Make It Plain MIP with Rev. Mark Thompson

The United States government could implement a permanent universal basic income, says David A. Love, Executive Editor of BlackCommentator.com, but they won't, because it would expose the system of capitalism in America. There's also a connection to the administration's blatant racism. Mark and David explore this tangled web and more on today's episode of Make It Plain. Executive Pr...

The April jobs report shows the worst unemployment numbers since the Great Depression. Despite the fact that it wasn't a surprise, it's still a painful realization that presents a lot of open-ended questions and challenges. Mark and Chad Stone, the Chief Economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, get into the specifics on economy recovery, stimulus checks, an explainer on the...

Why is paid leave not guaranteed in America? We are one of the only countries in the world that does not have a cohesive national paid leave policy, says Dawn Huckelbridge of the Paid Leave for All Act, even though it ends up saving the federal government money in the long run. In today's episode Dawn talks about the demand from both sides of the aisle for access to emergency paid sick family...

Did you know white women are the only demographic who sway back and forth on their approval for Trump? Markos Moulitsas, founder of DailyKos and Civiqs, is on for #ThursdayKos and he breaks down three major Republican voting blocs and where they stand right now on Trump. They also get into Tara Reade's allegations against Joe Biden and how these situations are handled on each side of the aisle...

The truth of the matter is this: we don't know what state our country will be in when November rolls around--if we'll be in quarantine, if coronavirus will be back with a vengeance--we just don't know. That's why Tiana Epps-Johnson, Executive Director of the Center for Tech and Civic Life, says we need a plan that involves technology to lessen the need for people to show up in pers...

What if internet access were a utility we were guaranteed with housing, just like cable and electric? That's what Elandria Williams, Executive Director of PeoplesHub is thinking about lately, and strategizing the ways that could become a reality. And in a time where we are so disconnected, we need that access more than ever, especially in communities dominated by people of color who rely on pe...

Last week, armed civilians conducted their version of a protest at the Michigan capitol to demand the lock-down be lifted, a display to threaten both civilians and lawmakers, says Shannon Watts, Founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Meanwhile, gun sales continue to surge--and all of this fuels the work that Moms Demand Action does every day. Shannon tell us that long after the co...

Abortion access is under direct threat right now--with greater intensity than in the time before coronavirus--because states that were previously trying to ban the medical procedure are using COVID-19 as leverage to push their agenda. How, exactly, are lawmakers trying to sneak their revamped abortion ban in? Could Roe v. Wade actually be overturned in the midst of this pandemic? Mark talks with l...

75-percent of coronavirus cases have no race and ethnicity data, despite the fact that it's a basic principle of public health. Dr. Judy Lubin, President of The Center For Urban and Racial Equity, explains that the data is critical in order to track the virus and target resources--and not having those numbers can creat a domino effect in unexpected ways. Dr. Lubin explores that and more in tod...

Sen. Sherrod Brown is fighting for workers who didn't get the option to work from home during the pandemic, as their jobs became more essential than many of us ever realized--think bus drivers, grocery store workers, custodial workers, health care workers, etc.. In today's episode, he talks about his conversations with those essential employees and why they should receive a lump sum bonus...

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand knows the importance of the United States Postal Service--especially in the upcoming presidential election--and she has a plan to save it. Did you ever consider the possibility of banking at the post office? Sen. Gillibrand has, and that is just one portion of her three-part plan to keep this crucial resource from sinking under the weight of coronavirus. ALSO in this episod...

The death toll from coronavirus in the United States has topped 50-thousand, and Sam Smith, Founder and Editor of prorev.com, let's us know that's more than we lose to suicide in an entire year. Another death that Sam and Mark discuss, is that of the United States Postal Service--its still standing now, but the future is uncertain, and it just might have something to do with Trump not want...

Senator Kamala Harris knows the public health crisis comes first, and the economic crisis follows--because without healthy Americans, nothing else matters. And that's why she's fighting for items in the next coronavirus stimulus package like free medical treatment and data collection based on race, in order to better target resources based on need. It's also why she's worried about...

