Summary

In this episode of the Zekely podcast, host Zeke interviews Arvind Venkat, a Democratic state representative from Pennsylvania. They discuss Venkat's journey into politics, his commitment to healthcare as a right, and the importance of representation for diverse communities. Venkat shares insights on balancing his dual career as a physician and legislator, highlights local businesses, and expresses hope for the future of Pennsylvania politics. The conversation emphasizes the significance of community engagement and the role of elected officials in advocating for their constituents.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Arvind Venkat

01:46 TV Show

03:31 The Trifecta

07:50 Driving

09:23 Decision to Run

12:28 Name That Committee

16:31 Constitu-What?

19:10 Why Are You A Democrat?

21:12 Small Business Spotlight

22:50 Breaking Barriers

24:27 Favorite Holiday

26:04 Juggling Dual Roles: Physician and Legislator

27:32 Hope and Resilience in Politics

28:52 The Future

Constituent Services: https://www.pahouse.com/venkat/Help-Services/Constituent-Services/

Soergel Orchards: https://www.soergels.com/

Full Video Episode Available On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheZekelyPodcast

Short Clips Can Be Found On TikTok: @drzeketayler/@thezekelypodcast and Instagram: @thezekelypodcast

Hello, I'm Zeke and welcome to the Zekely podcast. Let's talk Pennsylvania. The guest I have today is a democratic politician representing the 30th district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, which comprises the North Hill suburbs of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Before entering politics, he was an attending physician at Allegheny General Hospital specializing in emergency medicine. Thank you so much for being here, Arvind Venkat

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.

Thank you, Zeke. It's great to be here.

congratulations first of all on your re-election.

is great news.

I appreciate it. Certainly the election was not everything we hoped for for Democrats in Pennsylvania, but for me and my colleagues in the state house, we were successful in holding our majority. So it wasn't totally a loss.

Yes,

it was and thank goodness for that one seat majority. We have a lot to talk about, some games to play, so let's get into it, all right?

Yes, it is.

Alright.

let's talk about TV a little bit. Are there any good shows you're binging on right now?

So I just started watching The Pitt the new ER show on Max. So it was actually filmed, like it's based on a hospital in Pittsburgh. And it was actually filmed, part of it, in the hospital where I worked for 15 years. And when I was younger, I watched ER. I mean, was probably part of it, as crazy as it is, it may be one of the reasons I became an emergency physician.

Mm-hmm.

that's.

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Noah

Wiley who played Carter in ER is playing the lead character in this show so started watching that the other day so definitely that's the new binge-worthy show that I'm watching.

That's awesome. I feel like his physicians were always very critical of medical shows or movies. Because they're like, that ET tube isn't even taped down right, or it's good? Okay.

Yeah.

This one is pretty good, I gotta say. Yeah, this one's pretty good. There's been a lot of

discussion in some of the emergency medicine social media groups saying, yeah, it's a pretty realistic portrayal of what we do. Yeah.

interesting okay because

I can't stand Grey's Anatomy like that that that show drove me nuts you do

Yeah. I gotta say, I have a weakness for Grey's Anatomy. The medicine is, the

medicine's crazy, it's not realistic, but I've watched that over.

I'm actually shocked. Wow. Grey's Anatomy. You like it? What?

Yeah. Yeah.

I like I like medical shows. know it's crazy. Physicians generally don't like medical shows, but I like medical shows.

Okay.

Yeah, but you do. So

that's very interesting. So it doesn't matter what kind of medical show it is, you'll give it a try.

Not,

I mean there's some that I haven't watched, like I like Grey's Anatomy, I like Chicago Med, but The Pitt may be my favorite right now.

surprising me, Arvind, this is interesting. Well, there you go, I'll have to check it out

Yeah.

