The Chuck ToddCast

Vanan Murugesan — executive director of Sahan Journal, Minnesota's only nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering immigrants and communities of color — joins the Chuck Toddcast ahead of Local News Day on April 9th to discuss a dimension of the local news crisis that rarely gets attention: community news deserts. Murugesan explains that even in Minnesota — a state with relatively strong local news — immigrant stories were consistently missed or covered with biased narratives by mainstream outlets. He draws a vivid analogy: mainstream news organizations are like Target, offering broad coverage for a general audience, while immigrant outlets are specialty stores that reflect the specific realities of their communities.
The conversation turns to the business of sustaining community journalism in a fractured media landscape. Murugesan argues that the ideal model is 50 to 70 percent reader-funded through a combination of subscribers and donors, noting that audience size isn't the ultimate goal — who the audience is can matter as much as how large it is. He explains that immigrant newsrooms actually have an advantage because they don't follow the conservative, cautious practices of legacy media — they're willing to experiment with video, social media, and syndication partnerships that allow them to overindex their audience relative to their size. They discuss why local service journalism — helping people navigate schools, immigration processes, and government services — isn't always sexy but is incredibly useful, while insisting that the joyful parts of the immigrant experience need to be better covered alongside the hardship.
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Vanan Murugesan (Sahan Journal) joins the Chuck ToddCast
02:00 There are both local news deserts, and community news deserts
03:00 How would you describe the Sahan Journal and its mission?
04:00 Minnesota has great local news, but immigrant stories were missed
06:30 Immigrant media was created to reflect realities of their audience
08:30 Immigrants truly want to understand the place they’re living in
10:00 Mainstream outlets are like Target, immigrant outlets are specialty stores
12:00 How do you decide when a community needs a full time reporter?
13:00 Sahan publishes in English to serve all Minnesotans
15:00 Addressing immigrant issues can uplift the entire community
16:30 Why not publish in multiple languages? Is it a resource issue?
17:30 Sahan added a spanish language version
18:30 Insisted on using a spanish speaking human for translations
19:30 Digital tools allow for pretty good translation
22:30 What works about the nonprofit model? Could you see going for-profit?
23:30 Sustainability is the ultimate goal regardless of profit model
25:15 Generating revenue from subscribers + donors is the ideal model
26:45 Washington Post has become beholden to Jeff Bezos
28:45 Ideally, 50-70% reader funded is the business model
29:30 Audience size isn’t the ultimate panacea
30:30 Who the audience is can matter as much as the size of it
32:30 Craigslist destroyed the business model for local newspapers
35:00 Newsrooms tend to be conservative and cautious trying new models
38:30 Immigrant newsrooms due well to not follow national media practices
41:00 Media is fracturing, but the barrier to entry is getting lower
43:00 Able to overindex audience by using video & social media
44:00 Are you able to syndicate any of your work to other outlets?
45:30 Finding stories they can collaborate on with other outlets
46:30 Local service journalism isn’t always sexy but is incredibly useful
47:30 What type of service journalism do you produce?
48:45 The joyful part of the immigrant experience needs to be better covered
50:00 Trying to balance what the audience wants with what they need
51:45 Celebrating Local News Day on April 9th
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd delivers a devastating week-by-week timeline of Trump's increasingly incoherent Iran war messaging that reads like a case study in presidential self-entrapment. He reports that military movements on the ground suggest escalation even as Trump's rhetoric promises de-escalation, that Defense Secretary Hegseth was allegedly looking into investments in defense stocks before the war began, that Pam Bondi's DOJ has been quietly dropping huge numbers of white-collar cases, and that in the middle of a war, Trump has proposed building a massive skyscraper Trump library in Miami — all while reports emerge that the president is simply getting bored with the conflict. He warns that the second and third-order effects of the war haven't landed yet but will hit hard in the next four to six weeks, that markets look calmer than they should given the geopolitical reality. He also flags that Trump's poll numbers are lower than ever and the political environment is so favorable for Democrats they should win both chambers without even needing redistricting help, and closes with the emergence of a new but manageable COVID variant dubbed "Cicada" — a reminder that we can no longer rely on HHS to provide normal, common-sense public health guidance when the country needs it most.
