Crooked Minis

By Crooked Media

News & Politics

What's Crooked Minis about?

One side effect of our national addiction to Trump’s tweets and other news cycle garbage is that fascinating issues, brilliant books and important debates aren't getting the attention they deserve. With a rotating crew of your favorite Crooked Media hosts, contributors, and special guests, Crooked Conversations brings Pod Save America's no-b.s., conversational style to topics in politics, media, culture, sports, and technology that aren’t making headlines but still have a major impact on our world. 

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Reclaiming Patriotism | Rec...

07.17.2019

This week, Ken Harbaugh sits down with two people who have had to reckon with both the historical and personal implications of patriotism. His first guest, Mike Washington, has had to make sense of his patriotism as both a veteran ...

Crooked Minis episodes:

07.17.2019 Reclaiming Patriotism \| Reckoning (ft. Gen. Stanley McChrystal & Mike Washington) This week, Ken Harbaugh sits down with two people who have had to reckon with both the historical and personal implications of patriotism. His first guest, Mike Washington, has had to make sense of his patriotism as both a veteran ...
07.10.2019 Reclaiming Patriotism \| Dissent (ft. Reps Barbara Lee & Max Rose) In the second episode of Reclaiming Patriotism Ken Harbaugh reflects on the role of dissent in our understanding of patriotism. Ken talks to Representative Barbara Lee who was the sole vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force after ...
07.03.2019 Reclaiming Patriotism \| Intro (ft. Jon Favreau & Tammy Duckworth) For July's Crooked Mini series "Reclaiming Patriotism", former Navy pilot and Congressional candidate Ken Harbaugh will be sitting down with a range of guests to discuss what patriotism means in the United States in 2019. In the first episode, Ken ...
06.26.2019 Pride on Screen \| Trans Visibility In the fourth and final episode of Pride on Screen we break down how the media depicts trans folx. Tre’vell Anderson is first joined by Nick Adams, GLAAD’s director of Transgender Representation. Nick provides fascinating updates of the numbers of ...
06.19.2019 Pride on Screen \| Bi+ Visibility For the third installment of June's Pride on Screen series Tre’vell Anderson is joined by writer Clarkeisha Kent and Derrick Lemos, host of the podcast Mansplain Yourself. They share the characters in film and TV that have brought nuance to ...
06.12.2019 Pride on Screen \| Lesbian Visibility As part of June’s Pride on Screen series Tre’vell Anderson is sitting down with some of the great minds in the LGBTQ+ community to talk about iconic moments in film and TV that changed the course of representation on screen. ...
06.05.2019 Pride on Screen \| Gay Visibility Tre’vell Anderson, Director of Culture and Entertainment for Out Magazine, kicks off the first episode in a new series looking back at notable LGBTQ+ moments in film and television.Tre'vell is first joined by Jon Lovett. They discuss a moment in ...
06.03.2019 Introducing: Crooked Minis June's series, "Pride on Screen", hosted by Tre’vell Anderson, director of culture and entertainment at Out Magazine, launches Wednesday, 6/5. Crooked Minis takes a step back from the chaotic breaking news to offer a new series every month that explores ...
03.27.2019 On The Brink: Changing The Face of Politics In the last episode of On The Brink, Julissa is joined by Sayu Bhojwani, Founder and President of New American Leaders. New American Leaders works to build the power and potential of first and second generation Americans to run for ...
03.20.2019 On The Brink: Revolutionizing Fitness for Adaptive Athletes As part of her ongoing series for Women’s History Month, Julissa Arce talks to Stephanie Hammerman. Hammerman is the owner of Hammer Driven Fitness, a functional fitness-focused gym. They talk about how best to demystify the myths surrounding Cerebral Palsy ...
03.13.2019 On The Brink: Winning a Nobel Peace Prize Julissa Arce sits down with Amanda Nguyen to discuss her work with Rise, a non-profit fighting for the civil rights of sexual assault survivors. Amanda shares how the organization has helped pass 20 laws and what it means to her ...
03.06.2019 On the Brink: Running a Presidential Campaign To celebrate Women’s History Month, Crooked contributor Julissa Arce is sitting down with women on the brink of making history. This week she is joined by Maya Rupert. Rupert is only the 3rd black woman to run a presidential campaign, ...
02.27.2019 What did Alyssa Mastromonaco learn from trusting her gut? Jon Favreau talks to Alyssa Mastromonaco about her new book “So Here’s The Thing…“, a book of reflections, essays and interviews on everything from politics and career to motherhood, sisterhood and making relationships in the age of social media. Alyssa ...
02.20.2019 How can we stop the rise of antisemitism? This week Rabbi Brous, senior rabbi at IKAR, is joined by Eric Ward, the Executive Director of Western States Center, to discuss the rise of antisemitism and its ties to white nationalism.
