The Breakdown with Shaun King

Most people could not name anyone, other than Jeffrey Epstein, who was killed or died in jail in the United States. While about 1,200 people are killed by police per year in this country, nearly 5,000 people die in America’s jails and prisons. On today’s episode, Shaun breaks down the conditions behind those numbers and has an action step for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

Today, Shaun openly and honestly addresses some of the more critical questions that he often hears about how his fundraisers work and what his finances are like.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At least 7 different elected sheriffs in North Carolina have stated that they will not cooperate with ICE. So, yesterday, in a very dangerous vote, North Carolina state legislators passed House Bill 370 which would force sheriffs to cooperate with ICE. Shaun is going to unpack this bill on today’s episode, and asks you to take action because North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Roy Cooper has the...

Five years ago, Eric Garner was murdered by an NYPD officer. Yesterday, the police officer responsible for his murder finally was fired from the force. On today’s episode, Shaun unpacks the incredible amount of backlash from white police officers and police unions.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On many episodes of The Breakdown, we have clearly laid out the sway that local DAs have over legal system. Today Shaun breaks down the role of an actor whose importance often gets overlooked — your local mayor. Many people are unaware of just how much power their mayor has over the landscape of their local legal system, so let’s dig in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

Yesterday, the NFL announced a wide-ranging partnership with Jay-Z and his company, Roc-Nation, mainly to promote music and social justice work. They made this announcement on the 3-year-anniversary of the first day Colin Kaepernick took a knee in the NFL. On today’s episode, Shaun is open about how he feels about this partnership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In interviews this week, Trump’s head of US Citizenship & Immigration Services first suggested rewriting the beautiful poem at the feet of the Statue of Liberty, and then later claimed that it was only meant for Europeans in the first place. On today’s episode, Shaun breaks down exactly what happened in these interviews. When the administration of America is trying to rewrite what this country sta...

Do you think that you are racist? In all likelihood, your answer is no, but it’s a trick question. Most of us don’t think about what it really means to be “not racist” in today’s world. On today’s episode, Shaun is asking us to challenge our understanding of racism as he lays out a path toward better definitions of what racism is and isn’t. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...

Today, we are launching a 15-month campaign to flip the Senate. Flipping the Senate is a national emergency, and we need to out-organize our opponents. On today’s episode, Shaun breaks down why we need to organize like our lives depend on it, and introduces you to 7 candidates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Wednesday, nearly 700 people were taken from their jobs in the middle of Mississippi’s first day of school in the largest ICE raid in American history. Words cannot describe the pain that so many people have experienced in the past week. On today’s episode, Shaun needs you to hear the voices of these people themselves. Because we can’t detach ourselves. We need to double-down to organize better...

Due to a family emergency, Shaun is unable to record a full podcast for today. But he still wants to remind you to visit TheActionPAC.com and/or HowWeFlipTheSenate.com in order to register for a special phone call on this coming Monday. Stay tuned for tomorrows episode!.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes it is hard to know whether the world is actually getting more cruel or whether we only feel like it is because we are living in the age of social media and information. Today, Shaun digs into that question. He asks us to acknowledge and accept how overwhelming this moment feels. And then channel all of our feelings into focus and determination.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me...

In the aftermath of this weekend’s deadly hate crimes, we uncovered that the NRA has been helping to write laws that ban cities from making their own gun laws for the past 38 years. Over 45 states have these laws in place. It’s time to take action against these laws.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Right now, we are living in the age of the deadliest hate crime in 98 years. And people are asking what we can do about it. To really understand what we can do, Shaun needs us to zoom out. On today's episode, he gets historical and talks about how human history follows a trend of having high-highs and low-lows. Shaun makes the case that we are currently living at an extremely low point in history....

If you have ever played a game of dodgeball, you have seen kids get hurt, end-up with bloody noses. You know that it happens. Last week in Michigan, a ten-year-old boy was charged with adult felony assault for accidentally injuring another child in a school-sanctioned game of dodgeball. Shaun breaks down the larger problem in America’s school system that this case exposes and ends with an action s...

A protected class is a legal phrase designed to protect oppressed and marginalized groups of people. Can we agree that no one in America has more privilege thant a white, straight, cis, man? Last week, a court ruling determined that white men are a protected class. It is outrageous. On today’s episode, Shaun digs in to the case and the ruling to break down exactly what happened.  Learn more about...

The United States is the only nation in the world that has more guns than people. And this weekend, we saw two mass shootings on opposite sides of the country. On today’s episode, we are unpacking why we have so much carnage in this country and yet so little change. Have you guessed yet what Shaun will be breaking down? It’s time to talk about the NRA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

The United States is the only nation in the world that has more guns than people. And this weekend, we saw two mass shootings on opposite sides of the country. On today’s episode, we are unpacking why we have so much carnage in this country and yet so little change. Have you guessed yet what Shaun will be breaking down? It’s time to talk about the NRA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

Of course we were all outraged when we saw the video of Nancy Goodman walking right up to two young black customers and calling them “stupid n—.” We don’t need to break down how problematic this incident is. Instead, Shaun is going to break down how important it is to be mindful of how we react to moments of blatant racism like this. Racism has victims. It is violent and it spreads. And our reacti...

We log every question you email us. Then, every month, we sort through those questions and pick the 7 most commonly asked questions. Today, Shaun answers the questions from July. We love hearing from you — email your questions to thebreakdown@thenorthstar.com with the subject line “You Asked, Shaun Answers”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Massive protests are going on in Puerto Rico. Two cops in Louisiana were fired on Monday after saying that they’d like to shoot and kill Alexandria Occasio-Cortez. Palestinians are being forcefully evicted from their homes. On today’s episode, Shaun breaks down these stories and what they say about the moment of history that we’re in.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Voters in America’s largest cities are voting for radical criminal justice reform. City by city, we are electing progressive district attorneys and ousting conservative candidates who perpetuate the systems behind mass incarceration. But we are now seeing something new as state governments systematically strip away the powers of DAs. In today’s episode, Shaun breaks down who exactly is helping con...

What does it mean for the President of the United States to make explicitly racist statements in public? Can an explicitly biased person “faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States?” On today’s episode, Shaun breaks down why explicit bias is illegal in this country. The President of the United States has broken those laws this week. Are you wondering what can be done about...

Trump’s rally last night was one of the most racist public moments in modern political history. Public racism has hit a modern peak. It is so dangerous, so despicable, that we had to move faster than expected. On today’s episode of The Breakdown, Shaun is introducing The Action PAC — to help us all organize for change. Let’s go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tomorrow, Eric Garner's murder will have taken place exactly five years ago. Today, we found out that no charges will be filed against the NYPD officer that murdered him. It's horrifying. So many people and systems have failed the Garner family. Shaun is dedicating a triple-length episode to work through how we got here. Because we can grow. We can move forward. But first, there are key lessons th...