Four South-central Virginia county governments consider resolutions recognizing their local militia following over 100 local jurisdictions in the state declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries. Sunil Dasgupta talks with American University’s Carolyn Gallaher about the evolution of militias from anti-government rage to paramilitary alliance with Republican governments. Local and state news where Maryland and Montgomery County come in first. Music from Arlington-based roots music singer-songwriter Valeria Stewart and her band Crooked Sparrow: youtube.com/@valeriastewartmusic Sharing economy info: https://tinyurl.com/52bz37xp Virginia 2A Sanctuaries: https://tinyurl.com/mu7y3asj

A Richmond, Va-based, produce delivery company, Seasonal Roots, reinvents community supported agriculture (CSAs) by gigging out the last-mile delivery to an army of part-time workers and other insights from the fresh food business. Sunil Dasgupta talks with founder Duane Slyder as his company targets growth in suburban Maryland. Local news re three tax hikes in Montgomery County. Music from Arlington-based roots music singer-songwriter Valeria Stewart and her band Crooked Sparrow: youtube.com/@valeriastewartmusic Seasonal Roots: https://www.seasonalroots.com/ MoCo tax hikes: https://rb.gy/42t53

Building the Purple Line light rail connecting Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties raised concerns that the resulting increase in housing costs will force out current residents and businesses while a new wealthier population moved in. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Nicholas Finio, one of the authors of a new study of rent increases near proposed Purple Line stations, about their findings and what they mean for public policy including rent control. Local news re Montgomery County Democratic Party and public schools struggling with absenteeism. Music from Alexandria, Va, alt-rock band, Jackie and The Treehorns: jackieandthetreehorns.com MCDCC Handbook: https://bit.ly/3pz5nMh Silver Chips story: https://bit.ly/3MkhxjK Peng, Knaap, & Finio paper: https://bit.ly/3MDaxj5

Housing is a highly individual choice, but how does it relate to larger trends in the market, loosening commutes due to work from home, interest rates, and politics? Sunil Dasgupta speaks with recently former College Park-resident Alaina Pitt and soon to be ex-Silver Spring resident Paul Meyer about how they rethought their family housing choices. Local news about the teacher’s union disrupting Montgomery County Council proceedings and a recusal motion in the Montgomery County Democratic Party. Music from Alexandria, Va, alt-rock band, Jackie and The Treehorns: jackieandthetreehorns.com MCDCC Handbook: https://bit.ly/3pz5nMh

Downtown Silver Spring is a half square mile area and it has 20 coffee shops. It has had roughly 20 coffee shops since 2017, but the list keeps changing with closings and openings. Why do new coffee shop owners believe they can make this difficult business work for them? Sunil Dasgupta talks with David Fogel, owner of longtime DTSS coffeeshop, Bump ‘n’ Grind, about the economics of coffeeshops in Silver Spring. Music from Alexandria, Va, alt-rock band, Jackie and The Treehorns: jackieandthetreehorns.com Dan Reed’s DTSS Coffeeshop Roll Call: https://bit.ly/3NCuOX2 MCAP info: https://bit.ly/3LV91IT

Agricultural land preservation is a longstanding policy tool against the threat of sprawl and a particular issue in Frederick County, Maryland’s fastest-growing jurisdiction. Sunil Dasgupta talks about how things are going in Frederick with Anne Bradley, the county’s land preservation programs manager, and with Katie Stevens, who runs the county’s agriculture business support. Local news about machine gun access, 529 reform, and Maryland’s new workforce shortage student grants. Music from Alexandria, Va, alt-rock band, Jackie and The Treehorns: jackieandthetreehorns.com Frederick Ag Land Preservation: https://bit.ly/3oPMrID Frederick Ag Business Support: https://bit.ly/3oSfmvt MD Workforce Shortage Student Grants: https://bit.ly/41KPArR

