Politically Speaking

St. Louis Public Radio’s political duo of Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcomes Jeanette Mott Oxford, head of Empower Missouri, as our guest on the latest edition of the Political Speaking podcast.

On this week’s edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jo Mannies and Jason Rosenbaum welcome back state Rep. Paul Curtman to the program.

On a special edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio reporters Jason Rosenbaum, Tim Lloyd and Kameel Stanley welcomed three journalists from Columbia-based KBIA to take stock of a series of events that rocked the University of Missouri system.

On this week’s edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies are pleased to welcome Missouri Alliance for Freedom’s Ryan Johnson to the program for the first time.

This week's Politically Speaking podcast with Alderman Jack Coatar includes discussion about a new football stadium on the riverfront. He is sponsoring the bill laying out the financial plan for the proposed stadium, which Mayor Francis Slay and others hope will persuade the Rams to remain in St. Louis – or attract another NFL team.

On this week’s edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome former Gov. Bob Holden, who held office from 2001-2005. This is part of an informal series where the journoduo attempts to interview all of the Show-Me State’s former chief executives about their time in office.

On the latest edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio's Jo Mannies and Jason Rosenbaum welcome back U.S. Rep. John Shimkus to the show to get a first-hand account of the recent turbulence in Congress.

On the latest edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s JasonRosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome state Rep. Kim Gardner for the first time. 
 
 The St. Louis Democrat was first elected to the Missouri House in 2012. It was her second attempt at elected office, as she unsuccessfully challenged then-state Rep. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, back in 2008. (Gardner is now on good terms with Nasheed, who is now a state senator.)

On this week’s edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies are pleased to welcome former U.S. Sen. Kit Bond to the program for an in-depth look at his career and legacy. 
 
 
 Bond’s political career spanned nearly four decades. A Republican, he won seven statewide elections, including serving two non-consecutive terms as governor and four terms as a U.S. senator. The Mid-Missouri native was an instrumental force in making Republicans competitive in a state that for decades had been dominated by Democrats.

On the latest edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome state Rep. Eric Burlison to the show (with some generous assistance from our friends at KSMU). 
 
 Burlison is a Springfield Republican who was first elected to the Missouri House in 2008. Since then, he’s carried a number of high-profile bills – including “right to work” legislation. That bill passed both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly for the first time this year before succumbing to Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto. Missouri House members failed to override Burlison’s bill by a fairly wide margin.

On the latest edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Tim Lloyd welcome state Sen. Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, to the program for the second time. 
 
 
 She represents the 13th District, a north St. Louis County area that encompasses portions of Ferguson and Dellwood. Walsh spent nearly three decades as part of the Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local #1, and she's currently the president of the Missouri State Building & Construction Trades Council.

On the latest edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Rachel Lippmann welcome St. Louis Alderman Lyda Krewson to the show. 
 
 The Moberly native has represented the city’s 28th Ward since 1997. Her ward includes some of the city’s most popular attractions, such as Forest Park, the St. Louis Zoo, part of ‘The Loop’ and the Central West End business districts.

On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome state Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick to the program for the first time. 
 
 Fitzpatrick is a native of Shell Knob, a Barry County community that’s about 40 miles away from Branson.

On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome former Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey. 
 
 The St. Charles Republican provided some of his most in-depth comments about his departure from the Missouri Senate.

On an “old school” edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies and Marshall Griffin provide a preview of the Missouri General Assembly’s upcoming veto session. The annual event usually provides finality for some hot-button issues brought up during the legislative session – and this year is no exception. Lawmakers could take up “right to work” legislation, which would bar employers and unions from forcing employees to pay union dues if a majority voted to organize.

On an “old school” edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies and Marshall Griffin provide a preview of the Missouri General Assembly’s upcoming veto session. The annual event usually provides finality for some hot-button issues brought up during the legislative session – and this year is no exception. Lawmakers could take up “right to work” legislation, which would bar employers and unions from forcing employees to pay union dues if a majority voted to organize.

On a special edition of Politically Speaking, Ferguson Commission co-chairmen Rich McClure and Starsky Wilson talk about a blunt assessment of a racially-divided St. Louis.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum is flying solo, so to speak, for this week’s edition of Politically Speaking. He’s welcoming state Rep. Kip Kendrick to show to talk about changing legislative policies toward interns, the upcoming veto session and northeast Missouri politics.

