I’m Zeke, a doctor, a Pennsylvanian and unapologetic supporter of Democratic values. You might have seen me on social media working my ass off for Democrats and meeting some pretty amazing people along the way - like President Barack Obama and Governor Josh Shapiro.

For years, I’ve knocked thousands of doors all over Pennsylvania and poured my heart and soul into supporting candidates and causes that make a difference—from local school board races to national elections. The personal is political, and I take every election in Pennsylvania personally.

Where the mainstream media has failed you, I will give you truth and independence. You’ll hear from Democratic leaders, candidates, and change-makers who are working to improve the health of the Commonwealth, and it won’t be boring as hell.

No matter where you are, I’ll meet you with hope and a plan to make your community better one day at a time. Welcome to the Zekely Podcast. Let’s talk Pennsylvania.

Zeke, thanks for having me. Looking forward to conversation.

I I'm excited. I've seen your your podcasts and I've seen other really good legislators from across the state on and excited for the conversation.

good, I'm glad you are. We're gonna play some games, learn all about you and have some fun. Are ready? All right, Nick, you are the son of Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas judge Michelle Varicchio, is that correct? What was it like growing up with a parent who was also a judge?

Let's do it.

Virky. Yeah, retired, yes.

you know, I think everybody thought the rules were very strict, but you know, she was very inspiring and independent, and definitely inspired me to be involved in public service. You know, her almost the entire back half of her career was as an elected official as a judge and it was really good insight into how local government works and just being around that atmosphere. you know, she's definitely an inspiration to me.

That's great I mean, d were there a lot of like tribunals and trials in your house when things weren't going well? You know, like court is now in session, Nick, you know, get your get your damn homework done. We're not we're not doing this again kind of thing.

No, no no trials that I can think of. I definitely got grounded a couple of times, but Yeah.

Yeah, I

mean having a parent as a judge, that's gotta be rough, man. You don't have any wiggle room there. and I also understand you were sworn into office by your mother as well, correct?

Yeah.

Yeah,

yeah, that was awesome. that was just a kind of a surreal moment, just for I think on both both both ends, yeah.

That is really cool, man. Well look,

when you see your mom,

tell her

she did a great job.

I appreciate that. I will.

Nick, you have your own Wikipedia page, which I think that's pretty crazy, right? That's pretty wild. I mean, you've reached like a whole new level in in the world when you have a Wikipedia page. So I have a trivia game, okay, about some of your colleagues that I found on their respective pages. Okay. So I want I want you to guess your colleague, okay? Because obviously in your spare time you you troll, you know, the internet on Wikipedia pages and read all about them, right?

I I would agree. Yes, that's you know.

Okay.

Okay. I I I have not

done that admittedly, but maybe it's something I should have my free time.

I think you I

think you should in in your spare time. Okay, which senator was once professional boxer in the middleweight division, retiring with a ten two record, including five knockouts? Is that Marty Flynn? It is Marty Flynn. Very good. You're off you're off to a good start. There was some some wild stuff I found. I mean it's pretty awesome the backstory of some of these people you work with. All right, which senator is a nurse practitioner who specialized in dementia care?

The Marty Flynn? Marty Flynn.

Yeah.

Submaria Colette. Two for two. No, I'm not. No, not yet.

It is. Man, are you sure? Are you sure you're not trolling these things in your spare time?

You just know your colleagues. All right, I have one more. which senator published a book called Cubed, A Secret History of the Workplace?

Wow.

It is very good.

You got all three. Yeah, the book explores the surprising, often utopian origins of the cubicle and its role in organizing white collar labor.

Interesting. I had to check that out. Yeah. Yeah.

Good job. So you gotta check all those out, I'm telling you. And look, and you

gotta get some interesting stuff on your page, okay? So do something outlandish. So so next time when I quiz your colleagues, I'll have something to talk about.

Yeah, I don't know if I'll check out Marty Flynn's background in boxing, but the other ones I'll we'll definitely ask some questions.

That's good

stuff, man. Good stuff.

Nick, it's gotta be hard being in the minority party in the state senate. so when I say the word trifecta, what does that do to your body, man?

Yeah, I mean b biggest frustration so far, you know, three and a half years in has been just how how slow certain things move and being in the minority you don't control the calendar or the agenda. and you find out about what's moving and what's not. Pretty late, you know, sometimes hours or twenty four hours before th certain things happening. That's frustrating. I I like to be strategic and in getting stuff done and and that's very challenging in the minority. Luckily, you know, our governor, Josh Shapiro

Majority being Democrat as well. we got some real partners.

