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Plain Talk

Plain Talk is a podcast hosted by Rob Port and Chad Oban focusing on political news and current events in North Dakota. Port is a columnist for the Forum News Service published in papers including the Fargo Forum, Grand Forks Herald, Jamestown Sun, and the Dickinson Press. Oban is a long-time political consultant.

458: 'We're going down a slippery slope'

58 mins; December 06, 2023

457: Redistricting lawsuit, property taxes, lawmaker emails, and policy pledges

64 hours 12 mins; December 01, 2023

456: Filmmaker describes problems with grant process

59 mins; November 29, 2023

455: How do filthy rich politicians get so filthy rich?

55 mins; November 17, 2023

454: Are North Dakota lawmakers really out of step with voters?

55 mins; November 15, 2023

453: About Doug Burgum's poll numbers

47 mins; November 10, 2023

452: Ethanol executive says carbon capture is a must

73 hours 8 mins; November 08, 2023

451: Attorney General Wrigley says predecessor didn't recuse himself from Holmberg investigation

60 hours 54 mins; November 03, 2023

450: 'It really didn't sit well with me'

33 mins; November 01, 2023

449: 'The biggest self-own in the history of partisan politics'

61 hours 50 mins; October 27, 2023

448: Special session comes to a close

28 mins; October 25, 2023

447: Josh Boschee talks special session

48 mins; October 18, 2023

446: Sen. Cramer talks House dysfunction, Israel, the SAFE Banking Act, and more

65 hours 20 mins; October 13, 2023

445: 'I've been tremendously disappointed in the actions of the PERS board'

64 hours 29 mins; October 11, 2023

444: 'Just the same clown car with a different driver'

62 hours 12 mins; October 04, 2023

443: The special session fiasco, and the 'North Dakota Poll'

60 hours 39 mins; September 29, 2023

442: Out of state petitioners and the GOP's second presidential debate

58 mins; September 28, 2023

441: Gender lawsuit and Sen. Kevin Cramer

91 hours 19 mins; September 22, 2023

440: NDGOP executive director resigns

57 mins; September 20, 2023

439: Congressman Armstrong talks impeachment and government shutdown

64 hours 49 mins; September 15, 2023

438: Lawmaker says Summit Carbon pipeline controversy is driving down corn prices

30 mins; September 13, 2023

437: North Dakota at the cutting edge of using data in our prisons

65 hours 36 mins; September 08, 2023

436: Mayor Brandon Bochenski, Sen. Kevin Cramer

83 hours 44 mins; September 01, 2023

435: Grand things at Grand Farm, and an utterly silly ballot measure

66 hours 54 mins; August 30, 2023

434: Former NDGOP chair says Burgum needs to think about dropping out of presidential race

61 hours 14 mins; August 24, 2023

433: Sen. John Hoeven and pipelines, West Fargo parking travails, and Gov. Doug Burgum's injury

89 hours 16 mins; August 23, 2023

432: Wrigley says 'we can't find anything' about Fargo shooter's motivations

64 hours 26 mins; August 18, 2023

431: 'There are no good solutions to this problem'

64 hours 16 mins; August 16, 2023

430: Presidential politics on a park bench

21 mins; August 14, 2023

429: Live (sort of) from Iowa

71 hours 14 mins; August 11, 2023

428: Our teacher shortage needs more than a band-aid fix

77 hours 56 mins; August 04, 2023

427: 'I didn't have any idea who the hell he was'

64 hours 1 min; August 02, 2023

426: Carbon capture opponents are "ignorant" and "uninformed" says coal industry spokesman

65 hours 59 mins; July 28, 2023

425: This group handled 53 suicide calls a day in North Dakota and western Minnesota in 2022

67 hours 58 mins; July 26, 2023

424: Doug Burgum's gift cards, pension board fight, NDGOP fundraising, and Minnesota's tuition program

77 hours 53 mins; July 12, 2023

423: How can North Dakota compete with Minnesota's free tuition program?

80 hours 7 mins; July 07, 2023

422: Book ban update and honoring public service

59 mins; July 05, 2023

421: Sen. Cramer talks Supreme Court rulings, carbon capture, Burgum campaign, and more

50 mins; June 30, 2023

420: Does it make sense to abolish property taxes?

76 hours 57 mins; June 28, 2023

419: Doug Burgum, public service, cryptocurrency, and other stuff

58 mins; June 23, 2023

418: Long-time Republican strategist weighs in on changes to the NDGOP

66 hours 9 mins; June 21, 2023

417: Congressman Kelly Armstrong regrets nothing

65 hours 58 mins; June 19, 2023

416: Can Democrats take advantage of NDGOP infighting?

68 hours 34 mins; June 14, 2023

415: Doug Burgum is running for president, but what's happening to his political party?

58 mins; June 09, 2023

414: What must Doug Burgum do to become a presidential contender?

