing a lynch mob in Arkansas and moving to California when Weber was a toddler. She joins Marisa and Scott to discuss threats to voting rights in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 30, 2025 • 3min
Check out KQED's New Show Hyphenación
Join host Xorje Andrés Olivares and guests to explore what it means to live within a hyphenation. Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to have easy conversations about hard things: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. Hyphenación—where conversation and cultura meet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 29, 2025 • 28min
Rep. Eric Swalwell on Trump’s First 100 Days
One hundred days into President Donald Trump's second term, East Bay Representative Eric Swalwell joins Marisa to discuss how his party should be responding. In 2012, Swalwell was elected to represent Hayward, Livermore and Pleasanton in Congress and helped lead both impeachments of Trump. He's become a frequent critic and target of the president and his allies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 25, 2025 • 23min
Do Democrats Have an Age Problem?
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

Apr 25, 2025 • 31min
Controversial New Oceanfront Park Could Cost This SF Supervisor His Job
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

Apr 22, 2025 • 30min
Is This What a Constitutional Crisis Looks Like?
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

Apr 18, 2025 • 22min
California Takes Trump to Court Over Tariffs
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

Apr 17, 2025 • 31min
California Responds to Trump’s Attacks on Higher Education
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

Apr 15, 2025 • 33min
With Trans Athletes Under Attack, What Does Fairness Look Like?
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


