Leading into Election Day in New Jersey this November, NJ PBS’s newsroom, NJ Spotlight News, is producing a new political podcast series, NJ Decides 2022 Election Exchange, featuring conversations with candidates running for Congressional seats this year.  The series seeks to give New Jersey voters insight into the candidates running for Congress with candid one-on-one conversations with them about topical Garden State issues.  These conversations are hosted by NJ Spotlight News Anchor Briana Vannozzi, Sr. Political Correspondent David Cruz, and Sr. Digital Projects Editor Colleen O’Dea.

To date, the following episodes have been produced, with more to come:

• Episode 1: Election Exchange with Rep.Tom Malinowski. Listen here. NJ Spotlight News Anchor Briana Vannozzi goes one on one with New Jersey’s District 7 Democratic two-term incumbent Congressman Tom Malinowski.

• Episode 2: Election Exchange with Rep. Andy Kim. Listen here. NJ Spotlight News Digital Sr. Projects Editor Colleen O’Dea goes one on one with New Jersey’s District 3 Democratic two-term incumbent Congressman Andy Kim.

• Episode 3: Election Exchange with Bob Healey. Listen here. NJ Spotlight News Digital Sr. Projects Editor Colleen O’Dea goes one on one with New Jersey’s District 3 Republican challenger Bob Healey.

• Episode 4: Election Exchange with Rep. Mikie Sherrill.  Listen here. NJ Spotlight News Sr. Political Correspondent David Cruz goes one on one with New Jersey’s District 11 Democratic two-term incumbent Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill.

“NJ Spotlight News is dedicated to providing New Jerseyans with the news and information they need to make informed decisions for themselves, their families and their businesses every day,” said NJ Spotlight News Sr. Managing Editor Jamie Kraft. “The Election Exchange series expands our election coverage this season, enabling constituents to stay informed about the issues affecting them and hear the perspectives of Congressional candidates in a more casual format.

The NJ Decides 2022 Election Exchange series is available on most popular podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. It will also post on NJSpotlightNews.org.  Video from the conversation sessions will also post on the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel and be incorporated into news coverage on the team’s weeknight newscast, NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.  The editorial team will continue to connect with candidates in key races across the state now through election day to participate.

This is the second major podcast production for NJ PBS and NJ Spotlight News this year; its Hazard NJ series about the effect of climate change on New Jersey Superfund sites has tallied over 100K downloads to date.