In today's 21 News Podcast, Managing Editor J. Breen Mitchell speaks with best-selling author and political strategist, Lis Smith, who has worked for many politicians, all the way up to Pete Buttigieg's 2020 Presidential campaign. Listen to her take on the Senate race between Tim Ryan against J.D. Vance, and talks about Ohio's political landscape.Her book  "Any Given Tuesday" follows Smith from college political intern to adviser to some of the most high-profile politicians in the country. 

"It's important that we embrace our history. So we can understand it...and leave it behind."  That's how Marc Smerling, the Oscar-nominated producer behind "The Jinx," "Catfish," and "Crimetown" describes why he's taken on his latest project.  "Crooked City: Youngstown, Ohio" delves deep into the city's sometimes sordid past, from Mafia carbombings to Jim Traficant to Amil Dinsio's massive bank heist where he made off with $30 million of Richard Nixon's cash.  Corey McCrae discusses what fascinated Smerling about the city, what the impact has been on national politics and why there's hope for a bright future. 

Facing scrutiny from the Ohio Learning Commission and the U.S. Department of Education over issues including adequate staff levels, online enrollment and the implementation of a free tuition program that has been suspended, reinstated and then suspended again, Corey McCrae has a candid conversation with the president of Eastern Gateway Community College about whether there are any concerns for the school's longterm future .

In today's 21 News podcast, managing editor of news J. Breen Mitchell talks with Michael Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International, a non-profit campus safety organization that schools and school systems to improve crisis preparedness and campus safety.Dorn has done more than 8,500 school safety analyses in the US, and in more than 24 countries in his 41 years in the school safety business.Find out what countries have the most dangerous school settings, and Dorn discusses how he examines school shoot information by the per capita rate to get accurate data for his non-profit, and what tools are effective in battling school violence, and see what Dorn says about whether arming teachers is a solution to the problem.Listen to this very interesting podcast and share it with other concerned parents.

Madison Tromler speaks with attorney Matt Mangino about the executive order signed by President Joe Biden in response to the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe  vs. Wade.  After that decision, Ohio immediately implemented a ban on abortions in nearly all cases after six weeks . Does the new order have any impact on Ohio law? 

In the wake of a flurry of Supreme Court decisions that have expanded gun rights, taken away reproductive rights and broken down a wall between church and state, is the Supreme Court interpreting the law or  using the bench to advance a political agenda?  Managing editor Justin Mitchell speaks with Kent State professor Chris Banks. Banks is an expert in Constitutional law and the courts and he says we're witnessing nearly unprecedented times that could affect the legitimacy of the Court for a long time to come. 

Leslie Huff speaks with Guy Burney, director of the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence, about protocols in place in the city of Youngstown to help balance the needs of the community with the needs of families affected by violence. 

In today's 21 News podcast, Constitutional law expert Matt Mangino talks with anchor Derek Steyer about the ramifications of overturning abortion rights in the US and returning the decision to the state level to decide. What will this mean for Ohio and Pennsylvania? 

In this episode of the 21 News Podcast,  Leslie Huff speaks with Joseph Napier, chief organizer of The Youngstown Creative Collective, which is organizing the fifth annual Youngstown Juneteenth event at the Eugenia Atkinson Center. The event, which begins at noon on Sunday, June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. 

Once a Democratic stronghold, the Mahoning Valley has seen the Republican party make massive gains since 2016. In 2020, both Mahoning and Trumbull counties went Republican, in some areas by large margins. Now, there are new leaders  leading the Democratic Party in both counties and in this edition of the 21 News Podcast, both Chris Anderson and Mark Alberini talk about their plans to reshape the party in a new era .