This is Gavin Newsom - And, This is A Fight To Protect Our Rights With Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed

00:00:00.000 So I just arrived back here in Montgomery, Alabama. I was here about a year and a half ago with my

00:00:05.660 family, with my kids. I thought it was essential that they come here in the heart of the civil

00:00:09.720 rights movement. So much of what we frankly have taken for granted, perhaps no longer for granted

00:00:16.040 today as it relates to Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Act, all came here. Selma, Montgomery,

00:00:21.440 1955 to 1965. What happened with the Civil Rights Act, what happened with the Voting Rights Act,

00:00:26.840 and what's happening now in the United States

00:00:28.940 as it relates to the vandalism of those acts

00:00:31.660 and the regression of rights that we're seeing

00:00:34.300 all across this country.

00:00:36.320 This is the center of that history,

00:00:39.820 present, and our future,

00:00:42.200 this moral moment in our country.

00:00:45.160 This is Gavin Newsom.

00:00:48.840 Ladies and gentlemen,

00:00:50.300 this is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:52.680 Guaranteed human.

00:00:53.640 the new red bull dragon berry and tropic berry energizers now at mcdonald's made with freeze

00:01:01.560 dried fruit and an electric burst of flavor the all-new red bull energizers now at mcdonald's

00:01:09.320 this product may not be right for you high in caffeine details at mcdonald's.ca and

00:01:12.720 participating canadian restaurants excluding quebec i survived nine months in captivity

00:01:17.820 and i've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them

00:01:23.640 I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are The Survivor Files.

00:01:27.240 Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced.

00:01:34.780 These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive.

00:01:38.620 Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:01:46.760 On the new podcast, Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman.

00:01:53.060 I can wait four hours for the next bus, or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle.

00:01:59.200 I chose option B.

00:02:00.820 I'm Julie Pinheiro, and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first.

00:02:08.100 I'm on a mission to reclaim the word solita, trading the pity for possibility.

00:02:13.380 Listen to Solita on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:02:18.820 if your bookshelf and your for you page are equally important to your personality

00:02:26.140 welcome home pro society is a weekly podcast that's part book club part group chat for anyone

00:02:32.340 who thinks pride and prejudice and love island deserve the same level of discourse each week

00:02:36.860 we're connecting the dots between books the internet and pop culture with your favorite

00:02:40.900 writers book talk creators and plenty of overthought opinions yeah i'm obsessed i'm

00:02:45.920 Listen to Pro Society on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:02:53.040 Our hometown is not a test tube.

00:02:55.720 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town.

00:03:01.740 Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land.

00:03:05.440 We need cities on a shining hill.

00:03:07.380 This is Our Town, a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back. 0.97

00:03:15.320 I guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you?

00:03:18.400 Listen to Our Town on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 0.97

00:03:27.480 Welcome to Governor of California, Gavin Newsom.

00:03:32.020 Thank you for being here.

00:03:34.680 Thank you.

00:03:36.180 Well, listen, you saved me and them.

00:03:40.200 I thought I needed to give you some time to, you know, cool off with this Alabama humidity.

00:03:42.720 No, it's good. I put my jacket on.

00:03:44.400 I mean, I'm still impressed you got that tie on after that.

00:03:47.280 Well, I'm sweating bullets under here.

00:03:48.780 Don't don't don't don't get me confused.

00:03:52.680 Listen, first, we're just glad to have you here and really, really excited

00:03:57.780 for people who turned out.

00:03:58.920 We know it's the middle of the work day with not a lot of notice.

00:04:02.020 And we're grateful for everybody that's coming here today.

00:04:04.920 We're grateful for the Equal Justice Initiative

00:04:07.920 lending us this space.

00:04:09.000 And I know you're going to be talking with the founder, executive director,

00:04:12.420 ceo brian stevenson uh here shortly um but i just wanted before i get to just a few questions that

00:04:20.340 i have i just want to ask why did you want to come back uh to alabama and why'd you want to

00:04:26.660 come to montgomery uh should be mandatory i mean it it's uh i mean come on you know i

00:04:39.620 We were talking a little bit last night.

00:04:42.600 I see some familiar faces from the conversation we're having last night.

00:04:45.980 I mean, that sound is kind of the sound of screams coming from all across the globe,

00:04:52.200 not just across the country, of people that are just ripping, you know,

00:04:57.820 like how could this, how could we be where we are today?

00:05:02.400 How did this happen?

00:05:05.340 And it's happening on our watch.