On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome Brittany Burke to the program. This marks the first time that Burke, a governmental consultant, has spoken at length publicly about recent events that put her in the news.

On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies chat with Eagle Forum president Ed Martin about the wide open race for the Republican presidential nomination. 
 
 
 Martin -- a Republican who ran for Congress in 2010 and for Missouri attorney general in 2012 -- recently took over as head of the Eagle Forum, a conservative group founded by St. Louis-based activist Phyllis Schlafly.

On this week’s episode of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s political journo-duo – Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies – welcome state Auditor Nicole Galloway to the program for the first time. 
 
 
 The Democratic official was appointed to statewide office earlier this year after the death of state Auditor Tom Schweich. Before taking the reins, Galloway was in her first full term as Boone County’s treasurer.

On this edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies continue their look into south St. Louis County politics by welcoming state Rep. Cloria Brown onto the show. 
 
 
 Brown is a city of St. Louis native who had a successful career in information technology. After working her way through several jobs, Brown eventually became vice president of information systems for MasterCard International. She was one of the few women to be a leader in the male-dominated field.

On a special edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum welcomes two mayors of small north St. Louis County to the show talk about a sweeping overhaul of the state’s municipal courts system. 
 
 
 Normandy Mayor Patrick Green and Cool Valley Mayor Viola Murphy have been heavily critical of Sen. Eric Schmitt’s legislation, which among other things lowers the percentage of traffic fine revenue that cities can keep. The bill places a 12.5 percent cap on traffic revenue for St. Louis County cities, which will likely have the biggest impact on African-American-led cities like Cool Valley and Normandy.

On this week’s edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome (back) former state Rep. Vicki Englund, a Green Park Democrat who's served two terms in the Missouri House. Englund served two non-consecutive terms in the Missouri House, representing competitive territory in south St. Louis County.

On this week’s edition of Politically Speaking, state Sen. Scott Sifton joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies to talk about his decision to scuttle his attorney general bid. 
 
 
 The Affton Democrat was the first person in his party to jump into the 2016 contest to succeed Attorney General Chris Koster, who is expected to run for governor. St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman jumped into the Democratic contest as well, setting up a potentially contentious primary.

On a two-part edition of Politically Speaking, the St. Louis Public Radio political journoduo – Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies – hope to welcome the two announced candidates for the 1st District Senate seat.

The Politically Speaking podcast duo welcomes veteran Democrat Mike Jones as this week’s guest for a particularly lively show that focuses on education and black leadership. 
 
 A graduate of Beaumont High School and UMSL, Jones currently sits on the state Board of Education.

This week, the Politically Speaking podcast team welcomes Missouri state Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, the chief sponsor of the broad court-reform bill known as Senate Bill 5. Gov. Jay Nixon signed the bill into law last week. Among other things, it restricts the percentage of income that a municipality can collect from traffic fines and related court fees.

On this week’s episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome former Missouri state Sen. Maida Coleman to the program. 
 
 
 The St. Louis Democrat was tapped last year to lead the Office of Community Engagement, an entity set up by Gov. Jay Nixon that, in his administration’s words, is aimed at “engaging communities, public and private sector leaders, clergy and citizens across the state in communication regarding critical issues affecting Missouri communities.”

On this edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome back House Speaker Todd Richardson to the program.

On this week’s episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome Missouri House Republican Campaign Committee executive director Scott Dieckhaus to the program. 
 
 
 Dieckhaus is a former state representative from Franklin County, serving in the General Assembly’s lower chamber from 2009 to 2013. The Republican official was a teacher before going into politics, and served as the chairman of House Education Committee from 2011 to 2013. During that time, Dieckhaus and other education-minded legislators had to deal with fallout from a Missouri Supreme Court decision upholding a law allowing students to transfer away from unaccredited school districts.

On this week’s episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome former state Rep. Rodney Hubbard. 
 
 After serving in the Missouri House in the 2000s, Hubbard now works as a lobbyist and consultant. He's also a member of one of the region's most politically prominent families.

On this week’s edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome GOP political consultant David Barklage to the program for the first time. 
 
 The Cape Girardeau native possesses a two-fold claim to political fame: He played a big role in building big Republican majorities in the Missouri Senate and he long served as a key political adviser to Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.

On this week’s edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome state Rep. Stephen Webber to the show for the first time. Carrying on a tradition started by state Rep. Caleb Jones, R-Columbia, and 
 state Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, the Columbia Democrat drove from mid-Missouri to our headquarters at Grand Center to tape the show.

