On the Grid Halftone Audio

Will politics continue to get worse? What will be the fate of Martha McSally? What is the future of news? That's REAL news. Welcome to the politics issue of On the Grid! Now that the dust has settled on the 2018 election, we have Jim Small with Arizona Mirror to take a look back and a look forward. Jim has a long history of covering politics in Arizona, particularly at the state legislature. He spent more than a decade at the Capitol Times and was executive director of the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. He now leads the state’s newest news organization Arizona Mirror, which focuses on public policy and how it affects YOU. Political junkies won't want to miss this one!

The creators of the Phoenix Film Festival have something new up their sleeves and it is the inaugural Peoria Film Fest Oct. 19-21, at Harkins Arrowhead 18. The festival will include a curated collection of films ranging from full-length features and documentaries to shorts. The drama “What They Had” will kick off the festival, written and directed by Elizabeth Chomko, and starring Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Robert Forster, Blythe Danner, Taissa Farmiga and Josh Lucas. Listen to Episode 26 of the podcast and come on a filmic journey with us led by Executive Director Jason Carney and see how the Valley has made it on the map with a well-respected film festival and a community of cinephiles and filmmakers living their passion.

The #RedforEd movement rode a wave to the doorsteps of the Arizona Capitol with a falling crest resulting a budget approved by state lawmakers and Gov. Doug Ducey giving teachers a pay raise of about 20 percent by 2020. The movement won over broad support and the sea of red was a sight to see. But with a big election looming, what is next for public education in Arizona? Will their voice continue to be heard among all the other voices? Well, in our 25th episode of On The Grid, we have Allegra Fullerton on the show to fill us in. She’s with Arizona Save Our Schools, a local nonpartisan grassroots organization that has a big hand in the movement here in our state.

Valley resident Myrlin Hepworth has built his career on words, words that eventually evolved into hip-hop. The work of this poet and musician has been featured on NPR and after the release of two mixtapes, he just launched his first album called Remember Why on April 15. A new music video is due out June 1. But another side of his lifestyle is as a youth advocate and teaching artist, working with thousands of kids sharing his poetry, his experience as a Chicano and as a human. In episode 24 of On The Grid, we sit down with Myrlin and discuss art, the creative process and giving back.

Podcast lovers, this is the episode of On the Grid for you!


In episode 23, we explore four local podcasts that make their subject matter the Valley of the Sun and all things in it. Consider this recording a podcast about podcasts. The meta episode if you will! Actually, the Valley is home to many cool podcasts, but unfortunately, we only had an hour to feature a few of the best. So … Sit back, relax and learn about all the things the following podcasts have to offer: Limited Engagement, Hoot N Review, The PHX podcast and Starving Artists PHX. Podcasters unite!

The March 5 deadline President Donald Trump set to essentially end the DACA program has come and gone. And little has changed. But that doesn’t mean DACA recipients are in any less limbo than before. So for our third and final episode of our DACA series, we have Phoenix immigration lawyer Juliana Manzanarez on the show. She shares her insights on what the law says about DACA recipients under today’s circumstances and what the future may hold for immigration under the Trump administration.