When we talk trifecta, I I think about certain bills that are just common sense that have come from the House and sat in the Senate to to just kind of die when the session ends, just go through this cycle.

But that opportunity is very real. As as you know, we've got some really good candidates.

Absolutely. And you are part of that. I mean, your re-election is going to help us clinch the trifecta. So, you know, there are so many things that I want the legislature to deliver for in Pennsylvania. And gosh, it runs right through your district. So if you're listening, if you're watching, Nick Miller has to win this re-election. And then I want the trifecta so badly. So badly, Nick. I mean, I'm sure you've owned pretty badly too, but I want it for you, man, and I can't

Yeah.

wait to see get it.

Nick, you are also a licensed realtor, and I read some of your reviews online, and you you really went the extra mile to help people make possibly one of the largest investments of their lives. so what inspired you to get your realtor's license?

I I I so I went to Penn State undergrad for finance and took a commercial real estate class

so I've been a a licensed realtor since twenty seventeen.

and have done some, you know, rehabs and flips and then

investments and then also on the more on the client side and just continue to build relationships across not just our region but now across Pennsylvania. We just had the realtors in for their annual kind of the day on the hill and understanding what they're seeing in the supply and demand part of the market. I that that background and that that experience has been critical to s my success my first term to understand some of these larger projects.

You don't just stick a shovel in the ground and start moving. I mean, some of these projects redeveloping large industrial blighted properties have sat vacant for thirty years. you know, there you gotta bring people together. You gotta bring stakeholders of Pendot and and the county and the municipality and get somebody that's qualified to build the or redevelop the property. It's not easy, but having that experience to understand s some of that process and how you improve the process and and speed some of that up.

Yeah.

So don't lose the qualified developer that then rises all the property values in the area. that that's been I I've really enjoyed that kind of deal making as part of my my position to be able to see all that come together. it's been exciting to see some projects get off the ground.

Yeah, so it's a valuable skill set. You know, a lot that going into working in the legislature.

Most

Well, we're gonna play a game called the closer, okay? So so so someone's on the fence, okay, but you have to convince them that this is a good deal for them. Okay, here's the first one: raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania.

Okay. All right. Let's see if I can close.

Yeah.

Gotta

do it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean I what a a no brainer. I mean I mean I think about just how long it's we've been at, like seven seven thirty five, and it just it's extremely frustrating. I mean, right, it used to be tied to inflation.

house has continued to send over some proposals to the Senate, sits there, doesn't get run on the floor. that that's frustrating. Let's have a conversation about it. And and and then, you know, let's let's let's take a vote and just see where where the fifty centers sit on it. but we haven't had that. But I bottom line, we gotta get it done.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Gotta get it done. Look, every state that touches Pennsylvania somehow figured it out and their economies aren't tanking, right? So yeah,

Yeah, yeah. Yep. Yep.

I I'm on the same page as you. All right, here's another one. an annual sales tax holiday for back to school supplies for three weeks in August.

Yeah, so that that's come up a couple of different times. I mean think about the teachers that buy a lot of supplies and the families, just just the overall increase in the cost of living. obviously targeted to to parents that have kids in stu in school, but it's gonna be r you know, just expensive with all the different things. You think about ex curricular, sports and arts and stuff. it's not cheap. a and

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

We've got a lot of manufacturers of school supplies within Pennsylvania, so you're supporting the economy there too. I think that's definitely something that should be considered to get done.

I love it. Alright, I have two more for you. Stop predatory medical debt collectors.

Yeah, I mean that's something I I'm pretty sure that house bill moved out that's a house bill that moved out of the house already. y

Yeah.

You know, someone calls nine one one or needs to go to an emergency room down Delra County, Crozier, I'm sure you're familiar with that that whole situation.

my god, terrible. Terrible.

you know, people go into the have an emergency room within fifteen minutes, now it's forty minutes with traffic.

that that's that's not good good government or good philosophy around how access to health care. that whole kind of business model around healthcare is a profitable business, it's about giving people the care that they need to, you know, in ch it live their lives. and and so that's something that that predatory practices and I mentioned private equity. we can't keep squeezing people

dry on these dollars. I mean they they they they deserve access to to good health care.

Absolutely. I mean as a doctor I firmly believe that healthcare is a human right. And every everyone deserves access to healthcare. So I I'm glad that you would approve of that. But here's the last one. Enshrine in state law, making sure Pennsylvanians won't get kicked off of their health insurance for preexisting medical conditions.

Yeah, you know.

Yeah, I mean again these these are common sense the items that you're you're talking about that have float around Harrisburg for a number of different sessions.

just it's a no brainer. and and making sure people are taken care of even with pre existing conditions, gotta make it happen. And and this is the year to do it. When you think about candidates that can talk through just common sense stuff to to voters on both sides.

