Sunil Dasgupta talks with Baltimore area school teacher and comedian Alexa Sciuto who has become a TikTok star by lampooning Moms for Liberty, the anti-public education group which has been attacking teachers countrywide. Find her on TikTok @scooteredu. Music from Finster.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Arlington County judge strikes down new zoning law allowing more housing. Gaithersburg approves a new redevelopment plan for Lakeforest Mall. Reform Jews for Justice members from around the country gather in Washington DC to protest the ongoing and expanding Gaza War. Musicians from Washington DC’s own National Symphony Orchestra went on strike last Friday with surprisingly quick results. Unions come to cannabis stores. And more. Music from Washington DC post-punk band Grey Swift.

With school boards around the country under attack from right-wing extremists, a veteran Silver-Spring based education reporter and author, Karen Chenoweth, has founded a resource to help school board candidates and school board members fight back. Sunil Dasgupta talks to Chenoweth about her website democracy-education.org and her mission. Music from Finster.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Delmarva beaches reopen after cleaning, but who dumped medical waste and garbage into the ocean? What is the effect of rent stabilization law housing supply? A new paper has startling conclusions. Two-thirds of Maryland 18-year-olds are registered to vote, a report finds. Washington DC area bikeshare service shows sustained growth. MCPS leans into choice programs. Music from Washington DC post-punk band Grey Swift.

In 2023, Montgomery County, Maryland, began using drones to respond to 911 calls for faster response, triaging ability, and cost reduction. But big issues of privacy, mass surveillance, and transparency remain. The courts are redefining old assumptions about privacy in public spaces and a decade ago shut down an aircraft-based mass surveillance program in Baltimore. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst in speech, policy, and technology at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) about emerging concerns about drone use in policing. Music from Finster.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Medical waste and plastic garbage wash up on mid-Atlantic Delmarva shores, closing beaches. The DC Auditor’s Office releases a bombshell report on police officer shortage in the city. Three DCPS fourth-graders join us to talk about their campaign to get the red-backed salamander as Washington DC’s official amphibian. Music from Washington DC post-punk band Grey Swift.

One way of solving the problem of housing affordability is to build more, but developers are holding back. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Wooldridge of the NRP Group, a top 10 developer of multifamily housing in the US, and Brian Anleu, of the Apartment and Office Building Association, about their complaints regarding rent stabilization and new building energy standards they argue must be eased to encourage more building. Music from Finster.

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: DC and Maryland Attorneys General sue 3 Rockville gun shops for straw gun sales. Maryland House Environment and Transportation Committee Chair Marc Korman reacts to the state’s capital budget draft for transportation projects. Fairfax County to start a bus route from Tysons to Bethesda. Montgomery County announces partnership with Instacart to deliver groceries to families who fall in the SNAP-gap. MCPS launches girls flag football. Game schedule: https://t.ly/C7Cd6. Music from Washington DC post-punk band Grey Swift.