Make It Plain MIP with Rev. Mark Thompson

The Rev. Robert R.A. Turner describes being attacked by anti mask protesters last Wednesday during his weekly Repentance & Reparations Rally at Tulsa City Hall. The Pastor of Historic Vernon Chapel AME Church explains why he is demanding reparations for the Greenwood Massacre--the 1921 bombing of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Editor: And...

At the annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee in 2006, Rev. Mark mic'd John Lewis, so he could describe what happened every step of the way on Bloody Sunday. From Brown Chapel, where the March 7, 1965 march began to the other side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, here is raw audio of John Lewis describing the 1965 March during the 2006 March. You will hear the voices of Martin Luther King, III and t...

Leshia Townsend, McDonald's worker AND agitator for a union at McD's, describes the company's war on its own workers and joins Allyn Umel of fightfor15.org to make the case for the Monday, July 20 Strike For Black Lives. j20strikeforblacklives.org Charisma Troiano of democracyforward.org reacts to Pompeo's July 16 speech, and updates on several lawsuits that have Trump hemmed up. E...

Rev. Jackson recounts the experience of his first act of civil disobedience as a part of the Greenville Eight at the Greenville, SC whites-only public library on July 16, 1960. Daily Kos Founder Markos Moulitstas talks Trump's dwindling numbers, Biden's ad buy in Texas, Sen. Doug Jones chances after Tuesday's primary and he urges Sen. Lisa Murkowski to leave the GOP. Executive Producer...

What kind of power does your boss have over you? What does it mean, in this pandemic world, to think about the conditions under which we work? Are we even conscious of these conditions? This is what Mark explores today with Professor of Sociology and Author Erin Hatton. While researching her book, “Coerced: Work Under the Threat of Punishment,” Dr. Hatton interviewed four groups of people: prisone...

Eric Boehlert of pressrun.media is holding the press accountable every week as he scans the coverage of Trump and points directly to their lies--whether in the form of omissions or outright misinformation. “It’s a fantasy that the press wants to advance, that [Trump] is a rational person with our interests at heart, and if he can just focus, we’ll be okay. No. He’s not going to focus and he doesn’...

The veteran journalist and publisher of prorev.com on the importance of people with differences finding things in common to work together for real change--unity in diversity. He also believes that we must confront the strong and convert the weak. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Editor: Ryan Woodhall Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com ...

Tucker Carlson hasn’t explicitly said that he wants to run for president, but he’s also not denying it, or taking an opportunity to humiliate the reporter who asked about a 2024 run. So, is he really considering it? Angelo Carusone, President of MediaMatters.org, says Carlson is grasping for power as his show's advertising dollars dwindle to nothing, save for MyPillow (remember their CEO at th...

On this week’s Thursday Kos, Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas talks with Mark about Trump’s recent losses including suburban white women and battleground states’ voters dissatisfied with his pandemic response. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informatio...

We see the term “contact tracing” pop up in the coronavirus conversation quite a bit, but what the heck is it anyway? How does it work, and how can it help? Dr. Keren Landman is a physician, epidemiologist, and journalist, who recently wrote the piece published on Medium titled, “Hey America, What Happened to Contact Tracing?” (link below). In today’s episode, she gives us an understanding of not...

David Shimer, author of "Rigged: America, Russia and 100 Years of Covert Electoral Interference," knows what Russia wants for the United States -- to undermine and discredit our democracy and turn our country into a weakened, corrupt version of itself. After interviewing 26 former advisors to Obama, a handful of Trump officials, and many other national security figures, David is helping us...

Jobs were added in June, but as Chad Stone, Chief Economist for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, points out, we're still in a massive deficit from what was lost back in February. And now that social distancing has relaxed in many states, and coronavirus begins to surge again, "jobs are going to be disappearing already" from the 4.8 million that were gained last month. Mark a...