No brainer.

Yeah. I

Yeah.

you know, building that coalition of Republicans, independents and Democrats, you know, and why they would want certain things like that just for themselves as well.

It makes

sense. I mean, like you said, it's a no brainer. You know, the Democrats in the state house, by a slim majority, have passed all of these things we just talked about, but they can't get closed. They can't be done and get to Governor Josh Shapiro's desk because of the Republican control. But this is th this is gonna change now because we're gonna get you reelected, we're gonna get the trifecta, and we're gonna close all those deals, right, Nick?

Yeah.

Yeah, most definitely. And and a lot of those bills they pass with bipartisan support. You know, they pick up Republican support. I mean th this is again stuff that middle of the road that you know we could be doing here in Pennsylvania. But we're going to.

could. We could.

Hey, thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Zekely Podcast. And if you're enjoying yourself, please take a moment to rate my Podcast. Five stars would be great and leave a comment as well. And if you're watching this on YouTube, please hit follow. OK, back to the show.

Nick, why are you a Democrat and why do you choose to represent the Democratic Party?

think just growing up in the in the Lehigh Valley, yeah, I think about the retired Mac truck workers I go and sit at in their union hall and and and their democratic values of of investing in education and making sure that those workers protections are are out there for our workers across Pennsylvania.

I just think those those values of just delivering and and I think right now Democrats are delivering

for everyday Pennsylvanians across the state, not just i in the Lehigh Valley or or in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. We're talking to the farmers, we're talking to agriculture and understanding why you know how fertilizer going up is impacting them or certain cuts on the federal level are impacting them.

from our school and education system to understanding that teacher is struggling in schools that are built in eighteen seventy four which we got a middle school downtown that was built in eighteen seventy four

that lack air conditioning. you know, we we just deliver historical funding the last couple of years for our education system. just again, common sense stuff that's long overdue,

Mm-hmm.

I I think it just goes back to taking care of your your neighbors and making sure government's working for our our entire community across Pennsylvania.

So so Mike actually worked on my mom's campaign when she ran like he was just graduating Mulenburg College.

nice.

and I started at the local Penn State Lehigh Valley campus and reached out to Mike and did an internship there. And it was more on the constituent services side, but such a crucial role for all the Senate and House offices that

you know, folks come in and and something in the government's not working for them or they they need assistance employed in the right direction, whether it's Penn Not or or one thing that yeah, we were really excited about getting done the first first term working with Shapiro on this was the property tax and rent rebate eligibility increase.

Mm-hmm.

property taxes can be are can be are very high in the valley in the northeast relative to other parts of the state and and people are really struggling when they're on fixed incomes. We mentioned about seniors just we talk about

seniors last week. that makes a lot of difference. And that's up to a thousand dollars, which goes a long way for some some folks on on fixed income. So long story short, I mean that that was valuable experience to understand very early on that those district offices are critical to providing services and a lot of times it just seems like the folks don't know that they're there. That's you gotta go out and

Yeah.

Yeah.

into the community and say, you know, here's my office right downtown, 8th Hamilton. We have mobile office hours removing around the district. making sure people see us. So if they see something that we're working on, they don't like it or they want to change it or s see something we should be working on. Or there's services out there that they could be providing they don't know. that that's a critical role of our district to make sure we're delivering on that. Not just the policy stuff in Harrisburg, that constituent services side is critical.

Yeah, I'm glad you bring that up. I think first of all, Mike is great. I love rep Schlossberg. He he's such he's not he's a great guy. He's a great character too. He's just grounded and down to earth and he's very realistic. But the fact that you worked in constituent services, I mean, there are tangible things that you can do for the people that live in your district. And every state rep and state senator has a responsibility to do things for you if you call them. And not every state rep and state senator is made in the same way.

yeah, yeah, I could have said that. Yeah.

I've had people on my podcast who have said that they've had constituents go from other districts and drive to them because their representative does not help them. So so I'm grateful that you are out there in your community saying, hey, I'm here. I'm not just passing laws. There are tangible things through Pendot, through tax rebates.

through helping you fix up your home in a way that maybe you can't afford, I can help you get there. So I think that that's a great backstory.

Yeah, yeah, and and it there definitely seems like th there's a a gap in between those that that prioritize it versus don't. and the people that benefit from having really strong kids services are the people in our community. and it's the ground level too. I one thing I do enjoy doing is every week sit down with my chief of staff and go through the emails that we receive because a lot of folks communicate with our office directly through email

Mm-hmm.

