Podcast Central: Marriage Equality, John Walsh, the State Senate and More!

I've been seriously negligent on my LeftAhead promos here on RyansTake, so here's a batch of our last few.

• Interview with Boston City Councilor Steve Murphy. We chatted lots of Boston topics, but also focused in on the proposed Suffolk Downs casino. Here's your chance to see what the President of the Boston City Council thinks about that, including whether or not the entirety of Boston should be able to vote on it, or just East Boston. I'll spare folks my thoughts on that matter, because if you're here, you probably know it already.
• State Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh. We love having John Walsh on and it always makes for a great show. He went over the strategy for this year's elections and I loved his thoughts, toward the end of the show, on the brewing Tierney-Tisei congressional race, which promises to be a doozy. Let's just say Tisei, the 'moderate' got behind the Blunt amendment... 
• Mike and I on the Republican Reality TV Primary, especially Santorum and Romney. Mike's always amazed that our pundit-like shows often do as well as shows with good guests, but I'm not as surprised. We had a lot of fun with this one, and people like fun. Plus, we're totally better pundits than most of the bobble-heads from CNN and Fox News.
• Freedom to Marry Board Member, Rev John Buehrens. Buehrens brings a national perspective as a 9-year member of Freedom to Marry, one of the chief national organizations fighting for marriage equality across the country. He's also a local UU minister, who just so happened to chair the national organization for a while.
  
  He brought even more insight into the state-by-state battles going on in Maine, Washington, Maryland and elsewhere than I expected -- so if these are on your radar, definitely check it out. He also brought in a fascinating understanding of where marriage equality, partisan politics and religion intersect, and how that influences the battle. This show shouldn't be missed.
• State Senate Candidate Mara Dolan. Our show with Dolan today was great. She is clearly a very credible candidate, with a wide policy background, as well. I was very pleased to hear that she understands the fact that the "MBTA issue" is a Beacon Hill issue as much as anything else.
  
  If you're from the 3rd Middlesex District, this is a can't-miss show, and even if not, you should still check it out, because these races have impacts that are far more wide-sweeping than their own borders. 

A Post Citizens United World: This week's podcast, with Jamie Eldridge

State Senator Jamie Eldridge has long been one of our favorite guests on LeftAhead, but it's been a while since we've last had him on and were very excited when he quickly agreed to jump on the show and talk about what's really become one of the the most important issues facing us today: how do we live in a post-Citizens United world?

It's a difficult topic to address. There's the drastic implications of the Citizens United decision itself, as well as the conservative/corporate-loving bent of our courts to deal with -- courts in which things could get worse before they get better.

There's also the power of the special interests who have ample money and resources available to thwart even that which can still be done in a post-Citizens United world today.

The game seems rigged against us, yet the question becomes are we going to sit here and take it?

There's a reason why many in the progressive left of this state admire and respect Jamie Eldridge above and beyond many others -- and what he has to say on this podcast reflects so many of them. He knows how to mix progressive with pragmatic, having a political style that speaks to our aspirations while not letting perfection become the enemy of the good. He understands the really important issues that are going on and has an almost Elizabeth-Warren-like ability to talk about them in ways that anyone can understand and get behind. Most importantly, though, he's not afraid to get behind the really difficult issues, the issues that require real courage and leadership to tackle -- and anything meant to realistically challenge the implications of a post-Citizens United world today falls under that category.

Senator Eldridge really speaks to the fact that you can run as a proud democrat, one who's not scared of their own core convictions, and win in districts that have little in common with Cambridge, Brookline, Amherst or Somerville -- not in spite of your beliefs, but because of them.

I strongly recommend listening in on the podcast -- it was the sort of show that flew by so quickly, I wished our format allowed us more time. Alas.

As always, you can get the show on LeftAhead, BlogTalkRadio.com/lefties, iTunes, or on the BlogTalkRadio audio player to the right.

Finally, as an announcement, we're having a special Thursday morning edition of LeftAhead tomorrow, featuring special guest Ayanna Pressley. It's probably been an election cycle since we've last had her on and the Boston City Council city-wide seat is very competitive this year, so it should be a good show.

Talk, Talk, Talk

Mike and I did our podcast on the economic state of things. Will American cities be burning like London, too?

Today's LeftAhead: US Senate Race w/Candidate Bob Massie

Today on LeftAhead, we had Bob Massie on as our guest, the first announced candidate running for the Democratic Primary to face Senator Scott Brown in 2012. Massie has degrees from Princeton, Harvard and Yale and has a wide variety of experience, is a published author, and helped developed tools which enable corporations to become greener and save money at the same time.

