Episodes
Electing More Women: Amanda Hunter
Amanda Hunter is the Executive Director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, an organization that promotes women in politics and contemporary art. We discuss what it takes for a woman to get elected and why it’s been such an uphill battle to reach the highest executive office.
Diverse Women in Politics: Kelly Dittmar
Kelly Dittmar is the Director of Research at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. She explains why diversity among women serving in public office enhances our democracy, and how we can support more women to run and win elections.
The Chicago 7: Mark L. Levine
Mark L. Levine is a lawyer and co-editor of The Trial of the Chicago 7: The Official Transcript. We discuss how the edited transcripts were published, the parallels of social injustice and use of political protests in the late 1960s with today, and the necessity for all of us to be engaged.
Responsible Drug Use: Dr. Carl L. Hart
Dr. Carl L. Hart is a psychologist, professor, and author of Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear. We unpack our deepest misconceptions around drug use, reveal prohibition as an utter policy failure, and make a case for legalization and regulation.
The Punishment Bureaucracy: Alec Karakatsanis
Alec Karakatsanis is a lawyer, founder and executive director of Civil Rights Corps, and author of Usual Cruelty: The Complicity of Lawyers in the Criminal Injustice System. We discuss how the punishment bureaucracy works and how we can re-think our legal system.
White Collar Crime: Jennifer Taub
Jennifer Taub is a lawyer, advocate, and author of Big Dirty Money: The Shocking Injustice and Unseen Cost of White Collar Crime. We discuss who gets a pass for committing such crimes, what the actual consequences are to our society, and how to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Abuse and Accountability: Martha Nussbaum
Martha Nussbaum is a renowned philosopher, professor, and author of Citadels of Pride: Sexual Abuse, Accountability, and Reconciliation. We discuss the objectification of women, progress in holding perpetrators and the system accountable, and a radical form of justice.
Coercive Work: Erin Hatton
Erin Hatton is a sociology professor and author of Coerced: Work Under Threat of Punishment. We discuss status coercion at non-traditional workplaces like university labs and sports teams, ideological reframing about work, and extending the rights and benefits of labor laws across the board.
Understanding Poverty: Mark Rank
Mark Rank is a poverty expert, professor, and author of Poorly Understood: What America Gets Wrong About Poverty. We discuss the true causes and systemic nature of poverty, and poverty reduction as being both moral and smart public policy.
Better Peacebuilding: Séverine Autesserre
Séverine Autesserre is an award-winning peacebuilder and author of The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider's Guide to Changing the World. We learn the crucial importance of bottom-up peacebuilding, the current dominance of the top-down approach, and the ideal model that effectively relies on both.
Public-Private Paradox: Colin Jerolmack
Colin Jerolmack is an environmental sociologist and author of Up to Heaven and Down to Hell: Fracking, Freedom, and Community in an American Town. We discuss the public-private paradox and the tragedy of the commons, as well as the undemocratic aspects of American property rights.
Boosting Mental Immunity: Andy Norman
Andy Norman is a philosopher, professor, and author of Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think. We learn how to strengthen our reasoning, change minds, and engage with big ideas.
The Erosion of America: Sarah Kendzior
Sarah Kendzior is a journalist, authoritarianism expert, and author of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America. We look at the decades-long rise of the former president and the various reasons why we are not immune to the threat of authoritarianism.
America’s Evil Geniuses: Kurt Andersen
Kurt Andersen is a writer and author of Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History. We learn how conservatives successfully moved our society culturally, economically, and politically to the right; and why continuous civic engagement and investment in Americans can restore basic fairness.
Pandemic Podcasting: Laura Joyce Davis
Laura Joyce Davis is the host and founder of the Shelter in Place podcast. She and Mila discuss what they’ve learned from podcasting during the COVID pandemic and why aiming to be good neighbors is an important step to realizing the full potential of our society.
Our Unjust SCOTUS: Adam Cohen
Adam Cohen is the author of Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court's Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America. We discuss how a myriad of Supreme Court rulings have advanced conservatism, made elections less fair, and punished the poor.
Raising White Kids: Jennifer Harvey
The Reverend Dr. Jennifer Harvey is an educator, activist, and author of Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America. We discuss the importance of race-conscious parenting in the smog of racism, fostering healthy white identity, and creating a more just future.
Equity in Healthcare: Georges Benjamin, MD
Dr. Georges Benjamin is the Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. We discuss achieving better health outcomes by expanding access to both health insurance and healthcare providers, the disproportionate impact of COVID on minority communities, and racism within the healthcare system.
Inclusive Excellence: Franklin Gilliam
Dr. Franklin Gilliam, Jr. is the Chancellor of UNC Greensboro. We discuss the real harm of discrimination to our broader society, the power of striving for excellence in higher education through inclusion, and the lifetime benefits of social mobility.
Implicit Teacher Bias: Walter Gilliam
Walter Gilliam is the Director of The Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy, and Professor at the Yale University Child Study Center. We discuss implicit bias in preschool teachers, expulsion rates among preschoolers, and the role of universal Pre-K to access early learning.