National Review's Radio Free California Podcast

National Review
  • 4.8 (702)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

A show about the perilous state of the Golden State—and what that means for you, wherever you live. California is the hothouse lab of the Left, the nation-state creating the statist policies, art, and lifestyles of the future – and generating the political dollars to make them a reality in a community near you. Hosts Will Swaim (California Policy Center) and David Bahnsen (The Bahnsen Group, Fox Business News commentator, conservative activist) beam this weekly show internationally, from mostly undisclosed pirate-radio platforms west of the Sierra Nevada. [Intro music graciously provided by Los Angeles-based Metalachi, the metal/mariachi soundtrack of the near-future. Find them at Metalachi.com.]

  1. Episode 438: Maybe We Call This ‘Jaime Escalante Day’?

    4D AGO

    Episode 438: Maybe We Call This ‘Jaime Escalante Day’?

    Governor Gavin Newsom signed an emergency bill to rename the Cesar Chavez holiday “Farmworkers Day.” Will and David suggest we commemorate instead the East Los Angeles teacher who was the subject of the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver -- and was then driven from teaching by his own union. Representative Eric Swalwell earned a key campaign endorsement from the California Teachers Association -- a kind of Surgeon General’s Warning for voters in the state’s June primary. In other news: Tech’s very bad week in court, and it’s time for San Francisco to defund its corrupt “Defund the Police” campaign. Bonus tracks! Red State reporter Jen Van Laar on LAUSD’s all-in-the-family negotiations with the state’s largest teacher’s union, and former Los Angeles Times religion reporter Bill Lobdell on the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal, televangelists, Cesar Chavez, and California’s public schools. Music by Metalachi. Email Us:dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.comwill@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us:@DavidBahnsen@WillSwaim@TheRadioFreeCA Show Notes Newsom signs law renaming Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day A Calculated Move : Jaime Escalante Prepares to Leave to Teach in Sacramento UTLA’s response The USC professor at the center of the debate debacle A big weekend for Eric Swalwell F.B.I. Said to Dig Up Old Investigative Files on Democratic Lawmaker Swalwell campaign in the hot seat after accepting almost $15K from CCP-tied law firm: 'Stop playing footsie' Social media trials usher in Big Tech's latest moment of reckoning Top S.F. official who led Dream Keeper equity program charged with felonies: ‘abuse of power’ Holed up: L.A. tries closing off manhole where people live, nearly sealing someone inside LA’s Declining Homelessness Numbers: Real or Illusory? California introduces financial literacy course starting with class of 2030-31 'New Era': Landmark Policy to Expand Tribal Stewardship for At Least 7.5 Million Acres in California Jen Van Laar Literal bedfellows among teacher union activists and the district negotiating their pay package Bill Lobdell “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America and Found Unexpected Peace” Newport Beach in the Rearview Mirror podcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 48m
  2. Episode 437: The Labor Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight

    MAR 23

    Episode 437: The Labor Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight

    The union behind the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act says it will generate $110 billion for public health programs, but Hoover Institution researchers calculate that it will actually cost California $25 billion. In the “Why Now Department,” Will and David consider multiple hypotheses about the timing of claims that United Farm Workers founder Cesar Chavez raped young women half a century ago. The legal case against Meta and YouTube asks us to believe that social media companies bear absolute responsibility for addictive use of social media. Will tells the true story of Ah Louis, a California Gold Rush-era immigrant who became the unofficial mayor of San Luis Obispo’s Chinatown. Bonus! Lance Christensen provides a first look at the year’s legislative Race to Absurdity. Music by Metalachi. Email Us:dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.comwill@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us:@DavidBahnsen@WillSwaim@TheRadioFreeCA Show Notes: Read the Statement From Dolores Huerta on Cesar Chavez’s Abuse From streets to murals, the erasure of Cesar Chavez is fast underway in California The complicated legacy of César Chávez ‘I will miss them’: Khanna mocks tech billionaires threatening to leave California for wealth tax Kathy Hochul’s Seller’s Remorse The Fiscal Losses from California's Billionaire Tax Act Gavin Newsom’s $114 Million Butterfly Bridge Jury deliberations continue in landmark social media addiction trial against Meta, Google Social media use is tied to well-being, according to the new World Happiness Report Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 23m
  3. Episode 436: Killing Cesar Chavez