00:05:07.060 society becomes how we behave we are our behaviors and we have to own that i was down on the 405

00:05:15.280 freeway in los angeles a few years ago and there's a big billboard any of you been to la

00:05:20.080 on the 405 freeway you'll appreciate um on the freeway there's a big billboard and it says

00:05:26.480 you're not stuck in traffic and you're like what the hell is that it you know in about 45 anyone

00:05:33.880 been on the 405 yeah and in about 40 minutes later you get about a hundred

00:05:39.880 yards closer to the billboard where it says you're not stuck in traffic and in

00:05:45.040 parentheses below it says you are traffic makes you start thinking again

00:05:53.260 society becomes how we behave so this has happened on our watch and I've

00:05:57.900 thought a lot about that what can I do more what can I do better in this moment

00:06:02.920 you know how are we living in a world where they these forces of restoration

00:06:07.220 they want to bring us back as we said last night to a pre-1960s world

00:06:12.080 america now in reverse rights regression across the spectrum of issues most recently on voting

00:06:21.120 rights what can i do more what can i do better and what better place that has done more than any

00:06:29.940 other community in this country than coming back here, the moral center of that movement. And so

00:06:38.840 it's a privilege to come back here, but it's also a necessity so I can find my why. As a father,

00:06:47.880 yeah, as a governor, but just as a person that cares deeply about our faith and future. And so

00:06:55.820 it's wonderful to be here because one thing I do know, the future is in front of us, but it's also

00:07:02.180 most importantly inside of us. It's those decisions that we'll make that will determine that fate and

00:07:07.460 future. Thank you. Here in Montgomery, I hear people every day who are trying to afford their

00:07:14.060 rent, get their kids into good schools, find decent health care, and make sure the next generation has

00:07:21.080 more opportunity than they did i'm sure as a former mayor you heard that as a former lieutenant

00:07:27.480 governor as a current governor you hear the same things in california people may vote differently

00:07:34.920 uh in our states uh but their needs aren't all that different republican or democrat

00:07:41.320 is the real test of leadership simply whether you can deliver and how do you deliver and what do you

00:07:48.040 deliver? Well, it's all about delivering. It's all about results. People are rightfully outraged by

00:07:55.060 the status quo. The bargain no longer works. Gigs up. You know, I mean, let's wake up. It's

00:08:03.740 been a 20, 30, 40, 50 year trend line. That's now a screaming headline. Someone shared with me,

00:08:10.940 we're in the 250th anniversary of our founding fathers, the best of the Roman Republic, the best

00:08:15.200 of greek democracy co-equal branches of government popular sovereignty this notion of the rule of

00:08:21.760 law back to that in the spirit of the greeks there was an historian around 50 a.d two thousand years

00:08:30.640 ago plutarch who warned the athenians that the imbalance between the rich and the poor

00:08:37.700 here's warning the athenians two thousand years ago the imbalance between the rich and the poor

00:08:44.060 is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics fast forward today 10 percent of people

00:08:53.920 own two-thirds the wealth 10 percent those same 10 percent own 93 percent of the stock market

00:08:58.840 you know trump thinks that's you know that's the measure of his success or our collective success

00:09:07.780 10% of people, 93% of all the equities.

00:09:11.940 A 30-year-old today, for the first time in American history,

00:09:16.080 a 30-year-old today is doing worse than his or her parents.

00:09:18.640 That's never happened in the history of this country.

00:09:21.560 That is a five-alarm fire.

00:09:24.700 At the same time, we've got a president

00:09:29.580 who tried to light democracy on fire,

00:09:32.120 tried to wreck this country on January 6th.

00:09:35.160 And so this issue around democracy and the issue of around democratizing our economy, to me, are the same issue.

00:09:46.900 And it's foundational at this moment.

00:09:49.900 Capitalism as we know it, and I'm not arguing for nostalgia and I'm not arguing for socialism.

00:09:56.940 But I'm not arguing for capitalism as we know it.

00:09:59.820 It's just not working.

00:10:00.980 I mean, you're living in a state that still has $7.25 minimum wage.

00:10:05.260 I can't even believe that.

00:10:08.700 You're in a state where the governor with a simple pen and paper

00:10:13.080 can provide health care to tens of thousands of people

00:10:17.200 by expanding Medicaid with a simple pen and paper. 0.92

00:10:19.660 But she won't do it.

00:10:21.440 She won't do it.

00:10:22.900 So the lens to which we operate, and I imagine, Mr. Mayor,

00:10:26.320 you do the same thing, it's the question we have to ask

00:10:29.120 and answer every single day. And that is, does it lower costs and does it increase wages?

00:10:35.480 Does it lower costs? Does it increase wages? And that's the way we view legislation. That's the

00:10:41.720 way we review and reflect on our results. Because results are all that matter. You're done with the

00:10:47.920 rhetoric. I imagine if you're out there talking about how much money you've spent on something,

00:10:51.540 people are like, here he goes again. They want to see results. We talked about proof of concept.

00:10:57.060 They want to see the receipts. They want to see the end. And so that to me, it's about a liberalism in the vernacular of, you know, 250th anniversary, a liberalism that builds. Trump, he wrecks, you know, and I said this yesterday.

