Hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Beth Ruyak, California Politics Podcast is a weekly show examining the latest news, trends and policies shaping the Golden State. Each week during the legislative session, Ruyak sits down with lawmakers, academics and journalists from the Los Angeles Times Sacramento bureau and across the state to break down Capitol decisions and their impact on Californians. The series unpacks complex policy shifts through reporting and analysis, spotlighting critical races, high-stakes legislation and key power struggles across the state.
New episodes weekly.
Are we ready? L.A. Times writer Ron Lin on why CA is failing at natural disasters
California’s beauty comes with risk. This week, host Beth Ruyak is in conversation with L.A. Times reporter Rong-Gong Lin II, who covers extreme weather, natural disasters and earthquakes. Lin explains why the same failures keep repeating, and he breaks down the state’s new Zone Zero rules for homes in high-risk areas. He also investigates how El Niño, record king tides and sea level rise are forcing hard choices along the coast, from Long Beach to San Francisco.
29 Oct 2026
It started as a bluff: The story behind CA's midterm election congressional map
It started as a ploy to scare Texas out of redrawing its congressional map and ended with California voters approving a new map of their own, one that could help alter the balance of power in Washington. Host Beth Ruyak talks with Paul Mitchell, head of Redistricting Partners and the person who drew the Prop 50 maps, and LA Times political writer Seema Mehta about how it happened. They discuss the five seats Democrats hope to pick up in California on Nov. 3 and the current odds of victory or defeat. They also consider whether the changing political landscape could determine if California’s independent commission will take back the job in 2031.
22 Oct 2026
Bracing for a record El Niño: Climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain
Climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain joins host Beth Ruyak to explain why this winter’s El Niño sharply raises California’s risk of heavy rain, flooding and coastal erosion this winter. They also discuss Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to declare a state of emergency, and whether the state should allow homes to be built in fire and flood zones.
15 Oct 2026
Becerra vs. Hilton: What did the one and only California’s governor’s debate tell us about the candidates?
After the only debate so far in California’s governor’s race, LA Times reporter Nicole Nixon and CalMatters reporter Jeanne Kuang join host Beth Ruyak. They break down the matchup between Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra and Republican candidate Steve Hilton, including Becerra’s push to tie Hilton to Trump, a heated exchange on immigration, and Hilton’s attention-grabbing new ad and internal poll. They also ask whether anything can still shift the race in its final weeks.
8 Oct 2026
What kind of governor does California want? L.A. Times columnist George Skelton has covered 9
Legendary journalist George Skelton has covered nine California governors. In our first episode, the L.A. Times columnist sizes up the governors he's known, what made them successful and whether the next one can measure up. Then, L.A. Times politics editor Phil Willon joins us to discuss why state politics coverage matters now more than ever.
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