02.15.2019 What is the influence of Black voices in media and television? Winter Minisee sits down with Louis Carr, President of Media Sales for BET Networks, to discuss what inspired him to work in the world of media and advertising and what the future of BET looks like within the changing media ...
02.13.2019 What did the media get wrong about 21 Savage’s detention by ICE? This week, Julissa Arce discusses the detention of Atlanta rapper 21 Savage. She is joined first by immigration activist Astrid Silva who breaks down the recent developments in the case. Then, Julissa sits down with Jonathan Jayes-Green, co-founder and director ...
01.30.2019 How do we get dark money out of politics? Kiran Deol, co-host of Crooked’s Hysteria, talks to documentary filmmaker Kim Reed about the making of the Oscar short-listed film Dark Money, a political thriller which explores the impact of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling and the influence of ...
01.23.2019 Why aren't there more women of color in fine arts? Julissa Arce is joined by Jazmín Morales, a classical musician based in Los Angeles who runs the Fortissima fellowship for young female musicians of color. Together they discuss the lack of diversity currently found in fine arts and the classical ...
01.16.2019 How do we address inequality in cities like San Francisco? Mayor Michael Tubbs is joined by Matt Haney, Supervisor-Elect to San Francisco’s 6th District, to discuss Haney's decision to run for office, his work as a San Francisco Unified School Board member, and what it means to enact change on ...
01.09.2019 What is the impact of Trump’s presidency on Dreamers? In a two-part conversation, Julissa Arce is first joined by Jin Park. Park is a recent Harvard graduate and a DACA recipient, the first undocumented student to win the Rhodes Scholarship. They discuss their shared experience of being undocumented in ...
12.26.2018 What’s it like to work on a campaign? Priyanka Aribindi is joined by Tommy Vietor, Crooked Media founder and former Obama National Security Council Spokesman, to discuss how a campaign really works, what it was like to work on President Obama’s senate and presidential campaigns, and how to ...
12.19.2018 Can we beat the right without sacrificing our values? Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) explains why Democrats lose winnable fights with Republicans and what steps they should take to turn things around—the topic of his new essay for Crooked.com.
12.12.2018 How are Republicans weaponizing voting? DeRay Mckesson, activist and host of Pod Save the People, sits down with Ari Berman, senior reporter for Mother Jones and author of Give Us The Ballot, to discuss midterm results, where the country currently stands as it pertains to ...
12.05.2018 What can a company do about gun violence? Winter Minisee sits down with TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie to discuss a recent initiative by the company to send over 700,000 postcards to representatives in Washington DC urging them to support universal background checks to help eradicate gun violence. The ...
11.28.2018 How much have things really changed since the Civil Rights Movement? Julissa Arce is joined by D. Watkins, activist, professor and Editor at Large for Salon, to discuss how civil rights have shifted over time and more recently since President Trump and his administration took office.
11.21.2018 How does art affect policy? Winter Minisee sits down with artist and activist Cleo Barnett of the We The People Campaign and Amplifier to talk about how she uses art to shift public policy and the art that has moved her to take action.
11.14.2018 Why are we scared to talk about periods? Julissa Arce is joined by Nadya Okamoto, author of the book Period Power, to discuss stigmatization around menstruation and the various ways in which policies surrounding access to tampons & pads could help change the ways women and those who ...
11.07.2018 Who is the Millennial Mayor Reinventing Stockton? Michael Tubbs joins Symone Sanders to discuss his plan to implement a universal basic income as mayor of Stockton, California. They also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being elected mayor at age 27.
10.31.2018 What can hospitality teach politics? Priyanka Aribindi interviews Danny Meyer, the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group (Shake Shack, Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Maialino, and more), and the author of “Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business,” to discuss hospitality and ...
10.24.2018 How do we hold corporations more accountable? Activist Winter Minisee is joined by Bozoma Saint John, Chief Marketing Officer at Endeavor, to discuss how she's been able to balance her interest in social justice with the mission of the companies she's worked for from Uber to Apple ...
10.17.2018 Restore the Vote Brian Beutler speaks to five inmates at San Quentin State Prison about why they and prisoners across the country are forbidden from voting, what the right to vote means to them, and what it should mean to the rest of ...
10.10.2018 Defining Us: What is Latinx power actually like in America? In the last episode of their special series, Julissa Arce and Grace Parra discuss what it means to be nearing majority status but not hold majority power. They sit down to talk to Ana Valdez from the Latino Donor Collaborative ...