    MAR 18

    Episode 436: Killing Cesar Chavez

    The once-powerful, still-iconic founder of the United Farm Workers is now getting the old Me-Too makeover with his own union reporting allegations that he was the radical left’s Jeffrey Epstein. Also: Newsom’s hypocrisy on surging gasoline prices, Oscar-winner Jessie Buckley’s defense of family, population-alarmist Paul Ehrlich is dead, L.A. County’s fraud problem, the Silicon Valley's deeply flawed initiative to block the wealth tax, and more! Music by Metalachi. Email Us:dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.comwill@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us:@DavidBahnsen@WillSwaim@TheRadioFreeCA Show Notes: Cesar Chavez allegations jolt California’s labor movement Jessie Buckley’s Beautiful Homage to Mothers The End Is Still Near The sleeper initiative that could upend more than the wealth tax We visited “ground zero” for hospice fraud: Los Angeles, California Progressive lawmakers Bernie Sanders, Ro Khanna unveil $4.4T wealth tax targeting billionaires SEIU California Endorses Eric Swalwell for Governor You get an endorsement! You get an endorsement! Sable’s president in shining armor Governor Newsom blasts Trump for raising gasoline prices on Americans with no plan and no accountability Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 3m
  4. Episode 435: Newsom Presidential Campaign Ads You Won’t See

    MAR 12

    Episode 435: Newsom Presidential Campaign Ads You Won’t See

    California Governor Gavin Newsom says taxpayers will spend $19 million on advertising designed to burnish his record in advance of his White House run. Will and guest Will O’Neill consider recent news stories that won’t make the final cut -- skyrocketing oil prices, gender transitioning in the state’s schools, the stabbing victim who died after his ambulance was stolen, and the governor’s own flirtation with antisemitism. Bonus! Remembering Edward Dickinson Baker, the first Californian to die in the American Civil War. Music by Metalachi. Email Us:dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.comwill@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us:@DavidBahnsen@WillSwaim@TheRadioFreeCA Show Notes: Army Reserve soldier from Sacramento among six killed in Kuwait drone strike Newsom planning $19-million push to polish California’s national image In a Political Campaign, City Officials Can Spend Your Money Against You. They Call it 'Education' He was stabbed while charging his car. He died after his ambulance was stolen Newsom likens Israel to ‘apartheid state,’ questions future military support Newsom Digs in After SCOTUS Rebuke, Claims Teachers ‘Forced to Be Gender Cops’ Amid angry backlash, serial child molester is rearrested the same day he was set to be paroled Here’s how Newsom’s spending binge outstripped revenues, creating California’s chronic deficit Marathon, Chevron, PBF Warn Governor Newsom of Widespread Refinery Shutdowns, Fuel shortages, Economic Collapse California’s economy faces threats with new energy policy changes Nevada governor fires warning shot at Gavin Newsom over oil crisis: ‘Real-world consequences’ Fearing GOP upset, top California Democrat urges lagging candidates for governor to drop out of race California Unions May Decide Which Republican Advances In The Governor’s Race — And Which One Doesn’t Poll: Hilton’s rise could spare Dems from disaster in California gov’s race Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley files to run as independent A budget plot twist in Oakland: From ‘fiscal emergency’ to $17 million in the black Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 11m
  5. Episode 434: Emergency Episode — SCOTUS Affirms California Parent Rights