Right.

and understand like what's the hot topic right now in the Lee High Valley.

what's really frustrating people or and sometimes it's the good stuff, sometimes the bad stuff. It's just the part of the job, and and what things they see online, maybe foreign policy or federal stuff and and you know, we respond accordingly or connect them with our local congressman's office. or a local or sometimes it's a local issue. And making sure we have relationships regardless of party, you know, up and down, to make sure that we can kind of

Yeah.

point them in the correct direction, not just the right direction, the correct direction for getting their problems s solved.

I'm just glad you make yourself available. And I I have to ask, you know, I think I remember Mike said that he calls people on their sixty fifth birthday, I think. Every constituent in his district, I think he calls on a certain birthday. Do you do that? Do you do that? No.

No, I I I'm

always impressed with Mike how he does that. I I think he does like an hour a day of like calling people for is I I'm always impressed that he does that. Yeah. Yes, yes, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, on their sixty fifth birthday or something, it's crazy.

he's such a Pennsylvania treasure. I love it.

Nick, you hold two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, a Masters of Public Administration from the Fells Institute of Government, and a Masters of Studies and Law from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. And as part of your capstone project, you worked with NASA on supporting the Artemis Project, which will return Americans to the moon. So how did you wind up working with NASA?

So so yeah, I mean that was just a an exciting time of of life really. I was full time at at Fells at at Penn for my master's in public administration and part of that course is doing a capstone over the back summer.

That's the summer of twenty twenty two. So I'm running for the Senate. Just came out of a competitive general election, commuting to and from Philadelphia from Allentown.

I think that was always my dream was to to you know, either space exploration or or that curiosity of continuing to improve you know, humanity or whatever. I just was always inspired by what they were working on or the next kind of frontier.

kind of the combination of like the government side of things and that exploration side of things is, you know, NASA and their government affairs and they're lobbying for federal dollars to keep those projects moving. they're obviously we know that they're not they're not cheap to put the humans in the space and that that capstone was really about the government reality and advocacy that it takes and the years it takes to

No.

get these programs funded and the just I mean when I think about time horizon for projects,

massive runways and the change in administrations and what they want to do and understanding the change and kinda like the political winds

and how that can impact projects and funding. That was like just key takeaways from that capstone. but yeah, I mean that

Wait, wait, hold on a

second, Nick. Are you trying to say that things take time? Are you try are you trying to say that like you can't get everything you want l just like that?

Thanks to you.

I I I you know, my staff would think differently. That might that's that I I haven't learned that. But no, I I you know, good things do take time and and you know, one roads and bridges project up here in the the Lehigh Valley Route twenty twenty route twenty two, you know a hundred thousand drivers every day, at least averages one car crash, very dangerous, one of the most dangerous highways in in the country should have been widened to three lanes.

Mm.

decades ago and and I was on a call today with a lot of the key stakeholders to to make that project move quicker. And I joked like you you guys work on a t a twenty year horizon and I'm trying to get a shovel in the ground by twenty twenty eight 'cause we need to get this done for for the region. and and understanding that we gotta do it the right way or else it ends up caught it costing you time in the in the long

Yeah.

Well, Nick, if you can bring Americans back from space, I think you can get a lot of shit done in Pennsylvania, okay?

Well,

the on the state level we don't really I mean, there is an aerospace caucus which is pretty cool too, 'cause there's a huge aerospace and industry, especially out towards Allegheny and Pittsburgh. yeah, that's it's there's a lot of lot of good stuff going on in in Pennsylvania. A lot of good stuff.

That is pretty cool.

Really?

right, we're gonna play another game called It's Miller Time. Okay. So I'm gonna ask you, would you do the following? and I think based on what I know about you, you're probably gonna do a lot of them. skydiving. I've done it. You've done that. God.

Okay.

I've done it. South Africa. Yes. Yeah,

that was a little a little dicey. They don't have the FAA over there. Remember sitting in that plane being like what did I sign myself up to? But awesome. You know, that was after the World Cup is hot right now. they went down in Cape Town, there's that beautiful soccer arena and like you're just kind of you're skydiving over Cape Town, you see the soccer. That's one of the vivid memories I remember there. It was pretty cool.

Uh-huh.

That's crazy.

So yes, yes. I do it once. That's like one of those things you gotta do one time, why not? Yeah. Yeah.

I I you would do it obviously. I don't think I'm ever gonna go skydiving. It's just I like to be don't know, man. Maybe. Maybe, maybe not. All right, here's another one. go on a reality TV show competition.

I know. Is that not the Harrisburg reality TV? No. I don't know that one you know, skydiving reality TV. I guess I chose skydiving. I don't know reality TV.