One day when we have the trifecta, one day, what's your

I think

it is possible, but it's not easy. And the reason it's not easy is that, you know, we have a rural bias in our state Senate. know, there are only 50 state senators, unlike in the state house where there are 203 state representatives. And so the 203 districts in a state as diverse as Pennsylvania, a fair map is probably

No.

close to what we have with, know, close to 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. When you're doing 50 districts, because of the concentrations of people, of the political alignments of people, there's a certain rural bias in the state Senate. So is it possible? Yes. We had a chance in this past election to pick up some seats that would have

We didn't get it done,

So it's going to be more of a stretch. mean, what I would say on the political side, the fact that we held on to the democratic majority in the state house is truly amazing given the political headwinds that we faced. And that's a big deal. Preserving reproductive rights in Pennsylvania is directly related to having control of the state house. You know, making sure we don't worsen gun violence.

is a direct result of Democrats being there to prevent even more egregious gun laws, like what exists in some states with virtually no restrictions whatsoever. Preserving mail-in voting, that's directly related to having a democratic state house and being able to do things like fund public education and protect healthcare.

I don't know what's gonna come out of DC in the new Trump administration, but I'm very concerned about the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. And those are things where the state can potentially step up and make a difference. It's not on the scale that I would like to see, but that's why, you know, I joke with people, 90 % of the governing that happens happens at the state local level, but 90 % of people don't know who their state elected officials are.

Well, I'm hoping with this podcast to change that. I'm hoping to show how amazing Arvind Venkat is and all the Democrats and why we need to someday get the trifecta and have a Democratic Senate. The last time it happened, I was 10 years old, Arvind. I was 10 years old. I'm 40 now. That was the last time that Pennsylvania had a Democratic governor and control in the Senate and the House of Representatives. So I think it's high time.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

that we take that back. I what's your what's some of your dream legislation to pass? I mean, you already talked about, you know, reproductive rights, maybe advancing that and doing some gun laws. But is that is that all wrapped in like some of your dream legislation?

Sure, yeah.

I mean, a lot

of it is wrapped in together. Like I would love to see, you know, my major legislative priorities, medical debt relief. I don't think you necessarily need a trifecta to be able to do that, but certainly we could do a lot to expand access to healthcare with a trifecta. You could codify reproductive rights. You can lock in strong funding mechanisms for public education. You could pass gun safety legislation.

You can expand voting rights. Those are things that I wish were not partisan, but they are. And that can all be done with a trifecta.

Yeah, well I'm not gonna stop working until we get there. I don't wanna have to wait 30 more years.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know, we'll have serious races in 2027 and then 2028 Pennsylvania will again be the heart of the presidential election So I think you know, that's a huge deal

every election is the most important election.

Yeah.

Let's talk a little bit about driving. So how long does it take you to drive to Harrisburg?

It's about three and a half hours.

Okay, so what do you listen to when you're when you're do you listen to podcasts you the radio or silence like how do do it?

Yeah. So I'm going to

start listening to your podcast, Zeke, on my way to on my way to Harrisburg and way back. But generally I'm a, I'm a big sports radio guy. So I like listening to ESPN. I like listen to the Dan Patrick show. If I'm driving in the morning, I'm driving in the afternoon, you know, I'll, I'll listen to some news channels, but generally I like sports radio. So I get my fill from sports radio going back.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay.

I feel so left out when it comes to sports, Arvind, because I just don't know anything about sports. Like I grew up and I didn't have a parent who sat down and watched football on the Sunday and I didn't join a lot of sports. And so when people talk about the Eagles or the Phillies or anything, I am so out of the loop. I just have zero desire to pay attention to that stuff.

Yeah, I mean, like I said, I'm an immigrant. My parents are immigrants. My parents live in Michigan and Michigan football. That was like something that allowed us to stay connected to the wider community. And so it's something that's meant a lot to me over.

Mm-hmm.

I when you grow up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on a 30 acre plot of land, there's not a lot of connection to your neighbor anyway. So that may have contributed to my lack of sports interactions, but

Yeah.

Let's talk about your decisions to become a state representative. When did you decide to run?

