Pod Virginia 10/8/21 Pod Virginia 10/8/21

Planned Parenthood: Protecting abortion access in uncertain times

The next election could change whether Virginians have access to a safe, legal abortion. What is an abortion, anyway? Our guests this week are Jamie Lockhart, the Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, and Dr. Shanthi Ramesh, an OBGYN and Medical Director for the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood. They explain why Texas's abortion ban changes the fundamental dynamic of politics between supporters and opponents of reproductive rights.

Pod Virginia 10/1/21 Pod Virginia 10/1/21

Dr. Jatia Wrighten: What happened between Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin in the final debate?

Democrat Terry McAuliffe is running for Governor again. This time he faces Republican Glenn Youngkin. The two faced off in a second and final debate moderated by NBC's Chuck Todd and hosted by the Schar School of Government. Recent polls show them nearly tied. Princess Blanding, the Liberation Party candidate, interrupted the debate to protest her exclusion from the debate.

Dr. Jatia Wrighten is a professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. She helps the Transition Team make sense of arguments about COVID vaccines and mitigation strategies; School censorship and Critical Race Theory; Attitudes toward Afghan refugees; and the choice to exclude Princess Blanding from the debate.

Pod Virginia 9/24/21 Pod Virginia 9/24/21

Dwayne Yancey: Innovating regional news in Southside and Southwest VA

The Transition Team covers the contentious Gubernatorial debate and evaluates some policy differences between Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin. Then, they hear a voicemail about prison gerrymandering from Buckingham County Supervisor Thomas Miles. Miles wants to know why it's more fair for people in prison to be counted in their home localities than the localities in which they reside.

The Team also interviews Dwayne Yancey, who will launch Cardinal News on Sept. 27, a regional news nonprofit covering Southwest and Southside Virgina.

Pod Virginia 9/17/21 Pod Virginia 9/17/21

Why should VA localities want public sector unions?

The Transition Team analyzes Rep. Don Beyer's proposal to mandate COVID vaccines for train and air travel. Then they answer a listener message about the state of House of Delegates races. Thomas and Michael also interview David Broder and Tammie Wondong of SEIU 512 about collective bargaining for public employees, and reasons why localities should support it.

Pod Virginia 9/9/21 Pod Virginia 9/9/21

How can we fight political gridlock?

Michael and Thomas interview former House Democratic Leader David Toscano, who has a new book out this week called "Fighting Political Gridlock: how states shape our nation and our lives." They also discuss the lawsuit from rural counties seeking to reinstate prison gerrymandering, and listen to a voicemail about the Red Flag Laws the General Assembly passed in 2020.

Pod Virginia 9/3/21 Pod Virginia 9/3/21

What happens now that the eviction moratorium is gone?

Senator Ghazala Hashmi and Del. Jeff Bourne will introduce legislation to grant reparations to the decedents of people prevented from building generational wealth. Did Democratic primary challengers actually run from the left? What happens now that landlords can proceed with evictions? Michael and Thomas interview Christie Marra of the Virginia Poverty Law Center about the implications of the SCOTUS decision and and what it means for renters.

Pod Virginia 8/27/21 Pod Virginia 8/27/21

What's slowing down municipal broadband?

Two professors from Virginia Tech explain how legacy telecoms cornered the market on broadband in Virginia, and how they harmed communities and municipalities. They provide their recommendations to expand high speed internet throughout the Commonwealth.

Michael and Thomas also discuss new developments from the redistricting commission and speculate about what certain outcomes might be.

Pod Virginia 8/20/21 Pod Virginia 8/20/21

Could clean energy power a conservative win?

Fmr. Del. Dave Ramadan (R-Loudoun) joins the Transition Team to discuss a measure in the COVID relief budget that has upset some school districts. Michael objects to the names of new judicial appointees not being published and Ramadan and Thomas explain the nuances of the judicial appointee system. Then they take a listener voicemail on whether Democrats should repeal the so-called Right to Work law.

The Team interviewed Ron Butler with Conservatives for Clean Energy. Their new poll reveals solar has bipartisan appeal, so why are some rural localities standing in the way?

Pod Virginia 8/9/21 Pod Virginia 8/9/21

How will VA spend stimulus cash and unpack the court?

Pod Virginia 7/30/21 Pod Virginia 7/30/21

How do we bridge the urban-rural divide?

