Episodes
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Mayor Muriel Bowser in Washington DC offers a budget proposal with cuts and regulatory changes. MCPS has released boundary change options as it plans opening new high schools. Complaints about air quality in Argyle Middle School. MD Public Service Commission asks Baltimore Gas and Electric and Delmarva Power to spread out coming rate increases, watch your electricity bills. A lawsuit challenges closed primaries in the state of Maryland. And more. Music by Washington Dc art-pop rock band, Catscan!
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On October 23, 1971, Deputy Sheriff James T. Hall was killed in the parking lot of Manor Country Club, the center of a wealthy golf course community between the city of Rockville and Olney, MD. The case remained unsolved for 50 years, until 2021, when cold case detectives finally took another look at the urging of Hall's daughter, Carolyn Philo, who had long moved to Dallas, Texas, where she told the story of her father’s murder to her doctor, Michael Weissberg, a moonlighting crime writer. As cold case detectives pursued neglected leads, Weissberg began writing the book. Weissberg joined Sunil Dasgupta to talk about the recently-published book, A Second Shot: https://a.co/d/duIqQyx. Music by Sliver Spring power pop band, The Airport77s.
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Federal employee rights will change in the Trump-backed budget legislation “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Will budget-busting drugs like Jardiance and Farxiga soon cost less in Maryland? A new law sets up a mechanism. The state is fixing to charge for viewing land records and the Maryland State Bar and title attorneys are not happy. In Frederick County, MD, a fake mooning incident at a school board meeting. We have the audio, which may be more incendiary than the video. And more. Music by Arlington-based experimental music composer Pierre Bernasconi.
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Last week Maryland Governor Wes Moore vetoed a reparations study bill and three environment bills despite their low budget impact, angering some of his closest allies: the General Assembly’s Black Caucus and the region’s environmental groups. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Maryland Senator Charles Sydnor, regional environment leader Mike Tidwell, and bike and pedestrian safety advocate Seth Grimes, about the politics. Music by Frederick, MD,- based country-folk singer-songwriter Susanna Laird.
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Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart explains final budget tradeoffs as vote arrives this week. New data analysis shows a disproportionate increase in staff positions in the county and in the school district. A survey of regional homelessness shows little change except in Montgomery County. The National Park Service proposes ending the morning and afternoon reversible lanes on Rock Creek Parkway. In small town Maryland, New Market and Woodsboro, stories of political contestation. And more. Music by Arlington-based experimental music composer Pierre Bernasconi.
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There is a long tradition in political philosophy where democracy and transparency are equated. A new article in the Policy Studies Journal, by UMBC colleagues UMBC’s Eric Stokan, Ian Anson, University of Texas Austin’s Nathan Jensen studied the impact of government transparency on Amazon’s search for its second headquarters to find surprising conclusions: https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.70016. Sunil Dasgupta talks with lead author Eric Stokan. Music by Frederick, MD,- based country-folk singer-songwriter Susanna Laird.
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Washington DC releases its 2025 homeless count, with significant improvement. Trump wants beautification, but where do the unhoused go? Mayor Muriel Bowser steps into the tipped wage debate again. MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor lays out the school district’s problems. With some talk of Larry Hogan running again for Maryland governor, Delegate Marc Korman talks about the new law changing conflict rules for Maryland governors that will affect Hogan if he returns. And more. Music by Arlington-based experimental music composer Pierre Bernasconi.
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With Montgomery County, MD, in the throes of budget season, Sunil Dasgupta talks with the county’s Chief Administrative Officer Rich Madaleno about how the budget balance taxation and services. Music by Frederick, MD,- based country-folk singer-songwriter Susanna Laird.
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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: And more. As the DC government considers a $1 billion investment in a new football stadium, Lora Nunn of Kingman Park in DC talks about what the project means to the stadium’s neighbors. Brookeville, MD, community objects to a new drug treatment center, they choose anonymity. Montgomery County Council approves pay raises and collective bargaining agreements but has angst about tax increases. And more. Music by Arlington-based experimental music composer Pierre Bernasconi.
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Local journalist and author Miranda Spivack has a new book out, Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back. Sunil Dasgupta talks to Spivack about the book, why transparency has been a persistent problem in government, and how the public can fight back. Music by Washington art-pop rock band Catscan!
