Episode Notes

Early voting in state elections has already begin in Virginia, and they'll all be counted on November 2. This week on Bold Dominion: What are the stakes in this year's Virginia gubernatorial election? Why does it matter? What’ll actually change if McAuliffe wins? Or if Youngkin wins?

But it's also bigger than just Virginia. Our state elections are being driven at least partly by the national political picture. And how the outcome will send signals to national political leaders.

Episode Notes

Here in Virginia, many of us have been shielded from the worst effects of climate change. So far. But we know - or we should know - that the planet is burning. And that without major policy changes, it’s going to get much worse. And so much human suffering could follow.

So what’s a state to do? What policies can Virginia enact? After all, this is a global issue, and the operations of one mid-sized state can feel rather small in the grand scheme of things.

For many years, Virginia’s answer was ‘not much.’ The state wasn’t doing a whole lot to address the root issues around climate change. But with Democratic majorities in the General Assembly for the last two years, that has started to shift. Lawmakers and activists are championing the fight to keep our planet fit for human habitation. So how exactly does meaningful environmental change happen?

Episode Notes

For Episode 43 ("Where did Virginia's state constitution come from?"), producer Katherine Hansen talked at length with UVA Law professor A.E. Dick Howard, who wrote the current Virginia constitution. For the full civics experience, we're offering that full interview here as a bonus episode this week.

Episode Notes

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Virginia’s current state constitution - one of seven that has governed the Old Dominion. This golden anniversary arrives during a critical juncture in both Virginia and our nation.

In this episode, we talk at length with esteemed UVA law professor AE Dick Howard, who wrote Virginia's current state constitution. Prof. Howard discusses our state's rich constitutional history and where that history brings us today.

Episode Notes

“The Virginia Way” is an old-fashioned ideal here in the Commonwealth--the notion that our public servants have so much integrity that we don’t need laws to regulate money that goes into the political process. As a result, we have almost no campaign finance regulation--a fact that's been exploited by aristocrats and corporations for decades, if not centuries.

In this episode, we sit down with state Delegate Sally Hudson and author Jeff Thomas ("The Virginia Way: Democracy and Power after 2016") to discuss the history of the Virginia Way and how the culture of Richmond might be changing in a new era.

This is a reprise of an episode that originally aired in July 2020.

Episode Notes

Four years later, the deadly "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville is still a moment we mark time by. It has shaped us as people. And it has shaped the social and political landscape of Charlottesville and Virginia.

Today on Bold Dominion, we're looking at how the Unite the Right rally changed Virginia politics -- from the removal of Confederate statues to the future of our democracy. Featuring data scientist Emily Gorcenski, UVA professor Jalane Schmidt, and Virginia Delegate Sally Hudson.

Episode Notes

During the 2020 elections, Virginia voters passed a Redistricting Commission Amendment. The short version: it changes how Virginia draws its political district lines.

In the past, whatever party held majorities in the Virginia General Assembly approved pretty much whatever district maps it wanted to. Parties have used district maps as a political weapon to maintain their power. It’s a tool called gerrymandering. But now the map-drawing process is changing.

Will Virginia's new redistricting commission help our flawed democracy? Does it go far enough?

This week, we talk with Brian Cannon, former Exective Director of One Virginia 2021, the nonprofit that spear-headed the amendment. We also talk with Virginia Delegate Mark Levine, who has concerns about how this is unfolding and whether the amendment goes far enough.

Episode Notes

Virginia is a bona fide trash capital. For decades, Virginia has been the second biggest importer of trash from other states. We even accept trash from other countries. About a quarter of all the trash dumped in Virginia originates from outside the state -- nearly 6 million tons of trash per year.

One state’s trash must be our state’s treasure... at least for the owners. Waste management is a surprisingly profitable enterprise, and Virginia charges no fees for out-of-state trash imports. You can thank the state’s pro-business ideology and some well-placed corporate campaign donations.

So where does that trash land in Virginia? And who does it get dumped on?

Episode Notes

Teachers across America are brainwashing our youth with “critical race theory” so that they all become woke gay communists! Or so it would seem if you consume right-wing media lately.

“Critical Race Theory” has become a pejorative in today’s American conservative movement -- including here in Virginia. In several Virginia counties, school systems have been trying to educate children about the history of systemic racism in the United States, and “Critical Race Theory” has been leveled as an accusation against these efforts.

So what is “critical race theory”? And how has it come to be the newest right-wing bogeyman?

In this episode, we talk with Ian Mullins, professor of sociology at UVA, Peter Galuszka, Richmond-based journalist, and Amanda Moxham, member of the Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle County.

Tuesday, June 8, was the Democratic primary for statewide offices, and the results were fairly unexceptional. Former Governor Terry McAuliffe handily won the nomination for governor, State Delegate Hala Ayala won the nomination for Lieutenant Governor, and incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring beat out a primary challenger; meanwhile, outspoken delegates Lee Carter, Mark Levine, and Ibrahim Samirah failed to win their bids for re-nomination. All in all, a fairly clean sweep for the Democratic establishment as many progressive candidates lost out to their more moderate, corporate-friendly challengers. So what happened to Virginia’s progressive moment? Has the state already reached a new equilibrium in the post-Trump era?

To answer that question, we spoke with Richmond-based journalist Peter Galuszka, as well as Brennan Gilmore, Executive Director of Clean Virginia, an organization dedicated to fighting corruption in Virginia's government.