I g I guess it could be sometimes, yeah.

Skydiving. I tell you I

would go on some of the old school reality shows like Legends of the Hidden Temple or like Guts. Do you ever watch those growing up you know, but you wouldn't watch those on Nickelodeon or anything?

I I have not, no, no, I

You've not watched any

of those? my gosh. And I'm older than you, man. yeah, no, those are some like old school shows. on Nickelodeon. And I always thought they were so much fun. So I probably got one of those shows. All right, I I have a couple more. How about deep sea diving?

Fair enough.

Deep sea diving, like in that in the containers in the the submarine type di or like scuba diving? I I did a s I have s went scuba diving but I have never gone in like the submarine vessels down there. I don't know, that one I don't know.

Yeah, yeah. either or.

You wouldn't do that one? You go skydiving. You jump out of an

airplane that's not like, you know, supervised at all by any major regulatory body, but you you wouldn't you wouldn't go under one

Th this is true. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, this is true. I I don't know, that just

Yeah.

Yeah,

did did you watch that documentary about the the Titanic submarine that got crushed? Is that probably why you I'm well aware of it. Yeah.

I I'm well aware of it, like

that that happened, but what was the wasn't it like a homemade little s like submarine?

It wasn't

homemade. It was just this guy designed it and it wasn't even like the right shape. And everyone was telling I mean if you watch the documentary, there were like so many warning signs that this was not a good idea. But it was one of those like all the holes in the Swiss cheese lined up and the guy was a a millionaire and they just let him do whatever he wanted. And unfortunately it didn't didn't end up too good.

Right.

All right, here's the last one.

yeah.

I know that you all are all about NASA, but would you take a trip to the space station if given the the chance? You would do it?

I would do that. I think that'd be pretty

cool. Yeah, I I just I think that when you hear about astronauts that have looked at Earth from space it's pretty inspiring. so yeah, that's something I'd definitely do. Yeah.

Mm.

Yeah. I think I might do it. I mean

the space kind of scares the shit out of me to be honest. I mean like the people say that like space like is always trying to kill you essentially like while you're up there just because, you know, it's the vacuum of nothing. but I I think I would probably like to just see the view and but I don't think I'd want to stay up there long.

Like the ocean, right? Yeah.

Nick, what has been your proudest accomplishment as a state senator so far?

It's gotta be the education funding. I just think that that that that value to communities, I mean that you talk about the foundation of our communities is our our school system and

in these these communities that have like the been underfunded for decades.

that that won't change, the outcome won't change unless the state steps up. Like they just don't have the tax base and and to have been a part of that,

without boring you all the details, but I what I shortly after getting sworn in, I was put on the basic ed funding commission after the court ruling that it was unconstitutional how we're currently funding it. So it was fourteen meetings across the state hearings, a lot of feedback, and then voted on a plan, majority plan for a nine year investment.

It's a huge investment, a huge gap that you can't just jump up to it. Schools can't ramp up in in a one year period, you gotta give some time. The state's gotta be able to fund it. You have a constitutional obligation to fund it. but to to continue that on on the right track and in the midst of budget season, it's hot on my mind. there's been a lot of other, you know, small wins and but you know, that one's definitely by far impacts a lot of people, people I'll never meet in my life, but people in our community that

Yeah.

It's the right thing to do for Pennsylvania.

Yeah. And we're not even there yet, right? I mean, we have how much we need to close the gap, but because of the makeup of the state Senate, we still haven't been able to agree upon that number that we should be getting to. But I'm hoping after we get the trifecta and you're in charge, we can really close that funding gap for public schools in Pennsylvania.

we gotta be strategic but but we have a constitutional obligation, we've gotta get

it done.

You

Nick, you have traveled to almost 50 countries, I think. Is that is that correct? That's insane. But I also understand that your go-to meal is salmon, broccoli, and rice. I mean, come on, man. You've been to 50 countries. I I know things about you, man. I do deep dives.

Yep. Yeah.

This is on my Wikipedia, is this where we're getting this from? Yeah.

yeah, no, I mean I I I love travel. I did a couple of backpack trips. Backpacking trips across, you know, Africa, the Middle East, Asia. I I just love learning new things and different perspectives. a and just meeting new people and new adventures. We talked about skydiving, but

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

know, my my

Forty ninth country was K Tanzania, Kilmanjaro climbed that. that's part of raising funds for the downtown school district. And

I think that was one of my my proudest moments, just kind of overall, not just i in the Senate. I mean that was just a thrill, a challenge, and for a good cause.

how did you get that idea?

while being on the school board, knowing that there was a need and I was like, how can I kinda give back? and it kinda just came together. I mean,

eight days

of of climbing. it was pretty you summit on the you start at like eleven thirty at night and you're just climbing, climbing, climbing at like the the night of the summit. And you know, it's like sunrise, you're coming up your top of the mountains like nineteen thousand feet. and and I had the worst altitude sickness. It w it was brutal. I just remember just like telling myself though, like I'm not coming back to this again. I'll do it right now. Like we're getting this we're getting to the top.

