I Hate Politics Podcast Sunil Dasgupta

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Montgomery County Public Schools announces school-specific cuts; a new grant seeks to bring back driver’s ed to public schools in Maryland after 30 years; a plan to cut 1,200 trees to allow upgrading an old golf course in Rock Creek National Park sparks outrage; and much more. Music for this episode comes from Rockville singer-songwriter Andrew Glor and his band Drew Pictures.

Congressman David Trone’s campaign for Maryland’s US Senate seat was one of the most expensive races in the country and yet his rival Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks won. Sunil Dasgupta talks with the Trone campaign political director Michelle Ngwafon about the twists and turns and the lessons from a lost race. Music from Silver Spring musician and writer Jon Brayton who performs as Myster Treefrog.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Montgomery County, MD, Board of Education and County Council play hot potato over the 2024-25 school budget as the teacher’s union and program beneficiaries mount protests. Federal court in Baltimore allows the estate of Henrietta Lacks to sue a company that used her stem cells without consent. City of Rockville looks at moving its big annual Memorial Day music festival back to its downtown. And shutting down a high school greenhouse for the summer. Music from SoulTet and Capital Effect playing at Rockville’s Home Town Holidays.

Electronic mapping and the databases that drive it–together known as Geographic Information System or GIS–have revolutionized how local government works from street repair to summer camps. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Yeon Kim, the founding manager of the GIS unit for the City of Gaithersburg, about the impact on municipal services, public information, and decision-making in city hall. Music from Damascus, MD,-based rapper and music producer Cataclizm: youtube.com/@thereckoning301.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson on criticism of the new 2024-25 budget passed last week. Maryland Public Service Commission Chair Fred Hoover on getting tough with retail energy suppliers. Primary election numbers with Gilberto Zelaya of the County Board of Elections. Canine flu outbreak continues in the local animal shelter. Music from Doogie Whittaker and the Lonesome Mile.

Maryland’s 2024 primary election featured never before money, some wide open races, political establishment reassertion, and scandals looming over local races. I Hate Politics Assistant Producer Daniel Gelillo talks with UMBC history professor Andrew Nolan and UMBC political science professor and regular host Sunil Dasgupta to draw out lessons from the recent polls. Music by Washington DC post-punk band, Grey Swift.