Finally Chuck updates his ToddCast Top 5 Republican senate seats most likely to turn blue in the midterm elections and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
02:15 Trump’s rhetoric over the war is confusing. Keeps saying it’s almost over
02:45 Military movements suggest we’re about to escalate the war
03:15 Trump is trying to balance the war with the markets
04:45 Week 1 Trump tried to project a sense of control, and says war will be short
05:30 In Week 2, Trump proposes something like a Marshall Plan for Iran
06:15 In Week 3, Trump promises that Iran is seeking a deal
07:00 Week 4, Trump proposes a pause on strikes to calm markets
07:45 Now Trump says talks are happening, but also issues threats to infrastructure
08:30 Trump’s social posts are frontrunning the Pentagon briefings
09:15 Trump knows he’s boxed himself in, put himself in impossible situation
10:30 Trump is clearly manipulating the markets with his social posts
11:45 Hegseth was allegedly looking into investments in defense stocks before war
13:30 Pam Bondi’s DOJ has been dropping huge numbers of white-collar cases
15:30 During a war, Trump proposes a huge skyscraper Trump library in Miami
17:15 Reports are that Trump is getting bored with the war
18:00 Trump’s poll numbers are lower than ever, Dems should win both houses
19:00 Political environment is so favorable for Dems, they don’t need redistricting
21:00 Markets look calmer than they should considering geopolitical concerns
22:00 2nd & 3rd effects of the war haven’t landed yet
23:30 The effects of the war are likely to hit hard in the next 4-6 weeks
24:30 Trump treated NATO allies terribly, then gets mad they won’t bail him out
25:30 If Trump walks away, he hands Iran more leverage of Strait of Hormuz
26:45 Eventually the markets & traders will have to accept reality
27:30 Trump cares most about his financial allies that pay him personally
29:30 The Gulf states thought they could manipulate Trump, but he’s erratic
30:15 Gulf states are probably having buyer’s remorse
31:30 War is accelerating green energy transition, China set to benefit most
32:45 War has strengthened Russia & China, weakened the United States
34:30 New but manageable COVID variant has emerged, the Cicada variant
36:00 We can’t rely on HHS to give us normal common sense health advice
40:00 Don’t forget Local News Day on April 9th!
40:45 ToddCast Top 5 Republican senate seats most likely to turn blue
42:15 The political environment for Republicans is terrible
43:15 May will be the month where we see if Republicans break with Trump
44:30 #1 North Carolina
46:00 #2 Maine
48:00 #3 Ohio
50:45 #4 Alaska
52:00 #5 Nebraska
57:45 Ask Chuck
58:00 What is going on with all the alien talk from government officials lately?
1:01:45 Is it possible to play by the old rules when both parties feel fight is existential?
1:05:15 Why don’t journalists more directly call out obvious lies?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd delivers a devastating week-by-week timeline of Trump's increasingly incoherent Iran war messaging that reads like a case study in presidential self-entrapment. He reports that military movements on the ground suggest escalation even as Trump's rhetoric promises de-escalation, that Defense Secretary Hegseth was allegedly looking into investments in defense stocks before the war began, that Pam Bondi's DOJ has been quietly dropping huge numbers of white-collar cases, and that in the middle of a war, Trump has proposed building a massive skyscraper Trump library in Miami — all while reports emerge that the president is simply getting bored with the conflict. He warns that the second and third-order effects of the war haven't landed yet but will hit hard in the next four to six weeks, that markets look calmer than they should given the geopolitical reality. He also flags that Trump's poll numbers are lower than ever and the political environment is so favorable for Democrats they should win both chambers without even needing redistricting help, and closes with the emergence of a new but manageable COVID variant dubbed "Cicada" — a reminder that we can no longer rely on HHS to provide normal, common-sense public health guidance when the country needs it most.
Then, Vanan Murugesan — executive director of Sahan Journal, Minnesota's only nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering immigrants and communities of color — joins the Chuck Toddcast ahead of Local News Day on April 9th to discuss a dimension of the local news crisis that rarely gets attention: community news deserts. Murugesan explains that even in Minnesota — a state with relatively strong local news — immigrant stories were consistently missed or covered with biased narratives by mainstream outlets. He draws a vivid analogy: mainstream news organizations are like Target, offering broad coverage for a general audience, while immigrant outlets are specialty stores that reflect the specific realities of their communities.