So I was president of the State Emergency Physicians Organization when COVID hit in 2020. And so really by accident, I ended up getting very involved with the local response to COVID in Western Pennsylvania and specifically in Pittsburgh and seeing the divisions in our community and seeing how there was a desperate need to try and bridge the divide between what

society was experiencing and what we understood in science and healthcare, that's what really motivated me to run. So I had been involved with advocacy, and like I said, I was president of the state emergency physicians organization. And so I can't say it was a totally foreign idea to run for office, but the decision to run was really motivated from being involved in the response to the pandemic.

And we haven't had a physician in the legislature in Pennsylvania

Yeah, I mean it's a big decision to run. So that's as a physician to put yourself out there in a different way than we're trained to be, I think is great that you did that.

Yeah, I mean, it's funny because a lot of people think medicine is so different from politics, but ultimately electoral politics is about meeting people where they are, earning their trust, and saying that you are going to do everything in your power to help them and to be a benefit to them and their family. And we do that in medicine every day. Certainly I do that in emergency medicine. You do it in your field of medicine.

That to me, there is a connection there, even though it can seem very different.

Mm-hmm.

I agree. We both took the same oath to do no harm and that oath doesn't start and stop when we enter and leave the hospitals that we work in, right? So you're taking care of constituents in the same way that you would in the emergency room. So it's just a different way. You help to write laws that will affect millions of people.

Absolutely.

Yeah, it's absolutely

And it's also true. You know, I think I, you know, I get a lot of benefit. I still practice as an emergency physician. I still do a couple shifts a month. I do them as weekend night shifts at a community hospital that's actually in my district. And I find that to be very, very rewarding. A, because obviously like you, I trained a long time to be a physician and wouldn't want to give it up, but it's frankly, keeps you grounded in reality.

Like when you're working in an emergency department, you see what's going on in your community, both the good and the ill. And that's very valuable as a legislator as well.

make sense. Well thanks for letting me know why you decided to run.

All right now we're gonna play a game. It's one of my favorite games to play with people who are in the state legislature. It's called Name That Committee. All right where you were on a couple of committees where you discussed legislation and amending laws for Pennsylvanians and so I'm going to talk about some of the things that you actually discussed and you're gonna tell me the committee that would have been discussed in. All right. All right so

Okay

Okay.

Fair enough.

you discussed amending the Childhood Blood Lead Test Act further providing lead poisoning prevention assessment and testing. So which committee would that have been discussed in?

So think that would have been the health committee.

That is correct. That is correct. There's a Pennsylvania law that requires children to be tested for lead by the age of two, I think, and it was to help insurance companies cover that, the policies that cover that testing. And I think many experts still consider lead poisoning a major issue in the state, especially in Philadelphia because of the houses were built before the lead paint ban in 1978. So this is a very real issue for Pennsylvanians.

Absolutely, and very proud to get to serve on the health committee. So definitely get to participate in those discussions.

Good job on the first one. So in which committee would you have discussed amending regulation for enforcing non-discrimination by payers in healthcare benefit plans?

So that sounds like the insurance committee.

That is correct. That's pretty self-explanatory. We should not have discrimination in any parts of our society, but certainly not in people trying to get access to healthcare.

Totally agree and insurance, being on the insurance committee also, it's always a hotly contested area, insurance. I we all hope that everyone has insurance, certainly health insurance, but how we regulate that and how we make sure that we have an equitable process and insurance, it can be a challenge.

Yeah, well, I'm glad that you're discussing it and keeping it fair and balanced for Pennsylvanians. The next one is where you would discuss an act requiring child care centers to install video camera surveillance systems.

So I would say that's the education committee.

Is it education and human services? that? Yeah.

Oh no, Human Services is different committee. yeah,

it could be, could have been education because sometimes early childhood education falls in the education committee, but the Human Services Committee. Yeah, that one focuses on, you know, public services.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah,

All right, let's talk about the next one. Where would you have discussed an act establishing the community diaper and incontinence products grant program to improve access to incontinence supplies?

Oh man, so think about that.

