Back to School Apps, Magnet Program Changes, Gas Companies
I Hate Politics Podcast
MCPS communications chief and CTO on outreach platforms as schools reopen. How to think about the magnet program changes proposed last week (). Maryland Public Service Commission Chair Fred Hoover on new hearings looking at how the state’s gas utilities should align their investments with the state’s climate goals. And more. Music By Dear Daria.
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Aletheia McCaskill’s Story of the Moore Veto of the Reparations Bill
I Hate Politics Podcast
When Wes Moore, the first black governor of the state, vetoed the reparations bill in Spring 2025, it sent a shock of disappointment and betrayal especially among black leaders inside and outside Maryland. Delegate Aletheia McCaskill from Baltimore was the lead sponsor of the bill in the House of Delegates and tells her side of the story in this episode. Music By Drew Pictures and the Lead Extras.
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USDOJ Wants MD Voter List, Gas Leaf-Blower Reporting, 1A Challenge in MoCo
I Hate Politics Podcast
The US DOJ and Maryland Elections Board tussle over access to the state’s voter list. Montgomery County Council is looking at changing a provision in the new gas leaf-blower ban requiring picture-taking with complaints. MoCo County Council faces a First Amendment challenge from a local satire blogger. And more. Music by The Longtimers.
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Failing FEMA Flood Maps and New Resilience Planning
I Hate Politics Podcast
With increasing inland flash flooding in the region, a new study from Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board finds FEMA flood maps cover only 15 percent of flooding-related road closures in the Washington DC region. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Katherine Rainone, a transportation resilience planner at MWCOG, about the regional vulnerability study and projects to come out it. Flood analysis interactive tool: Full flood analysis report: Music by A Shrewdness of Apes.
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Trump Seizes DC Police, Zoning Not the Answer, Lanternflies
I Hate Politics Podcast
Fighting off attacks from his own political base over the non-release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, President Trump uses the pretext of a crime emergency to orchestrate a federal takeover of Washington DC’s police Department and removal of homeless people from the district. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich invites two Vanderbilt University law professors to strengthen his hands against the County Council’s new law to ease zoning restrictions. Penn State entomologist Julie Urban on what to do when you see a lanternfly and what experts are doing. And more. Music by Anna Rubin....
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Can Superintendent Taylor Return MCPS to its Heyday?
I Hate Politics Podcast
Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor, who is beginning his second year at the helm of the nation’s 15th largest and Maryland’s largest school district, has said that MCPS was one of the nation’s best school districts in 2011-12 and, by implication, not since. Taylor joined Sunil Dasgupta to talk about his vision and the challenges ahead as he tries to return the district to its old glory. Music by Damascus-based rapper Cataclizm.
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MCPS Payroll Fix, Flood Maps, RKV Rent Cap, M-83 Highway
I Hate Politics Podcast
New study finds FEMA flood maps account for only 15 percent of flooding-related road closures in the region over the last 20 years. MCEA files grievance action against MCPS for delays and inaccuracies in payroll. Superintendent Thomas Taylor offers a fix by date. Rockville City Council nixed rent stabilization the second year. Councilmember Izola Shaw who championed the cause analyzes. Washington Post travails continue, says former Metro editor Bob McCartney. TAME Coalition kills the M-83 highway plan after decades of effort. And more. Stay with us. Music by the DC area roots band The...
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Is the $1 Billion for RFK Stadium a Good Bet for DC?
I Hate Politics Podcast
Washington DC Council has been getting ready to vote on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan to redevelop the RFK Stadium and its adjacent land as the new home for the Washington Commanders football team, which will cost the city $1 billion. Sunil Dasgupta talked to the DC Policy Center Executive Director and longtime DC public finance economist Yasim Say if this was a fair deal? Music by Washington DC prog rock band, A Shrewdness of Apes.
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MoCo Upzones, Lawsuits Against MCPS, RFK Revenues, Redistricting Trigger Law
I Hate Politics Podcast
Montgomery County, MD, upzones around transit corridors, but opposition remains. Finally, a new Impact tax agreement between Gaitersburg and MoCo. Court awards an MCPS teacher half a million dollars for false accusation of racism by the school district. At least 3 teachers are involved in another lawsuit for wrongful punishment for “antisemitic” speech. New economic analysis of the RFK Stadium says long-term revenue projections are higher without the stadium, but it’s never that simple is it? MD House Majority Leader David Moon proposes trigger legislation to open mid-decade...
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MCPS Tees Up More School Choice, But at What Cost?
I Hate Politics Podcast
Montgomery County Public Schools, MD, is on the verge of big changes in attendance boundaries, program access, and grading policy, but this summer faces political contestation between wanting these changes and deciding on whom to impose the cost of that change. Sunil Dasgupta talks with MCPS parent and Kensington resident Rebekah Kuschmider about the likelihood and cost of disbanding the regional school choice program centered on Silver Spring called the Down County Consortium (DCC) even as the school district seeks to expand choice more widely. Music by Washington DC prog rock band, A...
info_outlineMontgomery County Council President Kate Stewart explains final budget tradeoffs as vote arrives this week. New data analysis shows a disproportionate increase in staff positions in the county and in the school district. A survey of regional homelessness shows little change except in Montgomery County. The National Park Service proposes ending the morning and afternoon reversible lanes on Rock Creek Parkway. In small town Maryland, New Market and Woodsboro, stories of political contestation. And more. Music by Arlington-based experimental music composer Pierre Bernasconi.