The conversation turns to the business of sustaining community journalism in a fractured media landscape. Murugesan argues that the ideal model is 50 to 70 percent reader-funded through a combination of subscribers and donors, noting that audience size isn't the ultimate goal — who the audience is can matter as much as how large it is. He explains that immigrant newsrooms actually have an advantage because they don't follow the conservative, cautious practices of legacy media — they're willing to experiment with video, social media, and syndication partnerships that allow them to overindex their audience relative to their size. They discuss why local service journalism — helping people navigate schools, immigration processes, and government services — isn't always sexy but is incredibly useful, while insisting that the joyful parts of the immigrant experience need to be better covered alongside the hardship.
Finally Chuck updates his ToddCast Top 5 Republican senate seats most likely to turn blue in the midterm elections and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
02:15 Trump’s rhetoric over the war is confusing. Keeps saying it’s almost over
02:45 Military movements suggest we’re about to escalate the war
03:15 Trump is trying to balance the war with the markets
04:45 Week 1 Trump tried to project a sense of control, and says war will be short
05:30 In Week 2, Trump proposes something like a Marshall Plan for Iran
06:15 In Week 3, Trump promises that Iran is seeking a deal
07:00 Week 4, Trump proposes a pause on strikes to calm markets
07:45 Now Trump says talks are happening, but also issues threats to infrastructure
08:30 Trump’s social posts are frontrunning the Pentagon briefings
09:15 Trump knows he’s boxed himself in, put himself in impossible situation
10:30 Trump is clearly manipulating the markets with his social posts
11:45 Hegseth was allegedly looking into investments in defense stocks before war
13:30 Pam Bondi’s DOJ has been dropping huge numbers of white-collar cases
15:30 During a war, Trump proposes a huge skyscraper Trump library in Miami
17:15 Reports are that Trump is getting bored with the war
18:00 Trump’s poll numbers are lower than ever, Dems should win both houses
19:00 Political environment is so favorable for Dems, they don’t need redistricting
21:00 Markets look calmer than they should considering geopolitical concerns
22:00 2nd & 3rd effects of the war haven’t landed yet
23:30 The effects of the war are likely to hit hard in the next 4-6 weeks
24:30 Trump treated NATO allies terribly, then gets mad they won’t bail him out
25:30 If Trump walks away, he hands Iran more leverage of Strait of Hormuz
26:45 Eventually the markets & traders will have to accept reality
27:30 Trump cares most about his financial allies that pay him personally
29:30 The Gulf states thought they could manipulate Trump, but he’s erratic
30:15 Gulf states are probably having buyer’s remorse
31:30 War is accelerating green energy transition, China set to benefit most
32:45 War has strengthened Russia & China, weakened the United States
34:30 New but manageable COVID variant has emerged, the Cicada variant
36:00 We can’t rely on HHS to give us normal common sense health advice
42:00 Vanan Murugesan (Sahan Journal) joins the Chuck ToddCast
44:00 There are both local news deserts, and community news deserts
45:00 How would you describe the Sahan Journal and its mission?
46:00 Minnesota has great local news, but immigrant stories were missed
48:30 Immigrant media was created to reflect realities of their audience
50:30 Immigrants truly want to understand the place they’re living in
52:00 Mainstream outlets are like Target, immigrant outlets are specialty stores
54:00 How do you decide when a community needs a full time reporter?
55:00 Sahan publishes in English to serve all Minnesotans
57:00 Addressing immigrant issues can uplift the entire community
58:30 Why not publish in multiple languages? Is it a resource issue?
59:30 Sahan added a spanish language version
1:00:30 Insisted on using a spanish speaking human for translations
1:01:30 Digital tools allow for pretty good translation
1:04:30 What works about the nonprofit model? Could you see going for-profit?
1:05:30 Sustainability is the ultimate goal regardless of profit model
1:07:15 Generating revenue from subscribers + donors is the ideal model
1:08:45 Washington Post has become beholden to Jeff Bezos
1:10:45 Ideally, 50-70% reader funded is the business model
1:11:30 Audience size isn’t the ultimate panacea
1:12:30 Who the audience is can matter as much as the size of it
1:14:30 Craigslist destroyed the business model for local newspapers
1:17:00 Newsrooms tend to be conservative and cautious trying new models
1:20:30 Immigrant newsrooms due well to not follow national media practices
1:23:00 Media is fracturing, but the barrier to entry is getting lower
1:25:00 Able to overindex audience by using video & social media
1:26:00 Are you able to syndicate any of your work to other outlets?
1:27:30 Finding stories they can collaborate on with other outlets
1:28:30 Local service journalism isn’t always sexy but is incredibly useful
1:29:30 What type of service journalism do you produce?
1:30:45 The joyful part of the immigrant experience needs to be better covered
1:32:00 Trying to balance what the audience wants with what they need
1:33:45 Celebrating Local News Day on April 9th
1:34:15 Don’t forget Local News Day on April 9th!
1:35:00 ToddCast Top 5 Republican senate seats most likely to turn blue
1:36:30 The political environment for Republicans is terrible
1:37:30 May will be the month where we see if Republicans break with Trump
1:38:45 #1 North Carolina
1:40:15 #2 Maine
1:42:15 #3 Ohio
1:45:00 #4 Alaska
1:46:15 #5 Nebraska
1:52:00 Ask Chuck
1:52:15 What is going on with all the alien talk from government officials lately?
1:56:00 Is it possible to play by the old rules when both parties feel fight is existential?
1:59:30 Why don’t journalists more directly call out obvious lies?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd asks the most uncomfortable question in American politics: is the country's current dysfunction a problem that can be resolved at the ballot box, or are we living through a pre-Civil War style pressure buildup where fundamental divisions keep getting papered over rather than addressed? He draws a striking parallel between today's hyperpartisan era — where both parties are simultaneously fighting each other and tearing themselves apart internally — and the post-Jackson period of American politics, when the country flipped back and forth between parties without ever resolving the underlying wound of slavery. He traces the arc from the Compromise of 1850, when Millard Fillmore believed he'd saved the republic, through the repeal of the Missouri Compromise that led to Bleeding Kansas, to James Buchanan handing Abraham Lincoln a country already on fire — and asks whether modern America can heal its divides without mass violence. He closes with Lincoln's insight that you couldn't solve the divide by managing it — but insists it doesn't have to take a hot civil war to resolve America's fractures, even if it increasingly feels like the country still isn't ready to do the hard work of actually turning the page.
Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the creation of NATO in 1949 and asks whether an alliance built on stability and values can survive a transactional president like Donald Trump, and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code CHUCKTODDCAST at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/chucktoddcast
Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
01:00 Reaction to March Madness
03:15 Nats are 2-1!
6:45 Trump orders TSA workers to be paid via executive order
7:45 Both parties are fighting each other, and also infighting
8:45 The house has the hardliners, the senate has the compromisers
9:15 Is the country ready to move on from dysfunction & hyperpartisanship?
11:30 For the 21st century, the country has flipped back & forth between parties
12:15 Similarities to the post-Jackson era of American politics
14:30 Problems and divisions were left unresolved
16:00 The wound over slavery was never healed, pressure kept building
17:00 Fillmore offered the compromise of 1850, thought he saved the republic
18:45 The Missouri Compromise was repealed, led to conflict in Kansas
20:30 Buchanon handed Lincoln a country already on fire
21:15 Can modern America heal its divides without mass violence?
22:15 8 million turned out for No Kings protests
23:45 CPAC was completely different universe compared to No Kings
25:00 Trump’s poll numbers are tanking on multiple issues
25:45 Democrats brand is still worse than Republicans in polls
26:30 We don’t seem to have the leaders we need to turn the page
27:15 The economy is a mess and it’s almost entirely Trump’s fault
28:15 The GOP hasn’t finished its own internal reckoning
29:30 It feels like America still isn’t ready to turn the page yet
30:30 The two parties have two fundamentally different visions for America
33:00 Will 2026 be a paradigm shift, or yet another pendulum swing?
34:00 Lincoln understood you couldn’t solve the divide by managing it
37:00 It doesn’t have to take a hot civil war to solve America’s divides
42:30 California’s governor race still shaping up
44:15 ToddCast Time Machine April 4th 1949
45:00 12 countries met to create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
46:15 League of Nations didn’t have any binding enforcement mechanisms
47:15 Breakthrough came via the Vandenberg Resolution
48:15 Article 5 allowed constitutional discretion, made ratification possible
49:30 In 1955, West Germany was admitted, but it was uncomfortable
50:15 NATO has a simple purpose, deter the Soviet Union
50:45 NATO continued to grow eastward
53:00 Trump believes NATO should do whatever he wants them to
53:30 Trump has made NATO believe America’s help is conditional
54:30 Can an alliance built on certainty function in this era?
55:45 What happens to Ukraine portends whether NATO can survive
56:00 Ask Chuck
56:15 Why has job creation stopped being part of our political discourse?
1:00:15 What other points of leverage like the Strait of Hormuz exist in the world?
