Local journalist and author Miranda Spivack has a new book out, Backroom Deals in Our Backyard: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back. Sunil Dasgupta talks to Spivack about the book, why transparency has been a persistent problem in government, and how the public can fight back. Music by Washington art-pop rock band Catscan!

The weekly news analysis from I Hate Politics: Washington DC loses its AAA bond-rating. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is withdrawing proposed property tax increase and will instead propose raising county income tax. The Blueprint Accountability and Implementation Board is Maryland is redefining school poverty such that Montgomery and Caroll counties are seeing increases and Baltimore City is seeing decrease. One stairway reduces building costs but also reduces the margin of error on safety. The National Fire Prevention Association is thinking about the balance. The bizarre story of the murder of half a million bees in Stafford, Va. And more. Music by Seth Kibel and Friends.

Two years ago climate activists Tim Martin and Joanna Smith poured red and black paint on the enclosure and pedestal of a famous Degas statue, The Little Dancer, in the National Art Gallery in Washington DC. Martin and Smith were a part of a group called Declare Emergency, which engages in disruptive protests to compel urgent climate action. Sunil Dasgupta talked with Tim Martin as his trial in DC courts finally began this month, April 2025. Music by Washington art-pop rock band Catscan!