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Election 2026 is upon us. While voters around the country will determine key congressional and gubernatorial races, with Democrats anticipating big victories, perhaps the most interesting part of the election in deep-blue Massachusetts will be the nine ballot questions. To unpack both the national and statewide political landscape before Election Day, Jordan Wolman is joined by Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group, and Chris Borick, professor of political science at Lehigh University and director of Lehigh's Opinion Observatory. YouTube: https://youtu.be/eyrj_qzikgo

Understanding the nine statewide questions on the ballot in Massachusetts is a tall task, and we're here to help. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporters Jennifer Smith and Chris Lisinski wade through a mailbag full of ballot measure-related listener questions to help everyone get up to speed ahead of the November 3 election. CommonWealth Beacon's ballot question guide: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/ballot-question/ YouTube: ⁠https://youtu.be/75o93jF2dYc Follow Health or Consequences: https://pod.link/6818916003

A live debate between the campaigns supporting and opposing ballot Question 3 and the effort to bring all-party primaries to Massachusetts. Northern Essex Community College hosted this free public event. "Yes on 3" represented by Danielle Allen, Convening Chair of the Coalition for Healthy Democracy "No on 3" represented by Jordan Berg Powers, Chair of Voting Rights MA Moderated by CommonWealth Beacon senior reporters Chris Lisinski and Jennifer Smith. Submit your questions for next week's Q&A episode: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/podcasts/ballotquestions/ or call 617-858-0510 and leave a voicemail YouTube: https://youtu.be/fkPCWDEn0xw Learn more about all things ballot questions: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/ballot-question/

Telehealth providers can mail abortion pills to patients living in states where abortion is illegal. In Massachusetts for instance, such providers are shielded from legal action by states with abortion bans. Three shield law states are now being sued by attorneys general in Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana who are seeking a ruling from the Supreme Court on the legality of these shield laws. To unpack the complexities of the legal claims, Jennifer Smith is joined by Nicole Huberfeld, a professor of health law at Boston University. Guest: Nicole Huberfeld is the Edward R. Utley Professor of Health Law at Boston University, with appointments at both the School of Law and the School of Public Health. She chairs BU’s Health Law Program and is a founding co-director of the university’s Program on Reproductive Justice. Host: Jennifer Smith, senior reporter for CommonWealth Beacon Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/lEE8x3pf7Z4 Health or Consequences' new podcast feed https://pod.link/6818916003 Submit a question for the Q&A Codcast episode! https://commonwealthbeacon.org/podcasts/ballotquestions/ or call 617-858-0510 and leave a voicemail Event Page: All Party Primaries LIVE debate hosted by CommonWealth Beacon https://commonwealthbeacon.org/event/debate-all-party-primaries/

The gubernatorial race between Minogue and Healey is heating up as the candidates head into the November election. In July, medtech billionaire Minogue released his “Patients First” plan for improving health care outcomes in Massachusetts. John and Paul sat down with Minogue to drill down into the details of his plan and his broader vision for the future of the state. Guest: Mike Minogue, republican nominee for Mass. governor, former CEO of Abiomed Hosts: John McDonough of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Paul Hattis of the Lowne Institute Follow Health or Consequences: ⁠https://pod.link/6818916003⁠ CommonWealth Beacon is collecting listener questions regarding the November ballot for an upcoming podcast episode: ⁠https://commonwealthbeacon.org/uncategorized/ballotquestions/

In 2015, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston found that white households in Boston had a median wealth of $247,500, while Black households had a median wealth of close to $0. That was more than ten years ago. Now, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has released a new report examining the wealth gap across Massachusetts. Have things improved? What trends do we see in the new report? And how has the ongoing affordability crisis affected wealth disparities? Guest: Sharon Scott-Chandler, president & CEO of Action for Boston Community Development Host: Jennifer Smith, senior reporter at CommonWealth Beacon Read the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's report: www.bostonfed.org/publications/one-time-pubs/mass-echos.aspx YouTube: https://youtu.be/j4e_019F-uQ

Organized labor has been out in force on ballot measures — recently literally trying to secure bargaining power through the ballot — and that means manpower, mobilization, and money funneling toward a set of policy measures that the Legislature has waved away. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith looks at unions and direct democracy with two guests. Nick Juravich, associate professor of history and labor studies and associate director of the Labor Resource Center at UMass Boston, breaks down where we sit in the history of unions and ballot efforts. Then Chrissy Lynch, head of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, explains how the unions themselves pick their targets. Guests: Nick Juravich, associate professor of history and labor studies and associate director of the Labor Resource Center at UMass Boston Chrissy Lynch, head of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Learn more about all 9 Ballot Questions commonwealthbeacon.org/ballot-question Watch this episode on YouTube: youtu.be/vJwbgVX-pis

Gov. Maura Healey is all-in on artificial intelligence, but she's also trying to get a handle on soaring energy costs and a growing backlash to the very structures supporting the AI boom — data centers. This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporters Jennifer Smith and Jordan Wolman discuss the governor's new executive order trying to make data centers greener and more responsive to community feedback, and the paradox of pushing for expanded AI usage as communities revolt against its infrastructure. Ep 302: Head over Healey - The Horse Race https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/episode-302-head-over-healey/id1287252103?i=1000655038138 What it means that a state ai assistant will handle your data - The Codcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-means-that-a-state-ai-assistant-will-handle/id1111787258?i=1000759887725 Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/tf_m_Kxm-ec [email protected] CommonWealthBeacon.org The Codcast is supported by nationalgrid.org .

