Public education was built for a different America. And Eddie Ableser thinks that’s exactly the problem. In this solo episode of Cactus Crossfire, Eddie returns to a question he keeps asking himself: why am I a Democrat? Instead of answering it with slogans, he uses a real test case: what Democrats say they believe about education versus what the system actually delivers.The classroom still looks like the industrial age. Eddie starts with a simple observation that hits hard o

Chicago | July 27-29 | 2026 The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Summit in Chicago brought together legislators, staff, and policy organizations from across the country. For us at Cactus Crossfire, it was the perfect place to do what we do best: get out of the studio, talk to decision makers face to face, and capture the real policy conversations that don’t always make it into the headlines. NCSL is not just panels and speeches. It’s hallway conversations, comm

Episode 16 of Cactus Crossfire starts where the real fight is right now: inside the Democratic Party. Sisto Abeyta and Eddie Ableser break down the latest primary results in Michigan and Missouri, not as a horse race, but as a test of coalition power. The DSA wing is making moves, establishment Democrats are pushing back, and the numbers show a party splitting into competing lanes that still have to figure out how to win together. From there, the conversation turns to ethics

Cactus Crossfire closes out 2025 with a bang! For Episode 12, we welcomed New Mexico Speaker Javier Martinez to help us break down our Top 10 moments of the year. From hard-hitting political debates to deeply personal stories, this episode captures everything that makes Cactus Crossfire the Southwest’s go-to for real talk and prickly perspectives. Why This Episode Stands Out We dive into the shifts in the Hispanic vote, the ongoing debates within the Democratic Party, governm

"Man, I went to six countries. We did Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, and Poland. It was a World War II sort of pilgrimage. So a little bit of vacation, but we went to very, very educational and meaningful sites where many of my ancestors living in Krakow and various regions around Poland and Hungary were taken to Auschwitz. I don't want to get too deep on that but that was the purpose of the trip i brought my children my wife and had a phenomenal experience i