Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry

Fred Guttenberg is the first person we’ve asked back on the podcast for a second episode. His brother Michael was a doctor and a 9/11 responder who died in 2017 from 9/11 related cancer. Fred's family was still grieving when his daughter Jaime was murdered five months later in the Parkland school shooting. But rather than run from it, Fred’s spent every second of every day fighting to make sure it never happened again. His new book Find the Helpers: What 9/11 and Parkland Taught Me About Recovery, Purpose, and Hope is available order now.

In 40% of presidential elections this century, the electoral college selected a candidate who lost the popular vote. This institution results in mostly white, rural voters having votes which count much, much more than voters of color in more populous locations. We've asked Jesse Wegman on this episode to discuss the electoral college and efforts to mitigate it. Jesse is a New York Times Editorial Board member and the author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College.

The United States Postal Service is under attack—from our own government. Donald Trump, terrified of a landslide loss, is manipulating the mail to make it harder to vote. And his new Postmaster General is a nightmare. Louis DeJoy has financial holdings in post office contractors and competitors and has been sabotaging the Post Office’s ability to sort and deliver mail in a timely fashion. Alyssa Milano asked New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney on the show to talk about it. Carolyn is the Chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, which has jurisdiction over the post office and a champion for the Equal Rights Amendment.

Shockingly, in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century, children and teachers are being forced back into schools at the risk of their own lives. Already, we’ve seen outbreaks in schools across the nation, and a president that refuses to bow to science in a sick attempt at political gain. Nicholas Ferroni is a nationally recognized educator and activist who educates, mentors and inspires students to reach their goals while driving a national dialogue about education reform. He joined Alyssa Milano to talk about the state of schools, and going back to school, during COVID-19.

Ron Klain served as Chief of Staff to both Vice President Gore and Vice President Biden before being appointed by President Obama as his Ebola Czar in 2014. He’s now an advisor to the Biden Campaign who appeared at the Democratic National Convention. He has amazing first-hand insight into the problems and opportunities facing America today.

Last year, Katie Hill left the House of Representatives after her abusive ex-husband released personal photos of her without her consent. In a swarm of misogyny and puritanical faux outrage of these photos, the 30-year-old Congresswoman was railroaded out of office. But Katie’s not done. Since leaving office, she’s started a PAC, a Podcast, and is the author of the newly released book She Will Rise.

Representing Ohio’s 13th district since 2013, Tim Ryan has been a stalwart voice for blue-collar workers and manufacturing jobs. He ran for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 elections. More recently, he’s been working with Urban Yogis on Breathe for Eight, a mindfulness campaign in support of racial justice.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been representing California’s 13th district since 1999. She was the only person in Congress to vote against the expanded use of force authorization immediately after the 9/11 attacks and has been a constant force for peace in Congress since. She is working now to advance a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Commission through Congress.

In 2018 Doug Jones won a special election to replace Jeff Sessions in the United States Senate. Since then, he’s been one of the few members who can reach across the aisle and find common ground on important issues affecting veterans, access to healthcare, and more. Doug’s a moderate, and a former prosecutor who tried the people who bombed the 16th street Baptist Church in Birmingham. He’s up for reelection in 2020, and he joined Alyssa Milano to make the case as to why he is the right person to continue to represent Alabama in the senate.

In 2016, disinformation from foreign sources like Russia had a devastating effect on our domestic politics, and we’re still paying the price. They’re not stopping in 2020, and their tactics are expanding. It’s so important to understand what’s happening and what we can do about it, so we’ve invited Nina Jankowicz on the show.

Nina is the Disinformation Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She’s also the author of the new book “How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and The Future of Conflict.”