Californians Vote With New Map
What A Day
What A Day
4.6 • 12.6K Ratings
🗓️ 2 June 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
California politics is experiencing a rare moment on the national stage as wacky candidates and local scandals have become a microcosm for the country as a whole, as well as a potential preview of what November’s midterms have in store. We talk to KQED’s Marisa Lagos about what the hell is going on with California politics right now.
And in headlines, primary season kicks off nationwide, Trump's Iran War negotiations hit another setback, an appeals court rules Trump's ban on transgender troops illegal, the White House temporarily pauses its slush fund for Trump's political allies, and several states extend bar and restaurant hours for the World Cup.
Show Notes:
- Check out Marisa's work – www.kqed.org/author/mlagos
- Call Congress – 202-224-3121
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- What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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- For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's Tuesday, June 2nd. I'm Erin Ryan in for Jane Koston, and this is What a Day, the show that, when it must be the bearer of bad news, coats it with some peanut butter and cheese, so the news goes down easier. |
| 0:18.0 | On today's show, a federal judge shreds President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary |
| 0:22.3 | Pete Hegset's ban on trans troops, happy pride boys. |
| 0:26.1 | We've also got another setback in the Trump administration's so far futile attempts to |
| 0:30.5 | wrap up the war they started with Iran. |
| 0:33.3 | We've almost got a peace treaty is to the Trump administration. |
| 0:36.2 | What full self-driving is just around the corner is to Elon Musk. |
| 0:40.3 | But before we get to all that, California politics are often treated as an afterthought to the rest of the national media. |
| 0:46.0 | Well, California is often seen as a democratic paradise with a deep bench. |
| 0:50.2 | This year, a combination of dangerously wacky candidates and own-goal scandals have propelled the Golden State to national front pages. |
| 0:58.4 | Today's primary will winnow down crowded fields across several important races. |
| 1:02.6 | So we talked to journalist Marisa Lagos. |
| 1:04.9 | She's a political correspondent at KQED and co-hosts its podcast Political Breakdown. |
| 1:10.2 | And she can help answer the question, what the hell is going on with the California |
| 1:13.8 | governor's race right now? |
| 1:16.0 | Marisa, welcome to What a Day. |
| 1:18.2 | Thanks for having me. |
| 1:19.8 | All right, let's just get right into it. |
| 1:22.0 | I've seen a lot of commentary that this has been a weird election year in California. |
| 1:27.6 | As a seasoned veteran of covering California politics, from your perspective, is it that weird? |
| 1:34.5 | It's so weird. |
| 1:35.5 | Oh, my gosh. |
... |
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