Crazy.

Ha ha.

And I had a a Penn State flag, I had a Penn flag, and I had a Allentown School District flag that I had like pictures of all three of up at the top of

That's crazy. It's the highest amount in Africa, man. You climbed it. That's crazy. How much money did you raise?

Yeah. Yeah.

It was twenty five thousand. That was yeah, we were replacing the old gym equipment. They it from like nineteen seventies, like these weight you know, bell bar or barbells and all rusty and stuff like that. I was like, We gotta do something about this. So Yeah, that was a that was a fun one.

Legendary man, legendary. Well, that's that's a great story. I love it.

Yeah.

Well, we're

gonna play a game called Proceed with Caution, okay? Just in case you get some ideas about going crazy here about climbing.

Okay.

So this mountain historically has the highest death to summit ratio.

Roughly one death for every three to four successful summits in history.

Is that Denali? Interesting. Yeah, but it's that's not on this not on my list over here, no.

Anapora One in Nepal. Yeah, that that's the one you're not gonna go to. Okay? Do not put that on your bucket list.

Okay. How about known as the Savage Mountain? It has brutal weather and a deadly choke point section of the climb.

Mm. You give me a hint with a cot carton.

The savage mountain.

I mean I like it's giving gonna give it away. It's

Is it down in like Argentina or the Andes?

it's called K2 in parts of Pakistan and China.

Don't go there, okay? yeah, do not do that.

Yeah. What's that one?

Its infamous north face is called the murder wall.

Hmm. Is it in Switzerland? Yes. start with the N

It is. It is. Very good.

this one that I saw is called Iger. Iger, Eager? I'm probably pronouncing it wrong, but

There's another

there yeah, I think it's right outside Zermott. Zermatt. Yeah.

Okay.

Well you're not gonna go to it, Nick. I do not I do not I'm not allowing you to do that, okay? Okay, here's the last one. Due to frequent rockfall, this mountain has one of the highest annual death tolls simply because so many people attempt it.

Okay. All right, we'll we'll take that one off the the master list.

Hm. Is it Kalanjaro?

It's called Mont Blanc in Pi in in France and Italy, yeah.

in France.

Yeah. I I thought about doing that one before. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, that would that would set up. Yeah.

So no, you're not gonna you're not gonna do that anymore, Nick. Okay. You're going to get reelected as a state senator, you're going to get the trifecta, you're going to deliver for Pennsylvania, and then you're going to do something nice and easy. Okay?

That one's more technical, that climb, Mount Blunt, but Yeah. Right, right. Yeah, yes. Yes. Yeah.

Well, I people people are technically dying, so sis stay away from that one, okay?

All right, Nick, we're gonna play my favorite game with state senators and state reps. It's called Name That Committee. Okay, so I'm gonna give you some things and you're gonna tell me which committee you would discuss that. Okay.

yeah.

In which committee would you discuss policy related to giving incentives to businesses to participate in recovery to work pilot?

Potentially finance. Maybe

labor and industry. Yeah. I'm su I'm sure there's some like crossover in some of these.

labor and industry. All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I go so what I do when I when I make this game, I go to your website, the state senate subcommittees and everything, and I basically just look and see what you're doing. And that's how I pick out. This is what I do in my free time, Nick.

Yeah, it's interesting except

s some yeah, no, and that that's fair. I

Yeah. I mean w when there's a spike

choice which committee they're going to

in web traffic at the state senate in Pennsylvania, just know it's me. Okay. It's coming from my server, okay? All right. I have a couple more. All right. in which committee would you discuss providing for grant awards in rural counties and designated medically underserved areas to pay for the education debt of practitioners employed there?

It's the Yeah. Got it. Noted. Yes.

Ooh, that health.

Institutional stability and innovation.

that's the new one. That one kinda is like a catch all. Yeah, that one I feel like gets a lot of just

okay. That's a that's

a good one. Okay. Well here's here's the last one. In which committee would you discuss imposing penalties for people who abandon non functional boats on waterways?

Is that fish and boat? Gaming fishery, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, game and fisheries. I'll give that I'll give that to ya.