    MAR 9

    Episode 434: Emergency Episode — SCOTUS Affirms California Parent Rights

    Following a smashing victory in a San Diego federal court, attorney Paul Jonna describes the U.S. Supreme Court’s dramatic intervention to end California’s determination to hide student gender-transition plans from parents. Bonus! California attorney Michael McClellan lays out the conservative case for skepticism about artificial intelligence. Music by Metalachi. Email Us:dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.comwill@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us:@DavidBahnsen@WillSwaim@TheRadioFreeCA Paul Jonna on Mirabelli and SCOTUS Paul Jonna, Limandri & Jonna Thomas More Society Court sides with parents in dispute over California policies on transgender students Michael McClellan on AI Governor DeSantis Hosts Roundtable on AI Policy at New College of Florida 2028: The Consequences of Abundant Intelligence Gemini Said They Could Only Be Together if He Killed Himself. Soon, He Was Dead. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 33m
  6. Episode 433: Iran Out of Gas in California

    MAR 3

    Episode 433: Iran Out of Gas in California

    The Iran war exposes California’s fragile oil supply, how the media transformed the death of nine skiers near Donner Pass into a case of “climate change,” and Attorney General Rob Bonta’s very bad week. Bonus! Attorney Andrew Quinio describes Pacific Legal’s lawsuit to block San Francisco reparations payments, and CPC senior fellow Mark Moses considers whether government exists to serve citizens -- or whether citizens exist to serve government. Music by Metalachi. Email Us:dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.comwill@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us:@DavidBahnsen@WillSwaim@TheRadioFreeCA Show Notes: In Gov. Newsom’s California, It Makes Sense to Get Gasoline from the Bahamas When US Gasoline Has to Leave the Country to Move Within It Avalanche experts fear conditions that led to deadly Tahoe slide could become ‘new normal’ Apple quietly removes environmental metrics from executive pay California bill would make fossil fuel companies help pay for rising insurance costs The Tangled Web of the Boulder v. Suncor Cert Grant: Pass me some aspirin. Attorney General Rob Bonta might want some, too. Judge Axes Exxon’s Defamation Suit Against Environmentalists The hypothetical nuclear attack that escalated the Pentagon’s showdown with Anthropic Merrill Kelly rejected Padres’ lucrative contract offer due to California’s ridiculous tax laws ‘Like an Uber Share’ but public: South Bay city to bring low-cost, rideshare-style public transit service Bonus track! PLF attorney Andrew Quinio on San Francisco’s reparations program  Andrew Quinio bio San Francisco taxpayers challenge race-based reparations fund in court San Francisco mayor quietly signs reparations fund that could lead to $5M payments per person The Cost Of San Francisco’s Reparations Proposal: Nearly $600,000 Per Household Public finance expert Mark Moses on the proper role of government Mark Moses bio The Municipal Financial Crisis – A Framework for Understanding and Fixing Government Budgeting (Palgrave Macmillan, January 2022) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    2h 4m
  7. Episode 432: Education Secretary Linda McMahon KOs Newsom’s Gender-Bending Policy

    FEB 25

    Episode 432: Education Secretary Linda McMahon KOs Newsom’s Gender-Bending Policy

    In our bonus interview, CPC attorney Emily Rae unpacks the new U.S. Department of Education report showing how state officials use lawsuits, funding, and threats to force school officials to violate federal law regarding parent notification. In other news: Alex Padilla has missed another chance to thank federal officers who didn’t shoot him last June. Representative Lateefah Simon (D., Calif.) hates the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo but won’t leave California. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass threatens to punish property owners who welcome ICE agents. Republican gubernatorial candidates surge, Dems end their panicky convention with no clear endorsement. Music by Metalachi. Email Us:dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.comwill@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us:@DavidBahnsen@WillSwaim@TheRadioFreeCA Show Notes: After State of the Union, Democrats say Trump did ‘what he does best: lie’ The Padilla Incident and the Greater Peril H.Res.1056 - Calling for the annulment of the Monroe Doctrine and the development of a "New Good Neighbor" policy Mexican army kills ‘El Mencho,’ Mexico’s most-wanted drug kingpin LA Mayor Karen Bass announces plans to ban ICE from city properties Coalition rallies to defend Cypress Park day labor center amid disputed Home Depot eviction threat Newsom to Middle Class Whites: I'm Average Too Newsom Pardon Allows Illegal Immigrant to Remain in U.S. Despite Attempted Murder Conviction ‘I’m very worried’: California Dems confront possibility of an all-GOP governor race L.A. County pushes to change law that opened floodgates for billions in sex abuse payouts LAUSD borrowing $250 million to settle sex abuse claims — on top of earlier half billion Despite climate effects, beaches grew 500 acres Emily Rae, California Justice Center, on U.S. Department of Ed report: Emily Rae bio U.S. Department of Education letter to California  Emily’s amicus brief in Littlejohn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 32m
  8. Episode 431: Mission to Munich!

