Capitol Confidential
The Capitol Confidential podcast focuses on the policy, personalities and politics of New York's state government.
Episodes
July 10, 2025 • 27 mins
Inspector General Lucy Lang’s job is to investigate alleged misconduct at state agencies. But her office also plays a role in investigating the aftermath of a situation gone wrong. That’s what happened 10 years ago, after two men led police on a wild goose hunt after escaping a state prison in Dannemora. We chat with Lang about the breakout and what her office is focused on now, including the state’s prison system.
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June 26, 2025 • 21 mins
There’s new opposition to movements grounded in the values of diversity, equity and inclusion in today’s politics and that presents a new challenge for advocates like L. Joy Williams, the president of the NAACP New York State Conference. The NAACP was first founded in New York more than a century ago and, while a lot has changed, the fight for equity remains strong. We sat down with Williams to chat about her vision in New York and...
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June 12, 2025 • 36 mins
The big buzzword at the state Capitol this year was “affordability,” with lawmakers trying to find ways to lower New York’s cost of living. Whether you think they made headway there depends on which side of the aisle you’re on.
We never get to just sit and talk about affordability. So, this week, we sat down with Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt for an open-ended conversation about what he sees as the easiest solutions to New Yo...
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May 29, 2025 • 30 mins
Artificial intelligence is evolving at a pace that’s been hard for regulators to match. Some systems can now generate videos, images and sound that mirrors what you would expect in the real world. That kind of power comes with a lot of risk.
So what can New York do to prevent artificial intelligence from being used in nefarious or problematic ways? We talk about that this week with Assemblyman Alex Bores, a Democrats who’s been fo...
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May 15, 2025 • 28 mins
New York just approved the latest state budget in 15 years, prompting criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over how the spending plan comes together each year. Sen. James Skoufis is one of those lawmakers and joins us with his thoughts. Physician-assisted death, also called medical aid in dying by supporters and physician-assisted suicide by opponents, is a top end-of-session bill that’s prompted a lot of questions. ...
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May 1, 2025 • 26 mins
New York has considered building high-speed rail for decades. Gov. George Pataki made a push for it when he was in office but it lost steam. Senate Transportation Chair Jeremy Cooney talks about how New York could get on track.
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April 15, 2025 • 25 mins
It’s been a while but we’re back. You’ll now start seeing new content from the CapCon podcast in your feeds, starting with this episode.
State Budget Director Blake Washington joins us to talk through ongoing negotiations on the state budget, what’s happening behind the scenes and what potential cuts from the federal government will mean down the line.
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July 19, 2024 • 55 mins
New York’s top executive sat down with Times Union Capitol Correspondent Dan Clark this week for an exclusive interview at Hearst Tower. They talked about the 2024 elections, her support for President Biden, climate change, congestion pricing, and more.
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March 8, 2021 • 25 mins
The Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge is a 3-mile span over the Hudson river that connects Rockland and Westchester counties, just 25 miles north of New York City. It's a major commuter route, and bears hundreds of thousands of vehicle crossings each day. It replaced the long-ailing Tappan Zee Bridge in 2017, amid much fanfare from state and local officials.
Now a comprehensive report from Brendan Lyons, the Times Union's managing edi...
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March 5, 2021 • 22 mins
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing perfect storm of threats to his administration, finding himself both in the crosshairs of an investigation by the FBI and the Justice Department into his handling of nursing home deaths due to COVID-19, and accused of sexual harassment by multiple women.
Cuomo addressed the sexual harassment allegations during a press conference this week, in which he apologized for his behavior.
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February 19, 2021 • 34 mins
A recent admission by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s top aide, Secretary Melissa DeRosa, that they withheld nursing home coronavirus data to state legislators over fear that President Donald J. Trump would use the data against New York continues to roil the governor’s administration. In turn, a federal investigation into Cuomo’s handling of the virus in the long-term care facilities is on the docket and legislators are seeking to impeach t...
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January 29, 2021 • 19 mins
New York Attorney General Letitia James released a searing report this week finding that the state Department of Health underreported the deaths of nursing home residents who died from COVID-19 by as much as 50 percent.
The 76-page report follows a months-long investigation by the attorney general’s office into allegations of patient neglect and other conduct that jeopardized the health and safety of residents and employees. State...
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January 22, 2021 • 30 mins
This week, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled two budget proposals. Both are contingent upon how much New York state receives from the federal government. Cuomo even threatened to sue if the state doesn't get the $15 billion in federal aid that he has requested. That's enough to fill the budget gap that the governor and budget officials have cited for months. Capital Confidential host Amanda Fries talks with reporters about what the exe...
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January 15, 2021 • 18 mins
North Country Representative Elise Stefanik has been a steadily rising star in the Republican party since she joined Congress in 2014. Her stock rose sharply during the Trump presidency, when she aligned herself with the administration and actively supported its policies. She won a fourth term representing New York's 21st district handily this past November, with widespread support from local leaders and lawmakers.
Yet more than a...
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January 8, 2021 • 24 mins
As a violent mob of President Trump's supporters broke into the United States Capitol Wednesday afternoon, a smaller protest also turned violent outside the New York State Capitol. Times Union Managing Editor Brendan Lyons, Washington correspondent Emilie Munson and State reporter Ed McKinley discuss the events of this week, New York lawmakers' reactions, and what it all means for government at both the federal and state levels.
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December 15, 2020 • 31 mins
The first FDA-approved coronavirus vaccines have arrived in New York this week, and the state has started vaccinating front-line healthcare workers. Times Union Capitol Bureau reporter Amanda Fries leads a discussion of the state's plan for the initial doses with reporter Ed McKinley and Washington correspondent Emilie Munson.
Also on this episode, the latest on sexual harassment allegations leveled against Governor Andrew Cuomo ...
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November 24, 2020 • 20 mins
This week New York State Senate Democrats declared that they'd gained a history-making "supermajority," after the absentee ballot count in several key races swung the results in their favor.
Times Union Capitol Bureau reporters Amanda Fries and Chris Bragg join Managing Editor Brendan Lyons to talk about the development, and what it means for legislative priorities going into the year. Will they address progressive agenda items l...
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November 12, 2020 • 14 mins
As the counting of absentee ballots in New York continues, the ultimate power balance in the state Senate and Assembly remains somewhat murky. A number of close races in both chambers that initially appeared in favor of Republican candidates after Election Day seem to be narrowing even further as the numbers come in, and the final outcomes are still not definitive. The process may take weeks yet, and will determine whether this his...
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November 5, 2020 • 16 mins
State Senate Democrats were confident going into the 2020 election that they'd come out with a supermajority. But as the returns came in this week, it became clear that it wasn't as likely as they'd hoped. Instead, it was the GOP leaders who celebrated a potential increase in their ranks. But as Times Union Capitol Bureau reporters Amanda Fries, Chris Bragg and Edward McKinley observe in this episode of Capitol Confidential, the fi...
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November 2, 2020 • 18 mins
What are the scenarios that could play out on Election Night? Will it be decided before the sun rises, or will there be protracted legal battles that will delay the final result for weeks? Capitol Bureau reporter Ed McKinley and Washington correspondent Emilie Munson answer these questions and more in this special edition of Capitol Confidential.
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