Extracurricular with Stephanie Vanos and Eddie Geller

This week, Steph and Eddie had the pleasure of welcoming a dear friend: Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost. If you haven't heard of Rep. Frost, he's one of the most exciting up-and-coming Democrats in the entire nation, and he just so happens to be the Representative for District 10 where Eddie an Steph reside. We start by asking the big question: Are Democrats meeting the moment (16:28)? Rep. Frost then gives us an insight into what Republicans are saying behind close doors and why they're not speaking out (32:14). Finally, after discussing the GOP plan for a national taxpayer funded voucher program (45:32), we ask Frost where he thinks Democrats need to go when they regain power and what's giving him hope for the future (50:29).
 
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We did something wild this week—we took our podcast in front of a live audience at the Monday Scaries show at City Arts in Downtown Orlando. What it lacks in audio quality, it makes up for in charm! That said, if you want to skip the less-than-crisp audio, you can jump to 9:16.
This week, we sat down with Orange County Commissioner, Kelly Semrad. Kelly recently stood up to the DeSantis administration by voting AGAINST a transportation agreement between Orange County and ICE (14:24). Kelly explains what went into that decision and how it distracts from the actual work her voters elected her to do (25:50). Next, Kelly explains what voters can do to retake power in future elections (39:55). Then, we touch on Orlando’s Vision 2050 (RIP) and why it was so important (47:28). Finally, Kelly has a call to action for residents of Orange County on August 25 (58:30).  
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Extracurricular Podcast
Kelly Semrad
Stephanie Vanos
Eddie Geller

Extracurricular welcomes a dear friend—and Steph’s former campaign manager—Scott Hottenstein. Scott is a former teacher, former candidate, public education advocate and now campaign manager & consultant. With all those hats, we let Scott walk us through why public education matters (9:44). That leads into a deep discussion on public education funding, why it’s so paltry here in Florida, and why it matters so much (16:50). We then bring some threads together to reemphasize the power of public education in our politics and how candidates should be fighting for schools on the campaign trail (38:07). Finally, Eddie gets the goods and asks Scott about Stephanie Vanos the candidate versus Board Member Vanos (42:37).
Follow us on Instagram: • Scott Hottenstein • Extracurricular Podcast • Stephanie Vanos • Eddie Geller

Eddie and Steph open the episode chatting about the entry into their video era. They then welcome local senior policy advisor, Rachael Kobb from Central Florida Public Affairs, to the pod. Rachael works with some of Orlando's great leaders, and she shares how she worked her way up from a secretary at Orlando Health to representing many clients in Orange County in a wide variety of ways (13:55). She talks about a lobbyist's relationship with elected officials and the implications of term limits (20:15), and shares what a day in her life looks like (23:10). We discuss the power dynamics in Tallahassee as well as implications to local communities when federal funding and programs retract (28:00). We round out the episode with Rachael sharing what she wants you to know, meaningful advice we've received, and her fire take (36:48).
 
Follow us:Pod: @extracurricular_podcastSteph: @votevanosEddie: @gellered

In front of the camera lens for the first time during this show, Eddie and Steph open the pod talking about their week including their takes on the Netflix show, Adolescence (spoiler alert at 15:30-22:00). They get into the podcast and Steph shares her mid-season/mid-year progress report as a new School Board Member (22:00). They discuss highlights from the first few months (25:07) and Steph shares her perspectives on what she has learned (30:50). They then discuss her areas of focus in the upcoming school year and her hope for parents (34:28). Finally, Eddie admits he’s been influenced and shares his newfound perspective on public education (42:50).
 
Follow us on Instagram: • Extracurricular Podcast • Stephanie Vanos • Eddie Geller

This week’s conversation brings aboard the founder of Statecraft Media, Chris Mitchell. Chris is a consultant and insider—words we successfully put in his mouth—who begins by telling what, exactly, a political consultant really does (10:55). But beyond that, Chris lays out how to be a successful candidate and why authenticity is such a huge part of that. Afterward, Chris gave us some unfiltered takes on the early front runner for the Democratic nominee for Florida’s governor, David Jolly, and why it’s emblematic of a state party in disarray (32:25). Then, Steph and Chris then find their own groove making the case that education is a winning issue in Democratic campaigns (50:26). Finally, Chris lays out what the Mamdani win in NYC means for the Democratic Party going forward (1:00:09).Statecraft Media: https://www.statecraftdigital.com/ Follow us on Instagram:
Chris Mitchell
Extracurricular Podcast
Stephanie Vanos
Eddie Geller

Eddie and Steph welcome FL Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith mere days after making national headlines when he and a handful of other Democratic lawmakers were denied entry to Florida's immigrant detention camp, "Alligator Alcatraz." Sen. Smith walks us through the myriad ways that this camp is a dangerous grift and what happened when he showed up at the camp (8:55). Afterwards, we take a brighter turn as Sen. Smith explains how he—a lawmaker in the minority—got his anaphylaxis bill passed and turned into law (33:50). Finally, what is the TDT and why is Orange County uniquely hamstrung when it comes to spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year (50:32)?
 
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Pod: @extracurricular_podcast
Sen. Smith: @carlosgsmith
Steph: @votevanos
Eddie: @gellered

Hope Adelson and Brady Warren Graham are two bright, young OCPS high schoolers who joined Steph and Eddie to discuss a wide rage of topics. They shared their excitement over Zohan Mamdani’s win in NYC and what Democrats need to replicate (15:45). We then delved into education issues, including what it’s like to lose a teacher, censorship, and the impact of taxpayer-funded vouchers (26:24). Hope and Brady also shared their divergent takes on AI in schools (50:51) and whether or not we should be eliminating class rank (1:08:37). Oh, and Eddie drops an F-bomb if you want to cover your ears (50:15)!
 
Email the pod: podcastextracurricular@gmail.com
 
Follow Hope: @hopeadelson
 
Follow Brady: @the_brady08
 
Follow the High School FL Dems: @flhsdems
 
Follow Steph: @votevanos
 
Follow Eddie: @gelleredList for books pulled mentioned in the episode: https://www.fftrp.org/addressing_state_actions_in_hillsborough_schools

The podcast welcomes an old friend but new podcast guest: Rep. Dr. Anna V. Eskamani (8:35). Anna gives us a debrief on this most recent legislative session--with an additional focus on education and a massive expansion of charter schools (27:07). Then, Anna talks about using her platform to do the most good (34:52). Finally, we round out by digging into what keeps Anna going during her downtime (41:35) and how she’s thinking about her run for mayor in 2027(54:14).
Anna Eskamani on Instagram: @annaforflorida
Stephanie on Instagram: @votevanos
Eddie on Instagram: @gellered
Shoot us an email: podcastextracurricular@gmail.com

Steph and Eddie start off by talking about their experience at the No Kings Protest—plus Steph has some notes on video formatting. After, Steph explains exactly what happened at the Florida State Board of Education and what it means for Florida (10:15). Finally, Steph walks through the disappointment and fear that overtook the latest OCPS board meeting and how it led to books being pulled off library shelves (26:45).