That could be human services, could be health, it could be children and youth. There's a lot of different possibilities.

Well, the one that this was under was aging and older adult services.

okay. All right. So it's for adult and incontinent services. Yeah, I'm I'm thinking diapers and everything. yeah.

Yes. Yeah, guess you have to... Yes. No.

Well, I guess all children have incontinence. It's okay. If there wasn't a child that had incontinence, I guess I'd be a very advanced child. But I think it's a great program, and I'm glad that you were discussing that as

Yeah, that's my dad yeah, it's getting a little late at night, so yeah No, okay, but it makes sense was aging and all the adults Yeah

Yeah. Yeah.

That's

good one. All right. The last one is what committee would you have discussed an act amending regulations to require health care providers to undergo a criminal history background check prior to working in Pennsylvania?

So that would be the professional licensure committee.

That is correct, strong finish. I think it's obviously necessary for that to happen in Pennsylvania, probably everywhere in the country. But yeah, that was something that was discussed.

Yep, absolutely. And I'm on the licensure committee and we deal with all of the issues related to professions that need licensure from the state, including physicians.

Great, well thank you for playing Name That Committee,

Alright, let's play another little game called Constituwhat, where you tell me what type of services you offer to constituents. So people probably say, okay, know, Arvind Venkat's my state rep, and I need something, but I don't even know what it is. So what are some things people can get from you?

All right.

Sure,

we help with anything and everything related to state government, as well as things that county government and local governments like to have available through government offices. So, you know, lot of senior citizens in my area want the senior bus passes that allow them to use the buses either for free or at a discounted cost. We can help process that.

We have lots of people in my community who are having problems with state government with their licenses, know, physicians licenses, nursing licenses. Lots of people are looking for help with roads getting paved in their area. And so we'll talk with PennDOT about how to get roads paved and cleared and adjust those things. People who are on unemployment and that goes through the state government, through the Department of Labor and Industry.

My office will help people with getting their unemployment compensation

they've earned and that they need at that time. We passed a program to increase property tax rebates for senior citizens. People need help processing their application for that to see if they're eligible and how they can receive that rebate. So really anything with state government.

Those are some of the big ones that we do in my office that my state helps with all the time. And then the other piece is, as a state representative, I represent 63, 64,000 people. And people want to know what, they want to express their opinions on bills and legislation. And so one of the things that I'll be doing this evening is answering constituent emails myself to say, yeah, this is what I think about these issues. This is what the

factors that I'm considering and then to learn from my constituents what are some of the issues that they care most about.

sense. I'll definitely be posting the link so people can actually go online and look at the constituent services you offer in your district so that'll be easier for them to find in the future.

Yeah. And we, you know, we are as state representatives and certainly it's case for me, you know, whether it's email, whether it's phone calls, whether it's meeting people at events, that's how we stay connected with the community. So definitely appreciate anything you can do to publicize how people can be in touch with me in my office so that I can serve them best.

Absolutely, I'll be sure to advertise that for you. Well, thank you for playing ConstituWhat.

Let's talk about why you are a Democrat. So why are you a Democrat and why did you decide to represent the Democratic platform?

So for

I'm a Democrat because I believe that government can be a force for good. I believe that healthcare is a right and not a privilege and that we should be expanding access to healthcare for all. I believe that we should have equality for people before the law and that people should not be discriminated against based on who they are, what their gender is, what their race is, who they love.

And I believe that we need to uphold our constitutional framework of, you know, where voters are deciding who their elected officials are and that we need to respect that. And while I'm not saying that's exclusive to the Democratic Party, in my immediate time period over the last 10 years,

Unfortunately, I felt that the Democratic Party reflected those values more. mean, growing up, you know, I was a Republican and I used the Ronald Reagan line that I didn't leave the party, the party left me. The combination of, you know, being an ER doc and seeing the impact the Affordable Care Act had on my patients, going from people not having access to healthcare to having access to healthcare.

seeing frankly some of the attacks that were made on candidates because of their racial background or religious background, which unfortunately came up on the other side. And then frankly, to see the attacks on democracy that we saw in the first Trump administration and that I fear will come again in the second Trump administration. That's what really confirmed for me to be a Democrat.