10.03.2018 Defining Us: Why does Latinx representation matter? Contributors Julissa Arce and Grace Parra explore the role of Latinos in media and entertainment. Then they're joined by prolific journalist Jorge Ramos to discuss his reporting and what he believes is the social responsibility of journalists.
09.26.2018 Defining Us: What's the Latinx contribution to civil rights? Contributors Julissa Arce and Grace Parra explore the Latinx contribution to civil rights in the United States in this special series for Crooked Conversations. They're joined by one of the leaders of the 1968 East LA school walkouts Moctesuma Esparza, ...
09.19.2018 Defining Us: What does it mean to be Latinx? In a special series for Crooked Conversations, contributors Julissa Arce and Grace Parra explore and celebrate the Latinx experience in the United States in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. In the first of four conversations, the hosts discuss the history ...
09.12.2018 What can we learn from protesting? Jon Lovett talks to host of Pod Save the People DeRay Mckesson about the lessons he's learned from protesting and what gives him hope today. Then we hear an audiobook excerpt from his new book “On the Other Side of ...
09.05.2018 Can Elizabeth Warren Save America From Corruption? Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Crooked Media’s Editor in Chief Brian Beutler discuss two important new bills she has just introduced: One to save American politics from corruption, and one to save American capitalism from itself.
08.29.2018 Will Kavanaugh be Gen Z's Voldemort? Our newest Crooked Contributor Winter BreeAnne interviews former President of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards about how young people can help the fight for reproductive rights, what the Brett Kavanaugh nomination means and how her upbringing in a political home influenced ...
08.22.2018 The World As It Is: Was Benghazi the beginning of Trump? Ben Rhodes talks to Pod Save America co-host and former U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Tommy Vietor about what the media gets wrong about Benghazi, how that moment led to Trump as president, and what it’s like "running" the Deep ...
08.22.2018 Was Benghazi the beginning of Trump? Ben Rhodes talks to Pod Save America co-host and former U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Tommy Vietor about what the media gets wrong about Benghazi, how that moment led to Trump as president, and what it’s like "running" the Deep ...
08.15.2018 The World As It Is: Why it was such a big deal President Obama visited Cuba Ben Rhodes talks to former spokesperson for the United States National Security Council Bernadette Meehan about the diplomacy efforts that went into repairing the U.S. - Cuba relationship and why it was such a big deal when Obama visited.
08.08.2018 The World As It Is: From Russia With Treason Ben Rhodes chats with Former White House Communications Director Jen Psaki about what they knew about Russian interference in 2016 and the impact it’s having around the world, as part of his series “The World As It Is” for Crooked ...
08.01.2018 The World As It Is: Writing for Obama In a special series for Crooked Conversations, Ben Rhodes takes a deeper dive into some of the issues and themes that he deals with in his memoir "The World As It Is" about his 10 years working as Deputy National ...
07.25.2018 What Would Happen If We #AbolishICE? Julissa Arce is joined by UCLA Law professor Hiroshi Motomura to discuss the origins of ICE, the role it plays in government and whether the movement to abolish ICE is possible. You can read more of Motomura's work in Americans ...
07.18.2018 What if your local post office doubled as your bank? Crooked Contributor Symone Sanders talks to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand about how postal banks can protect people from predatory lenders, what the Supreme Court Justice decision will mean for maternal health and what the immigration detention centers at the border are ...
07.11.2018 Are unions still relevant? A conversation between host of Majority 54 Jason Kander and Richard Trumka, the president of AFL-CIO, about the importance of unions and how collective action has increased over the past couple years to help working people.
07.04.2018 What does it mean to call America home? Julissa Arce is joined by poet and activist Yosimar Reyes to discuss what it means to be undocumented and American on the 4th of July.
06.27.2018 Why should we care about non-unanimous jury verdicts? Pod Save the People host DeRay Mckesson talks to Oregon Representative Jennifer Williamson about non-unanimous jury verdicts and what’s flawed in our judicial system.
06.20.2018 Can a photo make us care about climate change? Crooked Contributor Julissa Arce talks to National Geographic photographer Cristina Mittermeier about the role of art in conservation.
06.13.2018 Wanna listen to part of Dan's new book? Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer reads an excerpt of his new book "Yes, We (Still) Can: Politics in the Age of Obama, Twitter, and Trump" out on June 19th and chats with Jon Lovett about the writing process and ...