Michael and Thomas are fresh from their vacations and back at the podcast studio. Their guest this week is John Provo, director of the Center for Economic and Community Engagement at Virginia Tech and the author of Vibrant Virginia, a forthcoming book about the Urban-Rural divide in the Commonwealth. Often framed as weak rural economic development, John reframes the issue as one that really has more to do with our understanding of wealth and class.

We discuss rural broadband and how telecom providers rigged the system against local governments from providing or subsidizing municipal infrastructure.

Pod Virginia 7/4/21 Pod Virginia 7/4/21

Why does the House of Delegates have a mace?

The mace of authority is a symbol that traces back to the British Monarchy. So, why does Virginia use a symbol for monarchic power? Mark Greenough is the Tour Supervisor and Historian for the Virginia state Capitol. He explains the history behind the mace and why Virginia even has one in the first place. Who tried to steal it? How heavy is it? Has the Sargent at-Arms ever used it? Find out on this episode of Transition Virginia.

Pod Virginia 6/18/21 Pod Virginia 6/18/21

How can businesses protect workers from heat stress?

How can businesses maximize productivity in extreme conditions? Kim Bobo at the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy and Rachel McFarland at the Legal Aid Justice Center advocate for worker protections and describe how they successfully urged new regulations to prevent vulnerable workers from developing heat stress.

Pod Virginia 6/11/21 Pod Virginia 6/11/21

What do we think about the Democratic Primaries?

The 2021 Democratic Primaries are finally behind us. Now it's time to decompress and analyze the results. This time we're joined by Mark Rozell, Dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government, as well as Kyle Kondik at the UVA Center for Politics. What do we think about the Democratic statewide nominees? What about the results in the House races? Listen and find out.

Pod Virginia 6/3/21 Pod Virginia 6/3/21

Thinking critically about Critical Race Theory

What is Critical Race Theory? Dr. Jatia Wrighten is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at VCU and an expert in Critical Race Theory. Sean Perryman is a democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor and the former head of the Fairfax County NAACP. They help the Transition Team understand what it is, and the role Critical Race Theory plays in American society, and how it's being weaponized against Democrats in the 2021 elections.

Pod Virginia 5/25/21 Pod Virginia 5/25/21

Democratic candidates make their closing arguments

Graham Moomaw, Virginia politics & policy reporter for the Virginia Mercury joins the Transition Team, along with Trevor Southerland, the former Exec. Director of the VA House Dems to discuss the last Democratic gubernatorial debate and the closing arguments that each of the candidates are making.

Pod Virginia 5/14/21 Pod Virginia 5/14/21

Evaluating the GOP Statewide Nominees

How much do you know about Virginia Republican nominees Glenn Younkin, Winsome Sears, and Jason Miyares?

Dr. Quentin Kidd of CNU's Wason Center and Jackie DeFusco of Richmond's News Channel 8 (WRIC) evaluate the GOP nominees for the 2021 statewide elections. They identify likely campaign issues, relative challenges and advantages for the nominees, and the likelihood that any of them might beat a Democratic opponent in November.

Pod Virginia 4/29/21 Pod Virginia 4/29/21

Who are the Republican Candidates for Governor?

Former Delegate David Ramadan (R-Loudoun) and conservative analyst Matt Colt Hall, a reporter for the Virginia Star, brief the Transition Team on the GOP candidates for governor and assess their chances of winning the nomination.

Pod Virginia 4/22/21 Pod Virginia 4/22/21

Which incumbent Democratic Delegates could lose their primary?

Chaz Nuttycombe the Executive Director of CNalysis evaluates the Democratic House Primary races with the Transition Team.

Which races does he think will prove most competitive? Are any incumbents going to lose? This episode covers all that and more.

Pod Virginia 4/15/21 Pod Virginia 4/15/21

What makes a journalist run for elected office?

Delegate Danica Roem and Chris Hurst discuss their transition from journalists to lawmakers and how it informs the issues they care about. We cover everything from FOIA laws to local issues.

Pod Virginia 4/7/21 Pod Virginia 4/7/21

What happened at the Democratic Debate for Governor?

Dr. Quentin Kidd from CNU joined the Transition Team to analyze what happened at the first televised Democratic primary debate for Governor. Is Terry McAuliffe still the front-runner? What the heck did Justin Fairfax say this time?

Kidd is the Professor and Chair of the Department of Government and Director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.

EPISODES