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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.

The first episode drops January 20 on all major podcast distributors. Subscribe now: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio

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

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Episode 2 – ‘KIDS COUNT: How Children and Families Are Doing in Maryland’

Guest: Nonso Umunna, MDCEP KIDS COUNT Director

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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

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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 Richardson

Episode 7 – ‘2024 Legislative Session Preview (Part 2)’

Guest: Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson

Episode 8 – ‘A Fair Share for Maryland’

Guests: Denise Gilmore, legislative director at ⁠AFSCME Council 3⁠, and Shamoyia Gardiner executive director of ⁠Strong Schools Maryland

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Season 1

Episode 1 – ‘A Budget is A Moral Document’

Guest: MDCEP Founder, President and CEO Benjamin Orr

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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

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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.

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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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