It’s Thanksgiving week, and we have an episode for you that will change the way you see the holiday. Our guest today is Denise Kiernan. Denise is an author, journalist and producer. Her books, The Last Castle, and The Girls of Atomic City were national bestsellers. She joins us to discuss her book We Gather Together: A Nation Divided, A President in Turmoil, and a Historic Campaign to Embrace Gratitude and Grace.

David Corn is a veteran Washington journalist and political commentator. He is the Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones magazine and an analyst for MSNBC. He is also the author or coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, including the #1 bestseller Russian Roulette, Showdown, and Hubris; and the author of the novel Deep Background. His new book, American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy, argues that since the 1950s the GOP has encouraged and exploited extremism to gain power.

If you’ve listened to this podcast, or really anything Alyssa's done or said in her adult life, you know that fighting against the oppression of women is her life’s work. Recently, in Iran, we’ve seen this oppression boil over into huge anti-government protests in that country and around the world after Mahsa Amini died in the custody of that country’s incredibly immoral “morality police.” To help us understand the importance and current state of those protests, We’ve invited actor and comedian Nazanin Nour on the show. Nazanin has appeared in television shows like Madam Secretary and Criminal Minds and as a judge on Persia’s got talent.

The 2022 Midterms are on November 8th. In this episode, Alyssa and Ben Jackson discuss what to expect, how to get involved, and how to make sure your vote is counted.  There's so much at stake--make sure you're prepared!

While the Trump regime has ended, the hate-fueled machinery of lies and disinformation around immigrants in America has not. To look at the sources and impacts of this machine, we’ve invited Shauna Siggelkow, Director of Digital Storytelling at Define American to the show.

On this episode we’re welcoming Heather McGhee back to the show. Heather is a bestselling author, a speaker, and the Board Chair for Color of Change, the country’s largest online racial justice organization. She’s also the host of the podcast The Sum of Us, which launched in July.

Secretaries of State are the chief election administrators around the country. As the midterm elections unfold, we’re seeing just how important that role is. Our guest for this episode is Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. She’s joining us to discuss the critical role Secretaries of State play, the state of election integrity around the nation, and her re-election campaign.

Our guest this week is Dr. Nicholas Kardaras. Nick is an Ivy League educated psychologist, one of the country’s foremost addiction and mental health experts and the bestselling author of Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids – and How to Break the Trance. His new book, “DIGITAL MADNESS: How Social Media Is Driving Our Mental Health Crisis” is now available. 

When the Supreme Court took away the right to abortion it said loudly and clearly that in America, women are not entitled to equal protection under the law. But the Equal Rights Amendment has been ratified by the states and is sitting in limbo. To help us make sense of it all, We’ve invited Kate Kelly on the show. Kate is a feminist, activist, and human rights lawyer. She’s a nationally known advocate for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and host and creator of the podcast Ordinary Equality and author of a new book of the same name.

Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning journalist and internationally-recognized speaker whose work explores the intersection of neuroscience, immunology, and human emotion. Her mission is to translate emerging science in ways that help those with chronic conditions find healing. Her new book Girls on the Brink: Helping Our Daughters Thrive in an Era of Increased Anxiety, Depression, and Social Media is now available.