GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government

Nick Lemmer, Outreach & Communications Specialist for Goodhue County, Minnesota joined the podcast to discuss public communications. He talked about the challenge and importance of building trust in rural communities. He shared rebranding projects from his past position, communicating cost shifts in reduced federal funding, and public communication related to data centers. Host: Lauren Palmer

Emma Falkenstein, Associate Planner at Highland Planning joined the podcast to discuss participatory mapping. She talked about community walk audits and how can local governments can incorporate walk audits into their regular planning procedures. She also talked about the value of community relationships as it relates to shaping where people live. Host: Toney Thompson

Cori Zarek, Vice President for North America at Apolitical joined the podcast to talk about her career in public interest technology and helping make government smarter. She shared how Apolitical is working to support peer learning among government staffers and a recent report they published on 50 states, 50 breakthroughs from organizations across the country. She also discussed the trends and insights they have found in how government staffers are using artificial intelligence and how organizations can support their staff. Host: Meredith Reynolds

Chachi Angelo, Director of External Affairs at Pennie, the State of Pennsylvania's Health Insurance Marketplace, joined the podcast to discuss how state healthcare marketplaces and local governments are interconnected. He shared what the healthcare marketplace does and how residents interact with it, how municipalities partner with Pennie during enrollment periods, and how to communicate in a way that builds trust at the local level. Host: Marissa Baum

Joseph Sherlock, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science and Public Policy at King's College London, joined the podcast to discuss the state of behavioral science in government. He talked about what is behavioral science and examples of how it has been applied in the public sector. Then he shared how the field is evolving and the importance of running experiments in your organization. Host: Toney Thompson