What A Day

The US Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against Texas over the state's recently updated redistricting maps. The DOJ claims that Texas's maps are unconstitutional and a violation of the Voting Rights Act because they unfairly dilute minority voting power.  MLB locked out all of its players last week after a five-year collective bargaining agreement between owners and players expired. I...

Omicron cases were found in at least 17 U.S. states and they aren’t all due to travel to southern Africa. Public health officials and experts say that the variant was possibly circulating in the U.S. prior to its initial discovery across the globe, but it’s too early to tell if it causes more severe disease.  Descendants of Black revolutionary leader Marcus Garvey have requested that President Joe...

More cases of the omicron variant have been identified in the U.S., and the Biden administration announced a new plan to make at-home rapid tests covered by private health insurance, launch family vaccination clinics, extend the federal mask mandate on public transportation, and more. Mexico agreed to allow the U.S. to restart the controversial “Remain in Mexico” asylum policy that was put into pl...

The Supreme Court heard a case yesterday that could ultimately reverse the constitutional right to an abortion. And it looks like the justices were leaning towards upholding a Mississippi law that bars abortion after 15 weeks. The first confirmed case of the omicron variant has been identified in the U.S. President Biden urged people to not panic and encouraged more vaccinations and boosters. U.S....

Today, the Supreme Court hears what is likely the most consequential reproductive health case in decades. The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, will decide whether or not Mississippi can prohibit abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. And the worst case scenario is that the high court uses the case to completely overturn Roe v. Wade. We lay out what listeners should watch fo...

Over the last 24 hours, world leaders and health officials had more to say about the Omicron variant, even as we wait for more scientific information to come out. The World Health Organization said in part that Omicron poses a “very high” global risk, and multiple countries have imposed controversial travel restrictions. President Biden made his first remarks about Omicron yesterday and emphasized...

Scientists in South Africa announced on Thursday that they detected a new variant of the coronavirus: Omicron. Cases caused by the variant have been identified in almost a dozen countries, but not yet in the U.S. Epidemiologist and host of “America Dissected” Dr. Abdul El-Sayed gives us a better sense of what we know and the much bigger amount of things we don’t.  And in headlines: Ghislaine Maxwe...

Thanksgiving is almost here in the U.S., where COVID cases are up by more than 20 percent compared to last month. Dr. Ashish Jha, the Dean of Brown’s School of Public Health, helps us understand how we should compare these stats to last year, and what we can expect as we head into the holiday season. And in headlines: Kevin Strickland was exonerated after 43 years in prison, a jury holds three pha...

Attorneys presented closing arguments in the trial of the three Georgia men charged with murdering Ahmaud Arbery, yesterday. Now, we wait for the jury to decide whether they’ll be convicted. On Sunday night, a man plowed his vehicle into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. At least five people died and several others were injured in the incident. Police are charging the suspect with five co...

After four days of deliberation, a Wisconsin jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts on Friday. As a defendant, Rittenhouse had a strong case under the law, but over the weekend, people expressed their discontent with the verdict. We discuss the result in the broader context of the criminal justice system and its bearing on issues of race in America. And in headlines: protesters took...

House Democrats are on the verge of passing President Biden's Build Back Better bill, and once they do, it will head to the Senate. The $1.9 trillion social spending bill is a key part of Biden’s agenda. Both that legislation and the recently passed infrastructure bill have provisions to address climate change. And all this week, EPA administrator Michael Regan has been touring the country to get...

This week is Trans Awareness Week, leading up to the Trans Day of Remembrance on Saturday. This year is particularly important because 2021 is the deadliest year on record for trans and nonbinary people in the U.S., according to the Human Rights Campaign. Kate Sosin, the LGBTQ+ Reporter for the non-profit news organization, The 19th, joins us to discuss the rights and safety of trans people in Ame...