00:11:13.980 I mean, Trump's an invasive species and nothing else like it. 0.80

00:11:21.100 He is not only trying to wreck this country, he's also trying, and you know this,

00:11:26.860 intimately trying to rig the election in open plain sight.

00:11:32.160 And forgive me for deviating on this.

00:11:34.860 I cannot overstate this.

00:11:38.260 You know, we talked a little bit last night about what we did in California with Proposition 50.

00:11:42.420 This was an initiative in response to what happened in Texas. We decided to fight fire

00:11:46.660 with fire, no more being passive at a moment where we need to be more forceful and clear in

00:11:52.940 terms of the future. So we stepped up, we stepped in, and we rewrote our maps, but we did it with

00:11:57.500 the voters. We didn't do it, as I said, Mr. Mayor, at a special session or at midnight. We didn't do

00:12:03.140 it to you. We did it with you and for you. Very different construct. And we did it deeply mindful

00:12:10.680 of section two deeply mindful of our past our present and our future

00:12:18.100 what i didn't say last night was on election day and this was just a few months ago at dodger

00:12:25.920 stadium down in los angeles donald trump sent the bortac teams down there these are the border

00:12:31.000 patrol tactical units the guys dressed up as if they're out there cosplaying in some foreign

00:12:35.780 excursion with the Apache helicopters. They sent them out the morning of the election

00:12:41.180 to chill the turnout, sending a message to our diverse communities, don't bother to even 0.99

00:12:49.220 show up. You saw yesterday the comments from the Homeland Security Director saying

00:12:55.940 that is exactly what they intend to do this November, to send out the Border Patrol tactical

00:13:02.320 units to send out ICE across the country in and around polling places. He says, we're not

00:13:08.340 ruling it out. I said at the time last November, it was a preview of things to come. I said even

00:13:13.900 earlier when we kicked off our campaign for Prop 50, there were dozens of people, masked men

00:13:19.760 in front of, we are at little Tokyo. This is a sacred site in Southern California

00:13:24.860 called the Democracy Center. It's where we tragically interned the Japanese. It's a sacred 0.99

00:13:30.860 site we kicked off this campaign we called a campaign for democracy and we had about a thousand

00:13:37.580 people faith leaders community leaders elected representatives of all stripes and there were

00:13:43.600 dozens of masked men out front no mark mark cars no markings on their face masks no badges

00:13:53.960 and then a guy who looked literally as if he just came off the set of a burbank movie

00:13:59.760 from the 1930s by the name of greg bovino the former head of ice

00:14:06.260 trying to intimidate people from walking in to the event a poor guy was selling strawberries

00:14:13.920 across the street disappeared collateral damage we said at the time that was a preview of things

00:14:20.100 to come well you saw greg bovino in chicago you saw bovino in dc you saw him in minnesota

00:14:27.060 until even Trump had to fire him

00:14:29.920 after two people were gunned down and murdered.

00:14:33.100 That has happened in the United States of America in 2026.

00:14:38.520 It's happened on our watch.

00:14:40.920 For things to change, we have to change.

00:14:44.060 It's not what happens to us.

00:14:45.520 It's how we respond to what happens to us.

00:14:48.480 We have to be more clear and more forceful at this moment.

00:14:53.340 and we have to recognize we have agency at this moment as well goes back to your opening question

00:15:00.200 talk about agency I mean well what's Montgomery represent right the ability for us to step in

00:15:09.220 and step into that void of leadership to assert ourselves and you're seeing it all across the

00:15:14.640 country and it's giving me hope and optimism you see at the no kings rally you've seen it

00:15:19.180 people showing up in these special elections you see them showing up for elections for school boards

00:15:24.540 in record numbers people haven't given in you haven't given into the cynicism fear and anxiety

00:15:29.580 you wouldn't be here so thank you and so this is the moment what it calls for clarity conviction

00:15:35.500 authenticity a recognition of the crisis that's going on to make opportunities a little bit to

00:15:41.900 deal with the end of the month to make it a little less painful to reconcile an economy that for most

00:15:48.380 of us is two jobs and a go fund me page that's not going to work anymore and so this is fundamentally

00:15:57.900 at the core of the conversation we just had and the tour we just had dire structural

00:16:06.780 institutional change that's required we can no longer afford to play in the margin

00:16:10.860 on the issue of affordability the economy our fate and future

00:16:18.380 We were running behind a little bit because we toured some of these civil rights sites.

00:16:25.540 We went to Dex Avenue, Parsonage.

00:16:29.960 We went by the church.

00:16:30.980 We went by Centennial Hill.

00:16:32.900 And the governor really was interested and wanted to learn more than he already knew about these places and about the people.

00:16:40.700 And I bring that up because all along the way, we saw people with courage.

