Make It Plain MIP with Rev. Mark Thompson

Michelle Cirocco and Donna Hylton are working with Represent Justice towards two key goals: get more states to pass voter rights restoration laws, and correct any existing misconceptions on eligibility to vote for those who are previously incarcerated. They join the show today to discuss the Free Our Vote initiative, which not addresses those goals, but also provides a toolkit to update formerly i...

Kyle Rittenhouse is the most recent example of how dangerous and deadly radicalization can be, and with the help of coronavirus, Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss wants you to know that we are in the midst of a "perfect storm" of extremist recruitment. Dr. Miller-Idriss is the author of "Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far-Right," and in today's episode she points to how teens are...

THROWBACK EPISODE! Arkansas State Senator Joyce Elliott is running to represent the state's 2nd congressional district, and she's currently within one point of the Republican incumbent. If she wins, she will be the first Black person to be elected to congress from the state. But this isn't the first historic move Senator Elliott has made in her career OR her personal life. In today&#39...

THROWBACK EPISODE! Listen to Black women, win with Black women -- that's our strategy for the 2020 election. Each week we'll hear from powerful Black women on their strategies, concerns, and plans of action leading up to November, because we don't just want the presidency, we want the whole dang hill. We're kicking this series off with a killer lineup, featuring Jotaka Eaddy, Conve...

THROWBACK EPISODE! MJ Hegar is on the heels of Senator John Cornyn in Texas, so we're re-introducing you to this candidate -- share with all your friends in Texas! MJ Hegar is a combat veteran, a working mother, and a Texan who is fed up with Senator John Cornyn accepting big payouts from corporations that leave his constituents struggling to make ends meet -- that's why she's running...

THROWBACK EPISODE! Mike Espy is just ONE POINT behind Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, so we're re-upping this episode with the candidate so you can get to know him and share with EVERYONE you know in Mississippi. Confederate Cindy is not just another clever Internet meme -- it's the nickname for Mike Espy's opponent; you might remember her for saying she'd attend a public hanging if invi...

THROWBACK EPISODE! Jaime Harrison is tied in the polls against Senator Lindsay Graham, so we're bumping up this episode with the candidate so you can get to know him and share with EVERYONE you know in South Carolina. Jaime Harrison knows South Carolinians concerns because he grew up with similar ones. In his bid for Lindsey Graham's senate seat, he's been connecting with voters on the...

The 2016 presidential election saw the lowest turnout for Black voters in over 20 years and the Black Economic Alliance (BEA) is working to change that in 2020. David Clunie, who is the organization's Executive Director, joins the show to talk about the very first National Black Voter Day, improving voter engagement, and how the organization intends to get more Black voices involved in discuss...

Marissa Nance was attending Howard University a few years behind a young lady named Kamala Harris -- the same one who became a United States Senator and now the first female Vice Presidential candidate. She's admired her since those college days, and says she's still a leader she wants to emulate. Aside from her connections to Sen. Harris, did I mention Marissa's knock-out career? She...

Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs, is back -- and right off the bat, we learn about the key state where Trump is both losing and not bothering to advertise in. And as for ALL that polling data we're constantly bombarded with, Markos breaks down the most reliable information out there. Today's agenda also addresses Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where Biden is current...

Arkansas State Senator Joyce Elliott is running to represent the state's 2nd congressional district, and she's currently within one point of the Republican incumbent. If she wins, she will be the first Black person to be elected to congress from the state. But this isn't the first historic move Senator Elliott has made in her career OR her personal life. In today's episode, she dig...

In a startling ProPublica report, Annie Waldman and Joshua Kaplan reveal the horrific details of New Orleans hospitals sending coronavirus patients home to die or pressuring families to put them in hospice care, and in some cases discontinued treatment, even when their loved ones begged them to keep trying. Every patient who was sent home and died was African-American, and just yesterday, the Loui...