Mayor-elect of Cleveland, Justin Bibb, comes on the show to discuss his win and what he hopes to achieve in his first 100 days. The 34-year-old had never run for political office before but during the race, he prioritized public safety and policing among other issues, which proved to be successful.  And in headlines: Pfizer asked the FDA for authorization of its COVID treatment pill, current and f...

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees voted to ratify new film and TV contracts after months of negotiations. The results were announced yesterday, and it establishes three year contracts for the union’s over 60,000 impacted members.  Yesterday, Georgia’s Republican-led state House approved the bill that would redraw state assembly maps, and the state Senate voted it through las...

Britney Spears is finally free. Last Friday, a Los Angeles judge ended her 13 year conservatorship where her father, Jamie, oversaw many aspects of her life. Washington Post’s Ashley Fetters Maloy, who has been covering the court hearings, joins us about what this means for others who are fighting their own conservatorships. And in headlines: President Biden signs the bipartisan infrastructure bil...

The 2020 Census data and the redistricting that comes after will have big implications for who gets represented and who gets to stay in power for the next decade. The debate over redrawing maps is currently being worked out in key states such as Florida, South Carolina, and Maryland. Michael Li, senior counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, joins us. And in headlines: nearly one milli...

A new report by the Labor Department shows that inflation continued to spike last month. Consumer prices jumped 6.2 percent between October of this year and last year. That’s the fastest pace since 1990. We also dive into the supply chain issues and labor shortage felt in everyday life.  And in headlines: Kyle Rittenhouse took the stand yesterday, victims of the lead water crisis in the Flint, MI,...

The UN Climate Summit in Glasgow, aka COP26, brought together leaders from all over the world to combat climate change, and it wraps up in a few days. Ben Rhodes, the host of Crooked Media’s “Pod Save The World,” is in Glasgow right now with former President Obama. He joins us to break down the biggest takeaways from the summit. And in headlines: Moderna filed an application to patent the technolo...

The U.S. ended a year and a half-long pandemic travel ban, reopening borders to vaccinated travelers from 33 countries. Yesterday was an emotional day as families around the world were finally able to reunite after being apart. We take a step back and discuss the Supreme Court during the middle of its term. Jay Willis, who runs the legal site Balls and Strikes, breaks down how these justices are l...

The Biden administration set a January 4th deadline for companies with 100 or more employees to have their workforce fully vaccinated, or start weekly testing. And this past week, the CDC signed off on Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for children ages 5-11. That means an estimated 28 million kids are eligible. Epidemiologist and host of “America Dissected,” Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, joins us to unpack the latest...

We discuss more election results and analyze where Democrats and progressives stand now. Some highlights include Michelle Wu becoming the first woman and first person of color as Boston’s mayor. Some lowlights include Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin defeating Democrat Terry McAuliffe for Virginia’s next governor.  Voters in Minneapolis also rejected a proposal that would have replaced the ci...

Election day has come and gone with several important contests on the line. In New York, Eric Adams triumphed to become the city’s next mayor. And in Minneapolis, voters struck down a ballot measure that would’ve transformed the city’s police department. We also explain that there are a number of elected positions that have an enormous impact on your local community. We focus on three of them, in...

It’s election day, again! We are following major gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, mayoral contests in Cleveland, Buffalo, Atlanta and Boston, as well as ballot measures, city council, and more. Amanda Litman, co-founder and co-executive director of Run for Something, joins us to break everything down. And in headlines: the COP26 UN Climate Conference began in Glasgow, Scotland, the...

President Biden and other leaders formally endorsed a new global corporate minimum tax at the G20 Summit in Rome. Under this agreement, corporations trying to avoid taxes by moving their profits to low-tax countries will now be forced to pay the difference. The world leaders also made several pledges on the environment ahead of a UN Climate Summit that began in Scotland. Employees at several Starb...

After weeks of negotiations, President Biden announced his revamped Build Back Better plan, which includes approximately $1.85 trillion of investments to fight climate change, expand health care, create jobs and more. This plan was originally much much bigger but two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, are the reasons Dems had to abandon some of the bigger provisions. And in headl...