I agree with you. They definitely align more with my values and what I want to give my children in the future. So I'm glad that you are a Democrat representing your constituents and helping Pennsylvania move forward.

This little segment I like to call Small Business Spotlight. So are there any small businesses in your district that you frequent and just want to give a little bit of a shout out to?

Yeah. So Soergel Orchard is in Franklin Park in my district. It's a family farm that is an orchard. And then they've converted it into a farmer's market, as well as like an area where kids play and can learn about, you know, growing your own food and raising animals and the like. We've lived in Pittsburgh now for over 15 years and

used to take our kids when they were much younger there to enjoy the kid-friendly activities. And then we will buy food there, especially special items. I visit there on March 14th, Pi Day, because they have the most amazing pies you can imagine. So if you look at my social media, I'll go buy a pie at Soergel Orchard and say it's Pi Day. You gotta go buy a pie at Soergel Orchard.

huh.

Yeah, that's a small family business in my district that I really love and happy to highlight it. Yeah.

I love pie. If I ever

come out your way, have to stop. Are they open all year round or is it a seasonal thing? Nice.

Yeah, they're open all year round. Yeah, I mean, during

COVID they did amazing. They had like, you could buy food boxes there. So you know, you could like line up, you lined up in your car, you'd order it online, you'd line up in your car, you'd pick up the food, it be like the entire meal for like a four person family. And you know, they did incredible stuff. So it's a very cool place. So yeah, definitely if you come out to the North Hills of Pittsburgh, check it out.

Mm-hmm.

Alright, I love it. Well, thank you for

Let's talk about when you became representative for the first time. So upon taking office, you actually became the first state representative of Indian American descent in Pennsylvania State history. What did that mean to you?

Yeah.

meant a great deal.

It's almost hard to put into words. That's why I almost hesitate for a second. You know, I remember walking into the chamber with my family and my parents and seeing my mom, you know, not almost in tears, just like overwhelmed with the scene of seeing her son being sworn in to what is the oldest legislative body in the United States, And

To this day, I have members of this Indian American and South Asian community, people who I don't know who will come up to me and say, know, we're proud to have you there. We're proud to be there. So obviously as a state representative, I represent the communities in my district, but I do think I have a responsibility to represent the Indian American community and the South Asian community in Pennsylvania.

And I try and take that seriously. In the last legislative session, you know, on a bipartisan basis, we were able to pass a law that recognizes Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, as a state holiday. And I was proud to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle in order to make that a reality.

representation matters. It does. It does. It does every single time. Well, I'm really happy that you had that moment with your family and it does matter that you are visible and representing your heritage. That's great. You're welcome.

Yeah, it does.

Yeah.

And thank you.

Let's talk about holidays a little bit. What's your favorite holiday?

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. Growing up as an immigrant, someone who's of Hindu background, Thanksgiving was the holiday where you could get together with family, feel very much part of the American fabric, relate to it with other kids your age, what you did and how you celebrated. So I love Thanksgiving.

yes, yes, that's my favorite holiday.

And I mean, for me, it's mostly the food. mean, you obviously, that was very poetic what you said about bringing your heritage attention to it. I just love the food. The weather is good. It's not hot. It's cool. And I just love every component of the Thanksgiving meal.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah,

like I love the food at Thanksgiving. We don't eat turkey, but you know, my family gets together, huge meal, variety of different things. So it's great.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

And that's the one holiday often where we often travel for holidays a lot of times, but Thanksgiving is one of the main holidays where I stay, like we stay where we are, people come to us. So I do all the cooking. I cook the birds, I cook, I make everything except cranberry sauce. I'm not a cranberry sauce connoisseur, so I usually outsource that. But man, I just love sitting down and stuffing my face and passing out on the couch. And then when I wake up, everyone's gone home.

