The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast

In today's bonus episode, we're talking about some of the 22,000 records released by the republican-controlled senate. These records are related to the review of the 2.1 million ballots in Maricopa county from the 2020 election. On Tuesday night, Ryan Randazzo, Jen Fifield and Robert Anglen began poring through those records. They include emails, text messages and videos.We'll go over some of the early highlights and how the ballot review began, who's paying for it and other tidbits we think are worth watching. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canvassing efforts to examine the legitimacy of voter ballots for the 2020 presidential election could be illegal, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a New York-based policy institute, but that hasn’t stopped Liz Harris.Harris, who lost a race for the state Legislature in November, is the mastermind behind the “Voter Integrity Project,” an ongoing canvassing effort that began in December.Last weekend a couple dozen volunteers out to prove former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election gathered in Queen Creek. Using a mobile app that provides names, addresses and publicly available voting information of registered voters, volunteers set out to ask voters questions such as, “Can you verify the voters registered to this address?” and “Did you vote by mail or in person?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As debates about mask mandates in schools rage on in Arizona, pediatric cases of COVID-19 are on par to surpass the cases from the winter surge. Vaccines have proven to be beneficial to people who are contracting the coronavirus, but currently children under the age of 12 years-old are too young to be vaccinated.Away from the discourse on what schools should and should not enforce, doctors are treating young kids who are being affected physically and mentally.In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, co-hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen are joined by Valleywise Health Center pediatrician Dr. Salil Pradhan and Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist Dr. Angela Veesenmeyer.They take The Gaggle inside what they are seeing day to day and what they think Arizonans can expect in the new few months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan has upended the lives of Afghans as the Taliban takes power.Many are fearful of Taliban rule because of their barbaric behavior and disregard for women and children. Afghans and civilians who helped the United States during its invasion of the country after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as interpreters, drivers and in other capacities are fearful they will be viewed as traitors. They worry the Taliban will kill them and their families. The images streaming out of Kabul depict desperation, with civilians begging to flee their country. Some scaled the sides of one American airplane preparing to take off. They fell to their deaths. Others ran alongside the plane, screaming as it gained speed.Evacuation flights for U.S. citizens and Afghan refugees are underway. Many worry not all of their family and friends will be able to escape — particularly those who have cooperated with the U.S.President Joe Biden meanwhile, is facing intense criticism from both sides of the aisle for the withdrawal. He stands by his decision to exit war-torn nation.  In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, host Yvonne Wingett Sanchez speaks with Aaron Marquez, a U.S. Army veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan. She also speaks to an Afghan refugee who served as Aaron’s interpreter, whose real name is not used in this episode for safety concerns. He is instead referred to as Alex. Years ago, Marquez and Alex spent time traversing Afghanistan in their official capacities, helping to rebuild parts of the nation and strengthening relationships with local officials. Aaron then helped Alex build a life in Arizona, and go to college here. Now, the two are fighting a different battle: they fighting to evacuate Alex’s family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ballot review of Maricopa County’s 2.1 million ballots from the 2020 election has gone on for 16 weeks. The recounting and scanning has come to an end though. The pallets of ballots have left the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and are back at the county’s Elections Department.It also has become clear who is paying for the review: Pro-Trump, conservative groups aligned with the "Stop the Steal" effort that preceded the Jan. 6 march on the U.S. Capitol that led to a deadly riot.A final report of what Cyber Ninjas found during the audit is expected to come in the next few weeks. Arizona Senate President Karen Fann has said the review has never been about overturning the results of the election. Instead, she has said it’s about examining election procedures and to help ensure the election was conducted fairly and with integrity. She and other lawmakers have indicated they intend to use the results of the review to help pass election-related laws. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, co-hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ron Hansen are joined by two Arizona Republic reporters: Jen Fifield and Mary Jo Pitzl to help dissect the state of the ballot recount. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As parents prepare to send their kids back to in-person classes, the state is experiencing a rise in cases of COVID-19. This is in large part because of the delta variant of COVID-19, which is now the dominate strain in the state.Some health experts say Arizona is experiencing another COVID-19 surge, and the return to in-person learning has many parents and school administrators questioning how the school year will look.Why the uncertainty and how did we get here again?In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen speak with Republic reporter Alison Steinbach for a COVID-19 update, and education reporter Yana Kunichoff about what parents can expect this school year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Ducey's time as Governor is set to end in 2023, his eyes are on a more national position. An investigation by the Arizona Republic discovered that the governor was involved in a complex network of interests.A network that includes himself, a Texas millionaire, a Flagstaff gas station, the Arizona Department of Revenue, Ducey's staffers, and potentially $100 million in tax refunds. In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen are joined by USA Today investigative business reporter Craig Harris. Harris' investigation resulted in a five-part series about how Gov. Ducey governs.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Critical race theory has become a rallying cry for both Republican politicians and conservative parents alike. The COVID-19 pandemic forced parents to become more aware of their children’s curriculum as they attended school virtually. While school officials maintain educators are not teaching students that racism is systemic, some parents — and Arizona lawmakers — want to make sure it isn't allowed to happen. As in-person school board meetings returned, parents packed local school board meetings denouncing critical race theory during public comment. Conservative media and Republican politicians have taken cue from former President Donald Trump as he continues to criticize the study. But what is critical race theory? When did it begin?In this week's episode of The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen break down the rhetoric surrounding critical race theory. Joining the show are Jamal K. Donnor, an associate professor at William and Mary School of Education, and Arizona Republic city reporters Joshua Bowling and Renata Cló.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In mid-January this year, Arizona residents over the age of 21 legally were allowed to buy recreational marijuana. Passing Proposition 207, known as the Smart and Safe Arizona Act, came with the promise of increased economic revenue and new business opportunities.Since then, new promises have been made. People with pending marijuana charges in most Arizona counties were able to have them dismissed. And those with charges, convictions and arrests on their record can try to get their record expunged.Arizona has had its recreational marijuana program for about six months. Are those promises being met? In this week's episode of The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, hosts Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen are joined by business reporter Ryan Randazzo to take a closer look.Randazzo covers everything from solar energy to sports betting for The Republic. He has covered marijuana news since 2018. He discusses what promises have come to fruition, how much money legal recreational marijuana has made for Arizona, and where that money is going.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Arizona Republic reported that former President Donald Trump and his allies sought to speak directly to members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors after the Nov. 2020 election. The Republic obtained voicemail recordings from Maricopa County through a request under the Arizona Public Records Law, which allows anyone to seek public records from local, county, and state governments.Listen now to hear these voicemails left by Republican party chair Kelli Ward and Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani seeking to speak directly with Republican supervisors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices