<![CDATA[The Open Seat]]>Indiana politics is complicated. The Statehouse is full of insider language, procedural moves, and power dynamics that never make the evening news — but shape everything from your property taxes to your kids' schools to whether your city can pass its own ordinances. Most political coverage gives you the surface.

The Open Seat goes underneath it.

Hosted by Andrew Dezelan, The Open Seat is an Indiana politics and policy podcast built on a simple premise: you deserve to know how the building actually works. Andrew spent over a decade as Policy Director for the Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus — advising on legislation, navigating the budget process, and watching up close as Indiana's Republican supermajority used institutional power to set the agenda for every Hoosier. He knows the players, the procedures, and the pressure points. And now he's telling you what he saw.

Each episode breaks down the policy fights, legislative dynamics, and political moments that define Indiana — not with spin, not with talking points, but with the kind of insider context that only comes from having actually been in the room. Who controls the committee? Where does the bill really die? What does the governor actually have power over, and what does the legislature ignore? Why does it matter who the Senate Pro Tem is, and how does a part-time legislature with a supermajority actually use its power? These are the questions The Open Seat answers — in plain language, without the jargon, for anyone who wants to understand Indiana beyond the headlines.

The show covers the Indiana General Assembly, statewide elections, local government, and the policy areas that hit Hoosiers hardest: housing affordability, school funding, property taxes, childcare costs, healthcare access, and the ongoing fight over what local communities are allowed to decide for themselves. Andrew brings guests from across the political and policy spectrum — lawmakers, academics, advocates, and practitioners — and conducts the kind of conversations that treat listeners as adults who can handle complexity.

The Open Seat is for the voter who reads past the headline. The constituent who wants to know why the bill they supported died in committee. The Hoosier who suspects there's more going on at the Statehouse than what gets reported — and wants someone who was actually there to explain it. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes drop regularly. And if you've ever wanted to understand Indiana politics the way insiders do, you're in the right place.

]]>https://riverside.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Fri, 11 Sep 2026 05:08:01 GMTSat, 09 May 2026 10:06:36 GMT60Andrew Dezelan<p>Indiana politics is complicated. The Statehouse is full of insider language, procedural moves, and power dynamics that never make the evening news — but shape everything from your property taxes to your kids' schools to whether your city can pass its own ordinances. Most political coverage gives you the surface.</p><p></p><p>The Open Seat goes underneath it.</p><p></p><p>Hosted by Andrew Dezelan, The Open Seat is an Indiana politics and policy podcast built on a simple premise: you deserve to know how the building actually works. Andrew spent over a decade as Policy Director for the Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus — advising on legislation, navigating the budget process, and watching up close as Indiana's Republican supermajority used institutional power to set the agenda for every Hoosier. He knows the players, the procedures, and the pressure points. And now he's telling you what he saw.</p><p></p><p>Each episode breaks down the policy fights, legislative dynamics, and political moments that define Indiana — not with spin, not with talking points, but with the kind of insider context that only comes from having actually been in the room. Who controls the committee? Where does the bill really die? What does the governor actually have power over, and what does the legislature ignore? Why does it matter who the Senate Pro Tem is, and how does a part-time legislature with a supermajority actually use its power? These are the questions The Open Seat answers — in plain language, without the jargon, for anyone who wants to understand Indiana beyond the headlines.</p><p></p><p>The show covers the Indiana General Assembly, statewide elections, local government, and the policy areas that hit Hoosiers hardest: housing affordability, school funding, property taxes, childcare costs, healthcare access, and the ongoing fight over what local communities are allowed to decide for themselves. Andrew brings guests from across the political and policy spectrum — lawmakers, academics, advocates, and practitioners — and conducts the kind of conversations that treat listeners as adults who can handle complexity.</p><p></p><p>The Open Seat is for the voter who reads past the headline. The constituent who wants to know why the bill they supported died in committee. The Hoosier who suspects there's more going on at the Statehouse than what gets reported — and wants someone who was actually there to explain it. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes drop regularly. And if you've ever wanted to understand Indiana politics the way insiders do, you're in the right place.</p>episodicAndrew Dezelanandrew@openseatpod.comyes<![CDATA[The Missing Step]]>The interim study committee process is the most important step in Indiana lawmaking that nobody covers — and this week, we're covering it.

The 2026 interim study assignments just dropped, and the list of what Indiana's Legislative Council chose not to study tells you more about the Statehouse's priorities than anything that happened during session. No marijuana. No utility rates. No examination of what SEA 1's property tax cuts actually cost Indiana schools — despite LSA projections showing a $744 million hit over three years.

Andrew breaks down how the interim process actually works — the vetting system that narrows hundreds of requests down to 22 assignments, how bills get quietly killed via study committee amendment, why election years produce safer lists, and what it means when the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee gets assigned literally nothing.

If you want to understand what's coming in 2027, start here.

]]>6c57fb88-1807-4b55-815a-8e45b90abd71Sun, 17 May 2026 12:46:27 GMT<p><b>The interim study committee process is the most important step in Indiana lawmaking that nobody covers — and this week, we're covering it.</b></p><p></p><p>The 2026 interim study assignments just dropped, and the list of what Indiana's Legislative Council chose <i>not</i> to study tells you more about the Statehouse's priorities than anything that happened during session. No marijuana. No utility rates. No examination of what SEA 1's property tax cuts actually cost Indiana schools — despite LSA projections showing a $744 million hit over three years.</p><p>Andrew breaks down how the interim process actually works — the vetting system that narrows hundreds of requests down to 22 assignments, how bills get quietly killed via study committee amendment, why election years produce safer lists, and what it means when the Energy, Utilities &amp; Telecommunications Committee gets assigned literally nothing.</p><p></p><p>If you want to understand what's coming in 2027, start here.</p>no00:34:5111The Missing Stepfull