NCSL Podcasts

NCSL

Learn about the people, policies and politics of America's state legislatures with NCSL's three podcasts: "Our American States," "Across the Aisle" and the special limited series "Building Democracy."

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20 episodes
Updated Yesterday

Episodes20

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Yesterday · 41 min
Focus on Energy Affordability: Part 2 | OAS Episode 268
In this second of two episodes focused on energy affordability, we spoke with Katherine Jereza, an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Energy who directs the Office of Electricity, and Joseph Pereira, the director of Colorado's Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate.
July 12 · 52 min
ROI and the Workforce | OAS Episode 267
The focus of the podcast is how states are working toward connecting education and training systems with the workforce. Three attendees at a recent NCSL meeting in Bozeman, Mont., joined the podcast to explain how states are working to understand the return on investment from state investment in education and training programs .
June 21 · 41 min
Focus on Energy Affordability: Part 1 | OAS Episode 266
Our topic on this episode is energy affordability. The U.S. saw largely flat electricity demand from the late ’90s until just a couple of years ago but now increasing demand has strained the nation's ability to keep up. To offer some perspective, we sat down with Representative Craig Williams of Pennsylvania, and Janine Benner, the director of the Oregon Department of Energy.
June 7 · 45 min
Assessing Mid-Decade Redistricting | OAS Episode 265
The last year has seen an unusual spate of mid-decade redistricting and state legislatures are at the center of these efforts in blue and red states. To offer some perspective, we sat down with Erin Covey, who leads coverage of the U.S. House for the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, and Helen Brewer, who tracks redistricting legislation and developments for NCSL.
May 17 · 48 min
Mental Health and the Workplace | OAS Episode 264 | May 17, 2026
This episode will explore mental health and behavioral health in the workplace. Our guests include Julie Hocker, assistant secretary for Disability Employment Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor, and Michigan Representative Curtis VanderWall.
May 3 · 50 min
As July 4 Anniversary Approaches, We Remember Some State History | OAS Episode 263
As the nation prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, NCSL gathered a trio of experts to discuss the origin stories of their states. We discussed the status of each state at the time of the American Revolution, how the state's constitutions were written, and some other unusual historic notes.
April 26 · 56 min
Using Wage Records to Help Workers | OAS Episode 262
Dr. Erica Groshen, former commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Paul Famolari with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce join the podcast to discuss enhanced wage records and the role they can play in helping states better understand their workforce and evaluate job training and bachelor's degree programs.
April 12 · 36 min
The Lifesaving Potential of Prehospital Blood | OAS Episode 261
Jonathan Morrison, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, joins the podcast to discuss the importance of prehospital blood programs that allow emergency responders to administer blood at the scene to trauma victims. He’s joined by a former military trauma nurse with deep experience in the field and a policy expert from NCSL.
March 29 · 1 hr 2 min
The Evolution of Alzheimer’s Diagnosis and Treatment | OAS Episode 260
On this episode we dive into the remarkable progress in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and get perspective from a neurologist, two legislators and a policy expert from the Alzheimer’s Association.
March 8 · 30 min
Understanding the Cost of Health Care | March 8, 2026
The U.S. health care system is massive. It's a $5 trillion behemoth, nearly 20% of the U.S. economy or more than $15,000 per person per year. The cost of health care for consumers, including the cost of health insurance continues to increase. On this episode, we sat down with two people who pay close attention to the health care market and to how state legislatures are responding to rising costs.
February 22 · 48 min
The Legislature’s Oversight Role | OAS Episode 258
In one fashion or another, all state legislatures exercise oversight of state agencies and programs. They do this in a variety of ways using standing committees, rules review, auditing offices, sunset provisions, and more. On this episode of the podcast, we dive into the topic of oversight with three guests who all have different vantage points to observe the process.
February 1 · 41 min
Big Changes for Medicaid | OAS Episode 257
Two policy experts on Medicaid--Kathryn Costanza from NCSL and Neda Jasemi from the National Association of Medicaid Directors—joined the podcast to talk about the significant changes in Medicaid that were included in the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Act.
January 18 · 30 min
Growing Focus on Data Centers | OAS Episode 256
Two guests join the podcast to discuss the increasing focus by state lawmakers on data centers, and concerns about how their massive consumption of electricity may affect the rates paid by consumers.
January 4 · 33 min
Getting Ready for the 2026 Legislative Session | OAS Episode 255
As a new year and a new state legislative session gets underway, we sat down with Tim Storey, the CEO of NCSL, to discuss the coming legislative session and where he expects legislators to focus their efforts when it comes to budgets, education, Medicaid and more.
Dec 15, 2025 · 23 min
The Power of Mentoring | OAS Episode 254
On this episode, our two guests discussed how they used a mentor-mentee relationship to prepare for a job transition. Bernadette “Bernie” McNulty is the retired chief assistant secretary in the California Senate Heshani Wijemanne is the current chief assistant secretary in the Senate.
Dec 7, 2025 · 22 min
Legislative Leadership and the Infinite Game | OAS Episode 253
On this episode we sat down with Curt Stedron, director of NCSL’s Legislative Training Institute, to discuss a presentation he made at this year’s Legislative Summit in Boston on how game theory can help legislative leaders better understand the notion of leading in an infinite game.
Nov 23, 2025 · 46 min
Power and the People: Distributed Energy Resources and Virtual Power Plants | OAS Episode 252
Two experts in the field of distributed energy resources and virtual power plants join the podcast to discuss how utility operators can use things such as smart thermostats, batteries in homes and small business, electric vehicles and other resources to help manage peak energy demand.
Nov 9, 2025 · 27 min
Unretirement and the Over-50 Worker | OAS Episode 251
On this episode, we talk with Carly Roszkowski, vice president of financial resilience programming at AARP, who discussed why the over-50 crowd is such a critical piece of today’s workforce.
Oct 26, 2025 · 42 min
Private Equity and Health Care | OAS Episode 250
On this episode, the focus is on private equity investment in health care facilities, which has grown substantially in the past decade. We’re joined by an expert in health care policy from Harvard and two legislators to discuss how these investments are affecting the health care industry.
Oct 19, 2025 · 38 min
Energy Security for Tribal Lands | OAS Episode 249
On this episode, the focus is energy security and energy challenges in Indian Country. Daniel Cardenas Jr., head of the National Tribal Energy Association, and Trent Marlett from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma discussed how tribal members see their energy security