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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Washington DC loses its AAA bond-rating. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is withdrawing proposed property tax increase and will instead propose raising county income tax. The Blueprint Accountability and Implementation Board is Maryland is redefining school poverty such that Montgomery and Caroll counties are seeing increases and Baltimore City is seeing decrease. One stairway reduces building costs but also reduces the margin of error on safety. The National Fire Prevention Association is thinking about the balance. The bizarre story of the murder of half a million bees in Stafford, Va. And more. Music by Seth Kibel and Friends.
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Two years ago climate activists Tim Martin and Joanna Smith poured red and black paint on the enclosure and pedestal of a famous Degas statue, The Little Dancer, in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Martin and Smith were a part of a group called Declare Emergency, which engages in disruptive protests to compel urgent climate action. Sunil Dasgupta talked with Tim Martin as his trial in DC courts finally began this month, April 2025. Music by Washington art-pop rock band Catscan!
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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: SCOTUS hears Montgomery County, MD, LGBTQ books opt-out case. Can public education be apolitical? MoCo Executive Marc Elrich vetoes a tax rebate bill for office to apartment conversions. MD Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld responds to NTSB criticism that the state did not evaluate the Chesapeake Bay Bridge or the Key Bridge in Baltimore for strength. DC tries to maneuver around Congressional budget constraints. A new climate cost report from MD Comptroller Brooke Lierman on Earth Day. And more. Music by Seth Kibel and Friends.
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Following the end of the Maryland General Assembly 2025 session, House of Delegates Majority Leader David Moon and Maryland Association of Counties Executive Director Michael Sanderson join Sunil Dasgupta to talk about what transpired but the conversation opened the question whether tight budgets will bring deregulation in housing, energy, and occupations. Official legislative record called the 90-day report: https://t.ly/IOp3C. Music by Washington art-pop rock band Catscan!
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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Montgomery County offers $3 million to help restart White’s Ferry connecting Maryland and Virginia. Sandy Spring Friends School closes due to financial trouble. MCPS wants to tighten grading policy after almost 20 years of growing leniency. Ike Leggett says that Blueprint education funding remains on track despite the budget crisis. Washington DC inaugurated a new full-service hospital east of the Potomac River. And planting recommendations from the Washington Gardener Kathy Jentz. Music by Seth Kibel and Friends.
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The Mecca Business Learning Institute is Montgomery County, Maryland,’s second officially-approved public charter school project and expected to open its doors for the Fall 2025 school year. The school is reporting strong interest from families but as of a few weeks ago the school building was not ready, staff had not been hired, negotiations with the teachers and staff unions incomplete, and finances overly dependent on the county disbursements. Montgomery has long resisted public charter schools even as Washington DC, Prince George’s County, and Baltimore have embraced the idea. Sunil Dasgupta talked with founders LaChaundra Graham and Tracey Cooper about their model and the prospects for opening on time for the next school year. Music by Washington art-pop rock band Catscan! School Website: https://www.mbli-md.org/
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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Locals join nationwide Hands Off Rally against the Trump presidency. Congressman Jamie Raskin channels Winston Churchill at the protest. MD General Assembly ends the 2025 session with budget, energy reform, education bills, and more. MCPS launches boundary study potentially affecting the entire county. Poll shows Marylanders want countywide voting centers, but what are the tradeoffs with neighborhood polling places? Washington DC tries to limit open meeting law. Music from the Hands Off Rally protests.
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Guest Host Lorena Treviño of Walter Johnson High School talks with NorthwestHigh School junior Peter Boyko, one of two finalists for the Student Member of the Montgomery County Board of Education in 2025-26. The SMOB is one of eight on the county school board, nearly co-equal with other generally elected members, but voted in by MCPS secondary school students only. Music for this episode comes from Adam Bobrow. Suvarna Insta: @peterforsmob.
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Guest Host Lorena Treviño of Walter Johnson High School talks with Montgomery Blair High School junior Anuva Maloo, one of two finalists for the Student Member of the Montgomery County Board of Education in 2025-26. The SMOB is one of eight on the county school board, nearly co-equal with other generally elected members, but voted in by MCPS secondary school students only. Music for this episode comes from Adam Bobrow. Suvarna Insta: @anuva4smob
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The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Maryland House of Delegates passes the 2026 budget amidst pushback and now the state Senate debates. Maryland reconsiders how local police interact with ICE. Delaware pushes through new law to restore its reputation as the corporate registration capital of the US. Also from Delaware, why Senator Stephanie Hansen is upset with Ocean City, Maryland? And more. Music by Washington DC area composer Anna Rubin.
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