Ambassador Francis Rooney - On the Legacy of Pope Francis and the Conclave to Elect the Next Pope
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This week, Tim talks with Ambassador Francis Rooney, who was the U.S. Representative to the Holy See during the George W. Bush administration and who later served as a Member of Congress. They talk about talk about how American Catholics will remember Pope Francis, what to expect from the conclave electing the next pope (including discussion of some of the leading candidates), and the path the next pope should chart on global and church affairs including dealings with the Trump administration.
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Ben Austin - Can Sacramento Actually Fix California's Underperforming Public Schools?
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Ben Austin, longtime politico who has worked in both Democrat and Republican administrations in California and Washington, DC and now founding director of Education Civil Rights Now - a national non-profit with the mission of establishing a constitutional right to a high-quality public education for all students - joins PRI's Matt Fleming and Lance Izumi to discuss the potential for policymakers to enact badly-needed education reforms in these highly polarized times in California and nationwide.
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PRI's Earth Week Special - What is the Cost of Going Green?
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This week, we feature a special recording of our live webinar featuring PRI scholars and policy experts exploring key green topics being debated and discussed in Washington, DC and in the states – from Cap and Trade and gas and carbon taxes to green appliance mandates. Learn about the latest study from PRI detailing just how much the green transition in California will cost you – you’ll grab on to your wallet when you hear the figure! Panelists include PRI's Dr. Wayne Winegarden and Todd Myers from the Washington Policy Center.
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Marcos Bretón - On the Challenges of the City of Sacramento and its Major Daily Newspaper
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Sacramento Bee editorial page editor Marcos Bretón joins us to discuss the many challenges facing the City of Sacramento, including homelessness and the poor state of the city's public schools, along with opportunities like the Athletics playing in the city as its temporary home. They also discuss the struggles of legacy daily newspapers like the Bee to stay afloat in a changing media landscape, and the Bee's efforts to feature more conservative voices on its editorial pages.
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Is There a War on Suburbia in California?
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This week, we present a special panel discussion from PRI's recent California Ideas in Action policy conference in Sacramento discussing whether there is a war on suburbia in California. Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut moderates a lively discussion of policy experts exploring the themes of the latest Free Cities Center booklet.
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Tom Campbell – On Tariffs, DOGE and Cutting Government Waste
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This week, we’re joined by former Congressman, state legislator, state Director of Finance and constitutional law scholar Tom Campbell – rated as the top government waste fighter during his tenure in the House. We discuss the President’s tariff proposals and the DOGE effort, whether Elon Musk’s team is following the proper legal path to downsize government, what Congress’ priorities should be in cutting government waste, and what state budget directors should be doing today to prepare for significantly less resources from Washington.
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Assembly Member Blanca Rubio – How to Reverse the Collapse of Learning in California’s Schools
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Parents, students, and taxpayers are growing increasingly frustrated by the inability of California’s schools to educate our kids for the future, and they are even more frustrated to learn why our schools are doing so badly – outdated and ineffective learning models. From PRI’s 2025 Sacramento policy conference, hear a special presentation of a conversation between Lance Izumi, senior director of PRI’s Center for Education, and Assembly Member Blanca Rubio, who is a leader in the nationwide bipartisan movement to change how we teach our kids reading and math.
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Reforms to Help Southern California Recover Faster
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This week, we present a special discussion from a recent PRI webinar featuring PRI’s scholars and other policy experts exploring how bad policy influence the recent Southern California wildfires on issues ranging from planning to insurance, sharing the lessons learned from the Maui wildfires that every Southern Californian should know as the rebuilding process begins, and discussing what should be done going forward to better protect Californians from wildfire risk.
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PRI All-Star Panel discusses State of the Union speech
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This week is our special All-Star Panel of former speechwriters reviewing Pres. Donald Trump’s speech to Congress. Lance Izumi, PRI’s Senior Director of Education, was chief speechwriter to Gov. George Deukmejian and Attorney General Ed Meese; Tim Anaya, PRI’s Vice President of Marketing & Communications, was speechwriter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other leaders in the California legislator; and Rowena Itchon, Chief Operating Officer at PRI, was a speechwriter to Gov. Pete Wilson, and corporate CEOs and other government officials. She was also a research...
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Sally Pipes – The World’s Medicine Chest
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This week, we present a special presentation of our recent webinar with Sally Pipes, PRI President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy, discussing her new book, The World’s Medicine Chest: How America Achieved Pharmaceutical Supremacy – and How to Keep It (Encounter Books). The book explores how America became the world’s leader in biopharmaceutical innovation through market capitalism and argues that the embrace by Democrats and even some Republicans to follow Europe and enact controls on prescription drugs would be a grave mistake. Plus Ro and Tim discuss the...
info_outlineThis week, Joe Kent of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii joins us to share lessons learned from the Aloha State’s experience in rebuilding after the devastating Maui wildfires from a few years ago. It’s a conversation everyone who has been affected by the wildfires should listen to, especially as leaders from Gavin Newsom on down are exploring ways to “reimagine” the Palisades after the fires. Plus, Tim and Matt Fleming discuss the Super Bowl and the constitutional questions surrounding President Trump’s efforts to reform the federal government and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending.