PODCAST · news
Behind The Candidates
by Ryan Lukowicz
Join me as I go behind each candidate through conversations to learn about where they stand on policies and learn more about their personal story. Political commentators and young voices will also be highlighted to gain perspectives on current issues with the goal of educating citizens about each level of government.
Episodes
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Episode 139 Quick Update
Hello from Roger Williams University! My new home for the fall. I’m excited to give a personal update in this episode about how I’ve moved into college successfully, as well as an update on the elections coming up this fall, including the timing and races to watch.
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Episode 138 House District 16 Discussion
State representative Brandon Potter and Cranston is being challenged by Democrat Joseph Graziano in a primary. We hash out the issues in this discussion. The timestamps are below.. Budget 1:08 Education 15:36 Lightning Round 29:15 Health Care 35:21 Infrastructure 52:10
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Episode 137 Senate District 25 Discussion
Welcome to A Discussion With the Candidates! After Senator Lombardo passed away from bladder cancer in February, there is now a Democratic primary to fill his seat. The candidates are Pam Leary, Andrew Demetri, and Richard Delfino. The timestamps to listen to this podcast in segments are below....
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Episode 136 Janie McLellan
I’m honored to have my Aunt on the podcast who is a Human Resources Professional. She works for Tufts University and discusses the importance of diversity, the role that HR plays in a workplace and gives advice to young people.
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Episode 135 Biden Steps Aside
The Democrat party now feels more unified after Sunday’s news as Kamala Harris becomes the presumptive nominee. Tune in for my thoughts, as well as some audio from Tim White and Ted Nisi.
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Episode 134 Trump Assassination Fallout + Republican National Convention Updates
After the disastrous debate performance by President Biden, the Republican party had been pretty quiet up until this week when Donald Trump faced an assassination attempt and the party has unified around him. Tune in for the latest updates and analysis.
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Episode 133 Jamie Miller
Welcome! There is not a better time to dive into national politics. Jamie has served in rolls across the spectrum in the national republican party and gives his analysis on this year‘s election. He is also an author and a blogger.
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Episode 132 Liam Drake
Liam joins me on this episode from North Carolina! He gives his pitch for the state. We also discussed the use of social media and his amazing talent for the piano!
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Epasode 131 Kelly O'Malley
Welcome back! My neighbor joined me for this episode who is a Social Worker, professor at Salve Regina University, and an advocate for all to live better lives! Join us as we discuss how Covid has changed the profession and advice for those seeking help or considering Social Work as a career.
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Episode 130 How AI Can Help The Blind + Bias In Media
This episode includes a hodgepodge of topics. They are connected based on being relevant topics in 2024 such as how to appropriately use social media, where artificial intelligence is the most useful and what to look out for when spotting bias.
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Episode 129 Can AI Help In Gathering Information About National And Rhode Island Politics?
This episode is a bit out of left field, but I wanted to see how much artificial intelligence could tell me about recent current events and politics if I was hypothetically, a person unaware about the topics. A spoiler alert is that it struggled when it came to more specific and local…
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Episode 128 Andrew Puthumana
Andrew is from Missouri and he persuades us on why we should give the state a shot. I also learned about his amazing passions for healthcare and serving people. We also discuss possible political implications of the international conflicts going on right now.
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Episode 127 Senior Project Update and College Announcement
Get an update on my bill which would change high school physical education requirements in this episode. I also play my testimony for the House Education Committee. Lastly, I announce where I committed to go to college last week.
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Episode 126 Austin Rios
Austin is a delegate from South Carolina. Find out about the amazing work he does in school such as increasing spirit through the morning announcements. Austin also discusses how an experience with his Spanish teacher made him want to pursue education as a career and no surprise we recapSenate...
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Episode 125 Josh Blake
Josh represented Louisiana during the program in Washington DC. Find out why he loves New Orleans so much and discover the connection between theater and politics. He also gives his advice for students taking standardized tests in high school.
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Episode 124 James Thibault
James from New Hampshire joins me on this episode of the podcast. Find out what it’s like for him to be the chairman of a Youth Advisory Council, how he met President Trump, and we discussed the issues with financial aid right now which all current Seniors can relate to.
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Episode 123 Dominic Muratore
My Rhode Island co delegate Dominic joins me on this episode to discuss Rhode Island pride, meeting the President at the White House and what society can do about health equity.