Bye-bye.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, I love, you k I'm a sports guy. I love f Michigan, Ohio State Ga

Let's play the best!

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Thanksgiving. Glad we can share that together. That's awesome.

right, let's talk about juggling a little bit. I know that earlier you said that you still do some physician work on the weekends. How do you juggle that? Is it difficult to juggle being a doctor and stay rep at the same time sometimes?

Mm-hmm.

It's,

you know, because I'm an emergency physician and we do shifts, it's not terrible. It's just a matter of doing shifts when I know it's not going to conflict with this job. And we have a full-time legislature, this is full-time job. Not a lot happens in politics between 11 PM and 7 AM on a Friday or Saturday night. So I'm able to do that.

probably the reason why we haven't had a physician in the legislature in a long time. You can't be a part-time cardiothoracic surgeon. And so, or, you know, a part-time, internist, you have to be fully devoted, but there are certain fields, in fact, anesthesiology may be one of them, where you could do shifts and still work clinically and still do this work.

Yeah.

Yeah, well I think that if you can still practice while you're in the legislature, that's good because as you said before, it tethers you, it grounds you, and you can still see what's happening in your district and what you can bring back to Harrisburg and say, hey, this would actually help the people I work with in the hospital system.

Yeah.

certainly gives me more credibility to say I'm actually still doing this work. I'm still taking care of

and being active in my community outside of being a elected official.

Well, I'm glad you're still doing it. That's great.

Arvind, what gives you hope?

You know, what really gives me hope is that, you know, I see in my constituents, you know, a real hunger for strong evidence-based and compassionate leadership. When I ran for office, you know, like I'll step aside, you know, my wife, my kids, you know, I'm very blessed in my family. That gives me hope.

But on the political side, what gives me hope is that when I ran for office, a Democrat had never been elected to represent my community in the state house ever. In the 60 plus years that we've had single legislator districts, there had never been a Democrat to represent my community in the state house. Like you said, there was no Indian Americans in the state house. When I ran for office, one of the questions that I was asked by friends and family was like,

How are you gonna overcome that? And I said, well, I don't know if I will overcome it, but what I will do is try and earn everybody's trust and meet people where they are. And what gives me hope is that that was successful. Now twice, I was reelected as well. So what gives me hope is that despite the differences that we have, that there is the opportunity to overcome those differences and make a difference.

Thank for that.

And my last question for you is what plans do you have to get yourself through these next few years?

You know, it's a cliche to say, but in politics, a day is a lifetime. Like you could be on top of the world in the morning and packing up your desk in the afternoon. What gets me through the day, honestly, is staying focused on why I decided to take this journey in the first place. It was to serve my community and serve my neighbors and be a voice for them.

in what I think is a meaningful place within the state legislature to make policies that can benefit my community and our state. And so at my points of peak frustration, whether it's seeing something that I wanna see happen, not get across the finish line, or having to do some of the hard work in politics, which is continuing to raise money, continuing to meet people where they are.

You know, there are times where people will certainly say, you don't represent me. Like you don't represent my views and I hope you don't represent me in the future. That's obviously something that is a bit painful. You don't like to hear it, but what gives me hope is that I think that I've earned the trust of my community and that if I keep that focus, just like we do in medicine where we try and do what's right for the patient, that's, know, what

keeps me focused and keeps me moving day to day.

sense. well, Arvind, Representative Venkat, I'm so grateful for your vote in Harrisburg, your Democratic vote, and I'm grateful for your representation and what you're doing for your constituents in Pittsburgh.

Thank you Zeke, thanks for what you're doing and I appreciate our friendship and I also take seriously being the only physician in the legislature trying to represent the medical community as a whole and the healthcare community as a whole in the legislature and I'm glad that you're so active as well. It makes a big difference to, people need to make their voices heard. That's how we make change.

Absolutely. Well, thanks again for coming on, and thank you everyone for joining me here on the Zekely podcast. Stay hopeful and get involved and until next time, let's keep building a stronger Pennsylvania together.