This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon reporter Hallie Claflin talks with Alecia McGregor, assistant professor of health policy and politics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Katie Murphy, president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. They dig into the consequences of recent maternity unit closures in Springfield and Methuen, discuss where Massachusetts stands in terms of maternal health care access, and detail what power the state has, if any, to regulate health service closures and consolidations.  YouTube: https://youtu.be/Pu7IwWHjAX4 Support this work: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/support/

We all need care as we age. Adam Scott leads New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior care and living communities. He says demand is rising as the Commonwealth’s average age continues to increase. This week on Health or Consequences, Scott discusses how the broader health care crisis is impacting long-term care. Guest: Adam Scott, president and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife Hosts: Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute John McDonough of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public health America's Wrong Turn: US Health Care in the Neoliberal Era by John McDonough is available now: https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53872/americas-wrong-turn Question or comment for Health or Consequences? [email protected] Support this work:  https://commonwealthbeacon.org/support/

Massachusetts voters will decide in November whether to make big changes to the state's primary elections. But it's not a first-in-the-nation experiment: several other states, including California, already have similar systems in which all candidates appear on the same primary ballot and the top two advance to the general election, even if they're from the same party. This week on The Codcast, Chris Lisinski interviews Andrew Sinclair, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California about how the Golden State's primary framework came to be, what the effects have been, and what lessons Massachusetts might take. Guest: Andrew Sinclair, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College Youtube: https://youtu.be/LPblRDOF9rY Support this work:  https://commonwealthbeacon.org/support/

For the towns around the Quabbin Reservoir, managing worsening drought seasons comes with a bitter irony: they surround the essential clean water source for distant Greater Boston, and that means harsher water restrictions than the populous downstream cities. This week on The Codcast, Jennifer Smith talks with fellow CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jordan Wolman about his coverage of Quabbin watershed communities and their push for more state support. https://commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/towns-surrounding-the-quabbin-reservoir-protect-the-water-for-2-7-million-people-in-eastern-mass-theyre-getting-financially-starved-in-the-process/ https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/state-government/healey-in-new-letter-urges-mwra-to-meet-the-pressing-needs-of-quabbin-reservoir-communities/ Youtube: [email protected] CommonWealthBeacon.org

When it comes to rebuking federal immigration actions, states’ options are limited. This week on The Codcast, Jennifer Smith and Iván Espinoza-Madrigal of Lawyers for Civil Rights discussed the PROTECT Act's new limits on ICE enforcement, the fallout from the Temporary Protected Status termination for Haiti, and the federal lawsuit challenging the state's in-state tuition law for immigrant students — and what, if anything, Massachusetts can actually do about any of it. Guest: Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights Host: Jennifer Smith, senior reporter for CommonWealth Beacon Related Articles https://commonwealthbeacon.org/the-codcast/health-care-workers-struggle-to-navigate-closures-and-immigration-fears/ https://commonwealthbeacon.org/education/trump-doj-sues-mass-over-immigrant-tuition-law/ https://commonwealthbeacon.org/immigration/supreme-court-paves-way-for-rollback-of-tps-protections-for-haitians-syrians/ Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/0TaiK2dSJpY Wolman's article on Quabbin Reservoir: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/environment/its-like-the-hunger-games-quabbin-reservoir-towns-take-funding-fight-to-beacon-hill-amid-extended-drought/ Credits: Footage "Governor Healey signs the PROTECT Act" -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtOc8AGGLn0 Production, original music - Charlie KoczelaEditing - Camila UlianCover photo Norfolk County Courthouse, Dedham, Massachusetts - Kenneth C. Zirkel

The traditional even-year July 31 deadline that marks an end to formal legislative business looks a little different this time around, but lawmakers still used the date to finish off a flurry of significant action. In a special bonus episode of The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporters Jennifer Smith and Chris Lisinski catch you up on why the significance of the deadline has changed, what topics are primed for legislative action in the remainder of the term, and what can still happen in the next five months before the term officially ends.

Rising power demand, ambitious clean energy targets, the rise of artificial intelligence, and skyrocketing electricity prices are colliding to create a profound moment of disruption in New England's ability to plan for the needs of the future while keeping the lights on today. Dr. Vamsi Chadalavada, president and CEO of ISO New England, the operator of the region's energy system, joins CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jordan Wolman to discuss how he's balancing it all. Youtube: https://youtu.be/wGWbTDdgBWc Credits: Cover photo ISO control rooms - courtesy of ISO New England Video Production by Camila Ulian Music & Audio by Charlie Koczela CommonWealthBeacon.org [email protected]