Afleveringen
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The archetype of âmotherâ is a weight many women carry-but itâs certainly not our whole story, or necessarily an accurate one. In fact, the stories we are told about women, the complexities of womanhood, are often shackles that serve to keep us bound to a society that claims to value us but holds us back in so many ways. Nicole Graev Lipsonâs new memoir in essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters captures the complexities of motherhood, of relationships, of womanhoodâand defies expectations in so many ways. She joins us to discuss.
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The early part of this decade seemed like it might signify a realignment of the social and cultural power of Black Americans. But the realities of that powerâand how it translates into meaningful justice and social changeâare less clear, and perhaps less optimistic. Especially now in the second Trump era, where everything which does not perpetuate white power is treated as suspect and anti-American. To discuss the shifting dynamics and a path forward to meaningful change, weâve asked Andre Perry onto the show. Andre is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Community Uplift at the Brookings Institution and a professor of practice of economics at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also nationally known and respected commentator on race, structural inequality, and education and the author of the new book âBlack Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It.â
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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The Trump regime built much of its identityâand certainly campaigned aroundâits hatred of LGBTQ Americans. Unfortunately, the success of that campaign again revealed just how much anti-queer bias there is in the American populace. And while there may be no populated nation in the world that is truly free of anti-queer bias, there are places that are better, are different, or that offer new perspectives. Alden Jonesâ work explores queer travel. Alden is an assistant professor at Emerson College and the author of the memoirs The Blind Masseuse and The Wanting Was a Wilderness and the story collection Unaccompanied Minors. Best American Travel Writing and other venues. She edited the new anthology of queer travel writing âEdge of the Worldâ and he is here to discuss that work and the queer travel experience.
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Itâs hard to overstate the danger the Trump regime is posing to Americans. This is especially true for Americans who rely on our healthcare system for chronic diseases or conditions. From cuts to research funding, building registries for people with autism, attacks on womenâs access to healthcare, and so much more, itâs truly horrifying what is in store in this country.
To help us unpack it, and maybe help find a way to act against it, weâve asked Laura Packard, Founder of Voices of Health Care Action back onto the show.
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There is a rapist presiding over the United States. That rapist has directed his government to gut federal efforts to protect women from violence of all sorts. Health and Human Services fired nearly all of its staff at the Division of Violence Prevention. The office on violence against women has removed all funding opportunities from its website and reports are coming in that all of the grants it issues are being cancelled. Online, platforms owned by Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerbergâbillionaires who support Trump and his regimeâown giant social media platforms rife with digital violence against women and seemingly no efforts at all to curtail it. It is a dangerous time to be a woman. This has always been true, but it is especially true in Trumpâs America.
Our guest for this episode is Alia Dastagir. Dastagir is an award-winning journalist and former reporter for USA Today who was one of eight U.S. recipients of the prestigious Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. Her book on women and online abuse, âTo Those Who Have Confused You to Be a Person: Words as Violence and Stories of Womenâs Resistance Online,â is now available.
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Most weeks, we bring a guest onto speak in depth on a single issue. But every once in a while, thereâs so much going on that Alyssa and Ben take an episode to check in on...all of this nonsense. Thatâs what weâre doing this week. And we even start with some good news: Itâs baseball season.
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The United States executes more people than nearly any other country. In fact, in 2023, the only countries with more reported executions were Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Iraq. Inside the United States, courts are trying to navigate the legality of execution and methods of execution, and the various states have different rules and customs of this barbaric practice. Gianna Toboni has faced some of the worldâs most dangerous people: ISIS fighters, cartel hitmen, and sex traffickers. In her new book --- THE VOLUNTEER: The Failure of the Death Penalty in America and One Inmateâs Quest to Die with Dignity -- Gianna dives into her most intense year yetâcovering the life of a death row inmate, all while uncovering the shocking, dirty truths about our criminal justice system. And it should be noted that this episode contains frank discussions of both capital punishment and suicidality.
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In late March, thousands of writers, publishers, students, and writing educators gathered in Los Angeles for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs annual conference. Since our own Ben Jackson is a writer and professor of composition, we thought it would be a great opportunity to hear how writing is changing the world for the better in a time when we desperately need to change the world for the better.