00:16:46.440 We saw people who did things beyond their offices or their titles.

00:16:52.220 And we're here with great faith leaders in our community across the state,

00:16:55.680 great elected officials, great community organizational leaders, young people,

00:17:00.960 and people who are change agents, everyone in this room.

00:17:04.160 And so we talk a lot about courage.

00:17:07.640 In your first month as mayor, you had to make a decision about same-sex marriage.

00:17:15.760 And it's one that a lot of people said would end your career.

00:17:20.180 And in this day and time, we haven't seen a lot of courage coming out of Washington, D.C.

00:17:26.120 We haven't seen a lot of fight coming out of some of our positions of power in corporate America.

00:17:34.000 Some of our key institutions in academia have all folded like a cheap suit.

00:17:39.840 the question that I have for you is one when you had to make that decision your first month as mayor

00:17:47.020 to legalize same-sex marriage would you do that again and the second part of my question is

00:17:54.780 how do we all find that type of courage may not be that issue but it may be voting rights

00:18:01.680 it may be on immigration it may be on access to health care it may be on affordability

00:18:08.560 how do we find that and why do you think right now it's in seemingly short supply

00:18:14.620 don't get me started you by the way if you're bored you want to daydream a little bit go to my

00:18:21.280 uh patriot site because i'm selling knee pads on my patriot site

00:18:28.020 by the way they sold out just like our corporations have sold out just like our

00:18:33.580 law firms have sold out just like our universities sold out and just like so many in the media

00:18:37.660 have sold out to donald trump by the way and i'm serious about that you can check it out

00:18:42.820 we have some new trump signature series knee pads that are available a special edition

00:18:48.440 because i'm so damn frustrated with that point to watch folks power and influence sell out

00:18:57.620 at this time when harvard's selling out and columbia's selling out they tried to get my

00:19:04.280 university you cease system to sell out we didn't we fought back they took 1.2 billion dollars from

00:19:10.560 that university we're fighting come on this is a smash and grab presidency it's a corruption story

00:19:20.560 out in the open it's an extraordinary extraordinary thing now as it relates to the issue of courage

00:19:28.180 what i love is sort of i have the roger banister theory of life some of you may remember who roger

00:19:32.880 Bannister. There he is. He's the guy who broke the four-minute mile. And for all human history,

00:19:40.020 no one had ever broken the four-minute mile because it couldn't be done. It was well

00:19:44.160 established. The human body couldn't run that fast. But he didn't know that. No one told him

00:19:50.000 that. So he broke the four-minute mile. And lo and behold, within a matter of months, dozens of

00:19:56.240 other people broke the four-minute mile. Turns out it was just a limiting belief. So I'm coming in,

00:20:02.220 mr mayor as a young mayor and i didn't know what i didn't know and so i just thought it was wrong

00:20:10.580 to have second class relationships on the basis of who you love basis of god's will

00:20:18.220 you know domestic partnerships are not the same thing as marriage separate is not equal

00:20:25.540 you know and so i i kid you not god is my witness i remember just reading those

00:20:32.900 letters from the birmingham jail it's always the right time to do the right thing and by the way

00:20:38.040 they all preach that to me all my friends in politics when i first became mayor right they

00:20:43.760 always give you advice do the right thing young man stand tall on your principles well that's

00:20:48.620 exactly what i did those same folks called me and said what the hell are you doing they said i mean

00:20:53.780 I'm not kidding. You name them, they did. With one exception, true story. I had just sanctioned

00:21:00.280 4,036 couples from 46 states and six countries in what we call in San Francisco, not the summer of

00:21:06.700 love, but the winter of love. This is weeks after I got elected. This was not on anyone's bingo card.

00:21:12.400 It wasn't even on my agenda. It came from an experience I had listening to George Bush

00:21:17.620 at his State of the Union talk about a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

00:21:23.200 and i thought the president united state at a state of the union talking about a constitutional

00:21:27.660 marriage to ban same-sex marriage i was offended by that and i was given an opportunity a choice

00:21:34.940 to do something about it was it a press release i didn't have tweet back then what was i going to

00:21:40.840 do and so i chose that path true story met him once john lewis true story when i said the democratic

00:21:48.580 Party turned their back, legendarily turned their back on me. I was going to Boston. I was going to

00:21:53.840 speak at the convention. I got a call from the head of the convention saying, you don't have to

00:21:57.520 come to Boston this year. It's all good. All those young mayors were going to talk, you know,

00:22:02.560 five minutes each. Like, you don't have to show up. This is, you know, and it was literally that

00:22:08.420 bad. True story. Nancy Pelosi is hosting a little event and introducing me around with all her

00:22:14.960 colleagues true story one person came up to me i'll get emotional about it it's john lewis