On this week’s extra edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome back former Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley to the show. 
 
 The Perryville Republican – who now has a residence in Chesterfield – was previously on the show in 2013, and provided candid insights into his tenure as speaker. We asked him back to discuss two big stories percolating throughout the Missouri political universe – the resignation of Republican House Speaker John Diehl and the fight over “right to work.”

On the latest episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies chat with former Missouri state Sen. Jeff Smith about his post-political life — and recent turbulence in Jefferson City. Smith was a rising political star before going to prison for lying to federal investigators.

On a “classic edition” of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio reporters Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies and Marshall Griffin take stock of 
 one of the strangest ends to a Missouri General Assembly session in recent memory.

On a special edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies use the magic of radio to interview the Missouri General Assembly’s two Democratic leaders – Senate Minority Leader Joe Keaveny and House Minority Leader Jake Hummel.

On this episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies break a bit of ground by welcoming two guests for one show – state Sen. Rob Schaaf and former Sen. Jim Lembke.

On the latest episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome St. Louis County Councilwoman Colleen Wasinger to the show.

On this week’s edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies interview one of the many Republicans considering a bid for governor in 2016 – John Brunner.

This week on Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies interview U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver from his Washington, D.C., office. 
 
 The Democratic congressman represents portions of Kansas City as well as several rural counties in mid-Missouri. For many years, Cleaver was a pastor at the St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City which probably explains why he’s one of Missouri politics’ most celebrated orators.

On this episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio reporters Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome former state Sen. Jason Crowell to the show for the first time. In the late 2000s, the Cape Girardeau Republican emerged as one of the most impactful — and, to some, controversial — lawmakers in the Missouri General Assembly. He often used the power of his personality and mastery of Senate procedure to steer legislation in his desired direction.

With the clock ticking closer to the anniversary of Michael Brown’s shooting death, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch for a special edition of Politically Speaking.
 
 McCulloch has been St. Louis County’s prosecutor since January 1991, when he took over for fellow Democrat Buzz Westfall. McCulloch has faced little opposition for his job ever since; in November 2014, he didn't even have a GOP opponent.

This week’s Politically Speaking breaks some new ground. Through the magic of radio, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies joined with KBIA’s Bram Sable-Smith to interview state Rep. Caleb Rowden. 
 
 The Columbia Republican and Rock Bridge High School graduate was first elected to the Missouri House in 2012. Rowden had a somewhat unconventional road to Missouri state politics: He was a successful Christian rock musician before running for a vacant House seat in 2012.

The Politically Speaking podcast team of Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcomes state Rep. Stacey Newman, D-Richmond Heights, to this week's show.

On this week’s edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio reporters Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies and Rachel Lippmann welcome St. Louis Alderwoman Donna Baringer to the show.
 
 The 16th Ward Democrat was first elected to her post in 2003, succeeding longtime Alderman Jim Shrewsbury. Before taking on her current job as the executive director of Lemay Development Corp. earlier this year, Baringer was the director of institutional advancement for United 4 Children. A native of Jefferson City, Baringer has a master’s degree in corporate communications from Lindenwood University and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Maryville University.

This week’s Politically Speaking is a southeast Missouri affair as St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome House Majority Leader Todd Richardson to the show.
 
 The Poplar Bluff Republican is a second-generation lawmaker. His father, Mark Richardson, served in the House GOP leadership in the 1990s, a time when Republicans had been in the minority for years. Now, Richardson is the second most powerful lawmaker in a chamber dominated by his party – and has the inside track to become the next speaker of the Missouri House once House Speaker John Diehl, R-Town and Country, departs due to term limits.

On this edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies and Rachel Lippmann welcome Mary Ellen Ponder to the show. 
 
 Ponder was recently appointed chief of staff for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, replacing Jeff Rainford. She is the first woman to serve as chief of staff for a St. Louis mayor.

The Politically Speaking podcast team – Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies – this week welcomed state Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit and a 2016 candidate for Missouri secretary of state.
 
 But first, the duo joined Jefferson City correspondent Marshall Griffin in commemorating the late state Auditor Tom Schweich, who died last Thursday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A memorial service is to be held Tuesday at his church in Clayton.
 
 Schweich, intense and candid, was willing to challenge those within his own party on some issues, which made him a maverick at times. Griffin also recalled Schweich’s hobby of collecting Hollywood memorabilia.