California Underground: Your Sane Insight into California Politics

California Underground
  • 4.1 (59)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to California Underground, the most trusted podcast for all things California politics. Each week, we tackle the pressing issues facing our state through engaging interviews and roundtable discussions with political candidates and passionate Californians. Join us for clear, rational commentary that helps you stay informed about the complexities of California governance. Tune in for your trusted perspective on the political landscape!

  1. 4d ago

    Newsom's High-Speed Rail Contradiction, Explained

    In 2024, Governor Newsom hired a new CEO to run California's high-speed rail and said the state would "begin to lay track, design and build stations, and buy trains." Two years later: the trainset procurement line in the state's own 2026 Business Plan is blank. No trains have been bought. We pull the paperwork. We also get into California's Democratic Party convention — where the party endorsed the billionaire tax on the November ballot after Newsom turned down a smaller deal that would have made the whole fight disappear, and where the same convention split labor unions against each other. And we break down what actually got a sitting Assembly Minority Leader removed by his own party this week — starting with 54 bar tabs at a dive bar that isn't in his district. No team. Just receipts. Follow California Underground and leave a review if this show helps you cut through the noise on California politics. Phil is also writing a book on California's political class, The Gilded State — more at www.thegildedstate.com

    Newsom's High-Speed Rail Contradiction, Explained

  2. Jul 29

    Newsom's Diaper Deal Wasn't Competitively Bid |

    Gavin Newsom said his administration's diaper deal with Baby2Baby — a nonprofit tied to his wife's own foundation — was competitively bid. California's own contract database says it wasn't. This week: the receipts on the $6.2 million diaper contract, Newsom's affair resurfaces, Sheng Thao crime story continues to expand, and why the Attorney General's rewritten ballot title for the voter ID initiative has people on both sides raising eyebrows. Plus a quick note on the new essay resurfacing one of Newsom's oldest City Hall scandals. Phil is joined this week by guest co-host Randy Wang (KABC Radio). Read more from Phil in his upcoming book, The Gilded State: thegildedstate.com

    Newsom's Diaper Deal Wasn't Competitively Bid |

  3. Jul 22

    Comrade Newsom? Is Newsom Really Aligning with the DSA?

    Gavin Newsom says he'll campaign for any Democratic nominee heading into 2028 — but his team went quiet when asked if that includes candidates from a self-described "Marxist-Leninist-Maoist" caucus. This week: what Newsom actually said, what he wouldn't answer, and what it means for his national ambitions. Also on the show: Katie Porter was a frontrunner for governor a year ago. She just finished fifth with 4.4% of the vote — and says she's done with politics. California Underground airs every Tuesday at 8PM PST on YouTube. 🔔 Subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss next week's show. California Underground covers the California stories the rest of the media ignores— following the audits, the contracts, the budgets, and the officials responsiblefor outcomes that aren't matching the promises. No team. Just receipts. 📬 Subscribe on Substack: https://caunderground.substack.com/📺 Subscribe on YouTube for new videos every week📸 Instagram: @californiaunderground🎵 TikTok: @californiaunderground🐦 X: @ca_underground 📌 Sources: Washington Examiner — "Newsom defends backing socialist candidates, calling party divides 'healthy'": https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4644566/gavin-newsom-backing-socialist-candidates-party-divides-healthy/Washington Examiner — "Katie Porter 'done' with politics and focusing on Instagram book content": https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/state/4653306/katie-porter-quits-politics-book-instagram/Yahoo News — "Katie Porter says she's done with politics after failed governor bid": https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/katie-porter-says-she-done-040528602.htmlFOX 11 Los Angeles — "LAHSA delays release of 2026 homeless count results": https://www.foxla.com/news/lahsa-delays-release-2026-homeless-count-results

    Comrade Newsom? Is Newsom Really Aligning with the DSA?

  4. Jul 15

    Newsom's FBI Wiretap Scandal Deepens

    This week, Phil is joined by guest co-host Randy Wang of KABC Radio for three stories out of Sacramento and LA that all come down to the same question: who's actually accountable when the numbers don't add up? First, the documented timeline behind the FBI's investigation into Gavin Newsom's former chief of staff, Dana Williamson — including new reporting that an informant was recording conversations inside Newsom's political circle a full year before Trump returned to office, and how the case reaches back to a dormant campaign account belonging to Xavier Becerra, the Democratic nominee for governor. Then, California Attorney General Rob Bonta's lawsuit to block the $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger — filed a month after the U.S. Department of Justice cleared the same deal. Phil and Randy dig into the split between LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath's push to protect entertainment jobs from the merger and new reporting that Paramount's own advisers are now discussing whether to move the company out of California entirely. Finally, LA County's decision to strip $300 million in homeless services funding from LAHSA after an independent audit found the agency couldn't verify how $2.3 billion was actually spent — and whether handing the same money to a brand-new department solves the problem or just renames it. Three stories, one hour, no political team — just the documents. California Underground airs live every Tuesday at 8PM PST on YouTube, with the full episode available here on your podcast app afterward. Read The Gilded State, Phil's book on California's political dysfunction: www.thegildedstate.com More from California Underground:Substack: caunderground.substack.comInstagram & TikTok: @californiaundergroundX: @ca_underground