00:22:22.800 came right up to me and he grabs nancy said i wanted to meet this young man

00:22:28.160 and literally gave me a hug and said keep doing what you're doing everyone turned their back

00:22:34.720 and he came up to me a time democratic parties trust me was vehemently opposed with what i was

00:22:41.860 doing that moment for me oh god that gets back to the why standing up for ideals striking out

00:22:51.280 against injustice it was a moment that solidified that and and and and took courage for him to

00:22:59.180 associate with that issue and me at the time and so that's the spirit man we got to bring to all

00:23:06.640 these fights we're given a moment in time we come and go i gotta sell by date i'm like a milk cart

00:23:12.420 and i get it you know i'm the 40th got them 39 others there'll be 50 more we're given a moment

00:23:18.540 in time don't dream of regretting it's a rocking chair test man courage your convictions you're

00:23:24.760 not going to be right all the time learn from your mistakes learn from but also don't follow

00:23:30.300 others as well your expression's unique and this notion of authenticity i think is also has to be

00:23:35.340 brought in to that fundamental question about courage as well so i just look i don't know fate

00:23:40.920 i don't know what it has in store for us but you're going to be judged and you're going to

00:23:46.020 ultimately judge yourself to the extent you contributed to life our city our states our

00:23:50.680 nation the world we're trying to build and that's the mindset i think we all have to bring to our

00:23:55.220 job every day the new red bull dragon berry and tropic berry energizers now at mcdonald's

00:24:06.600 made with freeze-dried fruit and an electric burst of flavor the all-new red bull energizers

00:24:13.660 now at mcdonald's this product may not be right for you high in caffeine details at mcdonald's.ca

00:24:18.720 and participating canadian restaurants excluding quebec when i was 14 years old i was kidnapped

00:24:24.140 and held captive for nine months.

00:24:26.960 I survived, and I've spent my life exploring

00:24:29.580 how other people survive what should have destroyed them.

00:24:33.320 I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files.

00:24:37.040 I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, 0.96

00:24:42.480 shut up, don't say anything.

00:24:45.120 Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable. 0.98

00:24:49.340 I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me.

00:24:54.140 I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming.

00:25:01.720 They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced.

00:25:05.620 But these aren't stories about what's taken from them.

00:25:09.060 They're stories about what it takes to make it out alive.

00:25:12.700 Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:25:20.500 On the new podcast, Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman.

00:25:27.140 I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle.

00:25:32.860 I chose option B.

00:25:34.140 I'm Julie Pinheiro, and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first.

00:25:42.460 I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solita, trading the pity for possibility.

00:25:48.400 Every time I tried to be alone, I kept meeting people and they were like, you smiled at us.

00:25:53.400 Not a lot of people smile around here.

00:25:55.440 It's when you're alone that you're most receptive to the world as it is and not the lies you're sold about it.

00:26:01.600 It can be a time where you push your limits, change your mind or wake up to a new version of yourself.

00:26:08.440 So whether you're a solo travel veteran or you're too nervous to book your first trip,

00:26:12.620 I hope you listen to Solita on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:26:20.820 If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home.

00:26:27.120 This is Prose Society, the weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for thought daughters, pop culture obsessives, and anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse.

00:26:39.580 I'm Eli Rallo, and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the conversations everyone can't stop having.

00:26:46.700 I'm going to have to look up this story. I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed.

00:26:50.280 From best-selling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments, nothing is off the table.

00:26:56.220 It's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters, then that is a Trojan horse.

00:27:03.700 Whether you're looking for literary deep dives, smart pop culture conversations, or a community of readers who love to think a little too much, you're in the right place.

00:27:13.300 Listen to Pro Society on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:27:19.240 See you between the pages.

00:27:22.200 Our town is small taters by most standards, right?

00:27:25.360 But to the people who grew up here, it's everything.

00:27:27.780 What happens when a quiet Tennessee town becomes the front line in a battle over the future of America?

00:27:34.580 Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land in the area.

00:27:39.020 The first thing you see when it pops up is pioneers in Appalachia.

00:27:43.180 But they weren't just planting houses.

00:27:45.280 We need cities on a shining hill that exemplify and embody the Christian way of life. 0.89

00:27:51.220 Stop right there. Is that normal? 1.00

00:27:53.020 A podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment. 0.99

00:27:59.000 God need men to rule. Great. 0.99

00:28:00.540 And decides to fight back.

00:28:02.460 Do not use my hard work to sell your bull.

00:28:06.360 They're not just opposing what's being planned for here.

00:28:10.840 Our hometown is not a test tube.

00:28:12.860 They feel like they're standing in opposition to an entire administration. 1.00

00:28:16.480 Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? 0.95

00:28:19.120 Listen to Our Town on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 0.90

00:28:27.560 I'm going to kind of get off script a little bit and just kind of ask you just some quick questions.

00:28:34.460 And then we're going to wrap up so we can get over to ASU and talk to some young leaders over there at a campus full of history of young leaders and activism.

00:28:47.220 and academic achievement.

00:28:49.560 So I'm going to get right to it.

00:28:51.160 If California could borrow one thing from Montgomery,

00:28:54.440 I'm going to say San Francisco could borrow one thing from Montgomery,

00:28:58.000 what would it be?

00:28:59.460 And then the second part of that is, got to be honest here,

00:29:03.580 barbecue or tacos.

00:29:08.000 That's like asking me Giants, Dodgers or something.

00:29:11.080 Or asking me that in L.A.

00:29:12.860 It's the kind of equivalent of doing that.

00:29:17.220 I'll ask the easy one first, which is, what do you borrow from Montgomery?

00:29:21.220 Not the taco barbecue.

00:29:23.880 Look, I think in many ways I answered that in the opening, you know, and the why I'm here.

00:29:29.540 I mean, if we can, I mean, imagine the history being imbued.

00:29:36.580 I mean, living history.

00:29:39.780 It's where it all happened.

00:29:41.840 You know, I love to say about my state, the future happens there first,

00:29:45.700 where America's coming attraction,

00:29:47.700 it's not necessarily accurate.

00:29:51.240 It's not.

00:29:52.680 I mean, the history here, 55, 65, 64, 65, 67,

00:29:57.380 we talked about interracial marriage last night.

00:30:00.520 I still can't believe I was born in a year

00:30:02.780 where blacks couldn't marry whites in 16 states. 0.97

00:30:05.720 That happened in my lifetime.

00:30:07.100 I don't feel that old.

00:30:08.980 And we've seen the expansion of rights my entire life.

00:30:11.120 As I say now, it's this dialectic,

00:30:14.140 this rights regression.

00:30:15.700 LGBTQ rights, obviously civil rights, women's rights.

00:30:21.660 We talk about voting rights, what just happened to section two.

00:30:25.520 So I think imbuing that history, having that history,

00:30:30.080 you know, we were just there at the Capitol

00:30:32.420 and you mentioned it was built in 1849.

00:30:35.620 I was like, you know, that history, that connection,

00:30:41.580 King's Church, the proximity, the church,

00:30:45.700 And that monument to the Confederacy in so many respects, to have that?

00:30:51.140 I mean, what you have to share to the world, not just to my state, to the country?

00:30:58.420 Oh, come on.

00:30:59.640 How blessed, blessed you are.

00:31:05.880 You really are.

00:31:07.320 And blessed to have this guy.

00:31:10.020 Which I said it to him.

00:31:15.700 A lot of people in politics that get it, but don't get anything done.

00:31:20.700 He gets it and gets it done.

00:31:23.280 And that's the difference.

00:31:24.620 Dreamer versus a doer.

00:31:28.020 And that's what I admire about him.

00:31:30.940 And I'm, again, honored to be with you on this.

00:31:34.120 But I'm sorry.

00:31:35.580 Come on, I'm from California, Nature Nurture Tacos.

00:31:40.820 Fair, fair.

00:31:43.020 We won't hate on you on that.

00:31:44.960 Not at all.

00:31:47.460 You wrote a book, a memoir.

00:31:51.340 What do you want people to take away from your story?

00:31:56.100 And what from that story would your kids say that they learned about your habits?

00:32:04.460 Even though that may be embarrassing to you, but as someone who has written a memoir,

00:32:10.240 i was not expecting it i mean literally it was a divine blessing uh for someone to ask me to think

00:32:15.520 that it was worthy for me to write what compelled you to do it and and what do you hope people take

00:32:21.280 away from it and what do you want your kids to take away from you as a dad and maybe some things

00:32:26.420 that are in the memoir maybe just some things from their experiences with you on the personal side

00:32:29.820 well the memoir is called young man in a hurry and it was never supposed to be a memoir

00:32:34.700 when i first became governor penguin press came to me and they said would you

00:32:39.340 write a book about your four years as governor. Little did we know we were about to enter COVID

00:32:44.200 and all the social unrest after George Floyd and all the challenges that we'd face in California,

00:32:49.660 the most blessed and cursed state in America, wildfires, floods, and droughts. And so I submitted

00:32:56.140 the book. I was really proud of it. The head of Penguin and got off on Zoom, prepared,

00:33:03.420 spitting my stomach spent four years working on this and i could tell something was wrong

00:33:10.820 and i before she said a word i cut her off i said i get it there's a chapter in there about

00:33:18.940 me and my childhood and my parent i'm happy to take that out and she stopped me she says

00:33:25.760 that's the only chapter i like and i'm like oh what is that i like what are you talking about

00:33:32.260 She goes, I didn't know.

00:33:34.160 I didn't know you couldn't read.

