In our first episode of the year, veteran journalist Ron Brownstein returns to offer a cogent analysis about the larger ongoing, existential battle over the identity of this nation and the fears and anxieties animating the Trump coalition. 

In our final episode of 2025, Representative Crockett joins us to talk about what kind of leadership this moment requires. 

Happy Thanksgiving! Our team is taking a break this week, so we’re re-sharing one of our most popular episodes from last year featuring somatics coach Viveka Chen, now with a brand-new intro from our co-host Sharline Chang.

The 19th News’ childcare and economy reporter Chabeli Carrazana discusses the unique beat she’s formed and why reporting on the economy from a gender lens matters.

For the Bay Area Book Festival’s inaugural Merritt Dialogue Speaker Series, Steve and writer Rebecca Solnit join Working Families Party California State Director Jane Kim for a hopeful conversation on changing the narrative and imagining a better future.

Somos Votantes founder and president Melissa Morales returns to discuss the critical role of the Latino electorate and what her organization is hearing from voters about our current political climate.

Executive Director of Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) Fahd Ahmed discusses Zohran Mamdani’s historic race for New York City mayor and the lessons for Democrats and progressives in future elections.

San Francisco Chronicle’s senior political writer, and longtime observer of California politics, Joe Garofoli offers historical and political context to California’s growing role as a bastion against the Trump administration’s march towards fascism. 

Steve and Sharline reflect on Steve’s latest manuscript before diving into upcoming races in 2025.

Emmy Ruiz, former advisor to the President during the Biden-Harris administration, and White House director of political strategy and outreach, returns to discuss the redistricting showdown in Texas. 

In this re-release of our 100th episode, Erin Heaney, executive director of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), discusses the role of white allyship in the fight for justice and a multiracial democracy.

Steve and Sharline share how they’re processing the last several months before diving into the books and television shows that are helping them regroup, from Sharline’s first watch of Gilmore Girls with her daughter to Steve’s love of British murder mystery books. 

Deepak Bhargava, president of the Movement Action Fund, discusses the reality of the moment we’re facing and what it’s going to take to win back our democratic freedoms.

New York Times bestselling author and scholar Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs discusses her new book Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden From Us and why she set out to write a book that makes plain one of the organizing principles and primary barriers to progress in the U.S.

Director of Mission Telecom Giving Ashindi Maxton shares why she’s viewing this otherwise harrowing political climate as a moment of opportunity. 

Way to Win Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Jenifer Fernandez Ancona shares the organization’s research findings about where Democrats went wrong in 2024 and what it’s going to take to win in 2026 and beyond.

Thea Lee, economist and former deputy undersecretary for international labor affairs at the Department of Labor, provides insight to Trump’s economic madness and the global chaos unleashed.