Older episodes

Crooked Minis

What's Crooked Minis about?

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Crooked Minis episodes:

Reclaiming Patriotism | Reckoning (ft. Gen. Stanley McChrystal & Mike Washington)

Reclaiming Patriotism | Dissent (ft. Reps Barbara Lee & Max Rose)

Reclaiming Patriotism | Intro (ft. Jon Favreau & Tammy Duckworth)

Pride on Screen | Trans Visibility

Pride on Screen | Bi+ Visibility

Pride on Screen | Lesbian Visibility

Pride on Screen | Gay Visibility

Introducing: Crooked Minis

On The Brink: Changing The Face of Politics

On The Brink: Revolutionizing Fitness for Adaptive Athletes

On The Brink: Winning a Nobel Peace Prize

On the Brink: Running a Presidential Campaign

What did Alyssa Mastromonaco learn from trusting her gut?

How can we stop the rise of antisemitism?

What is the influence of Black voices in media and television?

What did the media get wrong about 21 Savage’s detention by ICE?

How do we get dark money out of politics?

Why aren't there more women of color in fine arts?

How do we address inequality in cities like San Francisco?

What is the impact of Trump’s presidency on Dreamers?

What’s it like to work on a campaign?

Can we beat the right without sacrificing our values?

How are Republicans weaponizing voting?

What can a company do about gun violence?

How much have things really changed since the Civil Rights Movement?

How does art affect policy?

Why are we scared to talk about periods?

Who is the Millennial Mayor Reinventing Stockton?

What can hospitality teach politics?

How do we hold corporations more accountable?

Restore the Vote

Defining Us: What is Latinx power actually like in America?

Defining Us: Why does Latinx representation matter?

Defining Us: What's the Latinx contribution to civil rights?

Defining Us: What does it mean to be Latinx?

What can we learn from protesting?

Can Elizabeth Warren Save America From Corruption?

Will Kavanaugh be Gen Z's Voldemort?

The World As It Is: Was Benghazi the beginning of Trump?

Was Benghazi the beginning of Trump?

The World As It Is: Why it was such a big deal President Obama visited Cuba

The World As It Is: From Russia With Treason

The World As It Is: Writing for Obama

What Would Happen If We #AbolishICE?

What if your local post office doubled as your bank?

Are unions still relevant?

What does it mean to call America home?

Why should we care about non-unanimous jury verdicts?

Can a photo make us care about climate change?

Wanna listen to part of Dan's new book?

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