East Bay Insiders

Author: Steven Tavares

East Bay political discourse will never be the same! Political reporter Steve Tavares, and Alameda County insiders Shawn Wilson and Dan Mendoza, dish the scoop on Alameda County, state, and national political scenes, with a few hijinks along the way.
Be a guest on this podcast

Language: en

Genres: Government, News, Politics

Contact email: Get it

Feed URL: Get it

iTunes ID: Get it

Get all podcast data

Listen Now...

Eric Swalwell's past is prologue
Episode 130
Saturday, 18 April, 2026

Eric Swalwell's political career has come to an abrupt and stunning end—but for some, the warning signs were there all along. In this episode, former Pete Stark staffer Jason Teramoto revisits the 2012 congressional campaign that launched Swalwell's rise, sharing behind-the-scenes insights and allegations that, he says, were known at the time but largely ignored. From documented concerns during the campaign to a bizarre MTV Spring Break prank, Teramoto argues the recent, shocking allegations didn't come out of nowhere. Instead, he points to a deeper, more troubling pattern: a political ecosystem where insiders "knew," but power, ambition, and expediency allowed Swalwell's ascent to continue unchecked.