Did you know about the test before the test? It's the first step in the COVID-19 screening process that determines if you'll get the swab test--and it's linked to one of the reasons that African-Americans are disproportionately affected by coronavirus. Dr. Leon McDougle is the President Elect of the National Medical Association and he is on with Mark today to offer insight into the scr...

Many, if not most, religious communities in COVID-19 affected areas are reacting responsibly to the coronavirus and implementing practices to honor social distancing--but we can't discount the effect of far-right propaganda. Katherine Stewart is an investigative journalist, frequent New York Times op-ed contributor, and author of "The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religio...

For every one COVID-19 mobile testing site in the United States, there are about 100 gun shops that offer drive-through purchasing--which is a new service made available in the midst of the pandemic, thanks to the Trump administration classifying these businesses as essential. And what we learned from March's data is that there were 1 million additional gun permit applications as opposed to Ma...

In the midst of the coronavirus, Trump has been communicating with leaders all over the world, but none as much as Putin, who he's been having regular phone calls with. This is what Max Bergmann, Co-Founder of The Moscow Project tells us in today's episode. He and Mark also get into how the coronavirus can potentially impact Putin's regime, how Trump's relationship with Putin has s...

The Trump administration continues to expand access to firearms during the Coronavirus pandemic, and so gun sales continue to rise, which is no coincidence--we’ve seen similar statistical jumps when Barack Obama was elected to office, as well as just after 9/11. That makes it a particularly interesting time to sit down with Frank Smyth, author of “The NRA: The Unauthorized History," who shares...

What happens to those who are incarcerated when a pandemic takes hold of our country? April Grayson is a National Surrogate for the REPRESENT JUSTICE Campaign, in addition to her work for the Young Women’s Freedom Center, a coalition of currently and formerly incarcerated women creating awareness of the unique issues facing women in prison, and she is working to shed a light on the vulnerability o...

FACT: The coronavirus is disproportionately killing people of color. Rashad Robinson, President of Color of Change, knows this isn't a coincidence, it's because of the conditions that existed in our society before coronavirus arrived. But Color of Change came to life after another historic moment in this country--after Hurricane Katrina, "born in the midst of a crisis where government...

Fox News is endangering people's lives with their misinformation--the gap has officially closed between their broadcast of lies and how it could impact viewers. As the President of Media Matters, Angelo Carusone deals with Fox fallacies daily, and he says that the damage is irreparable, as hosts show no shame in giving life to conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, Trump shows support and enthusiasm...

Tom Perez, Chairman of the DNC, says Trump's lack of leadership--including his initial denial of the seriousness of the virus and the press conferences he treats like campaign rallies--has landed us in the position our country is in, now leading the globe in the number of deaths from coronavirus. He discusses the vast differences between present-day and working with former President Obama lead...

Kim Ortiz, also known as Copy Watch Kimmy, is the Co-Founder of NYC Shut It Down and President of the Copwatch Patrol Unit Women's Division--and she is clear on why she became an abolitionist. Ortiz sits down with Mark to discuss that moment she became conscious about police brutality, her thoughts on stop-and-frisk and why Bloomberg would never be the right candidate, and how waiting on the g...

Jessica Care Moore is a critically acclaimed poet with numerous collections, the founder and CEO of Moore Black Press, Executive Producer of Black WOMEN Rock!, and Founder of the literacy-driven Jess Care Moore Foundation. Her latest poetry collection, "We Want Our Bodies Back," is out now, and she talks with Mark about generating income as artists (especially in uncertain times like we&#3...

In the midst of coronavirus chaos, Rep. Jim Clyburn takes the time to talk with Mark about what's happening between the House and Senate, Mitch McConnell twisting Rep. Clyburn's words on the stimulus bill, how we can restructure systems so rural areas don't get left behind, why we're going to need more legislation down the road, concerns about voting in the primary and general elec...