American Fever Dream

NYC Councilmember Carlina Rivera joins Milly and Amanda to discuss access to abortion among Latina communities. While much has been made about the Texas ban on abortions, Latinas around the country -- even in New York City -- have struggled to access abortion services because of onerous government restrictions like Title 10 and the Hyde Amendment. She breaks down the abortion fund she helped creat...

In this week's Afternoon Tea, Sami is joined by journalist, author, podcast host and MSNBC anchor, Alicia Menendez. To start, they begin with a conversation on Alicia's background, how she became a reporter, and finally making the jump as the anchor of her own show, "American Voices With Alicia Menendez." They chat about the key to being a great interviewer, the qualities of a good guest, and what...

Alise, Milly, and Amanda start with a quick update on the debt ceiling agreement before discussing Instagram’s impact on teen girls. Then, Secretary Julian Castro joins us for a special interview tied to Hispanic Heritage Month. He shares the songs, stories, and sayings that defined his upbringing in Texas raised by a Chicano activist in San Antonio’s Mexican-American community. The hosts share co...

Sami, Kaitlin, and Amanda debrief on Democrats’ path to raising the debt ceiling with no Republican help. Will this be the push they finally need to end the filibuster? Then they react to the Facebook whistleblower’s Senate testimony. What is different about these revelations? Finally, they run through the most absurd lines from Mark Zuckerberg’s response. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

Alise, Bryan, and Amanda debrief on the Instagram outage and how they made use of the time. They discuss how the worldwide disruption highlights how deeply Facebook’s platforms are embedded in our lives -- and why that should scare us. They also detail a FB whistleblower’s allegation the company knowingly drives hostility and anger to help its bottom line. Finally, they settle into congressional c...

Amanda and Sami sit down with disability advocate Kelsey Lindell to discuss urgent issues for the disability community. Kelsey describes her experience as a child with a disability and later as a disabled woman in the workforce, and details the challenges she’s faced ensuring accomodations and equality. She gets candid about how workplaces think they’re supporting people with disabilities vs. thei...

In this episode of Afternoon Tea, Sami is joined by critically acclaimed historian, educator, and influencer living at the intersections of Black, Muslim, and bisexual identity. They discuss her forthcoming book, Read This To Get Smarter, the stresses and rewards of being an educator on the internet, and how the past several years have been a time of learning and unlearning for all of us. Blair sh...

Alise, Kaitlin, and Amanda catch up on congressional negotiations and do their daily brainstorm of WTF Kyrsten Sinema could be thinking. Then they discuss the success of vaccine mandates for health care workers, looking at cases from North Carolina and New York. Finally, they react to YouTube’s decision to ban all anti-vaccine content, and how tech platforms failed to moderate the anti-vaxx moveme...

Alise, Milly, and Amanda start off with some important local news stories, including zebras in Maryland and a topless menace in Brooklyn. They break down a high stakes week in Congress and get into their frustrations with Kyrsten Sinema, and discuss whether it’s sexist to critique her presentation. Finally, they unpack a long-awaited guilty verdict for R. Kelly and reflect on four years into the #...

Sami and Amanda are joined by dream guest Alyssa Mastromonaco, former deputy chief of staff for Barack Obama and host of the “Hysteria” podcast on Crooked Media. They discuss their journeys with special needs pets before returning to the moment Alyssa learned she’d have to give up weed to work in the White House. She describes watching a Democratic White House from the outside and offers an inside...

USWNT player Kelley O’Hara joins Amanda and Bryan to talk Tokyo Olympics, pay equity, and “Bachelor In Paradise.” O’Hara discusses her podcast for the Just Women’s Sports network and an upcoming season of incredible interviews with women athletes. She describes the unusual vibe at the Tokyo Olympics and how she feels about the responsibility imposed on women athletes to take a stand. Finally, they...

Alise, Kaitlin, and Amanda are back with a quick rundown of the debt ceiling debate: what’s the debt ceiling, why do we have it, and how did it become a political bargaining tool? They detail the calamity that would take place should government funding lapse and explain how Republicans manipulate the debt ceiling to promote their anti-spending agenda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

Milly, Alise, and Amanda discuss why this year’s Emmys felt especially performative on diversity and list their biggest letdowns. Then they debrief on the first set of challenges to Texas’ abortion law brought by one former felon on house arrest and another pro-choice man in Chicago. Finally, they reflect on the devastating images of Haitians at the border and how the Biden administration is fight...

