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The Andrea Mitchell Center PodcastAuthor: Matthew Roth
The ANDREA MITCHELL CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF DEMOCRACY aims not just to promote, but to understand, democracy. Global in its outlook, multifaceted in its purposes, the Mitchell Center seeks to contribute to the ongoing quest for democratic values, ideas, and institutions throughout the world. In THE ANDREA MITCHELL CENTER PODCAST, we interview scholars, journalists, and public thinkers grappling with the challenges facing our democracy. Many of the episodes are linked to our other programming, such as our 2018-19 "Democracy in Trouble?" series, our 2019-20 "Reverberations of Inequality" series, and our ongoing "Capitalism / Socialism / Democracy." Other episodes are one-off interviews with scholars associated with the Mitchell Center -- or with thinkers whose work is central to our effort to understand democracy in all of its complexity. Language: en Genres: News, Politics, Science, Social Sciences Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Episode 7.14: Politics Can Still Be Local: A Discussion with Pennsylvania State Rep Candidate Leo Solga
Episode 14
Friday, 6 February, 2026
Interviewer: MATTHEW ROTH. If today's politicians, even and the state and local level, often seem more interested in scoring off ideological opponents to gain clicks than in working across party lines to solve problems, LEO SOLGA aspires to follow a different path. Solga is a recent Penn graduate in Political Science and a candidate in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House District 148. In his discussion with historian Matthew Roth, he describes his journey into politics and his positions on such issues as transit, education, reproductive rights, housing, and criminal justice. Above all, he argues that politics can and should be rooted in the concrete concerns of constituents and a deep and personal connection to local districts – and that Pennsylvania state government, which has not yet become consolidated under one party, is a place where cross-party collaboration is a necessity. The Pennsylvania primaries take place on May 19, 2026.











