Nefarious groups, driven by hate, are challenging books in school and public libraries at an unprecedented pace. To discuss the problem, what's being done about it, and the state of this year's Banned Books Week, we've invited American Library Association President Emily Drabinsky on the show.

The United States imprisons more of its population than any other nation on earth. We also incarcerate more people than any other nation. This reality, combined with the conditions and injustices inherent in those statistics, has driven a growing movement for prison reform. Colleen Eren has looked inside that movement in her new book “Reform Nation: The First Step Act and the Movement to End Mass Incarceration,” and she joins us to discuss.

46,000 - That's the number of Americans who die every year from gun violence. More than double that number are shot but survive. Fred Guttenberg knows the toll of that devastation more than most: his daughter Jaime was murdered in the Parkland, FL mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. He joins us to talk about President Biden's new effort to close the background check loophole, the effect of racist and extremist politicians on gun violence, and more.

It is no secret that there are different standards for Black families than for white families in the United States. Our guest this week, Dr. Esau McCaulley, has a new memoir titled How Far to the Promised Land that explores these differences and the effects they have on our nation. Esau is an Associate Professor of the New Testament, the author of several books, and a contributing columnist for the New York Times. How far to the Promised Land is now available.

Student debt is a crushing burden to millions of families in the United States. Recent efforts by the Biden Administration to relieve some of the burden for some borrowers were dashed by the Supreme Court. To help put it in perspective and fill us on what can be done about this issue, we've invited Natalia Abrams back on the show. Natalia is the founder and president of the Student Debt Crisis Center.

The world is full of hate. Alyssa certainly sees a lot of it sent her way online—but people who hold less privilege see so much more. That hate, always present around us, has taken some of the joy out of being human. Our guest this week is trying to fix that. Kai Cheng Thom is the author of several books, including the newly released “Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls.”

Our guest this week is Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Senator Blumenthal is right at the heart of legislative initiatives that are so important for our nation, whether it’s regulating the role of AI, protecting kids online, or protecting kids offline in efforts to reduce gun violence. He's also been able to work across the aisle on critical initiatives in this incredibly polarized time, because he believes being effective is more important than being partisan. In this episode, we get into all of it and more.

One of the things Alyssa has been very open about is her mental health. We have stigmas in our culture which not only affect those who struggle with mental health conditions, but also new and exciting treatments for those conditions, like psychotropics and wearable technology. Dr. Dave Rabin helps people face these stigmas. He is a board-certified psychiatrist, neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and inventor who has studied resilience and the impact of chronic stress on our lives for over 15 years. Dr. Rabin and his team collaborate with clients at the Apollo Clinic, empowering clients to take control of their mental and physical health by tapping into our abilities to adapt and heal ourselves.

We live in a time where right-wing politicians and activists are stoking anti-trans fear and hate for political gain. Around the country, legislators are enacting laws which prevent trans youth from receiving gender-affirming care, putting them and their families at risk. Our guest this week, Kate Brookes, is raising a transgender daughter. Her new memoir, Transister, brings us into her world in an unflinching and unvarnished way.

2023 has been a tumultuous year in the House of Representatives, to say the least. Kevin McCarthy barely won the speakership and has been chained to the whims of the furthest extremes of his party. The theatrics of McCarthy and the GOP have often overshadowed the important work sitting before Congress —issues that affect us all. California Congressman Ro Khanna is focused on those issues, and he joins us this week to discuss them.