For the Labor Day holiday, we're revisiting a critical bit of ongoing organizing happening in the United States.

One of the interesting side effects of the post-Covid economy has been a surge in the power and influence employees hold. Wages in service industry jobs have risen dramatically as employers struggle to find workers. However, there have also been increasing stories of worker exploitation, leading to a surge in new unionization efforts. To discuss all of it, we’ve invited Michelle Eisen onto the show. Michelle is a Starbucks Barista and organizing member of Starbucks Workers United.

The traditional way of influencing a foreign nation’s policy is through diplomacy. But, as recent headlines have shown us, that’s certainly not the only way. Foreign lobbyists are working to shape our policies globally, sometimes with disastrous consequences. Casey Michel’s new book Foreign Agents: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World examines this dark underside of international relations.

The voting rights act of 1965 restored voting power to people of color across the United States. Of course, the American right couldn’t have that, and it begane a 50-year fight to overturn it. In his new book “Undemocratic,” David Daley, bestselling author of “Ratfucked,” takes us inside that fight and its consequences.

Read Roxane's essay here: https://try.everand.com/roxanegay/

In early July, Russia’s illegal and immoral bombardment of  Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv forced doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators to work to save the lives of hospitalized children while scrambling to stay alive themselves. In this episode, we’ll hear from several of those workers who will share their stories of trying to help children overcome disease and injury in a war zone. We’ll also hear from Helen Kovalska, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, who will talk about United 24 and their critical mission in that country.

Well, the news changes quickly. President Biden has dropped out of the race. This episode was recorded prior to that withdrawal, and considers the complexities surrounding that then potential decision and what might come next. In this episode, we talk about what it means, what’s on the line, and how we as Democrats, patriots, and pro-democracy Americans from all political stripes might want to think about the situation.

The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 is a Trump-aligned nightmare that the extreme right wants to enact if Trump is re-elected. It is a wide-ranging reshaping of our society in a mold that leaves us wondering if “Under his eye” will be the new “see you later” should it come to pass. This week, we’re looking back at just a few of our former guests to show some of what’s at stake. We hear from Amanda Zurawski, Kate Brookes, Tim Alberta, and Sadvhi Siddhali and Sadvhi Annabhuti.

It’s hard to believe that when President Obama was elected, we barely had social media. In less than two decades, giant tech companies have completely changed how we interact with one another–and in doing so have fundamentally changed our perceptions of reality. In his new book “The Death of Truth” bestselling author Steven Brill, cofounder and co-CEO of NewsGuard, examines how this happened and how to recover from it.

It's the time of year we celebrate Independence Day in the United States. This week, we’re featuring patriotism–the real patriotism, the people we’ve featured on the show who love this country so much that they won’t stop fighting to make it better. Featuring Heidi Przybyla, Barbara F. Walter, Christian Piccolini, and PEN America.