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In the two months since the Trump regime took power, it has worked feverishly to dismantle the higher educational apparatus in the United States. Grant money funding research in the billions of dollars has been stopped or held to use as leverage against researchers and institutions. At the same time, Trump and his cronies are working to suppress free speech on campuses, deporting faculty and graduate students who do not share the administrationâs views on the Israel-Gaza conflict. The effects of these actions are terrifying. To discuss, weâve invited Todd Wolfson, President of the American Association of University Professors and an Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University.
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Right now, our government is making dramatic slashes to the federal workforce. Tens of thousands have already lost their jobs, and healthcare benefits are definitely on the chopping block. At the same time, the Trump regime is perhaps the most anti-union administration in our history, working to lessen the power of workers. In her recent article for Capital and Main, Jesse Baum tells the story of The Southern Women Handling 1-800-MEDICARE Calls and their demands for a Union. Sheâs with us to discuss.
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Donald Trump won a second term in part because of a disingenuous populist message that was intended to harness the anger of poor Americans at a system that does not serve them. Their anger is righteousâand while Trump is certainly not doing anything that will change this, his presidency is at least in part a symptom of our national contempt for the poor. Sarah Jonesâ new book âDisposable: Americaâs Contempt for the Underclassâ digs into this problem, and weâve invited her here to discuss it further.
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Back in 2018, Ben and I started NoRA as we watched the Parkland school shooting unfold. In the work to reduce gun violence and the deadly influence of the gun lobby on our nation we discovered so many amazing people doing so much important work in this field. Kris Brown, president of Brady, is one of those people, and weâre happy to have her here with us today.
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Weâve been talking a lot this year about effective resistance and the need for each of us to do something. Thatâs all well and good, but it can be hard to figure out exactly how to start. Jamia Wilsonâs new book Make Good Trouble: Discover Movements that Sparked Change can help! Jamia is an award-winning feminist activist, writer, speaker, and podcaster and author of Young Gifted and Black, Step Into Your Power, Big Ideas for Young Thinkers, and more.
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Can you believe itâs barely been one month? Trumpâs regime has only been in power a few weeks, and it has already done so much damage to the basic tenets of our democracy that itâs hard to get our heads around it.
And while Trump is moving quickly, this is not the product of quick and fast action. Rather, it's the result of a decades-long effort that is only now coming to full fruition. To talk about it, weâve invited Katherine Stuart to join us. Katharine is the author of the new book âMoney, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy
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In the first of our new live format, Alyssa and Ben dig into the evils and incompetence of the early Trump regime, and the need for focused, strategic, and effective activism.
Tune in LIVE every Thursday at 5PM ET/2PM PT for new episodes!
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Yes, the world is a hot mess--but we're not ALWAYS about political or social issues.
Ok, we're always about political or social issues. And sometimes, those issues include love and sex. This week, we've got both for you!
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Like a bad penny, Trump is back in officeâin part because of the xenophobic hate he spewed during the campaign and, sadly, the millions of Americans who embraced that hate. Much of it was aimed directly at immigrants, and now the felon-President is turning that hate into policy. Our guest today is one of those standing in Trumpâs way. Hassan Ahmad is an immigration attorney in Virginia and a former candidate for Congress.
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Los Angeles is experiencing an unprecedented tragedy. Thousands and thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed by wildfires, and its not even fire season. Millions of people have been impacted, losing not just their homes and what they represent, but the contents of those homes and the communities they love. Kasey Lansdale has been in the middle of it all working to make a difference. Kasey is a writer, musician, and publisher who has been collecting, organizing, and distributing critically needed donations throughout the affected areas.
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For the entirety of our existence as a nation, the United States has denied the full power of equal citizenship to women. Today, we have taken a huge step toward correcting that injustice.
Weâve got a powerhouse of a panel with us today. Zakiya Thomas is President and CEO of the ERA Coalition. Jessica Neuwirth is a board member of the ERA Coalition. Carol Jenkins is Chair of the Fund for Womenâs Equality, and Sophia Armen is the co-founder and Co-director of Feminist Front.
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For most of human history, power has come from landholding. How land is allocatedâor taken and reallocatedâdetermines who controls entire cultures. In his new book Land Power: Who Has It, Who Doesnât, and How That Determines the Fate of Societies Michael Albertus takes us through how it happens and what it means for all of us.
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