Next Round

PRI’s guest in this podcast is Nolan Gray, an urban planner and currently a Ph.D. student at UCLA. Housing affordability and housing shortages are two key reasons so many Californians are fleeing the state. Nolan discusses why housing is so expensive and the regulatory barriers that are preventing more houses from being built.  He also offers policy recommendations to help more Californians find an affordable place to live.

This week’s guest is Dr. Henry Miller, PRI senior fellow in health care studies.  In addition to being a physician, Dr. Miller was a former official at the FDA and founding director of the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology. Dr. Miller provides an update on the pandemic, the progress of vaccine distribution, and his perspective on the CDC’s pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  Co-hosts Rowena and Tim discuss Biden’s first 100 days, the recall effort, and new gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner.

Julian Morris, Senior Fellow at Reason and a Senior Scholar at the International Center for Law and Economics, joins us for a discussion on environmental topics as we mark Earth Day 2021.  We discuss the Biden Administration's "green infrastructure" proposals, California's big government energy policies, whether government fuel emission standards have delivered on their promises, and how California's and America's environmental policy regimes have worsened the state's housing crisis and undermined growth in so many areas of the economy.

Prominent conservative scholar Charles Kesler discusses his new book Crisis of the Two Constitutions – The Rise, Decline, and Recovery of American Greatness with PRI senior fellow Steve Hayward.  Prof. Kesler is the editor of the Claremont Review of Books, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, and a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute.

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) promotes itself as “the nation’s drug pricing watchdog.”  However, as documented in the first of a series of PRI reports, ICER’s cost-effectiveness analyses contain inappropriate methodologies and subjective judgments in determining the value of medicines.  In this podcast, PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden discusses why ICER’s reports contain biased, inaccurate assumptions.

Steven Greenhut, author of the recent PRI book Winning the Water Wars, moderates a panel of water experts and policymakers who preview the course the Biden Administration will likely chart on California water policy.  They also highlight potential landmines in the water debate in the months ahead and discuss how free-market ideas like water markets could secure the state’s water future. Panelists include: Congressman Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, former Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway, and Brett Barbre, General Manager of the Yorba Linda Water District.

Despite the success of charter schools, they have come under attack on multiple fronts.  State lawmakers have enacted state laws that handicap the establishment of charter schools and their operation.  Additionally, charter school opponents have used the Covid-19 pandemic to exacerbate funding disparities between charter schools and traditional public schools.  Lance Izumi, author of the new PRI brief, “New and Emerging Threats Facing Charter Schools,” will lead a panel discussing what charter school parents, students and advocates must do to combat the growing threat from teacher unions, state lawmakers, and a new federal administration hostile to their very existence. Panelists include State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, Norman Gonzales of John Adams Academy, and Cameron Curry of Classical Academies.

In this podcast, Kerry Jackson and Wayne Winegarden preview their new book No Way Home: The Crisis of Homelessness and How to Fix it with Intelligence and Humanity.  The panel discussion was recorded from PRI’s annual Sacramento Policy Conference in February. Also, Rowena Itchon and Tim Anaya, former gubernatorial speechwriters, in the opening round give their review of Gov. Newsom’s State of the State Address.

This podcast features a virtual debate on free speech and the role of social media platforms in moderating online content. PRI brings together an unmatched team of experts including former Congressman Chris Cox, one of the original authors of Section 230; the Honorable Dan Oliver, one of the country’s leading conservatives and former Federal Trade Commissioner under President Ronald Reagan; and Bartlett Cleland, PRI’s senior fellow in Technology and Innovation and a top expert on tech policy.

In this podcast, PRI Senior Fellow Wayne Winegarden discusses his new study “The Small Business Gig.” The gig economy is one of the fastest growth sectors  in the U.S. But entrenched union power has been leading the charge for more and more restrictions in California and the U.S. Winegarden discusses the importance of the gig economy in creating entrepreneurial businesses and he offers reforms to help spur continued growth.