{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Maryland Now","title":"Steny Hoyer & Sarah Elfreth: Passing the Baton in Congress","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2577,"description":"Maryland Now, brought to you by Blended Public Affairs\n\nThis episode, Dori Henry, Josh Kurtz, and David Nitkin head to Capitol Hill for a wide-ranging conversation with Congressman Steny Hoyer, the dean of Maryland's congressional delegation, who retires in January after more than four decades in Congress, and Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth, who first walked into his office as an intern in 2011 and now serves alongside him. Together they look at how Congress got here, what it will take to fix it, and what a mentor and his protégé have learned from each other.\nIn this episode:\nHow Congress has changed since Hoyer arrived in 1981, from the Tip O'Neill and Bob Michel era to the confrontational politics he traces back to Newt Gingrich\nWhy Hoyer says Congress's problem is psychological, not structural\nElfreth on the bipartisan freshman retreat where she saw glimmers of hope that opposing sides can come together to do hard things\nThe 1983 Reagan and O'Neill Social Security deal, and why reform is harder today\nBoth lawmakers on Congress's failure to check the executive branch\nThe mentors who shaped them, from Mike Busch and Mike Miller to Hoyer's friendships across the aisle\nElfreth's work on the Armed Services Committee and what it means for Maryland's military installations\nAdvice for the next class of new members, from Elfreth's call for curiosity to Hoyer's Edmund Burke lesson\n\nGot a question or topic you want covered this season? \nReach us at marylandnow@blendedpublicaffairs.com, and find us now on Facebook too.\n\nTechnical support by Nate Carper, Carper Creative.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/cWPrI2HtFRFi4-cEgG9AilW5PwDl7N2ksf_B2iAK6ck/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMjlm/MWRkNGZkYjQxNzZh/ZjI0NTRjNmVmNTg2/NjBjMC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}