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Episode 122 Marisa D’Amico
Marisa is a delegate from Wisconsin who joins me on the podcast. We discussed the importance of voting, helping minority communities and her interest in international law. Senate Youth is also brought back up as well, including a Supreme Court recap and what we learned.
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Episode 121 Faith you
Faith from Montana joins me on the podcast. She is another delegate from the Senate Youth Program and was one of our keynote speakers. We discussed that process, equitable healthcare and of course food again!
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Episode 120 Aanya Shah
Aanya was one of the delegates who joined me on the United States Senate Youth Program representing Michigan. She discusses her work banning childhood marriage, her passion about helping students who have disabilities, and we discuss highlights of our week in Washington. Stay tuned for more...
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Episode 119 - My Senior Project Overview
Happy new year and thank you in advance for listening! I look forward to educating you on the bill I’m proposing which includes amending the physical education graduation requirements slightly for high school students. This will help kids with disabilities to feel more connected and increase the...
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Episode 118 2023 recap
It feels good to be back, talking about big local stories, national stories, only in Rhode Island moments, biggest winners, or losers and predictions for 2024. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane as I discussed 2023.
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Episode 117 How Fantasy Football and Democracy Collided
I share a story in this episode about how it was a fun and fair process approving the payment structure in my fantasy football league and discuss what lessons can be learned from something like this.
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Episode 116 Senate District 1 General Election Debate
It was my pleasure to host this debate for the upcoming special election in the state Senate with my good friend, Raymond Baccari in person at the Rhode Island college TV studio. The election is November 7 and the district includes providences Smith Hill neighborhood. Topics covered include…
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Episode 115 - Five Reasons That Gabe Amo Won In Yesterday’s Primary
After initially being surprised at the results last night, I am explaining why, after going through them in my head they make sense and people probably underestimated Amo the whole time.
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Episode 114 -CD1 race questions
Anyone who tells you they know who is going to win in tomorrow’s primary is either lying or a genius! I break down what I will be watching for tomorrow night as the results come in. Can’t wait to do analysis after this race is over!
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Episode 113 CD1 Primary Overview
This serves as a basic overview of the top tier candidates for those who have not been paying attention to this race. Listen to our forums for more in depth coverage of where all 11 stand on issues.
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Episode 112 CD 1 Forum Session 2
This is the second session of the forum featuring Gabe Amo, Stephanie Beaute, Spencer Dickinson, John Gonzolves, Sabina Matos and Anna Quezada. Time Stamps: Intro - 0:00 What differentiates you from your opponents - 1:00 Addressing gun violence - 13:46 Reproductive rights - 30:36 Economy - 43:54...
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Episode 112 CD 1 Forum Session 1
This is the first of two sessions which Raymond and I moderated for the first congressional district special election. The candidates include Walter Berbrick, Sandra Cano, Don Carlson, Steven Casey, Aaron Regunberg, and Allen Waters. Time Stamps: Intro - 0:00 What differentiates you from your...
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Episode 111 The EACA Is Now Law
I recap the historic abortion bill that passed in Rhode Island this week, as well as discuss other bills that may be passed before the end of the session.
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episode 110 congressional Candidate Aaron Regunberg
This is the first of hopefully many interviews with the candidates in the first congressional district! Erin joins me to discuss the current state of the race, his priorities and addresses criticisms he has received in the campaign.
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Episode 109 Special Election Update and General Assembly Watch
A lot is covered in this episode. It’s been a while since I have done a monologue on the first congressional district special election, including some drama this week. I also give an update on the general assembly and there is a special shout out.
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Epasode 108 Miranda Oakley
Miranda joins me on this episode to discuss her blog, her canvas experiences, and the importance of giving people with disabilities a seat at the table to craft policy. It was a great conversation!
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Episode 107 Rhode Island Current Editor And Chief Janine Weisman
Jeannine joins me to discuss her background, launching a new online news website, and she gives her thoughts about journalism changing.
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Episode 106 Secretary of State Greg Amore
The secretary joins me to discuss his background, the special election, the importance of civics education, and his intentions for the Rhode Island history Museum. We had a great and well-rounded conversation.
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Episode 105 Chris Bove and Jake Milner
Chris and Jake are both college students who are studying political science at the University of Rhode Island. They discuss interning for a congressman, being in student Senate and how they became interested in politics. This is a great chat with two young people who are civically engaged!