You can listen to the podcast using the player below, or head to LeftAhead.com. You can also get the show at Blogtalkradio.com/lefties, or download and subscribe at iTunes.



Mike and I touched on a a broad range of issues, from jobs and the economy, to the environment, to health care. Massie laid out his vision for where he thinks this country needs to go to ensure it remains competitive in today's world, and so we can strengthen the middle and working class.

We also talked about the campaign itself and Bob gave us his pitch for the race. Bob is clearly in the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party, and will be tapping the grassroots across the state to build momentum. I hope everyone will listen to the show and see what they think.

DADT Repeal with Kara Suffredini from MassEquality

Mike and I had Kara Suffredini, MassEquality's still-new (and very savvy) director, on our latest LeftAhead podcast to discuss Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal and the state of affairs of GLBT civil rights in New England and beyond. Lots of good, frank talk -- this show's not to be missed by anyone who cares about GLBT civil rights. Suffredini knows what she's talking about.

You can listen by clicking the link or using the Blog Talk Radio player to the right. Enjoy!

Today's Podcast: The Filibuster and National Snooze Button

Good, informative stuff on today's filibuster. We talk about the rules and how it works, and why some of the things have gone the way they've gone. It serves equal parts filibuster 101 and advocacy for its reform of repeal. Both Mike and I would love to see the thing go, but even making people stand up and defend their stance for hours -- instead of the current means of allowing things to take place behind closed doors -- would be a big improvement.

Click here to listen, or use the blog talk radio widget to the right.

The WikiLeaks Podcast

Mike and I had a great podcast on LeftAhead about the whole WikiLeaks ordeal, focusing on the facts of the matter, as well as some of the actual revelations from the story.

You can listen to the show by clicking the link above, catching it on the Blog Talk Radio player to the right or downloading it on iTunes.

This Week's Podcast: Corruption

This week Mike and I hit up ethics abuse in Massachusetts, covering everything from Chuck Turner to the probation department. We also discussed how important it is for the state to address the disease, not just the symptoms of the problem, by really cleaning house and pushing ahead with additional ethics laws -- especially those around issues of transparency (hello, Open Meeting laws).

As always, you can click the link to listen to the show, listen to it on the sidebar on this website, or catch it on itunes.

Today's Podcast: Online Videos and Social Media

Boston-based online video and social media expert Steve Garfield came onto LeftAhead today to discuss the importance online videos in terms of social media, and how easy it is to film them.

Click the second link to listen to the podcast, or catch it on the sidebar of this site.

Niki Tsongas's Podcast -- Good Stuff

Mike and I had Niki Tsongas on LeftAhead yesterday and I thought it went very well. Tsongas was wonkier than I had expected, in a good way. For people who like a good, meaty podcast, filled with a broad spectrum of issues and some specifics to go along with it, I think you'll like it a lot.

You can listen or download it at the link above, on this site's right-hand sidebar, blogtalkradio.com/lefties or on Itunes, searching for LeftAhead amongst the podcasts.

Peter Smulowitz for State Senate on Tuesday

Senator Brown may have won a seat in the US Senate, but that meant he had to give up his old position in the State Senate. The door may have been shut, but we can safely call this an open window.

Peter Smulowitz, a medical doctor living in the district, in Needham, was campaigning to replace Brown since even before Brown defeated Martha Coakley, and now he finds himself an established candidate in an open seat. With an impeccable resume -- from Cornell for a degree in Biology, to the University of California for Med School and then Harvard for a grad degree in health care policy, Smulowitz has been in Massachusetts since 2003, when he started at Beth Israel Deaconess for his residency, where he still works as an emergency physician. As Co-Chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee for the Massachusetts College of Emergency Physicians, he's worked closely with both state regulatory agencies and state legislators, including his work with State Senator James Timilty to file "An Act to Improve Access to Emergency Care," which has nudged the Department of Public Health towards taking action on reducing overcrowding at ERs across the state. He's also had close ties with his home community in Needham, working on environmental causes and affordable housing.

Undoubtedly, health-care related questions will pop up, as well as questions about his record, stances on the issues and the campaign in general. People can listen live, Tuesday at 2:30, or catch it later at the same site, at LeftAhead.com or on itunes.

Today's Podcast: Politics in 2011

What's going to happen in 2011? Lynne and I discussed that and more on today's episode of LeftAhead.