    Newsom's FBI Wiretap Scandal Deepens

  5. Jul 8

    The Real Math Behind California's Proposed Billionaire's Tax

    California's proposed billionaire tax says it will raise $100 billion for healthcare, food assistance, and education. New research from Stanford's Hoover Institution puts the real number closer to $40 billion — and argues the measure could leave the state worse off once billionaire departures are factored in. This week, Phil talks with Hoover Institution research fellow Benjamin Robert Jaros, co-author of that research, about the mechanics of Proposition 40, the migration numbers driving the disagreement, and what it means for California voters this November. Follow California Underground on Substack: caunderground.substack.com Get early access to The Gilded State, Phil's upcoming book on California politics: www.thegildedstate.com

    The Real Math Behind California's Proposed Billionaire's Tax

  6. Jul 1

    Spencer Pratt Declares War on LA and Newsom Flip Flops on Billionaire's Tax

    Spencer Pratt is calling Karen Bass "Karen Basura" over the Boyle Heights warehouse fire — and while his delivery is pure reality TV, the documented $17.6 million fire department budget cut he's pointing to is real. We dig into the permit history, the budget records, and why the firefighters' union is now bypassing City Hall to ask voters directly for funding. Then: Gavin Newsom wants a national billionaire tax as part of his "economic reset for America" — in the same week he's voting no on the billionaire tax already on California's own November ballot. We break down the contradiction, what his own state's nonpartisan analyst says about billionaires leaving, and why members of his own party are calling his federal plan watered down. No team. Just receipts. Phil's book, The Gilded State, digs deeper into how California's political class operates — find it at www.thegildedstate.com. Follow California Underground and leave a review — it helps more than you'd think. Substack: https://caunderground.substack.com/The Gilded State: https://www.thegildedstate.com

    Spencer Pratt Declares War on LA and Newsom Flip Flops on Billionaire's Tax

  7. Jun 24

    AD45 Candidate Greg Abdouch Joins Us

    Democrats have held this San Bernardino County Assembly seat since 2022. This week, theRepublican trying to flip it joins us to make his case. Greg Abdouch advanced to the November general election in California's AssemblyDistrict 45, and he's betting he can do what no Republican challenger has managed inthis district in years. We sit down with him to find out how — pushing past thecampaign talking points to get specifics on public safety, housing, and what itactually looks like for one freshman Republican to move anything in a Democraticsupermajority Legislature. No team. Just receipts. 📖 Phil's book, The Gilded State, is now open for early signup: www.thegildedstate.com📬 Read California Underground on Substack: https://caunderground.substack.com/📸 Instagram: @californiaunderground🎵 TikTok: @californiaunderground🐦 X: @ca_underground New episodes every Tuesday. If this show is worth your time, a follow and a five-starrating helps more Californians find it.

    AD45 Candidate Greg Abdouch Joins Us

  8. Jun 17

    The Newsom DOJ Investigation

    Federal agents are knocking on the doors of Governor Gavin Newsom's family friends and former employees. Newsom says Trump ordered the investigation to derail his 2028 presidential run. The LA Times says the probe started under Biden — launched by whistleblowers in Sacramento, not directed from Washington. Tonight Phil and Camille separate what's confirmed from what's spin, and get into the documented financial questions about Jennifer Siebel Newsom's nonprofits that predate this administration. California Underground airs live every Tuesday at 8PM PST on YouTube. Sources: CBS News, Time Magazine, LA Times, CalMatters, KQED, Axios San Diego, NBC News Phil is writing a book about California's political dysfunction — early access at www.thegildedstate.com

    The Newsom DOJ Investigation
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Welcome to California Underground, the most trusted podcast for all things California politics. Each week, we tackle the pressing issues facing our state through engaging interviews and roundtable discussions with political candidates and passionate Californians. Join us for clear, rational commentary that helps you stay informed about the complexities of California governance. Tune in for your trusted perspective on the political landscape!

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