Trailblazer. Lightning rod. First woman Speaker of the House. Nancy Pelosi never intended to run for office—but in 1987, a twist of fate thrust her into San Francisco’s political arena. In Congress, she seized power and became one of the most polarizing, effective and iconic figures in political history. “The Speaker” is a new limited-run podcast series from KQED that builds on exclusive access to Pelosi, reflecting on her historic life and career as she exits public office. In “The Speaker,” KQED political correspondent Scott Shafer traces her rise from local volunteer to national power broker, making allies and enemies along the way – including President Donald Trump. But with faith in U.S. political institutions cratering, what can her story tell us about where the country has been, and where it’s going?
The Speaker Team
Scott Shafer
Host and Lead Reporter
Scott is a veteran political journalist now serving as senior politics correspondent on the KQED Politics and Government desk. He is the co-host of KQED’s Political Breakdown, the award-winning radio show and podcast with a personal take on the world of politics. Scott has interviewed leading political figures including Pelosi many times over the years and was personally granted access by her for this project. Scott came to KQED in 1998 to host The California Report. Prior to that he had extended stints in politics and government.
Ariella Markowitz
Producer and Reporter
Ariella is a former California Report Magazine intern and KQED on-call reporter who has gone on to work on podcasts with Michael Lewis (Against the Rules) and Apple (Time to Walk) for Pushkin Industries, and for The Lever, including the weekly news podcast Lever Time and the series Tax Revolt, about the unlikely revolution that hijacked American politics.
Padmini Raghunath
Editor
Padmini brings deep narrative experience, having worked on award-winning audio investigations, anthologies, and memoirs for several outlets including iHeart, Vanity Fair, WHYY, and the Project On Government Oversight, among others. Her print bylines include Outside Magazine, Next City, Defector, and Huffington Post, among others. She has been a lecturer at San Francisco State University.
Christopher Beale
Sound Engineer
Christopher Beale is The Speaker’s sound designer and engineer. Christopher is a veteran broadcaster and mix engineer responsible for KQED’s Bay Curious podcast along with a majority of features on KQED’s Morning Edition with Brian Watt and KQED’s Statewide morning news show The California Report.
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