Catch it by clicking the link, on the BlogTalkRadio media player to the right or by downloading it free on itunes.

Today's LeftAhead Podcast: MA-Sen, Health Care

It was a lively one, today, especially after Lynne joined us (she was a bit late).

Did you catch my podcast with Capuano?

The first 20 minutes is a review of all the goings-on of the Special Election race. Capuano jumps on after that to talk about his candidacy and to talk about his record and positions (you can fast forward to Capuano, but I highly recommend listening to the whole thing). We hit a lot of great areas, so I hope people enjoy this. LeftAhead is a lot of work, but I think it's a great resource for Massachusetts residents (largely because of my tremendous co-hosts, Mike and Lynne!). I hope as many people enjoy it as possible.



Unrelated note: Due to spam in the comments, I decided to switch my blog's comment system to a moderated system, where I have to approve comments. I hope to change this in the future as, quite frankly, it's more work for me!

Capuano on Thursday, Not Tonight

Sorry all, for some strange reason I thought we had Rep. Capuano on LeftAhead tonight to talk about the Senate race and answer the essential questions, but it's actually Thursday night. Oops.

As always, the best place to check for upcoming show information is LeftAhead.com. Furthermore, as always, once we actually do a show, you can get it at LeftAhead.com without having to worry about the live time and date. I'm looking forward to this -- I hope people take the opportunity to listen in.

Capuano Coming to LeftAhead.com

Mike, Lynne and I will be hosting Senate candidate and current U.S. Representative Mike Capuano on our LeftAhead podcast next week. The likely date is on Tuesday, though not at the regular time -- the show is more likely to start around 6pm. Check out LeftAhead.com over the next few days for the upcoming details -- and kudos to Mike for lining Capuano up.

Did you catch the latest podcast?

Mike and I chatted for about a half hour on the Human Rights Campaign and President Obama -- and whether either party will actually get something done on GLBT rights. Hop on over at LeftAhead.com to check it out, or listen to it directly on this website on the left-hand side bar.

This Thursday, we're doing a special podcast at 4pm, interviewing Boston City Council At-Large Candidate, Ayanna Pressley. She's one of the two favorites to pick up the last at-large seat. Last week, we interviewed her strongest opponent for the final seat, Andrew Kenneally, which you can also listen to over at LeftAhead.com.

Boston City Council Candidate Kennealley Podcast

He's on today at 2:30pm, live. Find out how to listen (or catch the archive anytime after) at LeftAhead.com.

We're in talks with several of the other at-large campaigns, as well.

Check out LeftAhead.com archives for interviews with the candidates in the Mayoral race. We had both Flaherty and Menino on in the summer.

LeftAhead Podcast on Thursday

We, at LeftAhead, decided to hold off on our regular Tuesday episode due to all the municipal elections taking place today. We'll have the episode on Thursday, instead, focusing on local elections. Boston will come up, probably Lowell too and I'll definitely bring up the exciting results from Lynn, last week.

Economic Prosperity for All?

Today, Lynne and I had Ben Forman on our LeftAhead podcast. It was a great show. I think one of the things that becomes clear is that while Greater Boston, especially the 128 bubble, has seen a large amount of economic growth over the past few decades -- it hasn't been shared by all. That's lead to a large disparity. One of the key things that made Massachusetts great in the past was the fact that we had large parts of the state where there was economic opportunity to find a good job and join the middle class. Most of those jobs are gone. In some parts of the state, new sectors emerged and continued to offer people in some communities the same opportunity. In the 11 cities MassINC identifies as Gateways, they haven't recovered with new, emerging fields like we've seen inside 128.

That can, of course, be changed -- maybe not with the same kinds of jobs, led by giant factories, employing thousands, but by hundreds of small businesses, employing dozens -- the bulk of which, according to Ben, would be in the business and service sector. We need to start better servicing those living in these communities, as well as work on the PR side to help lure more people to these communities -- and retain them. Speaking from experience, New Bedford was a cool place to live. Lynne loves living in Lowell. These are awesome communities that people should think about when they're considering where to open their small business or buy/rent their home/condo. With so many affordable units in great locations, these are the perfect places to locate -- inexpensive, plenty of talented people eager for jobs, decent public transportation, affordable housing and often very artsy, diverse cultural cuisines and scenes. With more small businesses moving in these communities, they can and will drive our state to a level of success for the Commonwealth I haven't seen in my lifetime -- because we won't be leaving certain parts of the state behind.