The Policy Lowdown is MDCEP’s podcast focusing on the policy choices that matter most to Maryland families and communities. In our first season, we’re bringing together experts from MDCEP staff and other community leaders for engaging conversations about how the critical choices policymakers make through our state budget affect our daily lives.
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Season 3
Episode 5 – The Budget Choices Shaping Maryland Communities
Guests:
- Rachel London, Executive Director of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council
- Christopher Meyer, MDCEP Research Analyst
Additional Information:
Maryland’s New Fiscal Year: Operating Budget and Tax Roundup
Episode 4 – The People Behind Maryland’s Budget
Guests:
- Delegate Jazz Lewis Majority Whip and Chair of the Public Safety and Administration Subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee
- Senator Cory McCray, Chair of the Health and Human Services Subcommittee of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee
- Delegate Gabriel Acevero, Vice Chair of the Legislative Latino Caucus and member of the House Appropriations Committee
Episode 3 – Funding Our Future: The ups and downs of education funding in Maryland
Guests:
Riya Gupta, Interim Executive Director of Strong Schools Maryland
Liz Zogby, special education advocate and Co-Chair of the Maryland Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition
Episode 2 – Getting to Know Maryland’s ‘Chief Financial Officer’
Guest:
Brooke Lierman, Comptroller of Maryland
Episode 1 – ‘Building Worker Power in Maryland’
Guests:
Eric Brown, Apple Store employee and Apple CORE union leader
Kevin Gallagher, organizer, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Season 2
Episode 1 – ‘A New Process is Shaping Spending Decisions in Baltimore’
Guests: Baltimore City Comptroller Bill Henry, MDCEP Senior Research Assistant Musaab Ibrahim
Episode Resources:
Episode 2 – ‘KIDS COUNT: How Children and Families Are Doing in Maryland’
Guest: Nonso Umunna, MDCEP KIDS COUNT Director
Episode Resources:
Episode 3 – ‘Removing Barriers to a Healthier Maryland’
Guests: Dr. Michelle LaRue, health and human services director for CASA, and Maryland Center on Economic Policy State Policy Fellow Jasmin Aramburu
Episode Resources:
Episode 4 – ‘ Preventing Evictions in Maryland’
Guests: Matt Hill, an attorney and team lead with the Public Justice Center’s Human Right to Housing project, and MDCEP Policy Analyst Taneeka Richardson
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Episode 5 – ‘How legal cannabis is changing Maryland communities’
Guests: Dayvon Love, director of public policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle and Justin Strekal, partner with Useful Strategies.Episode 6 – ‘2024 Legislative Session Preview (Part 1)’
Guests: MDCEP’s policy team – Jasmin Aramburu, Musaab Ibrahim, Christopher Meyer, Nonso Umunna, and Taneeka RichardsonSeason 1
Episode 1 – ‘A Budget is A Moral Document’
Guest: MDCEP Founder, President and CEO Benjamin Orr
Episode resources:
- Sign up for emails from the Maryland Fair Funding Coalition
- Learn more about how policymakers could make the state budget process more accessible and transparent
Episode 2 – ‘A Great Education for Every Child’
Guests: Strong Schools Maryland Executive Director Shamoyia Gardiner; MDCEP Research Analyst Christopher Meyer
Episode resources:
- Sign up for the Tax Credits for Maryland Families coalition email list to support efforts to protect and expand Maryland’s working family tax credits
- Get email updates on Blueprint for Maryland’s Future implementation and learn how to get involved in education advocacy in your community: Strong Schools Maryland
Episode 3: Homes Are the Foundation of Opportunity
Guests: Claudia Wilson Randall, Executive Director of the Community Development Network of Maryland; Taneeka Richardson, MDCEP Policy Analyst
Episode Resources:
Episode 4: Policies That Leave No Children Behind (Part 1)
Guests: Rev. Kobi Little, president of the Baltimore City NAACP chapter, and Nonso Umunna, KIDS COUNT director for the Maryland Center on Economic Policy.
Episode Resources:
Episode 5: Policies That Leave No Children Behind (Part 2)
Guests: Laura Weeldreyer, Executive Director of Maryland Family Network, and Nonso Umunna, KIDS COUNT director for the Maryland Center on Economic Policy.Bonus: A Roadmap for Tax Justice
Guests: Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins, Vice Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and Chair of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus; Delegate Julie Palakovich Carr, Chair of the Early Childhood Education Subcommittee and Chair of the Montgomery County House Delegation; Christopher Meyer, Research Analyst at the Maryland Center on Economic Policy
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