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CitiesSpeak With Clarence Anthony

National League of Cities

CitiesSpeak with Clarence Anthony, a podcast from the National League of Cities, gives listeners an insider’s view of what local leadership in America means today. Featuring conversations between NLC CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony and city leaders, policy experts and other guests, the show gets into the biggest issues, challenges and topics facing America’s cities, towns and villages today. Whether it’s talking about what it’s like to have residents protesting on their front lawn or discussing the creative things local governments are doing with their infrastructure dollars, CitiesSpeak gives listeners insight into what’s on the minds of mayors and council members across the country. 

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  • 24 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 28 min
  • English

Episodes 24

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  • Thursday · 38 min

    Growing Urban Agriculture with Brad Gaolach

    Send us Fan Mail Brad Gaolach is Director of the National Urban Research and Extension Center, or NUREC. He also leads the Building Integrated Agriculture (BIA) Academy, a NUREC initiative in partnership with the National League of Cities University, which supports local leaders in exploring BIA as a strategy for community and environmental resilience, sustainability, food access, and economic opportunity. The first academy cohort kicks off this November at City Summit in Nashville. More details about building-integrated agriculture can be found on the NUREC BIA project page where you can find white papers on Defining BIA and BIA and Urban Systems: Opportunities for Climate Resilience, Food Systems, and Community Wellbeing. NUREC's BIA Academy web page provides more specifics on the Academy including module topics and learning objectives. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • September 3 · 58 min

    Redeveloping Empty Faith Properties with Rick Reinhard

    Send us Fan Mail For the past five years, Rick Reinhard has been a consultant and thought leader on the issue of the reuse and redevelopment of empty faith properties. He’s leading a new course with NLC University called “Spiritual Brownfields: How Can Cities Strategically Reuse and Redevelop Their Emptying Faith Properties?” which explores ways cities can redevelop their unused houses of worship. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • August 27 · 39 min

    Evaluating the Recent Supreme Court Term with Amanda Karras

    Send us Fan Mail The Supreme Court wrapped up a memorable term in July, and their decisions will have big impacts for America’s cities, towns and villages. We saw rulings on local government tax foreclosure and the amount of equity that is due back to a homeowner after a tax sale; election law and redistricting issues; law enforcement issues, including qualified immunity and geofence warrants; birthright citizenship; and the Second Amendment. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • August 20 · 27 min

    NLC's Guide for Making the Most of August Recess

    Send us Fan Mail NLC Legislative Director, Brittney Kohler, discusses what the Congressional August recess means and how local leaders can make the most of it with NLC's Director of Federal Advocacy, Irma Esparza Diggs. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • August 6 · 43 min

    21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Explained with Mike Wallace and Jason Jordan

    Send us Fan Mail Explaining the New Housing Act with Mike Wallace and Jason Jordan In this episode, Lauren Lowery, Director, Housing and Community Development, National League of Cities, is in conversation with Mike Wallace, Legislative Director, Housing, Community and Economic Development, National League of Cities, and Jason Jordan, Public Affairs Director, American Planning Association, on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The first comprehensive housing package to pass Congress in decades passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to boost housing supply by improving existing programs, unlocking private capital, and reducing federal regulatory barriers. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • July 30 · 16 min

    Federal Grant Changes Impacting Local Governments with Mayor Toby Barker

    Send us Fan Mail The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed substantial changes to the Uniform Guidance, which governs federal grants and other forms of federal financial assistance. Toby Barker, Mayor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and NLC Board of Directors member, discusses the proposed changes and how they might impact local governments, both small and large, if implemented, and gives an update on the current status of the proposed rule. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • July 23 · 21 min

    National Arts & Health Day with Amanda Lovelee

    Send us Fan Mail Amanda Lovelee is an artist who works in civic systems as a translator between government and community with the goal of building places where everyone belongs. She creates bright, joyful, engaging and complex large-scale public art projects, partnering with arborists, planners, biologists, water resource managers, and scientists. Amanda is a US Cultural Policy Fellow at Stanford University and is part of CAIR Lab – the Cross-sector Artists-in-Residence Lab, a team that specializes in building partnerships between artists and government for creative solutions. She has served as an artist-in-residence in government at the local, regional, and state levels. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • July 16 · 33 min

    Financing Municipal Infrastructure with Seán McCarthy, CEO, Build America Mutual (BAM)

    Send us Fan Mail Seán McCarthy, CEO of Build America Mutual, works with cities, town and villages preparing to sell municipal bonds to finance their infrastructure plans for decades into the future, and it’s fair to say that every municipality in America will eventually enter the municipal bond market. However, for a lot of local leaders, the municipal bond market is not something they usually think about. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • July 9 · 19 min

