National Review's Radio Free California Podcast Podcast By National Review cover art

National Review's Radio Free California Podcast

National Review's Radio Free California Podcast

By: National Review
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A show about the perilous state of the Golden State—and what that means for you, wherever you live. California is the hothouse lab of the Left, the nation-state creating the statist policies, art, and lifestyles of the future – and generating the political dollars to make them a reality in a community near you. Hosts Will Swaim (California Policy Center) and David Bahnsen (The Bahnsen Group, Fox Business News commentator, conservative activist) beam this weekly show internationally, from mostly undisclosed pirate-radio platforms west of the Sierra Nevada. [Intro music graciously provided by Los Angeles-based Metalachi, the metal/mariachi soundtrack of the near-future. Find them at Metalachi.com.]National Review Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Episode 438: Maybe We Call This ‘Jaime Escalante Day’?

    Episode 438: Maybe We Call This ‘Jaime Escalante Day’?
    Apr 1 2026
    Governor Gavin Newsom signed an emergency bill to rename the Cesar Chavez holiday “Farmworkers Day.” Will and David suggest we commemorate instead the East Los Angeles teacher who was the subject of the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver -- and was then driven from teaching by his own union. Representative Eric Swalwell earned a key campaign endorsement from the California Teachers Association -- a kind of Surgeon General’s Warning for voters in the state’s June primary. In other news: Tech’s very bad week in court, and it’s time for San Francisco to defund its corrupt “Defund the Police” campaign. Bonus tracks! Red State reporter Jen Van Laar on LAUSD’s all-in-the-family negotiations with the state’s largest teacher’s union, and former Los Angeles Times religion reporter Bill Lobdell on the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal, televangelists, Cesar Chavez, and California’s public schools. Music by Metalachi. Email Us:dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.comwill@calpolicycenter.org Follow Us:@DavidBahnsen@WillSwaim@TheRadioFreeCA Show Notes Newsom signs law renaming Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers DayA Calculated Move : Jaime Escalante Prepares to Leave to Teach in SacramentoUTLA’s responseThe USC professor at the center of the debate debacleA big weekend for Eric SwalwellF.B.I. Said to Dig Up Old Investigative Files on Democratic LawmakerSwalwell campaign in the hot seat after accepting almost $15K from CCP-tied law firm: 'Stop playing footsie'Social media trials usher in Big Tech's latest moment of reckoningTop S.F. official who led Dream Keeper equity program charged with felonies: ‘abuse of power’Holed up: L.A. tries closing off manhole where people live, nearly sealing someone insideLA’s Declining Homelessness Numbers: Real or Illusory?California introduces financial literacy course starting with class of 2030-31'New Era': Landmark Policy to Expand Tribal Stewardship for At Least 7.5 Million Acres in California Jen Van Laar Literal bedfellows among teacher union activists and the district negotiating their pay package Bill Lobdell “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America and Found Unexpected Peace”Newport Beach in the Rearview Mirror podcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 hr and 48 mins
  • Episode 437: The Labor Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight

    Episode 437: The Labor Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight
    Mar 23 2026

    The union behind the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act says it will generate $110 billion for public health programs, but Hoover Institution researchers calculate that it will actually cost California $25 billion. In the “Why Now Department,” Will and David consider multiple hypotheses about the timing of claims that United Farm Workers founder Cesar Chavez raped young women half a century ago. The legal case against Meta and YouTube asks us to believe that social media companies bear absolute responsibility for addictive use of social media. Will tells the true story of Ah Louis, a California Gold Rush-era immigrant who became the unofficial mayor of San Luis Obispo’s Chinatown. Bonus! Lance Christensen provides a first look at the year’s legislative Race to Absurdity. Music by Metalachi.

    Email Us:
    dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.com
    will@calpolicycenter.org

    Follow Us:
    @DavidBahnsen
    @WillSwaim
    @TheRadioFreeCA

    Show Notes:

    • Read the Statement From Dolores Huerta on Cesar Chavez’s Abuse
    • From streets to murals, the erasure of Cesar Chavez is fast underway in California
    • The complicated legacy of César Chávez
    • ‘I will miss them’: Khanna mocks tech billionaires threatening to leave California for wealth tax
    • Kathy Hochul’s Seller’s Remorse
    • The Fiscal Losses from California's Billionaire Tax Act
    • Gavin Newsom’s $114 Million Butterfly Bridge
    • Jury deliberations continue in landmark social media addiction trial against Meta, Google
    • Social media use is tied to well-being, according to the new World Happiness Report

    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • Episode 436: Killing Cesar Chavez

    Episode 436: Killing Cesar Chavez
    Mar 18 2026

    The once-powerful, still-iconic founder of the United Farm Workers is now getting the old Me-Too makeover with his own union reporting allegations that he was the radical left’s Jeffrey Epstein. Also: Newsom’s hypocrisy on surging gasoline prices, Oscar-winner Jessie Buckley’s defense of family, population-alarmist Paul Ehrlich is dead, L.A. County’s fraud problem, the Silicon Valley's deeply flawed initiative to block the wealth tax, and more! Music by Metalachi.

    Email Us:
    dbahnsen@thebahnsengroup.com
    will@calpolicycenter.org

    Follow Us:
    @DavidBahnsen
    @WillSwaim
    @TheRadioFreeCA

    Show Notes:

    • Cesar Chavez allegations jolt California’s labor movement
    • Jessie Buckley’s Beautiful Homage to Mothers
    • The End Is Still Near
    • The sleeper initiative that could upend more than the wealth tax
    • We visited “ground zero” for hospice fraud: Los Angeles, California
    • Progressive lawmakers Bernie Sanders, Ro Khanna unveil $4.4T wealth tax targeting billionaires
    • SEIU California Endorses Eric Swalwell for Governor
    • You get an endorsement! You get an endorsement!
    • Sable’s president in shining armor
    • Governor Newsom blasts Trump for raising gasoline prices on Americans with no plan and no accountability

    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
All stars
Most relevant
This podcast is not only informative and inspiring, but quite often very funny. The back and forth between Will & David, as well as their deep, mutual respect and obvious friendship is refreshing. I so appreciate the fact that they are still fighting for the soul of California when so many have given up and thrown in the towel. They help me stay informed and think critically about events and lawmaking. And of course, there's always "Kamala Corner" and "On this day in history, John Sutter..." to look forward to.

keep up the great work, gents!

Informative & So Very Appreciated

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