Special Session with Bryan Schott

State Sen. Nate Blouin (D-Salt Lake City) joins the show to discuss his bid for Congress in Utah's new 1st Congressional District created by Judge Diana Gibson's ruling last month. 

WHY HE'S RUNNING 
Blouin positions himself as a fighter with a track record of pushing back against the supermajority. He says the new D+14 district aligns with his progressive values and sees an opportunity to be part of a potential Demo...

In this episode, Bryan Schott breaks down the latest developments in Utah's congressional redistricting battle, the GOP's million-dollar signature gathering effort, and what's shaping up to be a crowded Democratic primary in the new CD1. Plus, an update on the federal lawsuit over press credentials at the Utah State Legislature.

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Utah's political landscape was transformed overnight when Judge Dianna Gibson implemented a new congressional map that could dramatically change the state's representation in Washington. Host Bryan Schott breaks down the ruling, analyzes the political fallout, and explores what comes next.

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On this episode, we unpack Ben McAdams' likely run for Congress, the GOP’s referendum retreat on redistricting, and why two new “competitive” districts might actually be R+2 and R+6 by design. Plus: a wild lawsuit to overturn SB54 and oust elected officials from office, a trio of eyebrow-raising Utah County GOP resolutions, and could Sen. Mike Lee be eyeing the top spot at the Heritage Foundation?

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In this replay of our subscriber-only livestream from 11/03/2025, we walk through the Lyman-aligned federal lawsuit to overturn Utah election results by attacking SB 54’s signature-gathering path, Mike Lee’s latest outrage cycle over a non-story, fraud and domestic-incident allegations surrounding former Iron County GOP chair Blake Cozzens, the latest from Utah's redistricting lawsuit and the 2026 chessboard with Democrat ...

This week in Utah politics: dark money, taxpayer funded PR campaign and a massive homeless campus.

• Mega “service campus” for the homeless near SLC airport: 16 acres, up to 1,300 beds, involuntary commitments, forced treatment. Civil liberties alarms vs. “we have to do something.” Cox does damage control via a friendly outlet, swatting Nazi comparisons.

• House PR machine on your dime: Speaker Schultz’s glossy videos produc...

Run for Something's Amanda Litman explains why Democrats must invest in red states now—or face permanent minority status after 2030 redistricting.

She argues that redistricting in 2030 is going to gut the already-narrow path to power for Democrats. California and New York will lose seats in Congress, while red states are gaining representation. Utah's fast-growing population means the state is in line to gain a fifth seat i...

Utah Republican Party announced a dual strategy to combat court-ordered redistricting and repeal Prop 4.

Referendum on Option C Map (00:04:33)

• GOP launching statewide referendum to overturn legislature's newly passed congressional map
• Needs 134,000 signatures by November 15th
• Must hit signature targets in 15 of 29 Senate districts

Initiative to Repeal Prop 4 (00:09:05)

• Only needs 70,000 signatures to submit directly...

On this episode:

• The judge in Utah's gerrymandering case stares down the clock.
• Incumbent pile-up: All the proposed congressional maps put at least two GOP incumbents in the same district.
• Registration math shows where Democrats might actually have a shot.

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Breaking down the three proposed replacement congressional maps in Utah that have been submitted to the court.

Plus, the legislative maneuvers Republicans used to fast-track a brand-new law that sets standards for evaluating those maps. Critics allege that those standards actually require the state to pass gerrymandered maps.

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Utah Republicans are pushing for the Utah Legislature to adopt map "Option C" when they meet to vote on new congressional boundaries on Monday. The map is the most pro-Republican of the five proposals put forward by lawmakers.

Note: this is a recording of a livestream broadcast from 10/02/2025.

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The Utah Supreme Court denied the Utah Legislature's request for an emergency stay to keep the state's 2021 congressional maps, deemed illegal, in place.

If you needed any more proof why lawmakers want to keep control of drawing Utah's political maps, our analysis proves that all three of the maps produced by the independent commission in 2021 would have produced at least one strong Democratic district.

Republicans thought ...

We sit down with Christopher Goldsmith, an expert on disinformation and extremist tactics and the founder of Veterans Fighting Fascism. 

Goldsmith, who publishes the "On Offense" Substack and co-hosts the "Find Out" podcast, discusses the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. He talks about the potential implications for democracy, the dangers posed by radicalized extremist movements, and disinfo...

This week, we go over the latest in the court case over Utah's gerrymandered congressional maps and how the GOP-controlled legislature will try to open up a new path of attack so the new map is still likely to elect Republicans or even keep the old map in place for the 2026 election.

It's no secret that Utah's congressional map is gerrymandered, but we finally have an idea what methodology they used to create it. It appears...

A Utah judge threw out Utah's congressional maps on Monday, ruling that the Republican-controlled legislature violated the state constitution when it repealed Prop. 4. in 2020. Now, lawmakers have less than a month to draw new maps, or the court will do it for them.

We discuss the ruling, what it means, how we got here, and what's next.

Plus, a conversation with Dave Daley, a senior fellow at FairVote and the author of Ratf*...

Utah Senate President Stuart Adams is under scrutiny after a change to state law he championed benefited his step‑granddaughter as she faced serious felony charges.

Host Bryan Schott goes through the timeline, explains what changed in the law, and tests Adams’ defense against the public record.

We also examine the media’s role and patterns from past episodes where Adams’ actions raised ethical questions.

In this e...

The chatter surrounding Utah Sen. Mike Lee as a possible pick for the Supreme Court has started again. Don't dismiss it as just idle speculation. Lee probably came closer to landing a seat on the Supreme Court in 2018 than most realize.

The Justice Department wants information about Utah's elections. This could have a very big impact on the 2026 elections and beyond.

A liberal group is spending money in Utah to recruit candi...

It was a bad week on social media for a couple of Utah's congressional Republicans. 

• Rep. Burgess Owens reposted an anti-Muslim video on social media that came from an account that frequently posts White supremacist content.
• Sen. Mike Lee was fooled AGAIN by a fake letter on social media that was clearly generated by AI. Lee likes to criticize the media for inaccuracies, but he should really work on his media literacy sk...

Federal prosecutors drop the charges against a Utah doctor accused of running a fake vaccine card scheme. How much did politics play in the dismissal? (Hint: a lot).

Who is funding your congressional delegation? We break down the latest financial disclosures and come up with some interesting nuggets.

Republicans are flailing trying to contain the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy. Sen. Mike Lee suggests havi...