Dispatches from Planet Albany

2026 legislative session superlative awards

Capitol Confidential author Dan Clark, Bloomberg Government reporter Raga Justin and host David Lombardo hand out superlative awards for the 2026 legislative session. Tune in to find out who won class couple, least popular, most memorable and other major recognitions for their work in Planet Albany. And if you enjoy Dispatches from Planet Albany [https://capitolpressroom.org/dispatches-from-planet-albany/], please leave us a rating and consider becoming a recurring contributor [https://donate.wcny.org/wcny/capitolpressroom] to support the podcast (because we could really use the money). Subscribe to our newsletter / https://www.publicmediasubscriptions.org/WCNY/subscription/pressroom [https://www.publicmediasubscriptions.org/WCNY/subscription/pressroom] Follow the show on Twitter / https://twitter.com/CapPressRoom [https://twitter.com/CapPressRoom] Follow the show on Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/capitolpressroom/ [https://www.instagram.com/capitolpressroom/] Follow the show on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/thecapitolpressroom [https://www.facebook.com/thecapitolpressroom]

End-of-session vibes with Shontell

Tusk Strategies Partner Shontell Plummer joins host David Lombardo to reflect on the final days of the legislative session, including what the Democratic majorities prioritized and how the calendar got squeezed by the late budget. They discuss surveillance pricing protections, grade the session "vibes," and reflect on the right-wing kerfuffle [https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/us-news/dems-replace-mother-with-gestating-parent-in-latest-woke-rewrite-of-nys-law/] over the "gestating parent" legislation. And if you enjoy Dispatches from Planet Albany [https://capitolpressroom.org/dispatches-from-planet-albany/], please leave us a rating and consider becoming a recurring contributor [https://donate.wcny.org/wcny/capitolpressroom] to support the podcast (because we could really use the money). Subscribe to our newsletter / https://www.publicmediasubscriptions.org/WCNY/subscription/pressroom [https://www.publicmediasubscriptions.org/WCNY/subscription/pressroom] Follow the show on Twitter / https://twitter.com/CapPressRoom [https://twitter.com/CapPressRoom] Follow the show on Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/capitolpressroom/ [https://www.instagram.com/capitolpressroom/] Follow the show on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/thecapitolpressroom [https://www.facebook.com/thecapitolpressroom]

Capitol odds and ends with Josh and Raga

Sometimes you record a 52-minute podcast and you end up cutting it down by 60 percent. That's what happened in this lean episode with Assemblymember Josh Jensen and Bloomberg Government's Raga Justin, which touches on the governor's LCA Show rebuttal and fallout from the "cool kids" discussion [https://www.instagram.com/p/DYfdrkEJ1xy/] earlier this year. What got cut out? Who can say. And if you enjoy Dispatches from Planet Albany [https://capitolpressroom.org/dispatches-from-planet-albany/], please leave us a rating and consider becoming a recurring contributor [https://donate.wcny.org/wcny/capitolpressroom] to support the podcast (because we could really use the money). Subscribe to our newsletter / https://www.publicmediasubscriptions.org/WCNY/subscription/pressroom [https://www.publicmediasubscriptions.org/WCNY/subscription/pressroom] Follow the show on Twitter / https://twitter.com/CapPressRoom [https://twitter.com/CapPressRoom] Follow the show on Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/capitolpressroom/ [https://www.instagram.com/capitolpressroom/] Follow the show on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/thecapitolpressroom [https://www.facebook.com/thecapitolpressroom]

Answering the prayers of underdog primary candidates

With primary elections less than a month away, trailing candidates have limited means of shaking up their races. But what if they had a magic wand that could deliver a coveted endorsement, a key issue to run on, or the support of an important voting bloc? We play out this hypothetical experiment for some of the state and federal candidates with uphill battles between now and June 23. Our guests are state Sen. James Skoufis, an Orange County Democrat, and Alex Elmasri, a vice president with The Parkside Group. And if you enjoy Dispatches from Planet Albany [https://capitolpressroom.org/dispatches-from-planet-albany/], please leave us a rating and consider becoming a recurring contributor [https://donate.wcny.org/wcny/capitolpressroom] to support the podcast (because we could really use the money). Subscribe to our newsletter / https://www.publicmediasubscriptions.org/WCNY/subscription/pressroom [https://www.publicmediasubscriptions.org/WCNY/subscription/pressroom] Follow the show on Twitter / https://twitter.com/CapPressRoom [https://twitter.com/CapPressRoom] Follow the show on Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/capitolpressroom/ [https://www.instagram.com/capitolpressroom/] Follow the show on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/thecapitolpressroom [https://www.facebook.com/thecapitolpressroom]

Confirmapalooza

While state lawmakers are expected to be bogged down with hundreds of bills during the final days of the legislative session, state senators will likely also have to contend with dozens of confirmations from Gov. Kathy Hochul. It's not clear whether the process will look any different than past years, given the lateness of the budget, but the safe bet in Planet Albany is that history will repeat itself. Given the likelihood of running back the traditional confirmation process next week, we're checking in with Beth Garvey, a shareholder with Greenberg Traurig, who has experience navigating confirmations from the second and third floors of the Capitol. We discuss why confirmations are handled so late in the session, what the hectic process is like for senators and senate staff, and the one time she got nominees mixed up. And if you enjoy Dispatches from Planet Albany [https://capitolpressroom.org/dispatches-from-planet-albany/], please leave us a rating and consider becoming a recurring contributor [https://donate.wcny.org/wcny/capitolpressroom] to support the podcast (because we could really use the money). Subscribe to our newsletter / https://www.publicmediasubscriptions.org/WCNY/subscription/pressroom [https://www.publicmediasubscriptions.org/WCNY/subscription/pressroom] Follow the show on Twitter / https://twitter.com/CapPressRoom [https://twitter.com/CapPressRoom] Follow the show on Instagram / https://www.instagram.com/capitolpressroom/ [https://www.instagram.com/capitolpressroom/] Follow the show on Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/thecapitolpressroom [https://www.facebook.com/thecapitolpressroom]