Senator Doug Jones of Alabama joins Mark today for an in-depth discussion on everything happening in the U.S. right now, which, as you know, is a lot. Starting with coronavirus, the senator shares his thoughts on Republicans finally getting vocal about battling it with the most basic of recommendations, like masks and social distancing. Though it's better late than never, Senator Jones is conc...

Markos Moulitsas, our personal polling whiz and founder of DailyKos and Civiqs, gives a hopeful outlook based on the latest numbers. Aside from noting that Biden is "within striking distance of getting 400 electoral votes," he feels confident that we'll flip the Senate in November. And that's not just because Senator Susan Collins is likely doomed, no thanks to Supreme Court Justic...

"Gun rights" supporters are invested in protecting the 2nd Amendment, but often conveniently forget the 1st. Igor Volsky, Executive Director of Guns Down America, is back for today's episode of MIP and the first order of business is the intersection of gun violence and the recent protests for #BlackLivesMatter. Igor and his team looked at instances of firearms at protests from late May...

Over the weekend the news broke that Russian bounties to Taliban-linked militants resulted in deaths of U.S. troops, according to intelligence assessments. Now Trump and his aides are dancing around whether or not he was briefed on this months ago. In today's episode, Mark talks with Retired Army Colonel Jasey Briley & Retired Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Malcolm Nance, who provide deta...

It was the summer of 1999 and Julius Jones was a 19-year-old college student home for the summer. Before he could return to school that fall, he found himself locked up for a murder he didn't commit. This is the story of Julius Jones, an innocent man sitting on death row in Oklahoma, potentially receiving an execution date before the end of 2020. That's where Cece Jones-Davis comes in. She...

Today's episode is a lesson in how the government seeks to weaken certain demographics by separating children from their families (especially when we're in the midst of a cultural uprising)--a tactic that is certainly not new, but more relevant than ever as COVID-19 rages on. "The Trump administration was able to accomplish what it set out to do in 2018 and 2019" to immigrants, say...

Susie Madrak of CrooksandLiars.com had a 10-week illness that she suspects was a bout of coronavirus (you're going to have to listen to the episode to hear about her testing situation)--something that was "like a burglar hitting every room of the house" as she experienced everything from loss of taste and smell to difficulty breathing. And as a cancer survivor, she figured it best to e...

If you're looking to support an organization that is doing the literal work to dismantle systemic racism, then look no further than Color of Change. Their team goes straight to the sources that are contributing to and supporting white supremacy--like the time they successfully pressured Mastercard to stop processing funds for hate groups and white supremacist organizations. Arisha Hatch is the...

On the heels of the disturbing revelation that a noose was left in NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace's garage, Mark talks with Andrew Lawrence of MediaMatters.org, who says there's no difference between those who support the confederacy and those who support Trump--it's his ironclad base. The two also do some unpacking of recent Tucker Carlson broadcasts, which come complete with politicians...

It's summertime, but school is in session with today's panel, folks! Last week, the Supreme Court handed down a historic ruling on Title VII, which now provides employment protections to LGBTQ+ people. But what does that actually mean? That's the focus of today's panel featuring Joshua Matz, Partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLC, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law School, Rev. I...

Today is the final episode we will be sharing a personal poverty story ahead of the Poor People's Campaign holding a Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington TOMORROW, June 20th. Today's speaker is India from Arkansas, who shares her experience with predatory landlords who exploit those living in poverty. Up next is a conversation with Majority Whip James Clyburn. The...

First up: The Poor People's Campaign is holding a Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington on June 20th; every day leading up to that day of action, we'll be featuring real stories of struggle and poverty to raise awareness and make the subject a priority. That's what you'll find at the top of the episode, and today's speaker is Francine from Chula, MS, who...

First up: The Poor People's Campaign is holding a Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington on June 20th; every day leading up to that day of action, we'll be featuring real stories of struggle and poverty to raise awareness and make the subject a priority. That's what you'll find at the top of the episode, and today's speaker is Hope, a woman who experience...