(upbeat music) - KUER's "State Street Podcast" kicks off a new season of legislative coverage with hosts Sean Higgins and Hugo Rikard-Bell.

They join us today to talk about what's new.

Hey, you two.

- [Sean and Hugo] Hello.

- Thanks for having us.

- Welcome downstairs.

(Sean, Hugo, and Laura laughing) Your offices are upstairs with KUER.

You're both reporters for KUER.

Do you wanna each tell us what your beat is outside of this podcast?

- Sure, so Hugo and I are both politics reporters.

We kind of tag team the politics beat for KUER.

I've been at KUER for about 3 1/2 years now, and Hugo just started.

- Yeah, I started a couple months ago, and I sort of focus on public safety and healthcare in and amongst the politics realm, so.

- [Laura] Right.

- Yeah.

- [Laura] There's so much to say about that when it comes- - A lot going on.

- Yeah, and "State Street" is such an amazing podcast for listeners because it's accessible whether you are up on politics or whether you're a little bit behind because you would do such a great job of making it accessible.

Can you tell us a little bit about your model there?

- Yeah, I think one of the biggest guiding principles for us at the podcast is to bring people into the conversation around politics.

I think one of the big things that Hugh and I both run into when we're talking to everyday Utahns is they don't think they can engage in this conversation around politics.

They hear the word politics, and they kind of recoil, but in reality, they're thinking about it all the time.

They're thinking about their kids' childcare.

They're thinking about education.

They're thinking about their grocery bill, their rent.

That is politics.

And so we really want to frame these issues that Utahns care about in a way that brings people into the conversation, makes it accessible.

We call it politics covered in fry sauces, every Utahn who, I'm sure, appreciates.

So that's really what we try to do on the podcast.

- And Hugo, what do you think we'll be talking about this year?

We've got the legislative session coming up next month.

- Yeah, I think all of the main talking points, affordability, housing, they're always big topics in the legislative session, but you know, I think there's been a lot of rhetoric around things like AI and the future of online technology, so I think I would definitely watch that space as well.

- Wonderful.

Well, thank you so much for what you do and for being here.

- Thank you.

- Thanks.

- If you would like to learn more about the new season of "State Street," it's produced by KUER, and you can find out wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also learn more at kuer.org/statestreet.

That's kuer.org/statestreet.

(upbeat music) I'm Laura Durham.

Thank you for watching "Contact."

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