Blue Dog Radio

Earn This

Sacramento County District Attorney and congressional candidate Thien Ho joins Blue Dog Radio for a conversation about immigration, justice, public safety, redemption, and the long journey from a refugee boat in the South China Sea to a campaign for Congress in California’s 6th District. Ho reflects on fleeing Vietnam as a child after the fall of Saigon, learning English through Bugs Bunny cartoons, growing up in California immigrant communities, and the sacrifices his parents made to build a life in America. The conversation also explores Ho’s role in the prosecution of the Golden State Killer, his views on public safety and immigration reform, labor and infrastructure, corruption in government, and what he means when he talks about earning the opportunities this country gave his family. At its core, this is a conversation about second chances and whether America is still a place capable of offering them. Subscribe to Blue Dog Radio for more conversations from the complicated middle of American public life.

Fight Like Hell

Raised by a single mother and a grandmother dealing cards in Nevada casinos, Shannon Bird learned early that opportunity rarely arrives without a fight. In this episode of Blue Dog Radio, Bird's story ranges from a Reno trailer park to the Colorado legislature, reflecting on class, public schools, dissent, housing, democratic faith, and the women who taught her backbone. This is a conversation about stewardship over performance and why government should still be in the business of watching out for people. From quiet Sundays in Reno to running for Congress in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, Bird makes the case that politics is, at its best, a way of watching out for people. And sometimes, it means fighting like hell.

Dairy Breakfasts and Double Shifts

“When you overperform like that… you do it again.” Rebecca Cooke came within two points of flipping Wisconsin’s 3rd District in 2024. Now she’s back. A waitress, small business owner, and daughter of a dairy farm family, Cooke doesn’t talk about working class life as a message. She’s lived it and loves it. In this episode of Blue Dog Radio, we sit down with Cooke to talk about the campaign that almost broke through, what she learned from a narrow loss, and why she believes this time is different. We get into: * growing up on a farm and what it meant to lose it * restaurant shifts while running for Congress * what voters in western Wisconsin are actually worried about * why she thinks Washington keeps missing the point * and what comes next in one of the most competitive districts in the country

The Doctor Will See You Now

The Central Valley has a healthcare problem and Washington keeps sending politicians. In this episode of Blue Dog Radio, we sit down with Dr. Jasmeet Bains, a practicing family physician, current California State Assemblymember, and Blue Dog candidate for Congress in CA-22. Here we talk about what it looks like to serve a community that’s been overlooked for too long. Before politics, Bains was treating patients in rural clinics across the Central Valley. People without insurance. Families losing coverage. Communities trying to hold it together while the system fails them. This isn’t a conversation about healthcare in theory. It’s about what happens when it breaks in real life. We get into her path from selling cars at her family’s dealership to becoming the only doctor in a rural town, what she’s learned serving in the Assembly, and the vote by Rep. David Valadao that ultimately pushed her to run for Congress. At one point, she puts it plainly: “This is a life and death problem here.” This is a different kind of candidate and a different kind of conversation.

Hickory Nut Gap

Jamie Ager-North Carolina 11 This week on Blue Dog Radio, we sit down with Jamie Ager: fourth generation farmer at Hickory Nut Gap Farm and candidate for Congress in North Carolina’s 11th District. We spent a week with Jamie in Western North Carolina, walking the hills of Hickory Nut Gap Farm, talking through the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, and digging into what leadership looks like in a place forged by land, legacy, and fierce independence. In this conversation, Jamie reflects on growing up in Fairview, building a regenerative agriculture business from the ground up, learning how to lead, and why he believes Western North Carolina deserves a representative who shows up. Especially when it’s uncomfortable. We talk disaster recovery, immigration, small business, environmental stewardship, and the challenge of representing a district that stretches from rural mountain communities to Asheville’s creative core. It’s a conversation about time, responsibility, and whether a farmer’s long view can bring clarity to a complicated political moment. Recorded on the farm. A real conversation about what comes next.