Progressive Voices

This time on Code WACK! Imagine discovering that your infant child—your nine-month-old baby—has lead poisoning – a toxin banned from paint and phased out of gasoline decades ago. So why do thousands of children each year have dangerously high levels of lead in their system? We spoke with New York mom, nurse, and advocate Shannon Burkett, whose son Cooper developed lead poisoning that stole his wor...

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is first joined by CNN Military Analyst Cedric Leighton. Col....

Leslie welcomes back Fred Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the 63 unions and 15 million members of the AFL-CIO. In 2022, he was unanimously elected to the position as the highest ranking African American officer in the history of America’s labor movement. Secretary Redmond shares how he and the AFL-CIO just wrapped up their nationwide “It’s Better in a Union: Fighting for Freedom, Fairness and Secu...

Leslie is joined by Dr. Robert Shapiro, Chairman of Sonecon, an economic advisory firm, and a Senior Fellow of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. The two examine the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) again handing President Trump a bleak set of jobs numbers, just one month after he fired the agency's commissioner over weak employment data. On Friday morning, the BLS reported...

Wildfires destroy historic California Gold Rush town; Trump further escalates attacks against on US wind energy; Extreme rains trigger deadly landslide in war-torn Sudan; PLUS: Dozens of climate scientists issue scathing rebuttal to Dept. of Energy's science-denying report... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

This time on Code WACK! What happens when millions are stripped of Medicaid coverage? Who shoulders the costs when hospitals are forced to care for more uninsured patients? And how will unions and the workers they represent bear the brunt of skyrocketing premiums, job losses, and a growing healthcare crisis? Today we're joined by Cindy Young, a veteran labor negotiator and health policy advisor, a...

What happens when millions are stripped of Medicaid coverage? Who shoulders the costs when hospitals are forced to care for more uninsured patients? And how will unions and the workers they represent bear the brunt of skyrocketing premiums, job losses, and a growing healthcare crisis? Today we're joined by Cindy Young, a veteran labor negotiator and health policy advisor, and now vice president of...

Spain battles its worst wildfire season --- yes, intensified by climate change; The world is drying out, threatening humanity's supply of fresh water; PLUS: Acting NASA Administrator wants the agency to give up climate science --- despite NASA's statutory mandate... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

This time on Code WACK! What if California, Oregon, and Washington joined forces to win federal approval for universal, single-payer healthcare? Could a united West Coast shift the balance of power in America’s healthcare debate? To find out, we recently spoke with Michael Lighty, president of the single payer advocacy coalition Healthy California Now. Michael ’s a founding fellow of the Sanders I...

Hurricane Erin already setting records; Climate change drove record levels of global humidity in 2024, with 2025 breathing down its neck; Deadly rains in Pakistan, deadly Nordic heatwave, both supercharged by human-caused global warming; PLUS: U.N. talks to curb plastic production collapse, with oil-producing nations (like the U.S.) refusing to limit plastic production... All that and more in toda...

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is first joined by Robert Benson, D.Phil., Associate Director...

Leslie welcomes back Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, for an in-depth look at four timely topics shaping the global economy and American industry.   They break down China’s worsening economic crisis and what it means for global markets, and unpack the latest developments in U.S. tariff negotiations with key trading partners. The pair also highlights practical Made-...

This time on Code WACK! Why are some Americans choosing to go off the health insurance grid? For Lani Gonzales, entrepreneur and hypnotherapist, it was the mounting frustration with denials, delays … and ultimately being dropped by her health insurer through no fault of her own. So instead of reapplying she walked away—and pieced together a system for herself. Combining medical tourism, concierge...

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is first joined by Tim Karr, Senior of Director of Strategy a...

Nations gather in Geneva to again confront the global crisis of plastic pollution; Trump EPA moves to claw back billions in community grants for rooftop solar; PLUS: As energy costs rise, Trump Administration escalates its war on cheap renewable energy... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

What would you do if your health insurer suddenly dropped you—and the care you needed cost thousands out of pocket? That’s what happened to Lani Gonzales, a former attorney from Florida who thought she understood contracts—until she came face-to-face with America’s broken healthcare system. After experiencing medical debt and being denied coverage for vital health treatments, Lani asked herself: W...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Fire at Grand Canyon North Rim is now the largest mega-fire in the U.S.; New research shows the cascading health impacts of wildfire smoke; PLUS: Trump Administration rolls out climate science deniers to justify overturning climate change regulations... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Trump EPA moves to kill its own authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions; 2025 on track to be one of the hottest years ever recorded; PLUS: The economic toll of climate-intensified wildfires and severe storms is soaring... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

THIS WEEK ON CODE WACK! Most of us know that our profit-driven healthcare system results in moral injury. How is moral harming physicians? And how is it harming patients? Dr. Diljeet Singh is an integrative gynecologic oncologist and the president of Physicians for a National Health Program. She’s leading a powerful new project with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to find out. By gathering stor...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Massive algae bloom and marine heat wave are decimating South Australia's coast and fisheries; Iran grapples with water crisis and extreme heat; Wind-driven wildfires force evacuations in Greece, Turkey; PLUS: Donald Trump's irrational hatred of wind energy is killing jobs across the U.S.... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is joined by the White House Correspondent for CQ Roll Call,...

IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: A healthy environment is a human right, U.N. world court says in landmark climate ruling; Trump Administration working overtime to Make America Polluted Again; Climate-intensified extreme weather is driving up food prices around the world; PLUS: New U.N. analyses find booming clean, renewable energy has hit a global tipping point... All that and more in today's Green News...

What happens when doctors feel forced to act against their own moral compass? When financial barriers—not clinical judgment—determine the care a patient receives? We’re talking about moral injury in medicine—how it’s affecting physicians, harming patients, and why it’s getting worse under our profit-driven healthcare system. Joining us is Dr. Diljeet Singh, an integrative gynecologic oncologist an...

The depths to which our country’s leadership has sunk is astounding. Now, we come to find the Secretary of Defense has pulled a Trump-appointed, Senate-approved Admiral who was about to take command of the 7th Fleet. He is a beloved leader, roundly thought to be best leader in the navy today, but he couldn’t pass the ideology test imposed by the SECDEF. I hope you’ll listen as we briefly explore e...

Leslie is joined by Jim Savage, Legislative Representative for the United Steelworkers (USW). The two discuss how the U.S. Dept. of Veterans' Affairs has been understaffed and underfunded for decades, often proving to be a barrier to those who served getting the care they need. However, rather than bolstering this vital lifeline, early on in the Trump administration, amid brutal cuts to a number o...