Conduit Street Podcast
From the halls of the State House to the heart of county government, the Conduit Street Podcast breaks down the decisions shaping Marylanders’ daily lives. Produced by the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), this weekly podcast offers smart, accessible insights on the latest state and local policy — with counties always at the center.
Explore how legislation, executive actions, and agency decisions affect essential public services like education, infrastructure, public safety, health, and other core functions that matter most to Maryland residents. With special guests from across the state and the occasional world-famous dad joke, Conduit Street keeps you informed, engaged, and ready for what’s next.
Whether you’re a policymaker, a public servant, or just policy-curious, this is your front-row seat to Maryland’s political landscape.
Episodes
368 episodes
The Briefing Room: The State's Role in Solving Maryland's Housing Crisis
Over the first two episodes of our housing finance series, Dom Butchko and Terry Hickey explored how affordable housing projects are financed and why today's economic conditions make development more challenging. In Episode 3, the conversation ...
Special Edition: The Briefing Room Talks Data Centers, Fact vs. Fiction
Instead of this week's regular Conduit Street Podcast, we're bringing you a bonus episode of The Briefing Room in response to a high-interest topic from our recent energy series.Data centers quickly became one of the most popular ...
The Briefing Room: Why Housing Costs More Than Ever
Housing projects do not rise or fall only on land, design, or political will. They also rise or fall with the cost of capital, aka the capital stack. In Episode 2 of The Briefing Room, Dom Butchko and Terry Hickey are joined ...
News or Noise: Maryland Primaries, Power Shifts, and What Comes Next
This month’s News or Noise dives into the biggest political developments coming out of Maryland’s June primary elections, and what they could mean for county government, legislative priorities, and the 2027 General Assembly.Kevi...
The Briefing Room: Before the Bricks, the Financial Realities of Housing
After wrapping our series on Maryland’s energy future, The Briefing Room turns to another defining challenge for counties: housing.In Episode 1 of our new housing finance series, Dom Butchko is joined by Terry Hickey, Baltimore ...
From Maryland to Missouri, County Issues Align
This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson is joined by Steve Hobbs, Executive Director of the Missouri Association of Counties, for a conversation on the issues shaping county government across state linesFrom property ...
Different States, Similar County Challenges
This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Dominic Butchko and Kevin Kinnally record from the Conference of Southern County Associations (CSCA) in Williamsburg, Virginia, joined by county leaders and policy experts from across the South for a dis...
The Briefing Room Ep 5: The Annapolis Energy Agenda
In the final episode of The Briefing Room energy series, host Dom Butchko turns the conversation to Annapolis and the broader policy choices shaping Maryland’s energy future. Joined by Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo, Chair of the House ...
The Briefing Room Ep 4: The Data Center Dilemma
In Episode 4 of The Briefing Room, we continue our five-part energy series with a closer look at one of the fastest-growing and most controversial issues facing state and local governments: data centers. Host Dom Butchko is joined by J...
May in Maryland: What's News, What's Noise?
We're back with another special edition of the Conduit Street Podcast, with the MACo team taking up several issues from this month's headlines, and trying to sort out which are the real stories (news) and which are more smoke than fire (noise)....
The Briefing Room Ep 3: Where Our Power Comes From
In Episode 3 of The Briefing Room, Maryland’s energy picture comes into sharper focus. Host Dom Butchko is joined by Public Service Commission Chair Kumar Barve to unpack one of the biggest questions facing the state: where does our po...
Maryland Mail-In Ballot Questions, Answered
This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson break down the recent vendor issue involving Maryland's mail-in ballots for the June 23 gubernatorial primary and walk through what county officials and vote...
The Briefing Room Ep 2: How PJM Shapes Maryland’s Energy Future
In Episode 2 of The Briefing Room’s energy series, Dom Butchko sits down with Jason Stanek, Executive Director of Governmental Services at PJM Interconnection, to unpack the role of energy regions in Maryland’s power future. <...
Service, Strategy, and Next Steps - A Conversation With Senator Sara Love
In this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, host Dom Butchko sits down with Senator Sara Love for a wide-ranging conversation on public service, legislative strategy, and the issues shaping Maryland policy. Senator Love discusses her path to...
Maryland by the Numbers: The Latest UMBC Poll With Mileah Kromer
This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Dominic Butchko sit down with Dr. Mileah Kromer, director of the Institute of Politics at UMBC, to break down the latest UMBC Poll releases and what they reveal about...
The Briefing Room Ep 1: Who Really Controls Maryland’s Energy?
The Conduit Street Podcast is launching something new.Introducing The Briefing Room, a new limited series designed to take a deeper dive into the complex policy issues shaping Maryland’s counties. In this first episode, host Domin...
News or Noise? Breaking Down Maryland’s 2026 Session
This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, longtime hosts Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson are "back in the saddle" with a post-session "news or noise" breakdown of what really mattered, and what didn't, from Maryland's 2026 legislative sessi...
90 Days Later; Sine Die Recap
This Week on the Conduit Street Podcast, we bring you an episode fresh from Sine Die to break down the 2026 legislative session from start to finish.With major leadership shakeups before session even began, a fast-moving 90 days, and ple...
Elections, Federal Executive Orders, and What’s Real
This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally sits down with Maryland State Administrator of Elections, Jared DeMarinis, to cut through the noise surrounding recent federal election activity and what it actually means for Maryland. Fr...
Puzzle Pieces of the Balanced Budget
This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson break down where Maryland’s budget and “Big BRFA” stand as the General Assembly enters its final weeks. As usual, their conversation covers a wide range of i...
A Day in the Life at MACo: Legislative Session Edition
As Maryland’s legislative session approaches crossover, MACo’s policy team is deep in the work of shaping legislation that affects counties across the state.In this episode of the Conduit Street podcast, Michael Sanderson is joined by Ka...
Session Updates on Housing, Budget Pressure, and the Road to Crossover
This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, we check in on the 2026 Maryland General Assembly session as lawmakers approach the critical crossover deadline.MACo’s Michael Sanderson, Dominic Butchko, and Kevin Kinnally break down where thing...
Educating the Next Generation of Public Leaders
On this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson sits down with Dr. Roger E. Hartley of the University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs for a wide-ranging discussion on the future of public service in Maryland.Har...
Local Leaders Rally To Avoid Highway User Revenue Cliff
As Maryland lawmakers weigh how to address a looming transportation “cliff,” local leaders are sounding the alarm about what’s at stake for local roads and bridges.In this special episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, hosts Michael Sand...
The Governor’s Budget and the County Bottom Line
In this week’s episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, our familiar hosts Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson take the microphone to walk us through Governor Wes Moore’s proposed FY27 budget and the accompanying Budget Reconciliation and Financ...