In this second of two episodes focused on energy affordability, we spoke with Katherine Jereza, an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Energy who directs the Office of Electricity, and Joseph Pereira, the director of Colorado's Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate.

The focus of the podcast is how states are working toward connecting education and training systems with the workforce. Three attendees at a recent NCSL meeting in Bozeman, Mont., joined the podcast to explain how states are working to understand the return on investment from state investment in education and training programs .

Our topic on this episode is energy affordability. The U.S. saw largely flat electricity demand from the late ’90s until just a couple of years ago but now increasing demand has strained the nation's ability to keep up. To offer some perspective, we sat down with Representative Craig Williams of Pennsylvania, and Janine Benner, the director of the Oregon Department of Energy.

The last year has seen an unusual spate of mid-decade redistricting and state legislatures are at the center of these efforts in blue and red states. To offer some perspective, we sat down with Erin Covey, who leads coverage of the U.S. House for the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, and Helen Brewer, who tracks redistricting legislation and developments for NCSL.

This episode will explore mental health and behavioral health in the workplace. Our guests include Julie Hocker, assistant secretary for Disability Employment Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor, and Michigan Representative Curtis VanderWall.

As the nation prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, NCSL gathered a trio of experts to discuss the origin stories of their states. We discussed the status of each state at the time of the American Revolution, how the state's constitutions were written, and some other unusual historic notes.

Dr. Erica Groshen, former commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Paul Famolari with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce join the podcast to discuss enhanced wage records and the role they can play in helping states better understand their workforce and evaluate job training and bachelor's degree programs.

Jonathan Morrison, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, joins the podcast to discuss the importance of prehospital blood programs that allow emergency responders to administer blood at the scene to trauma victims. He’s joined by a former military trauma nurse with deep experience in the field and a policy expert from NCSL.

On this episode we dive into the remarkable progress in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and get perspective from a neurologist, two legislators and a policy expert from the Alzheimer’s Association.

The U.S. health care system is massive. It's a $5 trillion behemoth, nearly 20% of the U.S. economy or more than $15,000 per person per year. The cost of health care for consumers, including the cost of health insurance continues to increase. On this episode, we sat down with two people who pay close attention to the health care market and to how state legislatures are responding to rising costs.