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The Codcast

Tune into spirited debate, local stories, and insightful analyses with The Codcast. Hosted each week by a CommonWealth Beacon reporter, the half-hour policy podcast delves into the heart of Massachusetts’s most pressing and intriguing topics. Hear newsmakers, historians, and policy experts tackle statewide housing struggles, immigration policies, little-known histories, surprising political fights, and even take to the sea to visit rising offshore wind turbines.

The Massachusetts angle into the US Senate’s housing swing

30 mins; March 23, 2026

Immigration enforcement ramps up and school enrollment tumbles

28 mins; March 16, 2026

The energy affordability crisis: How did we get here?

33 mins; March 09, 2026

How 'universal' is universal pre-K? | with Amy Kershaw & Amy O'Leary

29 mins; March 02, 2026

Déjà vu and the MBTA fiscal cliff (with Jim Aloisi & Charlie Chieppo)

40 mins; February 23, 2026

Big tech is watching (with Kade Crockford)

31 mins; February 16, 2026

Regulating insurance amid surging health care costs (with Michael Caljouw)

33 mins; February 09, 2026

Unpacking the governor’s state budget proposal (with Viviana Abreu-Hernández and Jim Stergios)

38 mins; February 02, 2026

'It may get worse before it gets better' - Breaking down the 2026 State of the Commonwealth

28 mins; January 26, 2026

Filling the health care funding gaps (with Audrey Morse Gasteier and Alex Sheff)

34 mins; January 19, 2026

What do cities and advocates want from the Legislature in 2026?

32 mins; January 12, 2026

The 2025 CommonWealth Beacon reporter roundtable

35 mins; January 05, 2026

‘The exits are growing, the entries are slowing’ in primary care (with Zirui Song)

38 mins; December 29, 2025

Beyond the MCAS with Ed. Secretary Tutwiler

33 mins; December 22, 2025

The political and the personal of who learns classical music (ft. Élider DiPaula)

30 mins; December 15, 2025

Showdown over Boston tax rates, ft Greg Maynard

34 mins; December 08, 2025

The Legislature breaks for the holidays and ballot questions heat up

31 mins; December 01, 2025

Restoring civic discourse in an age of polarization (with Jim Peyser)

35 mins; November 24, 2025

When medical access is a legal puzzle (with Matt Selig)

35 mins; November 17, 2025

Municipal budgets at the breaking point (with Adam Chapdelaine, Mayor Kassandra Gove, and Paul Craney)

32 mins; November 10, 2025

A year after Steward closures, lost trust and betrayal

31 mins; November 03, 2025

The government shutdown's effects on the Mass. Health Connector (with Audrey Gasteier)

34 mins; October 27, 2025

Who you gonna call? (with Salem Mayor, Dominick Pangallo)

30 mins; October 20, 2025

Could the shutdown push Mass. toward recession? (with Mark Williams)

24 mins; October 13, 2025

Health care challenges in the Berkshires (with Michael Leary)

30 mins; October 06, 2025

A Super PAC longshot (with Prof. Larry Lessig)

36 mins; September 29, 2025

What health care workers are feeling on the ground

27 mins; September 22, 2025

Bracing for impact with Health and Human Services Secretary Kiame Mahaniah

31 mins; September 15, 2025

Blocking and tackling with Massport CEO Rich Davey

34 mins; September 08, 2025

Elyse Cherry talks BlueHub predatory lending lawsuit

39 mins; September 01, 2025

Restoring blighted properties is easier said than done in Western Mass.

32 mins; August 25, 2025

Can Mass. turn the health care crisis around? (with Eric Dickson)

33 mins; August 11, 2025

Trump tax bill: the good, the mixed, and the still uncertain

26 mins; August 04, 2025

Navigating the new broker’s fee law in Mass. (with Todd Kaplan)

27 mins; July 28, 2025

Massachusetts leans into artificial intelligence (with AI Hub director Sabrina Mansur)

28 mins; July 21, 2025

Reconsidering school receivership

28 mins; July 14, 2025

Keeping time with MBTA's Phil Eng

25 mins; July 07, 2025

Michelle Wu | The introvert’s guide to being mayor

33 mins; June 29, 2025

Why a quasi-independent state agency needed a quick $240 million

28 mins; June 23, 2025

Decoding the state budget with Doug Howgate

26 mins; June 16, 2025

Chief Justice Kimberly Budd makes the case for the state courts

32 mins; June 09, 2025

‘Forewarned is forearmed’ on housing voucher cuts

19 mins; June 02, 2025

How does public media survive threats from inside and out?

