Blue Dog Radio

Blue Dog Action
  • 4.5 (26)
  • Government
  • Updated Biweekly

Welcome to Blue Dog Radio, a podcast that cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of what really matters. Across the country, one honest conversation at a time. This show is a traveling exploration of American values. Recorded in D.C. living rooms, front porches, union halls, and small-town diners with the people who still believe in doing what’s right, even when it’s hard.  We sit down with current members of Congress, emerging candidates, and everyday Americans who carry the burden of common sense in an age of dysfunction. At its core, Blue Dog Radio is about community, character, and commitment.  We are rooted in the belief that politics should serve real people in real places, and that truth, decency, and good faith still matter. Whether you're from the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest plains or the Maine woods, this is a show about finding common ground and reminding ourselves what we’re trying to build, together.

  1. 1d ago

    The People Who Show Up

    Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has spent decades adapting to change. Bethlehem Steel once occupied a quarter of the city and drew generations of working families from around the world. The Steel faded, the city grew in new directions, and the work of keeping Bethlehem going changed with it. For this episode of Blue Dog Radio, we start with Lou Jimenez, a lifelong Bethlehem resident, military veteran, firefighter, and president of Bethlehem Firefighters Local 735. Lou talks about his parents immigrating from Italy and Puerto Rico, the changing demands placed on the city’s fire department, his own experience with fire-service-related PTSD, rising housing costs, and what working people need from their leaders. Then we meet Bob Brooks. Brooks spent 20 years as a Bethlehem firefighter before becoming a union leader and eventually president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association. He is also a Blue Dog endorsed candidate for congress in PA-07. His connection to the job started even earlier: as a high school senior, Brooks stood outside and watched his family home burn to the ground. Years later, he became one of the firefighters answering those same calls. Together, their stories raise a larger question about working-class communities across America: as our cities and economies change, who understands the people being asked to carry that change? This is a conversation about Bethlehem, the firehouse, representation, and the people who keep showing up.

  2. Aug 4

    Bale Dalton Knows the Mission

    Florida’s 7th Congressional District is the kind of race that will take roots, credibility, service, and a candidate who actually fits the place. On this episode of Blue Dog Radio, we talk with Bale Dalton, the Blue Dog-endorsed Democrat running in FL-07. Bale is a Central Florida native, Naval Academy graduate, helicopter pilot, veteran, former NASA chief of staff, and someone whose life has been shaped by missions bigger than himself.  He talks about growing up in Central Florida, hunting with his dogs, fishing for redfish in the Indian River Lagoon, the Bible verse his mother tied to his birthday, the Navy service that brought his family to Sanford, the power of helicopter crews, picking people off rooftops after Hurricane Katrina, and what NASA taught him about what government can still do when the mission is clear and the work is serious. The conversation also gets into the cost-of-living crisis in Seminole and Volusia Counties, the voters who feel ignored by both parties, the difference between public service and political performance, and why FL-07 is exactly the kind of hard but hopeful race that matters in November. This is a conversation about place, responsibility, local leadership, and the Blue Dog bet: run candidates who belong where they’re running and good things will happen.

  3. Jul 15

    Water, Work, and the Man From Merced

    For this episode of Blue Dog Radio, we spent several days on the road with Rep. Adam Gray in California’s Central Valley. Gray represents California’s 13th District, a place where water, agriculture, rural health care, ag technology, and community infrastructure are basic conditions that determine whether farms can plant, students  stay, communities can grow, and families can build a future. Recorded in Merced, this conversation follows Gray through the place that shaped him: the house his grandparents built, the family dairy supply business a few blocks away, the farm fields and water systems that power the Valley, and the institutions now being built to serve the next generation. Gray talks about why water reliability matters, what people misunderstand about Central Valley agriculture, the promise of UC Merced and Merced College, and why he believes politics should use the word “work” more than “fight.” At its core, this is a conversation about representation, loyalty to place, and the unglamorous work of getting things done.

  4. May 21

    Earn This

    Sacramento County District Attorney and congressional candidate Thien Ho joins Blue Dog Radio for a conversation about immigration, justice, public safety, redemption, and the long journey from a refugee boat in the South China Sea to a campaign for Congress in California’s 6th District. Ho reflects on fleeing Vietnam as a child after the fall of Saigon, learning English through Bugs Bunny cartoons, growing up in California immigrant communities, and the sacrifices his parents made to build a life in America. The conversation also explores Ho’s role in the prosecution of the Golden State Killer, his views on public safety and immigration reform, labor and infrastructure, corruption in government, and what he means when he talks about earning the opportunities this country gave his family. At its core, this is a conversation about second chances and whether America is still a place capable of offering them. Subscribe to Blue Dog Radio for more conversations from the complicated middle of American public life.