1:02:15 Trump conflates political asylum with insane asylums?
1:03:15 Democrats' problem less about leaders & instead poor messaging?
1:06:30 A 2/3rds vote in the senate as a check on the pardon power?
1:08:00 Will attorney John Morgan run for governor?
1:04:30 Thoughts of putting all parties on the same primary ballot?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd asks the most uncomfortable question in American politics: is the country's current dysfunction a problem that can be resolved at the ballot box, or are we living through a pre-Civil War style pressure buildup where fundamental divisions keep getting papered over rather than addressed? He draws a striking parallel between today's hyperpartisan era — where both parties are simultaneously fighting each other and tearing themselves apart internally — and the post-Jackson period of American politics, when the country flipped back and forth between parties without ever resolving the underlying wound of slavery. He traces the arc from the Compromise of 1850, when Millard Fillmore believed he'd saved the republic, through the repeal of the Missouri Compromise that led to Bleeding Kansas, to James Buchanan handing Abraham Lincoln a country already on fire — and asks whether modern America can heal its divides without mass violence. He closes with Lincoln's insight that you couldn't solve the divide by managing it — but insists it doesn't have to take a hot civil war to resolve America's fractures, even if it increasingly feels like the country still isn't ready to do the hard work of actually turning the page.
Then, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan — the moderate Democrat, former tech entrepreneur, and Harvard-educated candidate for California governor — joins the Chuck Toddcast for a policy-dense conversation about what's wrong with California governance and how to fix it. Mahan argues that California has enormous resources but isn't delivering better results, and that the best form of resistance to Trumpism isn't performative opposition but good governance that actually improves people's lives. He walks through his record in San Jose — where he prioritized basic dignified shelter over expensive permanent housing and is now leading the state in reducing unsheltered homelessness — and makes the case that expensive housing is fundamentally a public policy failure driven by environmental review processes that needlessly slow construction. On AI, Mahan notes that Silicon Valley's libertarian tech culture has historically disengaged from civic life, but warns that AI is coming fast and California has both the responsibility and the opportunity to set guardrails that could become the national standard — particularly around transparency in government data use and serious law enforcement around data violations.
The conversation gets politically candid as they navigate the tensions within the Democratic Party. Mahan argues that California Democrats can't blame anyone else for the state's governance failures, that every year revenue goes up faster than population growth yet outcomes get worse, and that highly organized interest groups end up wielding a veto over meaningful change. He opposes the proposed California billionaire wealth tax — not because he's defending billionaires, he insists, but because taxing the ultra-wealthy needs to happen at the federal level to avoid driving companies out of state — and disagrees with Newsom's handling of Proposition 36, arguing the state should force people into either treatment or jail rather than allowing open drug markets. On California's jungle primary, Mahan dismisses concerns about two Republican candidates advancing as overblown, pushes back on the idea he should run as an independent, and contends that Democrats need to update their platform and make government actually work rather than relying on "resistance warrior" posturing.
Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the creation of NATO in 1949 and asks whether an alliance built on stability and values can survive a transactional president like Donald Trump, and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.
Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code CHUCKTODDCAST at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/chucktoddcast
Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
01:00 Reaction to March Madness
03:15 Nats are 2-1!
08:45 Trump orders TSA workers to be paid via executive order
09:45 Both parties are fighting each other, and also infighting
10:45 The house has the hardliners, the senate has the compromisers
11:15 Is the country ready to move on from dysfunction & hyperpartisanship?
13:30 For the 21st century, the country has flipped back & forth between parties
14:15 Similarities to the post-Jackson era of American politics
16:30 Problems and divisions were left unresolved
18:00 The wound over slavery was never healed, pressure kept building
19:00 Fillmore offered the compromise of 1850, thought he saved the republic
20:45 The Missouri Compromise was repealed, led to conflict in Kansas
22:30 Buchanon handed Lincoln a country already on fire
23:15 Can modern America heal its divides without mass violence?
24:15 8 million turned out for No Kings protests
25:45 CPAC was completely different universe compared to No Kings
27:00 Trump’s poll numbers are tanking on multiple issues
27:45 Democrats brand is still worse than Republicans in polls
28:30 We don’t seem to have the leaders we need to turn the page
29:15 The economy is a mess and it’s almost entirely Trump’s fault
30:15 The GOP hasn’t finished its own internal reckoning
31:30 It feels like America still isn’t ready to turn the page yet
32:30 The two parties have two fundamentally different visions for America
35:00 Will 2026 be a paradigm shift, or yet another pendulum swing?