23 mins; May 25, 2025

Mike Kennealy on why he's running for governor

29 mins; May 18, 2025

How race and immigration status limit health care access

35 mins; May 10, 2025

No man is an island: The collective climate challenge of coastal Massachusetts

59 mins; May 04, 2025

UMass Pres. Meehan on higher ed crisis response

33 mins; April 28, 2025

The stakes of Western Mass. transit gaps

32 mins; April 20, 2025

Managed retreat: not if, but when?

31 mins; April 13, 2025

Sec. Santiago on improving veterans services

28 mins; April 06, 2025

Primary care physicians organizing union at Mass General Brigham

27 mins; March 30, 2025

Sec. Augustus on housing policy base hits

31 mins; March 23, 2025

The data purge domino effect

27 mins; March 15, 2025

The front lines of immigration policy fights

27 mins; March 09, 2025

Sen. Ed Markey and the chainsaw to democracy

29 mins; March 01, 2025

Tackling the primary care crisis in Massachusetts

33 mins; February 23, 2025

The case for banning smart phones in schools

27 mins; February 16, 2025

Josh Kraft enters Boston mayoral race

20 mins; February 09, 2025

Legislating care and cost: the health insurers' perspective

26 mins; February 02, 2025

Safeguarding diversity, access, and quality in Massachusetts' higher education

31 mins; January 26, 2025

Reckoning with Trump's inauguration on MLK day

28 mins; January 19, 2025

SJC lays down the law on MBTA Communities

30 mins; January 12, 2025

Massachusetts roundtable: a look at 2025 legislative priorities

27 mins; January 04, 2025

Massachusetts health care concerns under Trump 2.0

29 mins; December 29, 2024

Outgoing Rep. Bill Straus considers the fate of Mass. transportation

31 mins; December 21, 2024

Parking minimums are out in Somerville

27 mins; December 15, 2024

Does AI interfere in our democracy?

31 mins; December 03, 2024

How accountable care organizations serve MassHealth patients

27 mins; November 29, 2024

The next battle over abortion rights

23 mins; November 22, 2024

Introducing CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso

28 mins; November 16, 2024

Latino voters lead rightward shift in Mass.

30 mins; November 08, 2024

AG Campbell readies for Trump return

18 mins; November 08, 2024

The workforce ripple effects of Mass. ballot questions

37 mins; November 02, 2024

Balancing profit and care in Massachusetts health reform

25 mins; October 26, 2024

Striving for fairness in spending the fair share funds

25 mins; October 19, 2024

Milton's dilemma in the face of housing reform

30 mins; October 13, 2024

Rising waters: navigating flooding in Mass.

29 mins; October 06, 2024

A new leader is changing Merrimack Valley health care

33 mins; September 29, 2024

Ballot questions and battles royale

24 mins; September 22, 2024

Warren's challenger on what it means to be a Republican in Massachusetts

26 mins; September 15, 2024

Chugging towards West-East Rail

24 mins; September 08, 2024

Engagements: the business of the state?

28 mins; September 01, 2024

Teachers unions and the Democratic Party

30 mins; August 25, 2024

The long road to topless equality

23 mins; August 18, 2024

What's next for Steward's hospitals?

31 mins; August 11, 2024

Minding the wage gaps

26 mins; August 04, 2024

Doubling down on higher education

30 mins; July 28, 2024

Vineyard Offshore CEO: Time to go big

23 mins; July 21, 2024

Reconsidering happy hour

27 mins; July 14, 2024

Environmental justice in climate legislation

30 mins; July 07, 2024

Aging in community

25 mins; June 30, 2024

Moulton explains "transformative" Rail Link

23 mins; June 23, 2024

Massachusetts health care by the numbers

22 mins; June 16, 2024

Microtransit and rural accessibility

29 mins; June 09, 2024

Community-centered equitable development

27 mins; June 02, 2024

Decarbonizing New England's power grid

26 mins; May 26, 2024

Steward Health Care in court

28 mins; May 19, 2024

Senate leadership breaks down the budget

28 mins; May 12, 2024

Safety and free speech at campus protests

27 mins; May 05, 2024

Paul Grogan reflects on 50 years of civic leadership

26 mins; April 28, 2024

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