  5. Apr 29

    Fight Like Hell

    Raised by a single mother and a grandmother dealing cards in Nevada casinos, Shannon Bird learned early that opportunity rarely arrives without a fight. In this episode of Blue Dog Radio, Bird's story ranges from a Reno trailer park to the Colorado legislature, reflecting on class, public schools, dissent, housing, democratic faith, and the women who taught her backbone. This is a conversation about stewardship over performance and why government should still be in the business of watching out for people. From quiet Sundays in Reno to running for Congress in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, Bird makes the case that politics is, at its best, a way of watching out for people. And sometimes, it means fighting like hell.

  6. Apr 10

    Dairy Breakfasts and Double Shifts

    “When you overperform like that… you do it again.” Rebecca Cooke came within two points of flipping Wisconsin’s 3rd District in 2024. Now she’s back. A waitress, small business owner, and daughter of a dairy farm family, Cooke doesn’t talk about working class life as a message. She’s lived it and loves it. In this episode of Blue Dog Radio, we sit down with Cooke to talk about the campaign that almost broke through, what she learned from a narrow loss, and why she believes this time is different. We get into: growing up on a farm and what it meant to lose itrestaurant shifts while running for Congresswhat voters in western Wisconsin are actually worried aboutwhy she thinks Washington keeps missing the pointand what comes next in one of the most competitive districts in the country

  7. Mar 25

    The Doctor Will See You Now

    The Central Valley has a healthcare problem and Washington keeps sending politicians. In this episode of Blue Dog Radio, we sit down with Dr. Jasmeet Bains, a practicing family physician, current California State Assemblymember, and Blue Dog candidate for Congress in CA-22. Here we talk about what it looks like to serve a community that’s been overlooked for too long. Before politics, Bains was treating patients in rural clinics across the Central Valley. People without insurance. Families losing coverage. Communities trying to hold it together while the system fails them. This isn’t a conversation about healthcare in theory. It’s about what happens when it breaks in real life. We get into her path from selling cars at her family’s dealership to becoming the only doctor in a rural town, what she’s learned serving in the Assembly, and the vote by Rep. David Valadao that ultimately pushed her to run for Congress. At one point, she puts it plainly: “This is a life and death problem here.” This is a different kind of candidate and a different kind of conversation.

  8. Feb 26

    Hickory Nut Gap

    Jamie Ager-North Carolina 11 This week on Blue Dog Radio, we sit down with Jamie Ager: fourth generation farmer at Hickory Nut Gap Farm and candidate for Congress in North Carolina’s 11th District. We spent a week with Jamie in Western North Carolina, walking the hills of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, talking through the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, and digging into what leadership looks like in a place forged by land, legacy, and fierce independence. In this conversation, Jamie reflects on growing up in Fairview, building a regenerative agriculture business from the ground up, learning how to lead, and why he believes Western North Carolina deserves a representative who shows up. Especially when it’s uncomfortable. We talk disaster recovery, immigration, small business, environmental stewardship, and the challenge of representing a district that stretches from rural mountain communities to Asheville’s creative core. It’s a conversation about time, responsibility, and whether a farmer’s long view can bring clarity to a complicated political moment. Recorded on the farm. A real conversation about what comes next.

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4.5
out of 5
26 Ratings

About

Welcome to Blue Dog Radio, a podcast that cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of what really matters. Across the country, one honest conversation at a time. This show is a traveling exploration of American values. Recorded in D.C. living rooms, front porches, union halls, and small-town diners with the people who still believe in doing what’s right, even when it’s hard.  We sit down with current members of Congress, emerging candidates, and everyday Americans who carry the burden of common sense in an age of dysfunction. At its core, Blue Dog Radio is about community, character, and commitment.  We are rooted in the belief that politics should serve real people in real places, and that truth, decency, and good faith still matter. Whether you're from the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest plains or the Maine woods, this is a show about finding common ground and reminding ourselves what we’re trying to build, together.

Information

  • Creator
    Blue Dog Action
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Blue Dog Radio
  • Show Website
    Blue Dog Radio

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