    Closing the Digital Divide with Angelina Panettieri

    Send us Fan Mail This episode dives deep into a prominent local-federal issue that has touched every aspect of daily life: digital access. Reliable internet and accessible online platforms are no longer simply optional for thriving communities; they are essential. At the federal level, policies like the American Broadband Deployment Act aim to accelerate infrastructure expansion, while new web accessibility rules are shaping how governments design and deploy digital services to ensure no resident is left behind. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • July 2 · 23 min

    Sitting Down for America’s Potluck

    Send us Fan Mail Nicole Handy, Executive Director of America 250 Utah, joins CitiesSpeak to talk about America’s Potluck and how local leaders can bring the celebration to their community. On July 5, 2026, neighbors will sit down for America’s Potluck to share a fun, communal meal, creating a sense of connection and belonging and fostering interactions among people from all walks of life. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • June 25 · 28 min

    The Science of Arts & Health with Dr. Jill Sonke

    Send us Fan Mail Dr. Jill Sonke, a research professor and research director at the University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine, is a leader in arts and health research and policy advocacy nationally and internationally. Her research focuses on population-level health outcomes associated with arts and cultural participation, arts in public health, and the arts in health communication. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • June 23 · 47 min

    Dissecting Proposed Changes to Federal Assistance with Mayor Bianca Motley Broom

    Send us Fan Mail The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed substantial changes to the Uniform Guidance, which governs federal grants and other forms of federal financial assistance. Bianca Motley Broom, Mayor of College Park, Georgia, and President of the Georgia Municipal Association, discusses the proposed changes and how they might impact municipalities, both small and large, if implemented. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • June 18 · 39 min

    Fatherhood & Public Service with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Council President Zeke Cohen

    Send us Fan Mail Father’s Day is this weekend and we’re focusing on leadership and fatherhood, and how they shape outcomes for early childhood and serve the children and families in our cities, towns, and villages across America. Mayor Brandon Scott and Council President Zeke Cohen from Baltimore City join Clarence Anthony to discuss both. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • June 11 · 27 min

    Reimagining Local Government, Democracy and Trust with Julia Novak, CEO, ICMA

    Send us Fan Mail Julia Novak, CEO & Executive Director of ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, brings together city and county managers, the people who get the work done alongside mayors and councilmembers. Which is why NLC’s partnership is so important, as we all put residents' needs first. She oversees all aspects of ICMA, including membership, staff, and implementation of the executive board’s strategic objectives. With extensive experience in local government, Julia has served as both a city manager and a deputy city manager. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • June 4 · 16 min

    Kicking Off Small Cities Month in Wyoming with Ashley Harpstreith

    Send us Fan Mail June is Small Cities Month at NLC! With 40% of the National population coming from cities with a population of 50,000 or less, small cities play a significant role in strengthening local government and shaping NLC’s initiatives, opportunities and federal advocacy. Ashley Harpstreith is the Executive Director for the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, which serves all of Wyoming’s 99 municipalities. She joins CitiesSpeak to share the unique strengths of small cities and towns in Wyoming and across the country. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • May 28 · 13 min

    The Impact of Arts with Mayor Michael Vargas

    Send us Fan Mail National Arts & Health Day – NLC’s annual celebration of the impact the arts have on public health around our country. It’s coming up later this summer on July 25th, and here to share how the arts have impacted his community is Mayor Michael M. Vargas of Perris, California. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • May 21 · 24 min

    Turning Ideas into Policy with Tacoma Councilmember Kristina Walker

    Send us Fan Mail What does it take to turn a good idea into real policy that improves people’s lives? As anyone in local government knows, the path from identifying a problem to passing meaningful legislation can be complicated. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • May 14 · 28 min

    America250 Starts with Local Leaders

    Send us Fan Mail Today, we are sharing a panel discussion about America 250 from our 2026 Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C. On the conference stage, NLC President Kevin Kramer moderated a discussion with local leaders from Harrisonburg, Virginia; Baltimore, Colorado Springs, and Philadelphia on how city, town and village leaders are designing and driving the celebrations this summer. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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  • May 7 · 14 min

    Breaking Down the Homeland Security Funding Deal with Yucel Ors

    Send us Fan Mail NLC public safety legislative director Yucel Ors breaks down what the recently ended Department of Homeland Security (DHS) federal shutdown means for local government. The DHS shutdown began on February 15th after Congress failed to pass a funding bill. Finally, last week, on Thursday, April 30, the longest shutdown of a federal department in U.S. history came to an end when the President signed a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security after the House reached a breakthrough. For more information, visit us at nlc.org.

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Showing 1–20 of 24 episodes