Amanda and Sami react to the avalanche of weekend news stories, from “The Activist” pivoting its approach to France’s fury over submarines. Then they look behind the curtain of the barriers to passing the $3.5 trillion Biden agenda, including Kyrsten Sinema’s pharmaceutical funding and Manchin’s connections to fossil fuels. Plus, why the University of Virginia forged his daughter’s business degree...

On this episode of Afternoon Tea, Sami is joined by Emily Amick, who you may know as the face behind the viral political instagram account @EmilyinYourPhone and the co-host of the We’ve Got Issues podcast. To start, Emily shares her background, including being a former Counsel to Senator Chuck Schumer, working as a lawyer representing victims of terrorism, and now being an internet personality. Ne...

Alise, Amanda, and Kaitlin are back to react to Governor Gavin Newsom’s victory and what lessons Democrats can take into 2022. Did anyone “beat back Trumpism” and is COVID still a winning strategy? Then they break down the new voting legislation Democrats are introducing in the Senate to convince Joe Manchin that there is truly no voting rights bill Republicans will vote for. Learn more about your...

Alise, Bryan, and Amanda are back with an absurdity-filled show. First they react to the 2021 Met Gala, from Nicki Minaj’s vaccine admission to AOC’s pointed statement. Did wearing a “Tax The Rich” dress to one of the most exclusive displays of wealth miss the mark? Then they discuss the new reality show “The Activist,” which pits social causes against each other for a chance to ask rich people fo...

Bryan and Amanda are back to reflect on the weekend’s September 11 events and how they each processed that tragic day, while discussing how the nation’s leaders honored the occasion. Then they break down new revelations from former Trump press secretary, who details how Melania Trump reacted to the storming of the Capitol. For the Dame Buzzworthy news segment, they reflect on the electric US open....

Sami, Kaitlin, and Amanda check in on Congress’s back-to-work plans and give the Democratic Senate a third-quarter report card. Then they react to two toxic girlbosses: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and scammer Elizabeth Holmes. They discuss Noem’s ban on telemedicine abortion in her attempt to lead the culture war into 2024. Finally, they break down the trial of Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes, he...

Amanda Duberman is joined by Kaytlin Bailey, stand-up comic and sex worker advocate, to break down the landscape for sex workers and prostitution policy in the US. They discuss how old-school feminism tarnishes sex work as anti-woman when criminalizing it actually feeds the patriarchy. Kaytlin also runs through some huge legal fights that will change the future for sex workers, and why victories f...

Milly, Amanda, and Chris are back for something a little different -- an entirely Beyonce-themed episode in honor of her 40th birthday. They react to criticism of the star’s appearance with the Tiffany Diamond, a blood diamond and symbol of colonialism. They unpack Beyonce’s overall cultural influence, and how her evolution has changed her relationship with the public. And because at the end of th...

Alise, Milly, and Amanda sit down for a special Labor Day-themed episode. They detail their own work history, the role jobs have played in their lives, and the big pivots they’ve made along the way. They describe separating your work and your sense of self when we give so much to our jobs, and share advice for those just starting their professional lives  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me...

Milly, Amanda, and our favorite friend-of Chris Burns (@fatcarriebradshaw) discuss the fallout from the Supreme Court’s decision to let the Texas abortion ban remain in place. How long will abortion be illegal in Texas? They explain how devastating this is even to women who can still access abortion out of state. They discuss all the consequences of parenthood that are never factored into the cons...

Imani Gandy of Rewire News Group and the Boom! Lawyered podcast returns to break down Texas’s “diabolical” new abortion law. She describes how Texas obliterated its own legal norms to deputize citizens to enforce the law, and explains the damage that’s already been done even if SCOTUS blocks it. Finally, she shares the potential landscape for what comes next. Then, Kaitlin and Amanda play a round...

Milly, Amanda, and Bryan reflect on the end of the war in Afghanistan. Then, they discuss how the Biden administration has entered the chat on mask mandates, unleashing the Education Department to investigate whether mask bans violate the rights of people with disabilities. Then, they share the latest in Ron DeSantis’ never-ending quest to keep fabric off kids’ faces. They end with an update on po...