e86: A Conversation with Oliver Ma, Candidate for CA Lt. Governor

🧑🏽 Your Host, Bruce Reyes‑ChowRev. Bruce Reyes-Chow is a 3rd Generation, GenX, Filipino/Chinese American and an active speaker, writer, coach, and podcaster on topics of faith, leadership, activism, culture, race, and technology. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), he also works with organizations on immigration, decarceration, and Palestinian liberation. He is the author of six books, most recently Everything Good about God is True: Choosing Faith with his next book, "Prophets, Priests, Pastors & Poets: Being and Becoming the Ressurected Christ," due out in Fall 2026. You can subscribe to his newsletter and podcast, The Amalgamation at www.reyes-chow.com and connect on most social platforms via @breyeschow. He and his wife live a thriving empty-nesting life in the San Francisco Bay Area.✊🏽 About Our GuestOliver Ma is a civil rights lawyer, democratic socialist, and candidate for California Lieutenant Governor. He grew up in an immigrant family in Southern California, and a defining moment came in middle school when his grandmother was racially profiled and detained by federal agents on a morning walk — making Oliver, a kid, the one filing paperwork and finding bail. That experience sent him to UC Berkeley, then Harvard Law, then the ACLU of Southern California.When the first Trump-era immigration raid swept through Bakersfield — and a federal court injunction to stop it was simply ignored — Oliver concluded the courts alone can't protect people. So he's running for office.This episode covers a lot of ground: the surprisingly substantial powers of the Lieutenant Governor's office, immigration and ICE detention, Palestine and divestment, housing justice, reproductive rights, trans rights, campaign finance reform, and what's actually wrong with the Democratic Party. Oliver is the first candidate in California history endorsed by the California DSA for a statewide race, and he is exactly who you hope he'll be.You'll also find out about his deeply nerdy Total War habit and the seven-hour Spanish playlist a coworker made him.Connect with the campaign:oliverma2026.comhttps://www.mobilize.us/olivermaforlieutenantgovernor/event/836954/https://secure.actblue.com/donate/electolivermaConnect with Oliver on the Socials:TikTok: OliverMa2026 - https://www.tiktok.com/@oliverma2026Instagram: OliverForCa - https://www.instagram.com/oliverforca/Facebook: OliverMa2026 - https://www.facebook.com/oliverma2026/YouTube: OliverMa2026 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE2VHOs41sE💌 Thanks for Listening!The Amalgamation Podcast, paired with The Amalgamation Newsletter, focuses on social justice, pop culture, digital community, left-leaning faith, and more. With humor, kindness, and conviction, each episode shares passions and projects and invites the listener to join Bruce and his guests to co-conspire for good. It is hosted by Bruce Reyes-Chow, produced by Emmie Hix, and edited by Dessiree McFarland, with music by Merissa Magdael-Lauron. The Amalgamation Podcast Bookshop Bookstore and all show inquiries can be sent to: [email protected].🏷 Tags / Hashtags#TheAmalgamationPodcast #TheAmalgamation #brucereyeschow #election2026 #oliverma #democraticsocialist