00:33:36.920 I didn't know you don't read speeches.

00:33:40.860 I didn't know your mom literally raised you with foster kids

00:33:46.400 and raised you on her own, was a teenager,

00:33:49.060 and she's pregnant with you and divorced just two years later. 0.98

00:33:52.480 I didn't know she worked two, three jobs all her life. 0.99

00:33:55.260 I didn't know.

00:33:55.820 She said, I thought I knew you.

00:33:58.160 I have this image of you, some privileged kid, you know.

00:34:02.260 and and so it became a memoir and it became it's called young man in a hurry which is was me

00:34:09.380 a memoir of discovery i learned about my parents my mom passed away 20 years ago

00:34:16.380 breast cancer my father survived just to see his son elected governor and passed away a few years

00:34:23.760 later a few days later which is just to me just so extraordinary just the power of will

00:34:30.720 just to be there and so I wrote it but I will say if there's one thing about that memoir and

00:34:37.500 I don't want to overburden you with it I put a mask on when I was younger

00:34:42.940 and my face started to grow into it I wasn't being authentic I was trying to show up as someone I

00:34:50.820 wasn't because I felt that I needed to and have the confidence felt you know I still have deep

00:34:59.200 anxiety i you know i don't know how people are feeling and you know i'm pretty severe dyslexia

00:35:05.160 and you tend to feel rooms you can feel that anxiety you can see who's not looking up who is

00:35:10.880 responding who's not and it you know so that and and so that mass went on and man i was walking

00:35:18.420 down a path i was with my critics and i made a lot of mistakes and i write about all of those

00:35:26.000 mistakes i mean i joke with all my friends that want to take me out politically you don't have

00:35:32.080 to do much research just buy my book it's all literally all out there and it's been an amazing

00:35:39.240 experience just just literally mayor i like visit just let it go let it go and just open up but what

00:35:50.960 it is and i'll end on this it is a love letter to single moms it is a love letter to my mom

00:35:58.320 don't explain don't complain all that grit hard work showing up every single day and that is oh

00:36:06.140 that's so rep i god bless single moms

00:36:10.140 i've gotten the notes and the text so they're telling me i gotta wrap uh to get us over here

00:36:23.060 and keep you on schedule um i'll get you back on schedule um but i do want to close with this and

00:36:29.340 i'm going to read this question because i want to make sure that the audience hears it those that

00:36:33.040 are here personally uh and those that may see it later on um montgomery has been through a lot

00:36:39.860 It's been through a lot because of people in this room, our forefathers and our foremothers.

00:36:45.500 And we've been through tough times.

00:36:47.300 We've come out the other side.

00:36:49.640 We have had the faith and the fortitude to truly see it through some very, very difficult moments.

00:36:58.020 And many of us believe that we're in a difficult moment right now.

00:37:02.140 and we have come through those moments not just because we were optimistic but because we kept

00:37:09.620 showing up and so i don't want to know really what keeps you up at night i want to know what

00:37:14.440 you've seen in the last year that told you that this still holds true even in this moment

00:37:19.920 about what i've seen in the last hour

00:37:23.000 we were just walking with a freedom rider and i said i couldn't help you we were walking down i

00:37:30.440 said tell me i can i didn't know how you even had to ask the question and she knew exactly where i

00:37:36.080 going she goes no i can't believe what's going on and i said well what advice do you give and she

00:37:43.120 goes you know it's so different you know we didn't have instagram she said we didn't have all that

00:37:48.120 we didn't have section two we didn't have section five but we had each other in this notion i mean

00:37:55.900 you know what what they but many of you had to endure and suffer compared to where we are today

00:38:03.320 i mean you know this is not complicated as long as we show up for each other and and and as i said

00:38:14.140 earlier we are you know we're winning we are winning trump knows that that's why he tries

00:38:22.040 to rig the election that's why he's going after vote by mail that's why he's making it harder

00:38:26.440 for you to vote we are winning they've they've they're not even trying to win the argument

00:38:32.080 anymore they're not know that and now it's about one word margin

00:38:39.440 it's about margin it's about showing up it it is about going out and making the case

00:38:49.660 to everybody. This is it. This is it. I really believe that. And I've been accused of being

00:38:57.580 hyperbolic for over a year. But you know what? My state was the first state to have 4,000 National

00:39:02.660 Guard federalized, sent out to the second largest city in the United States, Los Angeles. We had

00:39:06.720 700 active duty Marines, not sent overseas, sent to the second largest city in the United States 0.69

00:39:11.940 of America to terrorize our diverse communities. That happened in California first. We saw those 0.90

00:39:18.320 masked man buffino happened in california first we've been living this i'm involved in over 100

00:39:23.500 lawsuits with the trump administration this guy is ruthless he is coming after us he is going to