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Episode 104 The Unexpected Open Seat and Special Election
Happy new year! It feels great to be podcasting again! I’m discussing the big news that broke last week, and what will be the fall out from it as well as what I will be covering the podcast over the next several months.
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Episode 103 The Year In Review And Looking Ahead
In this final episode of 2022, I look back and reflect on the year. I answer several questions which are listed below. Thanks for making this podcast a part of your life. I will see you next year for more content! One. What was the top local story of the year? Two. What was the top national story...
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Episode 102 2022 Elections Recap Part 4 - Scott Bernstein On The National Landscape
It’s great to have Scott back on the podcast to discuss what happened this election cycle nationally. We cover the second congressional district, how the red wave did not happen, and what legislation could be passed in the next two years.
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Episode 101 Introduction to the Rhode Island Legislative Branch
This episode is for all of my listeners who are not as familiar with the Rhode Island General assembly. I will educate you on the basics.
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Episode 100 Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo
We made it! This is the one hundredth episode of my podcast. I am celebrating the occasion with a special guest. The Secretary talks about her background, how she works with Congress and find out what her biggest priority was in the first half of this term.
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Episode 99 2022 Elections Recap Part 3 - State Representative Elect Megan Cotter
Megan Cotter, who is the state representative elect for district 39, joints me to discuss how she won as a Democrat in a rural district and if that will impact how she votes at the state house. We also discussed policies such as Medicare for all, raising the minimum wage and climate change.
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Episode 98 2022 Elections Recap Part 2 - Young Voices Round Table
This is a special episode with three of my closest friends who care about politics just as much as I do. Join us as we recap and analyze the results. Due to the length of this episode, time stamps are below in case you want to skip around between topics. National election results - 2:30 CD2…
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Episode 97 2022 Elections Recap Part 1 - The Second Congressional District Story
It was the most watched race in Rhode Island and many called it a tossup. Listen to learn about what happened in Rhode Island’s second congressional district after Jim Langevin decided to retire earlier this year.
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Episode 96 Senate District 35 Debate
This is the first of hopefully many debates for the General Assembly! This was recorded on September 25 at 10 AM on zoom. This is especially a great listen if you live in the district which includes parts of North Kingstown, South Kingstown and East Greenwich. Thank you to the candidates for...
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Episode 95 common cause Rhode Island executive Director John Marion
My apologies for any audio issues in this episode as my soundboard is having some issues. The podcast goes on though with a great conversation about open government, voting rights and elections talk! I hope you learn as much as I did from listening!
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Episode 94 2022 Rhode Island Primaries Primer Part 3 – My Final Thoughts
This is it! It’s the final countdown before the primary in Rhode Island tomorrow! I offer up some final thoughts before the big day!
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Episode 93 2022 Rhode Island Primaries Primer Part 2 - Different Perspectives
Nine perspectives to be exact in eight audio messages! Listen to this episode and find out what political reporters, analysts and commentators are thinking about when it comes to the major Rhode Island primaries!
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Episode 92 2022 Rhode Island Primaries Primer Part 1 - Polling
Excited to kick off this series examining the different polls for the primaries coming up on September 13. Polling is an important part of elections because it gives a neutral perception of where candidates stand and shows how much support they have. Learn more about the polling for each race in...
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Episode 91 Rhode Island Democratic Party Director Emily Howe
Emily joins me to discuss her story, her vision for the Democratic Party and addresses concerns that progressives have raised.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Join me as I go behind each candidate through conversations to learn about where they stand on policies and learn more about their personal story. Political commentators and young voices will also be highlighted to gain perspectives on current issues with the goal of educating citizens about each level of government.
HOSTED BY
Ryan Lukowicz
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Behind The Candidates have?
Behind The Candidates currently has 139 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Behind The Candidates about?
Join me as I go behind each candidate through conversations to learn about where they stand on policies and learn more about their personal story. Political commentators and young voices will also be highlighted to gain perspectives on current issues with the goal of educating citizens about each...
How often does Behind The Candidates release new episodes?
Behind The Candidates publishes regularly with 139 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Behind The Candidates?
You can listen to Behind The Candidates on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Behind The Candidates?
Behind The Candidates is created and hosted by Ryan Lukowicz.
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