Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry

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...

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 righteous–and 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 Jones’ new book “Disposable: America’...

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 we’re happy to have her here with us today.

We’ve been talking a lot this year about effective resistance and the need for each of us to do something. That’s all well and good, but it can be hard to figure out exactly how to start. Jamia Wilson’s 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...

Can you believe it’s barely been one month? Trump’s 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 it’s 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 tal...

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!

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!

Like a bad penny, Trump is back in office–in 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 Trump’s way. Hassan Ahmad is an immigration attorney in Virginia and a forme...

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. K...

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. We’ve 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 Women’s E...

For most of human history, power has come from landholding. How land is allocated–or taken and reallocated–determines who controls entire cultures. In his new book Land Power: Who Has It, Who Doesn’t, and How That Determines the Fate of Societies Michael Albertus takes us through how it happens and what it means for all of us.

Late last year, President Jimmy Carter passed away at the age of 100. President Carter exemplified a life of service, and we spend this episode looking back at just some of the remarkable things that made President Carter who he was.

If nothing else, this year has been momentus--potentially decisive as it pertains to the futre of American Democracy. All along, we've talked with the experts about issues which are driving that democracy and those of us governed by it. Here are just a few of our favorite segments from 2024.

One of the most important things President Biden can do before the end of his administration is to direct the Archivist to publish the Equal Rights Amendment. To discuss why this matters, we’ve invited Kate Kelly back to the show. Kate is Senior Director for the Women’s Initiative at American Progress.

Donald Trump has vowed to do away with the department of education. This will have wide-ranging impacts on students across the country. To talk about what it all means, we’ve invited Sari Beth Rosenberg back to the show. Sari is a public school teacher in New York City, a founder of Teachers Younify, and a member of the American Federation of Teachers.

Kash Patel, Trump's FBI Director-Designate, has an enemies list--patriots he wants to prosecute for upholding the law and American values. Turns out, it looks a lot like our guest list. This week, we hear from three of our guests who are on the list: Nina Jankowicz, Adam Schiff, and President Biden.

Hi Friends, While Alyssa was starring in Chicago on Broadway, she took some time away from the podcast - but now she's back! We catch up on the election, the role of art in times of strife, self-preservation, and a whole lot more.

This year, many of us are struggling to find gratitude. Perhaps we can find it in the story of Sara Josepha Hale, the women who made it her life's mission to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. She had to face a nation in civil war, a president in crisis, the passage of time, and the apathy of power. Nevertheless, she persisted. We too, shall persist. Our fights are not new, and they will not be...

There seems to be no end to the violent conflict around the world. This violence seems to produce no end of human suffering, but as Stalin said, “The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." OUr guest this week is a master of telling the story of the one person. Arwa Damon is an award-winning journalist, president and founder of INARA, a non-profit that provides access...

Friends, it's a hard week. We lost, badly, and we learned more than we wanted to know about our neighbors. History gives us a lesson or two on what befalls those who govern with hate and abuses of power, and the resilience of the people who suffer under them. They are lessons Trump would do well to remember, if only he was capable of learning them.

The election is this week. The choice is yours: do we elect a convicted felon who has been adjudicated responsible for rape, who tried to overthrow the government, who pushed the Supreme Court to a never-before-seen level of extremism, who has threatened journalists, Democrats, his opponent, and others with violence, who promises economic and immigration plans that will cause incredible chaos and...

For most of the past 200 years, the United States has held itself in a nearly mythical esteem–and sometimes, used that esteem to justify doing terrible things in the name of the greater good. In their new book The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World, Noam Chomsky and Nathan Robinson confront that ideology and its dangerous global effects. Robinson joins us this w...

Since the fall of Roe v Wade, the Republican extremists in Congress and in the states have been giddy at taking away the right to bodily autonomy–especially aimed at women and pregnant people. Jessica Valenti takes a clear look at what is happening and how to stop it in her New York Times bestselling book “Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win.” She joins the show t his we...

The American right is weaponizing state-sponsored and endorsed vigilantism in an effort to impose Christian Nationalism in the United States. That’s the argument Jon Michaels and David Noll make in their new book “Vigilante Nation: How State Sponsored Terror Threatens Our Democracy.” Noll, a professor of law at Rutgers University, joins us to discuss.

You’ve seen his videos–the hilarious sendups of Trump and his cronies almost always with a particular musical flare. Well, Randy Rainbow has a new book out–Low-Hanging Fruit: Sparkling Whines, Champagne Problems, and Pressing Issues from My Gay Agenda. We’re delighted to have him here this week to chat about it.