We take trash collection for granted today, but like housing and climate action today, garbage collection was once a controversial idea and tough ask. Sunil Dasgupta talks with political scientists Patricia Strach of the University of Albany and Kathleen Sullivan of Ohio University about their new book, The Politics of Trash, where they write about how corruption rather than good governance motivated 19th century American city leaders to set up municipal garbage collection. The implications of their work apply to modern problems of pandemic and climate policymaking. Music for this episode comes from Catscan! a Washington DC band who play art pop music with satirical lyrics: https://bit.ly/3KEpfFF The Politics of Trash: https://amzn.to/3N5RXAK Strach: https://bit.ly/3mMj1KK Sullivan: https://bit.ly/41oAN5N

The 445th session of the Maryland General Assembly was billed as the cannabis session. Based on a referendum that was supported overwhelmingly by Maryland voters, the body had to build an entire framework for growing, processing, and selling recreational marijuana in the state before July 2023. What came of it? Sunil Dasgupta talks to Maryland Delegate David Moon, vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee and a longtime advocate for legalized marijuana. Music from Catscan! a Washington DC band who play art pop music with satirical lyrics: https://bit.ly/3KEpfFF. More info on adult-use recreational marijuana in MD: https://bit.ly/3nZfDML Legislation: https://bit.ly/3KXv0yw

With school budget politics heating up, Sunil Dasgupta talks with former MCPS superintendent, continuing MCPS parent, and education consultant Josh Starr about losing his contract, his book on school leadership, and education challenges in a post-pandemic world. Music for this episode comes from Catscan! a Washington DC band who play art pop music with satirical lyrics: https://bit.ly/3KEpfFF. MCPS operating budget: https://bit.ly/3nTwYH7 Montgomery County budget document: https://bit.ly/2IGNnod Mink/Jawando tax bill: https://bit.ly/3KF7lmk.

Sunil Dasgupta talks with MCPS juniors Yoseph Zerihun of Springbrook High School and Sami Saeed of Richard Montgomery High School, the two finalists for the Student Member of the Montgomery County Board of Education in 2023. The SMOB is one of the eight members of the county school board, nearly co-equal with other generally elected members of the Board, but voted in by MCPS secondary school students only. Music for this episode are two debut piano compositions by Kensington resident Adam Bobrow. Sami Saeed website: sami4smob.com. Yoseph Zerihun website: yoseph4smob.com.

Former Wall Street Journal reporter Neil King Jr. walked 26 days covering 330 miles from his home on Capitol Hill in Washington DC to Manhattan and chronicled the journey in a new book, American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal. Sunil Dasgupta talks with King about his walk, what made him go, and what he learned. Local news re Arlington’s new zoning law and corruption, as a former aide to the previous Maryland governor, Larry Hogan, skips a court date and becomes a fugitive. Music for this episode comes from DC area rock trio Ammonite at ammoniteband.bandcamp.com. American Ramble available at https://a.co/d/7pvc723. Arlington’s new zoning law: https://bit.ly/409VqSR.

America’s fastest-growing sport comes not from the youth but from the aging. The rapid spread of pickleball has reinvigorated underused neighborhood rec centers and parks but also brought to the fore conflicts with tennis and complaints about noise and travelers crowding local streets. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Emer Daly, local pickleball coach and a founder of MoCo Pickleball Facebook group, and Chuck Kines, pickleball planner for Montgomery County, MD, Parks Department. Local news re highway and transit options. Music for this episode comes from DC area rock trio Ammonite.  MoCo Pickleball: https://bit.ly/3Fwk4EL Pickleball in Montgomery Parks: https://bit.ly/3llp6NG Montgomery County Rec Pickleball: https://bit.ly/3ZQoApX

Nearly all 25 high schools in Montgomery County, MD, have greenhouses, but there is only one agriculture program and two programs on agriculture, sustainability, and the environment. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Lori Mayhew of Damascus High School and Glenn Miller of Sherwood High School about the rhetoric and reality of agriculture education programs, which are themselves part of the larger push outward career and technical education (CTE) in the school district and the state. CTE programs must generate their own money for materials and their courses generally count as electives. Music for this episode comes from DC area rock trio Ammonite. Other links: Damascus High School Ag Program, Sherwood High School C.A.S.E Program, MTA Progress Report on Purple Line 2023-03.