52 mins; June 07, 2023

413: The history of clickbait

28 mins; May 25, 2023

412: Bismarck citizen says she was humiliated by North Dakota's legislative process

69 hours 23 mins; May 24, 2023

411: Sen. Cramer talks debt ceiling, carbon capture, and Bugrum for president

48 mins; May 19, 2023

410: Legislative leader says Fargo's stand against pronouns and bathrooms bill is "arrogance"

60 hours 32 mins; May 17, 2023

409: You're not leading if you're following the mob

62 hours 22 mins; May 10, 2023

408: Gov. Burgum says he's still considering a presidential run

38 mins; May 09, 2023

407: AG Drew Wrigley is still fired up, and Rep. Josh Boschee reflects on the legislative session

63 hours 7 mins; May 03, 2023

406: 'I'm not interested in a feud with the attorney general'

61 hours 9 mins; April 26, 2023

405: The fight over Bison World, and fake legislative days

59 mins; April 19, 2023

404: A workforce program that's also a humanitarian program

70 hours 19 mins; April 12, 2023

403: Mother of a trans child speaks out

49 mins; April 06, 2023

402: Commerce Commissioner defends hiring "Mr. Wonderful"

65 hours 42 mins; March 29, 2023

401: School lunches and the Legacy Fund

57 mins; March 22, 2023

400: Protecting patient choice, and a North Dakota Democrat switches sides

74 hours 38 mins; March 15, 2023

399: 'It's not a book ban' says state lawmaker promoting bills targeting libraries and bookstores

59 mins; March 08, 2023

398: Sports betting is already happening in North Dakota, and we can't stop it, says state lawmaker

25 mins; March 02, 2023

397: Wouldn't it be weird if North Dakotans had to buy their bibles in a porn shop?

54 mins; February 28, 2023

396: Sen. Cramer praises Biden for trip to Ukraine

49 mins; February 24, 2023

395: Former auditor weighs in on controversy

57 mins; February 22, 2023

394: North Dakota deserves better than this grandstanding, exaggerating auditor

68 hours 50 mins; February 15, 2023

393: 'We're drowning out here' says child care provider frustrated by an inept state bureaucracy

61 hours 33 mins; February 08, 2023

392: Sen. Cramer criticizes Grand Forks city officials for sticking with Fufeng project for so long

29 mins; February 03, 2023

391: Grand Forks mayor speaks out about conclusion of Fufeng controversy

61 hours 42 mins; February 01, 2023

390: Wrigley backs off call to move crime lab under BCI

103 hours 36 mins; January 25, 2023

389: 'If we want to be a food desert let's keep doing what we're doing'

62 hours 37 mins; January 24, 2023

388: Income tax cuts and prescription drug prices

64 hours 56 mins; January 18, 2023

387: Can this Republican majority govern?

34 mins; January 12, 2023

386: Sports betting, school administration bloat, and a conflict of interest

75 hours 14 mins; January 11, 2023

385: Gambling, state of the state, and new Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller

73 hours 44 mins; January 05, 2023

384: A new appropriations chair for the first time in decades

61 hours 16 mins; December 21, 2022

383: Gender-altering surgery for children?

66 hours 35 mins; December 14, 2022

382: Gov. Doug Burgum talks budget and upcoming legislative session

68 hours 12 mins; December 07, 2022

381: UND president discusses 'NODAK' trademark controversy

25 mins; December 02, 2022

380: What will North Dakota's legislature do on abortion?

67 hours 50 mins; November 30, 2022

379: "There are a big number of legislators who are tired of politics"

57 mins; November 23, 2022

378: Armstrong on winning re-election, the new Congress, and Trump

30 mins; November 16, 2022

377: Republicans can blame Trump for election night losses

61 hours 27 mins; November 09, 2022

376: Lawmaker involved in AG's office space scandal rips auditor for "gotcha audit"

62 hours 58 mins; November 02, 2022

375: Former California cop speaks in favor of North Dakota marijuana legalization

36 mins; October 31, 2022

374: North Dakota Senate candidates debate

62 hours 51 mins; October 26, 2022

373: PSC candidates Sheri Haugen-Hoffart and Trygve Hammer debate

49 mins; October 19, 2022

372: Pro-marijuana campaign responds to emergence of opposition group

66 hours 24 mins; October 12, 2022

371: Farmer's Union president opposes term limits for North Dakota

24 mins; October 10, 2022

370: Pioneer in North Dakota term limits policy says term limits measure is "anti-North Dakota"

26 mins; October 07, 2022

369: Lawmaker talks property tax proposal, attorney general office space scandal

65 hours 50 mins; October 05, 2022

368: A local candidate sounds off, and Cramer talks Jan. 6 texts

77 hours 33 mins; September 30, 2022

367: Sec. of State candidates debate election integrity, voting, and transparency

57 mins; September 28, 2022

366: Are term limits really what's right for North Dakota?

48 mins; September 23, 2022

365: Democratic-NPL ag commissioner candidate says vote for the Republican

61 hours 41 mins; September 21, 2022

364: Gov. Burgum says baby boom is driving North Dakota's child care problems

50 mins; September 16, 2022

363: Attorney General candidates clash over crime, marijuana, and more

82 hours 28 mins; September 14, 2022

362: Cramer talks Russia, student loan forgiveness, Mund, and Becker

51 mins; September 09, 2022

361: Cara Mund, Rep. Kelly Armstrong square off in first U.S. House debate

61 hours 11 mins; September 07, 2022

360: Candidate conversation with Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak

63 hours 39 mins; August 31, 2022

359: Under this proposal, most in North Dakota wouldn't pay income tax

30 mins; August 29, 2022

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