    FEB 17

    Episode 431: Mission to Munich!

    In his tour of the Munich Security Conference, Governor Gavin Newsom held himself up as a global leader on policies most European nations abandoned decades ago. David and Will also discuss: the impact of the U.S. EPA’s announcement that it will no longer follow the Obama-era “endangerment finding” on carbon emissions, San Francisco skier Eileen Gu’s decision to represent China in the Olympics, State Senator Scott Wiener’s failure to keep up with climate science, and how Newsom’s Prop. 50 may silence at least one of the brightest conservative voices in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bonus: Lance Christensen breaks down Newsom's attempted takeover of the state Department of Education. Music by Metalachi. Email Us: dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.com will@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us: @DavidBahnsen @WillSwaim @TheRadioFreeCA Show Notes: The Bahnsen Group Opens News Silicon Valley OfficeWill on NPR: Texas Dems are stuck on identity politics with Senate race at stakeCPC hiring: Director of development We Need to Tax the Rich. Are Unions Going About it the Right Way in California?Nobody wants to step on the gas (tax)Sam Darnold’s insane California tax bill stunningly exceeds Super Bowl winningsCalifornia Jock Tax Calculator Boomer Esiason suggests barring California from Hosting Super BowlVP Vance to lead California anti-fraud task force: reportMunich Security Conference: Governor Newsom reinforces climate partnerships as Donald Trump abandons long-standing American alliesLee Zeldin’s EPA Liberates American IndustryDonald Trump declares the Republican Party the pro-pollution partyWiener Watch! New bill aims to allow California AG to sue oil companies for disaster costsSoCal Edison files lawsuit over Eaton Fire, alleging LA County, other utilities are also to blameJudge clears way for mega lawsuit blaming LA and California for deadly Palisades FireEileen Gu’s Terrible ChoiceKiley says he’s weighing challenge to McClintock. He’s already launched an opening salvo.Lance Christensen: A Strangely Good Few Weeks in Education State Superintendent Tony Thurmond on the power struggle over public schools | California Politics 360Number of the Week: Teacher strike votes are risingTeachers Unions Get DesperateTeachers email parents demanding they don’t homeschool kids – as San Francisco strike grinds into a third dayUS Secretary of Ed Linda McMahon: Teachers shouldn't have to bankroll unionsUnderstanding SFUSD’s $1.4B budget: How teachers and the district come up with different numbersLAUSD will vote on layoffs amid budget challenges, declining enrollment UTLA planning documents appear to advocate for use of school resources as ‘form of resistance’ against ICEGen Z are arriving to college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduatesUC San Diego Finds One In Eight Freshmen Lack High-School Math SkillsThe tide goes out on youth gender medicine Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    2h 1m