I was too good on the on the front side no my senators. That's you if I had to make up for it somewhere. Yeah. Yes.

Okay. it's true, it's true. You can't be good at everything. But

look, I love it. I love playing the name of that committee because it's probably the nerdiest game I can come up with, okay?

Yeah.

Wow, you're still listening. Thank you so much. I want to make sure as many people in Pennsylvania as possible get to experience The Zekely Podcast. So to help spread the word, please take a moment to rate my podcast. Five stars would be great. Leave a comment as well. And if you're watching this on YouTube, please hit follow. Enjoy the rest of the show.

Nick, a report published in December revealed how Instacart was using AI to

basically cause pricing experiments to allow grocery retailers to charge shoppers higher prices for identical goods purchased at the same time, sometimes increasing it by 23%. And I understand you had a hearing in the policy committee.

To discuss how it was affecting Pennsylvanians. So, how did your committee help to address this issue?

Yeah, so so Center of Piscitano's got a bill that would exactly address this and and it's pretty crazy. I mean that you know, we're technology can be really good or it could be used to as kind of like corporate greed, just taking advantage of consumers where you can pick up a loaf of bread and at one price and by the time you get to the cash register and check out, it's another price.

You know, that that just doesn't seem like the free and fair market we know here in in the in the US. And

Mm-hmm.

his bill would specifically ban that and r restrict that and add certain guardrails to that that technology.

Did that come out of committee or or did it or was it just being discussed in committee?

I I think

that's one of those bills that are sitting in committee right now, but it it just makes sense. I mean technology's moving so quickly. we gotta move faster.

Mm-hmm.

We

do. And why is it still in committee, Nick? Why is it still in committee, Nick?

I'm sure I'm I'm

sure if it Senator Piscatana would have moved that out if he was the majority chairman of that committee. Yeah.

there it is. Ding ding ding, right?

We need more Democrats to get these amazing bills out on the floor because if it gets out of the state senate, you know the democratic majority of the state house, it's going to pass. So so this is it. This is politics. This is government. This is what gets me excited. Like I'm talking to someone. You're listening or watching someone who has the power to make sure that you're not getting taken advantage of when you go to Giant, when you go to ShopRite, when you go to a grocery store. But right now it is stuck. It is stuck as an idea in a committee.

Because Democrats don't have control. So I just wanted to highlight that because it's a great idea and you're a part of that. And we need to give you the power to get out of there and help Pennsylvanians.

Yeah, most definitely. Yeah, we got a a real opportunity. Real opportunity that up.

Absolutely.

Nick, people across Pennsylvania are having debates right now in real time about data centers and all the concerns that they have.

what would you do when you're re elected to help address these data centers in Pennsylvania?

Yeah, I mean there's obviously real concerns. energy, water,

I just noise, air quality, placement in ri by residential

communities. i i it it's definitely very concerning, it's moving quickly.

I everybody's have seen their electric bills going up.

that's one thing that i in a trifecta, I would be pounding the table to pass common sense energy policy,

because that can have real long term impacts on helping consumers be able to afford life. But

addressing the energy piece, the sighting, where are they being put,

which

it's critical 'cause if folks don't want in their community,

know, they they should be able to say that. And that that's why people are elected to the the commissioners,

Yeah.

or you know, the the township, the boroughs, to to their their boards,

is to be able to understand the the need and the one the community and if it's a good fit.

and sometimes it is and sometimes it's not.

But I but as a state center, you would have the ability to essentially put guardrails on these data centers across the Commonwealth.

Yeah, most definitely. I mean and and I know the governors come out with a grid policy and it's and it's bringing the own energy. It's a transparency. you know, these things shouldn't be hidden in the the dark of night and then appear on a an agenda, and then kind of just steamrolled through approvals.

Mm-hmm.

I I hope that you can put some guardrails up because my one of my last guests, Mark Pinsley, he talked about a lot of things that he could do in the majority to basically rein in these data centers, make sure they don't take advantage of the community, and also not, you know, allow these energy companies to benefit ridiculously from these data centers that would come in and jack up all the prices and and profit from that. So I look forward to what you're going to do as the majority in the state Senate

We can take meaningful real steps to drive down cost. And we haven't. we we have had that opportunity for a long time in the Senate. Just all the senators there. you know, I think about it in a trifecta or a in a Senate Democratic majority caucus. the just the the real legislation we could be passing.

it's it's so frustrating how slow certain things move in the major in the minority. you're sitting there watching the majority kind of just fumble good policy, not just energy, but across the board and and and

Mm-hmm.

your help, Zeke, I appreciate you for all your efforts. But w just a lot of work to be done. It can happen with you know, just a a strategic governor, the the house majority and and hopefully a Senate majority

I'm not gonna hope we're gonna get it done.