How serious is it when a state threatens to secede from the United States? We've heard it casually dropped in places like Texas and California, and certainly you've heard people say they're leaving the country if Trump gets re-elected, which to Richard Kreitner, suggests there is something real fermenting under the surface. Richard is a contributing writer for The Nation, as well as th...

We know the only way to win this November is to #WinWithBlackWomen, so we're continuing the conversation with influential Black women who give us insight and strategy for success. This week, Mark speaks with Tameika Devine, the first Black woman elected to the Columbia, South Carolina City Council, and Glynda Carr, President, CEO, and Co-Founder of Higher Heights for America and Co-Creator of...

Representative Anna Eskamani (FL-47) flipped her seat in 2018, and now she needs your help to do it again in November. Though she had been working on progressive initiatives well before she ran for office, she was spurred into action when Donald Trump was elected in 2016. In today's episode, she discusses the family struggles that continue to motivate her, how her constituents are facing coron...

MJ Hegar is a combat veteran, a working mother, and a Texan who is fed up with Senator John Cornyn accepting big payouts from corporations that leave his constituents struggling to make ends meet -- that's why she's running against him in November. In today's episode, MJ lays out her plans to prioritize the working class and expand healthcare coverage, all without big donors in her poc...

We've seen the headlines that jobs were added in August, but there's ALWAYS more to understanding the jobs report. We're still in a deficit from coronavirus, and our resident economist is back to break it down for us. Chad Stone, Chief Economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, gives us the details on how unemployment has impacted the Black and Hispanic population specifi...

Soledad O'Brien was in Seattle working as the Executive Producer on a documentary about the homelessness crisis in the city when coronavirus arrived in the United States (the first confirmed case was in Seattle). Their team knew it was time to not only pivot, but get a wider shot at how the virus would impact the homeless, as well as another vulnerable group: the elderly. Along with filmmaker...

Each week leading up to the election, we're learning how to #WinWithBlackWomen, where we'll feature influential Black women who provide strategy and insight for success in November. This week, Mark speaks with Kerene Tayloe, Director of Federal Legislative Affairs, WEACT for Environmental Justice. You'll find out why she decided to sign on to the #WinWithBlackWomen initiative, her advi...

It's another installment of #ThursdayKos with polling master Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs. First he weighs in on Biden's new campaign ad condemning looting and rioting, pointing out the ways it was not really needed (and not exactly helpful) at the moment. He and Mark also dig into the latest polling numbers and discuss the possibility for minds that are already made up...

Hall of Fame Georgetown Basketball Coach John Thompson would have been 79 years old today. On his birthday, we're commemorating his life, career, and the impact he had on those he knew and coached, including Mark himself, who worked under Coach as Manager of the Georgetown Men's Basketball team from 1986-88. The first conversation is with the iconic Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, who led Coa...

If you're feeling anxious about misinformation campaigns surrounding the 2020 election, your fears are justified; according to Ashley Bryant and Andre Banks, Co-Leaders of the Win Black/Pa'Lante Initiative, Black voters were the #1 target in 2016, where foreign actors flooded social media platforms impersonating Black leaders and reached millions of followers, driving voter suppression and...

Tom Perez says the RNC had a lot of "happy talk" about things like health care and the coronavirus response, but the tales are detached from reality. Outside of the Republican bubble, a hurricane clobber cities, the state of California is on fire, and a racial justice crisis is continually unfolding across the country. As the Chairman points out, despite the love stories being told at the...

Today's episode begins with Congresswoman Karen Bass, the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus who was recently a contender for Biden's VP. She shares her reaction to the attempted murder of Jacob Blake, the House's efforts to hold police accountable for murdering innocent civilians, her thoughts on the attacks against Sen. Kamala Harris since her appointment as Biden's running...

Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs, is BACK for this week's installment of #ThursdayKos and we finally get to hear his thoughts on Joe Biden selecting Senator Kamala Harris for VP, reflections on the Democratic Convention, and why he and Mark are both shook by Kimberly Guilfoyle's shouting, errr, I mean, speech, at the RNC, among other strange & sloppy program features. M...