James and Nick welcome Frank Patka who runs a non-profit called Changing Patterns which helps to get former inmates integrated back into society through employment and support. We talk about what's wrong with the prison system in Oregon and what steps we can take to reduce recidivism.
James and Nick met each other through their work on the Knute Buehler gubernatorial campaign and it's been an unofficial goal of this podcast to one day interview Dr. Buehler. The opportunity finally presented itself so Nick and James took a trip to Bend and this is the result!
In this 90-minute double episode, Nick and James welcome two guests, return guest Xander Almeida and newcomer Peter Halajian to pick apart the Oregon Republican Platform over a full bottle of scotch and develop a strategy for influencing the upcoming ORP Platform Convention.
James and Nick welcome Brooke Gray, Executive Director of Embrace Oregon, a nonprofit that helps children in foster care and foster families in the state of Oregon.
Jeff Gudman was the Republican candidate for state treasurer in 2016. He joins James and Nick to discuss the treasurer position, what the race was like and how Republicans can win in the future.
Have you been wondering what's going on with the Senate Republicans and why it's making national and international news? Take a listen as we welcome our first return guest, Xander Almeida to give our two cents on what's going on in Salem.
In this controversial episode, James and Nick welcome Jeff Reynolds, former MCRP chair, author, and podcast host to discuss HB3063, which would have mandated vaccines for children to attend public school, without an exemption for religious beliefs.
James and Nick welcome our first sitting State Legislator, Rep. Daniel Bonham. We talk about a few of the bills that had been going through the legislature and what it's like to be in a super-minority.
In the final episode of our Dorchester series, James and Nick talk with Allen Alley about his experience as the Oregon Republican Party chairman and everyone's favorite subject, PERS. Allen was 2-time candidate for Governor and has been involved in Oregon politics for decades.
In this episode, James and Nick welcome Robert Schwartz to talk guns. Robert is a former candidate for State Representative and he requested Senate Bill 801 which would have allowed elementary school kids to be taught what to do if they encounter an unsecured firearm.
In the third installment of the Dorchester series, James and Nick interview Julie Parrish and Larry Morgan. Julie is a 4-term State Representative who was in office from 2010 through 2018 and Larry is a former city counselor for the city of Troutdale.
James and Nick welcome Dr. Satya Chandragiri, a psychiatrist running for Salem-Keizer School Board. Dr. Satya shares his experience treating mental health around the world and what he hopes to accomplish on the School Board.
Bonus episode with two of the interviews we conducted at the Dorchester Conference. Gary Wilhelms is a former Oregon state legislator and one of the authors of the Oregon "kicker" tax refund and Eric Fruits is a Ph.D economist and professor at Portland State University.
In 2015, Alek, along with 2 of his best friends stopped a terrorist attack on a train bound for Paris. His actions were immortalized in the film "The 15:17 to Paris" where Alek played himself. James and Nick were honored to sit down with Alek for a short interview at the Dorchester Conference 2019.
In this episode, James and Nick welcome Xander Almeida who was instrumental in removing anti-LGBT language from the Oregon Republican Party platform in 2009. We talk about what else we would change in the party platform and briefly discuss our favorite Democrat for president.
James and Nick welcome Russ Casler to discuss Oregon PERS. Answering questions such as What is PERS? How did we get here? What's the problem and how do we fix it?
In this episode, James and Nick welcome Ernie Hernandez, a Mexican-American living in Portland, OR who happens to be gay. We talk about how the Republican Party can be more friendly to the LGBT community and how anti-LGBT language in the party platform alienates potential voters.
Nick and James welcome our first guest, Justine Hostetler, to talk about misinformation, disinformation and fake news. We touch on the genocide in Myanmar, Covington Catholic, Jussie Smollett and vaccines, among others.