California lawmaker starts a podcast + New report ID’s how social media harms youths

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

EVERYBODY HAS A PODCAST (CALIFORNIA LAWMAKER EDITION)

Folsom Republican Assemblyman Josh Hoover has launched a new podcast, called “Point of Order.”

The first episode — “Democracy, Taco Bell and the State Budget” — came out last week and featured special guest co-host Assemblyman Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin.

The latest episode — “Problem Solvers, Public Safety and Life in the Superminority” — dropped Wednesday, and featured special guest co-host Assemblyman Juan Alanis, R-Modesto.

Hoover described his new podcast as a look “inside California politics and the State Legislature, mostly from the perspective of state legislators.”

“It’s kind of an idea I’ve had in the back of my mind for a long time,” he told The Bee in an interview Wednesday.

While things at the start of the legislative session were too busy for him to pursue the podcast right away, in recent weeks he said he found some spare time to put together a podcast that he said will run for nine weekly episodes leading up to the Legislature’s summer recess.

Hoover said he records the podcast on Monday mornings, before the start of the Assembly session.

Anyone who’s run a podcast can tell you that it’s tricky to find content to discuss during it. Hoover said that shouldn’t be a problem for him.

“The good news is, as long as we’re in session, there’s very rarely a boring week in California politics,” he said.

Hoover’s podcast is far from the only one to tackle California politics. On that note, we recommend California lobbyist Sadalia King’s 2022 Twitter thread listing several of them. The Assembly Democrats have a podcast — “Look West: How California is Leading the Nation.”

But Hoover’s podcast is distinctive in that if offers legislative insights from the perspective of an actual legislator.

“It’s really organic, it’s not overly scripted, it’s very casual conversation,” Hoover said.

NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS DAMAGE THAT SOCIAL MEDIA DOES TO YOUNG PEOPLE

On Wednesday, California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and the California Partners Project unveiled a new report showcasing the correlation between young people’s social media use and their mental health.

The report, which you can read here, “synthesizes the latest data with researchers from UCLA, highlights youth voices, and includes recommendations to minimize the negative impact of social media and channel its use for potential good,” according to a statement from the California Partners Project.

In a statement to The Bee, Siebel Newsom said that young people are surrounded by technology 24/7.

“Social media can fuel sadness, anxiety, and shame – displacing sleep, movement, and real-life connection, and it is exacerbating an alarming youth mental health crisis,” she said. “As First Partner and co-founder of the California Partners Project, it is my aim to ensure that media and technology are used as a force for good in the lives of young adults, if at all.”

The report makes four recommendations:

• Improve online safeguards and controls.

• Disseminate best practices and expand media literacy programming.

• Invest in diverse young women and girls to become tech leaders and creators.

• Conduct nuanced research to gain more insight into social media’s impact on young people.

The report mentions AB 2273, 2022’s “Age-Appropriate Design Code Act,” which takes effect July 2024 and which requires social media companies to take extra steps to protect the privacy and safety of young users. That law is being challenged in court by the tech industry.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Target is removing LGBTQ Pride products because of terrorist behavior like this. Yes, this is absolutely terrorism & Target should be ashamed for caving in. Just like Anheuser Busch caved in. And people wonder why there’s so much fear in our community.”

– Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, discussing a story headlined “Right-wing agitator says he’ll ‘hunt’ Phoenix LGBTQ supporters and they are ‘not safe,’ via Twitter.

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