Battletested with Tanya Acker

This week the Senate pressed chief executives of Meta, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord over what lawmakers are calling “a crisis in America” -- accusing the tech giants of ignoring the harmful content against children on their respective platforms.

It's a conversation we first had on this program back in November of last year, when Tanya sat down with Zamaan Qureshi (a college student and co-founder of Design It For Us). In this special re-release, Tanya and Zamaan discuss his campaign to make social media safer for young people, and his lawsuit against the SEC.

Original airdate: November 30th, 2023

Tanya talks to Ann Druyan about space, love, facts, and voting. Plus, how to come back when people laugh at you for being smart and curious.

Tanya talks to the filmmaker about her latest film, reclaiming the narrative of what it means to be an American, and why hope always must win. 

For 35 years Oliver James was functionally illiterate - even though he had a high school diploma. Listen to what happened when he decided to stop mimicking life and start living it.

Tanya talks to the directors of the film Invisible Beauty, which tells the life story of the groundbreaking Bethann Hardison. From emulating the strength of the Samurai, to insisting that fashion is more than just one type, to reminding us to vote, Bethann’s story is many things all at once.

Tanya talks to Zamaan Qureshi, a college student co-founder of Design It For Us, about the campaign to make social media safer for young people, and his lawsuit against the SEC.

Tanya talks to artist, illustrator and entrepreneur Angie Quintanilla Coates about the art of keeping us on the bright side.

(Original air date: April 7th, 2022)

This week Tanya talks to Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17) about the war in Ukraine, our relationship with China, the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas and the resulting war in Gaza. They also discuss in-office sit-ins, the threatened brawls on Capitol Hill and, for a pleasant change, civil discourse with a political opponent. Tanya and Ro cover a lot so don’t miss this!

Tanya talks to the lawyers who helped Dominion Voting Systems achieve a $787 million settlement in its defamation case against Fox News over false claims of a “stolen” election. When is the lie someone tells, or spreads, worth money? When should you just move on?

Tanya talks to the history-making justice about the family tragedy that led her to the bench, and busting through other people’s assumptions to do what you must.

(Original air date: 3/22/23)