  9. FEB 9

    Episode 430: Newsom Goes Soviet-Style

    California Governor Gavin Newsom has emerged with new false claims about the success of his high-speed rail project -- and a creepy legislative proposal to classify as secret any rail-project document that might “harm the interests of the state.” Bonuses! Freshman State Assemblyman David Tangipa tears into the Newsom budget, and Red State editor and investigative reporter Jennifer Van Laar reveals the next chapter in Fresno’s secret Chinese bio lab. Music by Metalachi. Email Us: dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.com will@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us: @DavidBahnsen @WillSwaim @TheRadioFreeCA Show Notes California job market ranks among the weakest of the weak nationwideLabor leaders blast Gavin Newsom over AI, demand more regulationJonathan Turley: Grandstanding Newsom will stop at nothing to ride the rails to glory in 2028State leaders propose to keep some California high-speed rail information secretA top Democrat wants to know if California laws are working. Lawmakers get to pick which onesThrow everything at the wall, see what sticksGun-wielding LA protester aims at feds then vanishes under pepper-ball fireFederal workers face daily harassment by ruthless agitators in DTLA: ‘War zone every day’Coalition rallies to defend Cypress Park day labor center amid disputed Home Depot eviction threatNew twist in mayor’s race makes election a referendum on L.A.’s futurePension costs make tax- and fee-hike frenzy at City Hall the new normOvertime costs were skyrocketing. San Diego police say they have reined it in.An ex-Fresno Arts Council employee is under investigation in $1.5 million embezzlement case, city sources sayA Bay Area downtown faces a reckoning as tides riseHow bad was California’s ‘Great Flood’ of 1862? It was a torrent of horrorsAssemblyman David Tangipa on the state budget Official websiteJen Van Laar on the worst Airbnb in America  Illegal Chinese Biolab Used As Airbnb, Made Several Deathly Ill; Defendant Owns Multiple Homes in NV, CAFeds Seize 1000 Samples From Illegal CCP Biolab in Las Vegas Owned by Defendant in Reedley Case Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 54m
  10. Episode 429: Gavin Newsom, the Therapeutic Candidate

    FEB 3

    Episode 429: Gavin Newsom, the Therapeutic Candidate

    In his forthcoming autobiography, Gavin Newsom beats his critics to the punch with a deep dive into his troubled personality. Bonus track: attorney general candidate Michael Gates. Music by Metalachi. Email Us: dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.com will@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us: @DavidBahnsen @WillSwaim @TheRadioFreeCA Show Notes: Shawn Bell, “Exploring California’s Historic Landmarks”Will on NPR’s “Left, Right & Center”Who Funds the Groups Harassing ICE Agents in Minnesota? The Left's Premier Foundations and Dark Money Networks Have Given Millions, Records Show.The Public-Sector Union Behind L.A.’s Immigration AgitationWhere do Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton stand on public sector unions?50 people arrested hours after hundreds gathered for another anti-ICE protest in DTLAReid Hoffman: Silicon Valley can’t be neutral any longerNative American tribe that owns land under Billie Eilish’s LA mansion has message for virtue-signaling singerEllen DeGeneres shops for new mansion same day she calls for ICE buying boycottHundreds of Sacramento high school students walk out of class to protest ICESB-955 Pupil attendance: excused absences: civic or political events.LAUSD teachers union members authorize strike, ratcheting up pressure on contract talksSan Diego teachers plan first strike in 30 years over issues with staffing and services for special educationSan Francisco school workers are the latest California educators to authorize a strikeTwin Rivers Unified teachers vote for a strike. Here’s when it could happenNeighbors say a machete-wielding man is terrorizing their local park. S.F. has no idea what to do about itGavin Newsom Is Setting His Own RulesGavin Newsom opens the oppo book in his new memoirCalifornia Republicans oppose mileage-based fee proposalReason Foundation’s 2025 report on US state road conditionsEpstein files reveal emails between Ghislaine Maxwell, L.A. Olympics boss Casey Wasserman. He expresses regret Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    1h 30m
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4.8
out of 5
702 Ratings

About

A show about the perilous state of the Golden State—and what that means for you, wherever you live. California is the hothouse lab of the Left, the nation-state creating the statist policies, art, and lifestyles of the future – and generating the political dollars to make them a reality in a community near you. Hosts Will Swaim (California Policy Center) and David Bahnsen (The Bahnsen Group, Fox Business News commentator, conservative activist) beam this weekly show internationally, from mostly undisclosed pirate-radio platforms west of the Sierra Nevada. [Intro music graciously provided by Los Angeles-based Metalachi, the metal/mariachi soundtrack of the near-future. Find them at Metalachi.com.]

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