Yep,

we are.

Nick, what would you say to someone who is disaffected with democracy?

I guess I can a appreciate the the the the feelings right now. Just you know, a lot of folks are feeling that government's not working for them.

like, maybe in five years or ten years or different maps. it's this year. we have the environment and the candidates and the messaging that's sp you know, really resonating with the everyday person. That that's what, you know, by providing stability when chaos is coming out of DC, I I think that it's a an opportunity for folks to lean in and not lean out.

That's right. I mean, like Austin Davis says, democracy works best when you get involved. And I'm certainly getting involved. Okay. And I need people like you to get reelected so we can get a lot more shit down in Pennsylvania.

Yeah. Yeah.

Nick, what gives you hope?

I think my my my colleagues and the the volunteers around not just mi my campaign or others, and my staff, I I just think there's a a lot of good people out there. We're headed in the right direction collectively.

Well, you give me hope, man. Every day that you wake up and go to Harrisburg and try and get good stuff done, it keeps me hopeful.

Appreciate it.

My last question for you, Nick, is what plans do you have to get you through these next few years?

Through re election or just in in general?

Yeah.

you know, I I I I just can go talk at length about the frustration about folks have with D C and that

You cut all these these health care tax credits that are people are feeling those cuts

and and and the cuts to to farmers and these programs to help some of the neediest folks with some of these food bank programs that were relying on these dollars, these farmers are relying on these dollars that

They were spent the years to build and to plant the infrastructure t to provide for some of these programs

and then they cut the funding. And and

I that's what I love about my district is I've got downtown, downtown, urban environment, right through r suburbs to to rural farmland, and talking to those different people at different parts of the district.

understand different topics and and and things that impact people across the board.

Sounds like you're gonna lean into the work, Nick, to get yourself through these next couple of years, huh?

yeah. Yeah. I mean most definitely. Just like you you know how in your profession.

Yeah, you

gotta you gotta lean into it. But okay, look you can have some fun. Just no crazy mountain climbing, okay? S s stick to the the soft ones that there's not a high death rate, okay? Just the nice, easy ones, okay?

No no no mouth.

the you

know, the stroll of the park. We're in investing in parks right now. We're doing a whole social media series right now and and hiding the park. Nick in the park. Love it. Love it.

There you go. I like it. Nick in the Park. What a l lovely documentary and thing something to work on. I love it.

Well, Nick Miller, Democrat running for re-election in the Pennsylvania State Senate. Bring it in, people. You all know by now, okay? Nick Miller has to win. I want the trifecta so badly. It's been over 30 years. The last time that we had a trifecta, Democratic State House, Democratic State Senate, Democratic Governor, I was eleven years old. Nick probably wasn't even born yet. I know you weren't born. You were you're like one year old, maybe, okay? It is insane. I want to live to see the day that Democrats deliver.

In a huge way. Nick, what is your website?

it's PA Senate Miller.com on the official site and Nick Miller for PA.com on the campaign side.

Nick Miller for Pa.com. If you live

I can't wait to see you get reelected. And look, I can't I can't vote for you. I wish I could, but I can't wait to congratulate you on November third.

I appreciate you, Zeke And and thank you for having me. A lot of a lot of good conversation on issues that were impacting people every day. And

I I I I love it. I mean, we're building just a really solid ground game and momentum right now, up and down the ballot, get Josh Shapiro re-elected, get Bob send Bob Brooks to to DC and some of our House candidates. I I just continue to be impressed by the candidates we're putting up right now and and and you know their priorities and what they're talking about. It's it's resonating with Democrats, independents, and Republicans.

I mean building that coalition and that's what's gonna deliver the Trifecta, getting them over the finish line across Pennsylvania, because there's some real work to get done and in a trifecta we can deliver on that.

That's right.

Absolutely. Well, thank you so much, Nick, again. I mean, I needed you to come on because you're part of my field guide, The Path to the Trifecta. So you're gonna be on my website. I hope everyone goes there and tell all your friends about it because again, this is our year.

Yeah, and again appreciate the the I saw the the preview of the field guy, the the off the defense. it's real. It's real a a and you can quantify it. It's not like we need to win a hundred seats. It's a handful. You defend a handful and and there's a real shot of picking up

Yes.

Nope.

a number of seats, especially in this environment with those candidates. So appreciate your work here to

That's right.

Well thank you so much for being here on the Zekely Podcast. Stay hopeful and get involved and until next time, let's keep building a stronger Pennsylvania together.