In early 2020, Montgomery County, MD, passed a new law which allowed owners of residential properties zoned for single-family homes to build Accessory Dwelling Units, ADUs, which are separate or adjacent structures designed for independent living, a way of allowing greater housing density. But few homeowners have taken the county up on it. To find out why, Sunil Dasgupta talks with architect Eric Saul who designed the county’s first newly permitted free-standing tiny home ADU and with former HOA board member and lawyer Erik Herron on how county law on ADUs and state law on HOAs conflict. Music for this episode comes from Baltimore-based electronic music composer Shanika Freeman: neekofreeman.bandcamp.com. MoCo ADU Guidelines: https://bit.ly/3kxMuXX

After the Maryland State Highway Administration took away two driving lanes to install new bike lanes following the deaths of two teenaged bicyclists on Old Georgetown Road, communities along the street have been up in arms. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Montgomery County Council Member Andrew Friedson and local resident Laura Chasen about rebalancing road safety and driving efficiency. Local news: apartment fire, bus shooting, and the Proud Boys hit Silver Spring. Music for this episode comes from Baltimore-based electronic music composer Shanika Freeman: neekofreeman.bandcamp.com. State Highway Analysis: https://bit.ly/3YXbdDE WABA petition: https://bit.ly/3IqOR6L #bikelanes #pedestriansafety #roaddiet #sharetheroad

With the Maryland General Assembly weighing several new gun-related bills, Sunil Dasgupta talks with State Senator Jeff Waldstreicher, vice-chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, about how Maryland can beat back the Bruen case, respond to a right-wing Supreme Court, and reduce gun violence. Local news on cannabis infrastructure. Music for this episode comes from Baltimore-based electronic music composer Shanika Freeman: neekofreeman.bandcamp.com Maryland state legislation search: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Search/Legislation. State Cannabis Workgroup materials: https://bit.ly/3I6J2Lj. #gunsense #momsdemandaction #guncontrolnow

Following an increase in fentanyl poisoning and deaths, MCPS and Montgomery County launch a full court press to try to stem the crisis. Sunil Dasgupta speaks with MCPS Medical Officer Patricia Kapunan and county anti-drug use actiovist and PTA leader Laura Mitchell to try to understand the scope of the problem and what MCPS is doing to bring it under control. Music for this episode comes from Rockville singer-songwriter Gabrielle Zwi. Check them out: https://www.gabriellezwi.com/music. Montgomery Goes Purple: https://montgomerygoespurple.org/ Montgomery County Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Advisory Council: https://bit.ly/3DU95nR Community message from Dr. Kapunan: https://bit.ly/3RJ7IOx

The successful demonstration of work from home during the pandemic has led urban cores losing population and transit ridership plummet. In this episode, Sunil Dasgupta talks with Nicholas Ramfos of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Transportation Planning Board about their “2022 State of the Commute” survey, and to Jordan Rappaport of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City about his paper predicting a housing boom in the exurbs. Guests’ views are their’s alone, not their employer’s. Music for this episode comes from Rockville singer-songwriter Gabrielle Zwi. Check them out: https://www.gabriellezwi.com/music.  Rappaport paper: https://bit.ly/3HxhCOm State of the Commute: https://bit.ly/3jyhiad

The arrival of winter snow and ice is met with millions of tons of road salt across the county, which corrodes infrastructure and automobiles goes into waterways, raising salinity levels even in drinking water and destroying plants and animals. Sunil Dasgupta walks with Abby Hileman of Izaak Walton League’s Salt Watch Program and Karl Van Neste, a local salt advocate, about the problem and what to do about it. If you feel the crunch underfoot, that’s too much salt. Music for this episode comes from Rockville singer-songwriter Gabrielle Zwi. Check them out: https://www.gabriellezwi.com/music. Montgomery County Salt Petition: https://forms.gle/mhNdVcJzBH15Jpys6

Last October, the climate group Declare Emergency blocked traffic on the Capital Beltway in an effort to force President Biden to announce a climate emergency. Sunil Dasgupta talks with Will Regan and Nora Swisher, who were arrested and jailed for that action, and Paul Severance, the group’s spokesperson to find out about their theory of victory. The episode includes a second interview Maryland state senator Ben Kramer about his claim to disruptive politics in proposing big changes to the agency responsible for land-use planning in Montgomery County. Music from Takoma Park bluesman Reggie Right-Eye and the Missing Pieces Band.