Government efficiency is a trendy topic these days, but Eric Schnurer, president of Public Works LLC, has dedicated his career to it. We wanted to speak to an expert on what it looks like to assess state and local government performance and spending. He shares examples of his approach and makes the case for why it's worth investing the time in speaking directly to employees, and how that leads to better short- and long-term government performance. In Ripped from the Headlines, we discuss a story looking at government efficiency efforts being led in statehouses across the country.

It's no secret that the pandemic changed our commuting patterns and how we use transit. How have transit systems found success in re-gaining ridership and financing capital improvement projects? We sat down with MTA CFO Kevin Willens, who talked to us about how the MTA has navigated a wide array of strategies, including mitigating fare and toll evasion and balancing its budget through 2026. We also asked about congestion pricing and what the early data can tell us about its potential to be rolled out elsewhere. In Ripped from the Headlines, we take a look at transit in Chicago and a proposal by the CTA to combine Chicagoland's three transit providers into one entity.

On the heels of a dizzying week in which the White House ordered—then rescinded—a freeze on federal funds, we wanted to discuss what this all could mean for state and local governments. To help us make sense of it all, we're thrilled to welcome Carolyn Bourdeaux, former U.S. Representative from Georgia's 7th district and Senior Visiting Scholar at the University of Georgia School of Public & International Affairs; Lisa Washburn, Chief Credit Officer and Managing Director at Municipal Market Analytics; and Noah Winn-Ritzenberg, Senior Director of Public Finance at the Volcker Alliance.