About the show
People spend far too much time looking just at the federal government. The same is true with podcasts. Instead, the discussions hosted on Across the States focus on state issues and state solutions within state capitols, by state legislators and with state policy experts.
The American Legislative Exchange Council is the country's largest voluntary membership organization of state legislators in the United States. It acts as a forum to exchange ideas and develop state-based solutions.
Across the States on social media
Episodes
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132: Combating Human Trafficking
February 6th, 2023 | 58 mins 53 secs
In recognition of January as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, ALEC’s Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development (CIED) Task Force hosted a webinar addressing this issue.
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131: How State Reforms Can Address Problems in Vision Care
January 20th, 2023 | 13 mins 6 secs
healthcare, optometric, vision care
How state legislatures can deal with problems of vision care providers. Join ALEC Senior Task Force Director Brooklyn Roberts for a solutions-oriented discussion with the American Optometric Association.
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130: Anesthesiology w/ Mike MacKinnon, Jenny Schmitt and Brooklyn Roberts
June 14th, 2022 | 38 mins 46 secs
On this episode of Across the States, Matt Fisher sits down with Jenny Schmitt, an accomplished advocate for the Nurse Anesthesiology profession, and Mike MacKinnon, the CEO of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology. Together with ALEC's Director of Health and Human Services task force, Brooklyn Roberts, they discuss the significance of anesthetics and why it plays a critical role in healthcare.
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129: Liberalism and Free Speech on Campus
June 9th, 2022 | 18 mins 21 secs
Matt Fisher hosts a conversation between Rikki Schlatt, Andrew Handel and Cherise Trump about free speech on campuses and the battle for the First Amendment in higher education.
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128: Charter Schools and Educational Freedom
June 2nd, 2022 | 30 mins 53 secs
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127: What is Blockchain? w/ Leo Briceno
May 5th, 2022 | 24 mins 4 secs
If you’ve discussed cryptocurrencies or talked to people who work in the digital technologies space, “blockchain” is a term you’ve likely heard before. But what does it actually mean? Join Leo Briceno on this episode of Across the States as he interviews Yan Pritzker, the CTO of Swan Bitcoin and a blockchain expert, and Jonathon Hauenschildchild, ALEC’s Communications and Technology Task Force Director, to learn the fundamentals of what blockchain actually is and how it works.
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126: How to Make America Safe Again w/ Sheriff Lew Evangelidis
April 28th, 2022 | 23 mins 45 secs
Criminal justice reform is an issue of growing national importance. Join Nino Marchese, ALEC Task Force Director for Civil and Criminal, and Catherine Mortensen as they sit down with Lew Evangelidis, Sheriff of Worcester County, Massachusetts, who is making his community safe again by reforming his jail and holding people accountable by following the motto "There is no dignity in dependence."
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125: Twitter, Musk, and the Feds w/ Harmeet Dhillon and Jonathon Hauenschild
April 26th, 2022 | 33 mins 49 secs
The recent acquisition of social media giant Twitter by Elon Musk has sparked vigorous debate. Joining Across the States to discuss what Musk’s purchase of Twitter means and how governments have been pressuring social media companies to remove content is Harmeet Dhillon, CEO of the Center for American Liberty and long-time civil rights and free speech attorney, and Jonathon Hauenschild, Director of the ALEC Task Force on Communications and Technology Task Force.
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124: Why are Some States Rich and Some States Poor w/ Jonathan Williams and Lee Schalk
April 21st, 2022 | 23 mins 41 secs
The American Legislative Exchange Council's Chief Economist Jonathan Williams unveils the 2022 Rich States, Poor States annual ranking of states based on how well they are governed. How does your state rank?
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123: Runaway Inflation w/ Lee Schalk and Joe Trotter
April 19th, 2022 | 16 mins 45 secs
Inflation reached record heights in March as prices soared by 8.5%. With working families paying more for gas and groceries, Lee Schalk, Vice President of Policy at ALEC, and Joe Trotter, Director of Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force, joined ALECtv and Across the States to discuss this latest development with Matt Fisher and Catherine Mortensen
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122: ALECtv: Parents Flip School Board Demanding Transparency and Accountability w/ Matthew Phipps, Matthew Spaulding, and Tony Vlastelica
April 14th, 2022 | 30 mins 36 secs
Results from the recent school board elections across Wisconsin sent a strong message to elected officials that parent empowerment matters. Joining Bill Ashworth and Catherine Mortensen on ALECtv and Across the States this week are three individuals who won seats on their respective school boards in Wisconsin, Matthew Phipps, Matthew Spaulding, and Tony Vlastelica, about what inspired them to get involved and run.
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121: Grading the Governors w/ Jonathan Williams and Lee Schalk
March 31st, 2022 | 26 mins 38 secs
Last week, the American Legislative Exchange Council released the second edition of the 2021 Laffer-ALEC Report on Economic Freedom, Grading America’s Governors. Jonathan Williams, ALEC Chief Economist and Executive Vice President of Policy, and Lee Schalk, Vice President of Policy, joined Matthew Fisher to break down the best and worst governors of America, what the report measures, and highlight the work governors and statehouses are doing in 2022.
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120: Meeting the Challenges for Agriculture in 2022 w/ Rep. Phil Green
March 24th, 2022 | 18 mins 10 secs
The Russian invasion of Ukraine combined with regulations at the state and federal level have presented a myriad of challenges for rural Americans and the agriculture industry. Join Matthew Fisher and Joe Trotter, Director of the ALEC Task Force on Energy, Environment, and Agriculture, as they sit down with Phil Green, Representative from Michigan's 84th District and Chair of the ALEC Subcommittee on Agriculture, to discuss the potential of food shortages, job losses, and more.
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119: Ukraine: On the Frontlines in Kyiv Part II w/ Mykola Vorobiov and Karla Jones
March 17th, 2022 | 26 mins 38 secs
In the second of a two-part Across the States special on the War in Ukraine, Mykola Vorobiov, Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Fellow & Journalist based in Kyiv, Ukraine, sat down for another interview on March 15, 2022, with Karla Jones, Sr. Director of the ALEC Task Force on International Relations and Federalism offers his eyewitness testimony on the situation on the ground in Ukraine as Ukrainians resist the Russian invasion and describes what Ukraine/Russia peace negotiations might look like. Mykola expresses gratitude to the US for our assistance and his opinion of Zelenskyy has evolved from cautious skepticism of the neophyte politician’s ability to command a nation at war in Part I to describing him as “The leader of the free world!” in Part II.
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118: Ukraine: On the Frontlines in Kyiv Part I w/ Mykola Vorobiov and Karla Jones
March 17th, 2022 | 36 mins 27 secs
The ongoing war of Russian aggression against Ukraine has demonstrated the brutality of Vladimir Putin and the heroism of the Ukrainian people. In in the first of a two-part special by Across the States on the war in Ukraine, Mykola Vorobiov, Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Fellow & Journalist based in Kyiv, Ukraine, joined Karla Jones, Sr. Director of the ALEC Task Force on International Relations and Federalism, on February 22, 2022. Mykola gives us a picture of life in Ukraine during the days leading up to the invasion, some helpful background on how we got to the edge of war and his predictions on the impact the impending conflict might have on his nation.
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117: CPAC 2022 Interview with John Cardillo
March 17th, 2022 | 10 mins 53 secs
At CPAC 2022 in Orlando, Florida, John Cardillo, conservative commentator, sat down for an interview with Matt Fisher at the ALEC booth to discuss a variety of issues pertaining to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and more.