Political Breakdown
Join hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos as they unpack the day in politics with a California perspective. Featuring interviews with reporters and other insiders involved in the craft of politics—including elected officials, candidates, pollsters, campaign managers, fundraisers, and other political players—Political Breakdown pulls back the curtain to offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics works today.
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The 2026 governor’s race is still more than 500 days away, but there is already a crowded field of candidates. On the Democratic side, they're all waiting to see if Vice President Kamala Harris decides to jump in. KQED’s Marisa Lagos and Guy Marzorati are joined remotely by San Francisco Chronicle Senior Political Wri
San Francisco’s Joaquin Torres Talks Taxes, Theater and his 12 Years of Leading the Housing Authority
As San Francisco’s elected assessor-recorder, Joaquin Torres’ office decides the value of property in San Francisco, and tells you how much you owe in taxes. But he’s also spent the last dozen years as president of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission, which oversees the city's public housing developments as
Buffy Wicks is a leading champion in Sacramento for building more housing in California. Her early political activities include working on both of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns. Now she represents parts of Contra Costa and Alameda Counties in Sacramento where she chairs the powerful Assembly Appropriations Comm
San Francisco is looking for a new police chief after Bill Scott announced earlier this month that he is stepping down after eight years on the job through three mayoral administrations. Although the city’s civilian-led police commission will draw up a short list of candidates, Mayor Daniel Lurie will make the final d
Two young leaders are making waves in the Democratic Party. Oakland Congresswoman Lateefah Simon joins Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos, just hours after the House narrowly passed a sweeping policy bill that would cut trillions in taxes and slash safety net programs, including Medicaid and SNAP. Plus, Democratic National
President Trump’s four-day visit to the Middle East featured splashy business deals, very little talk about human rights abuses and plenty of ethical questions – like ones raised by the gift of a lavish $400 million plane from Qatar for Trump to use as a temporary Air Force One. In many ways trip was a reset of relatio
