{"podcast":{"title":"West Michigan Weekend (A Public Affairs Program from iHeartradio)","slug":"west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286","podcast_index_feed_id":1390286,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/2572136/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-iheartmedia-west-mi-weeken-28352469/","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c55b2f870fe78fd27f6c054b429382ed.jpg","author":"WOOD Radio","episode_count":603,"summary":"\"The West Michigan Weekend Podcast with Phil Tower is a production of WOOD Radio and iHeartRadio in West Michigan. Stay connected with the people, places, and events shaping our community and our great state by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. We'd love your feedback as well, so please consider leaving us a review! For more of our episodes, find us here , or find us on the iHeartRadio app . Thanks for listening!\"","last_synced_at":"2026-06-27T12:19:06.835245+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286"},"episode":{"title":"Michigan Politics 2026: Profiling Budget Battles and Critical Races with Detroit News Politics Editor Chad Livengood (02-15-26)","slug":"michigan-politics-2026-profiling-budget-battles-and-critical-races-with-detroit-news-politics-editor-chad-livengood-02-15-26","published_at":"2026-02-14T00:05:02+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286/michigan-politics-2026-profiling-budget-battles-and-critical-races-with-detroit-news-politics-editor-chad-livengood-02-15-26","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/michigan-politics-2026-profiling-budget-battles-and-critical-races-with-detroit-news-politics-editor-chad-livengood-02-15-26--70037365","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70037365/021526_ihmwmw_final_mix.mp3","summary":"On this edition of West Michigan Weekend, host Phil Tower talks with Chad Livengood, politics editor and columnist at The Detroit News , about the escalating battle over Michigan’s state budget after House Republicans moved to claw back $645 million in previously approved funding. Democrats have called the move unconstitutional, Attorney General Dana Nessell has weighed in, and a lawsuit is before the Michigan Court of Claims. The conversation also turns to the high-stakes 2026 election cycle: every major statewide office is open due to term limits, all legislative seats are on the ballot, a U.S. Senate seat is up for grabs, and potential constitutional questions could reshape state government. Chad shares insight on the crowded governor’s race, the impact of President Trump on Michigan politics, and the growing controversy surrounding federal oversight of the 2026 elections. Online- Chad Livengood, politics editor and columnist at The Detroit News","meta_description":"On this edition of West Michigan Weekend, host Phil Tower talks with Chad Livengood, politics editor and columnist at The Detroit News , about the escalat…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1755,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286/episodes/michigan-politics-2026-profiling-budget-battles-and-critical-races-with-detroit-news-politics-editor-chad-livengood-02-15-26/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/west-michigan-weekend-a-public-affairs-program-from-iheartradio-1390286/michigan-politics-2026-profiling-budget-battles-and-critical-races-with-detroit-news-politics-editor-chad-livengood-02-15-26.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}