36:00 Lincoln understood you couldn’t solve the divide by managing it
39:00 It doesn’t have to take a hot civil war to solve America’s divides
47:00 Mayor Matt Mahan (San Jose) joins the Chuck ToddCast
48:30 What got you into politics and made you want to run for mayor?
50:30 What are the other Dems in the race missing that you can bring?
51:45 California has a lot of resources but isn’t delivering better results
53:00 San Jose become the place where Palo Alto workers actually live
54:30 Why has San Jose lacked a real urban center?
55:45 Tech sector is very libertarian & didn’t really engage the community
58:15 Concerns that AI is coming quickly & can do both good and harm
59:45 If California puts guardrails on AI, that could become national standard
1:01:00 Government has responsibility to be transparent about AI data use
1:02:30 California has to create framework for AI security, regulation & transparency
1:03:15 The unknown of AI has created fear amongst the American public
1:04:30 The lack of trust in AI is because social media has been such a negative
1:06:00 There needs to be serious law enforcement around data violations
1:07:15 Media literacy & critical thinking need to be taught in public schools
1:08:45 What are you getting right in tackling homelessness in San Jose?
1:09:45 Prioritized basic dignified shelter over expensive permanent housing
1:11:00 San Jose is leading California in solving homelessness
1:12:00 California hasn’t built enough shelter or treatment facilities
1:13:00 Expensive housing is a public policy failure
1:13:45 Why does environmental review have to slow down construction?
1:15:00 Environmental impacts go far beyond just clean air & water
1:15:45 Technology can drastically speed up environmental review
1:17:00 Infill construction permits should be approved/denied in 30 days
1:18:30 Are tenant protection laws sufficient to protect ADU renters?
1:20:00 22% of new housing built in San Jose is ADUs
1:20:30 Are taxes too high in California?
1:21:15 California has one of the most progressive tax structures in the country
1:21:45 Gas tax is one of California’s most regressive, EV owners need to pay
1:23:15 A per vehicle flat fee for both gas & EVs makes the most sense
1:25:00 Every year revenue goes up faster than population w/ worse outcomes
1:26:15 What has Newsom gotten right & wrong?
1:28:30 Disagreed with Newsom on Prop 36 & force either treatment or jail
1:29:30 Highly organized interests end up getting a veto over change
1:31:30 Best form of resistance to Trumpism is good governance
1:32:30 The math problem for Democrats in California’s jungle primary
1:33:15 The concern over two GOP candidates winning is overblown
1:36:15 Voters are skeptical of both parties, why not run as an independent?
1:38:00 Democrats need to update the party platform & make government work
1:39:30 Voters frustrated with Trump gravitate towards “resistance warriors”
1:41:00 California Democrats can’t blame anyone else for California’s governance
1:41:30 Better ways to make tax code fairer than proposed billionaire wealth tax
1:42:30 Taxing the ultra wealthy needs to be done at the federal level
1:43:15 Opposing CA wealth tax isn’t defending billionaires
1:45:45 California’s governor race still shaping up
1:47:30 ToddCast Time Machine April 4th 1949
1:48:15 12 countries met to create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
1:49:30 League of Nations didn’t have any binding enforcement mechanisms
1:50:30 Breakthrough came via the Vandenberg Resolution
1:51:30 Article 5 allowed constitutional discretion, made ratification possible
1:52:45 In 1955, West Germany was admitted, but it was uncomfortable
1:53:30 NATO has a simple purpose, deter the Soviet Union
1:54:00 NATO continued to grow eastward
1:56:15 Trump believes NATO should do whatever he wants them to
1:56:45 Trump has made NATO believe America’s help is conditional
1:57:45 Can an alliance built on certainty function in this era?
1:59:00 What happens to Ukraine portends whether NATO can survive
1:59:15 Ask Chuck
1:59:30 Why has job creation stopped being part of our political discourse?
2:03:30 What other points of leverage like the Strait of Hormuz exist in the world?
2:05:30 Trump conflates political asylum with insane asylums?
2:06:30 Democrats' problem less about leaders & instead poor messaging?
2:09:45 A 2/3rds vote in the senate as a check on the pardon power?
2:11:15 Will attorney John Morgan run for governor?
2:07:45 Thoughts of putting all parties on the same primary ballot?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.