Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been devastating for the people of that country. It's also had ripple effects throughout the global economic and security systems, created an unfolding humanitarian and refugee crisis on a scale not seen in Europe since World War II, and united most of the world against Vladimir Putin.

In January of 2020, we witnessed an attack on our capitol by American citizens. At the time, many of us said that we didn’t think it could happen here. But it did happen, and it was just one event on a timeline of events that has our guest—and should have each of us--concerned about the future of our country. This week, I’m joined by Barbara F. Walter. Barbara is a professor of International Relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and author of How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them, which is now available.

This week, we're joined by Anna Gifty Opoku-Ayeman. Anna is a is a researcher, writer, science communicator and activist. She is the co-founder of The Sadie Collective, the only nonprofit organization addressing the lack of Black women in economics and related fields, and the editor of The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System, a new book of essays on policy solutions to social problems written by black activists.

"An expansive set of essays highlighting the range and force of Black leadership....An inclusive, edifying, often fiery assembly of voices articulating the way forward for Black America―and America in general." ―Kirkus Reviews

We’re at a last-gasp inflection point for the climate. Humans have so polluted the world that our entire climate is changing. We talk a lot about the human cost of this change, but what about the changes for other species? In his new book The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth, Ben Rawlence explores the northward migration of trees, and what it means for all of us. He joins us this week to discuss.

This week, we're joined by Bryan Osorio. Bryan is a Berkeley graduate, the 26 year old mayor of Delano, California, and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for congress in California’s 21stCongressional District.

Rhode Island is a small state, but one which is so reflective of so much of the country. It has a governor’s race this year, and Dr. Luis Daniel Munoz is running for the office. He's a medical doctor with a progressive vision for the future. He joins us today to discuss his campaign.

The last five years highlighted the racism, xenophobia, and islamophobia which exists in American society—but it didn’t start then. In his new book Go Back to Where You Came From And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, my guest Wajahat Ali takes a clear-eyed and very funny look at this dark part of our American identity.

If the Democrats want to increase their razor-thin majority in the Senate, allowing them the possibility of changing senate rules and passing voting rights legislation and other critical goals of the Biden Administration, the State of North Carolina is an essential pickup. Incumbent Republican Richard Burr is retiring, and the state has been trending more and more blue. Late last year, our producer Ben Jackson sat down with Erica Smith, a progressive rural Democrat and former state senator who was running for the seat at the time. While Erica has since ended her Senate campaign and declared for the House, we wanted to bring you this episode as is because the things she says about the senate and her candidacy are so important.

The past several years shocked both our national and global economies. As the government undertakes massive spending programs to counteract the damage, the national debt, the deficit, and inflation have become issues of national debate. We’ve invited Stephanie Kelton, author of The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy to take us behind the rhetoric and make the case for a different way of looking at the way we raise and spend money at the federal level.