00:39:29.120 try to wreck this country he's going to try to steal this election the only thing to stop it

00:39:33.600 can't be the it's not the courts not those men in robes the supreme court the only thing that

00:39:39.500 could save us is us you all of us and there's so much evidence that you're doing that he has

00:39:46.500 woken up our immune system but just don't give i know it's hard i know it's hard oh my god we go

00:39:53.960 we could talk about covid everything we've been through the last seven eight years no great i mean

00:39:58.360 we don't talk about that because it's hard all that stacking of stress but we can't run in the

00:40:04.360 vernacular of banister the 90-yard dash we can't run the 90-yard dash we're so close

00:40:11.320 and it's all on the line not just drawing lines and new maps it's all on the line this november

00:40:19.140 don't look the guy or gal on the white horse to come save the day in 20 don't focus on that

00:40:24.720 it's all about the midterm election it is all about speaker jeffers

00:40:31.760 thank you governor i want to thank you um for taking time to come to our city

00:40:40.880 to learn a little bit more of what you already knew,

00:40:45.820 to see it up close and personal.

00:40:48.320 I want to thank all of you for taking time out of your busy work day

00:40:52.260 to come and listen to this conversation.

00:40:57.520 All of our leaders, all of our elected officials,

00:41:00.540 all of our faith leaders, all of our business leaders

00:41:04.040 and grassroots activists, all of you

00:41:07.560 who continue to do the work for us.

00:41:10.880 I want to just say that it's truly been an honor to host the governor here.

00:41:17.780 He's had some great conversations, some great ideas about ways that we can connect, that

00:41:23.520 we can build collaboration around housing, around equality, around policies and things

00:41:30.820 that really move all of our communities forward.

00:41:35.340 And I can tell you this, and I'm not sure if I said this, but one of my reasons for

00:41:39.680 inviting him here was because across mayors in California you talked about people often think

00:41:45.600 about the cities and the coast and they don't think about the farmland they don't think about

00:41:49.040 the inland empire and they don't think about all these places where hard work is being done

00:41:54.560 those mayors sing his praises and many if not most of them are not registered democrats

00:42:00.320 those are the mayors who told me well over a year and a half ago about this leadership and about

00:42:09.560 what he means to them and to Californians and I think sometimes we can't get caught in a snapshot

00:42:15.940 or an image and it's not until you talk to people on the ground that you learn where the respect is

00:42:22.320 and where the appreciation for the courage that you've shown for the commitment that you've shown

00:42:26.580 on health care on criminal justice reform on things that impact people daily the minimum wage

00:42:33.820 things that impact people daily and so um i'm just grateful that that you're here and i'm grateful

00:42:40.140 for all of you uh who have come out i wish we could talk a little bit longer but my phone is

00:42:45.340 vibrating now and my was in my hand now it's in my chest uh to get over here to asu i know what's

00:42:50.340 being texted to me and so we want to make sure that he gets an opportunity to talk to our current

00:42:55.380 and future leaders uh who are brimming uh with ideas and innovation uh from ihbc one that we're

00:43:02.000 proud to have here right in our city and we're proud that you're going to be stopping there and

00:43:05.980 we certainly wish you safe travels and we look forward to you coming back to visit us real soon

00:43:10.040 all right thank you so much

00:43:12.140 on the new podcast solita we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman i can

00:43:26.420 wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle i

00:43:31.940 to his option B. I'm Julie Pinheiro, and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can

00:43:37.560 say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word solita, trading the

00:43:44.120 pity for possibility. Listen to Solita on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

00:43:50.640 get your podcasts. I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how

00:44:00.480 other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the

00:44:05.840 Survivor Files. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted,

00:44:12.020 stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out

00:44:17.740 alive. Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

00:44:24.520 or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally

00:44:29.120 important to your personality welcome home pro society is a weekly podcast that's part book club

00:44:35.400 part group chat for anyone who thinks pride and prejudice and love island deserve the same level

00:44:39.700 of discourse each week we're connecting the dots between books the internet and pop culture

00:44:44.240 with your favorite writers book talk creators and plenty of overthought opinions

00:44:48.820 listen to pro society on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts

00:44:56.220 Our hometown is not a test tube.

00:45:00.040 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town.

00:45:06.080 Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land.

00:45:09.760 We need cities on a shining hill.

00:45:11.700 This is Our Town, a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back. 0.97

00:45:20.000 Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you?

00:45:22.180 Listen to Our Town on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 0.98

00:45:52.180 Depends how far you're prepared to go.

00:45:53.580 Depends how far you are.

00:45:55.300 Listen to Underground Zero on the iHeartRadio app,

00:45:58.540 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:46:02.100 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:46:04.560 Guaranteed human.

This is Gavin Newsom - September 06, 2026

And, This is A Fight To Protect Our Rights With Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed

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