Diane Rehm: On My Mind

Millions of American children are regularly skipping class. It is a problem educators have faced for years, but the issue has gotten much worse since the pandemic.

Today, some estimate that nearly one in three students are “chronically absent,” meaning they miss more than 10 percent of the school year. Now, educators around the country are facing the question of what to do about it.  

Alec MacGillis is a reporter for ProPublica who focuses on gun violence, economic inequality, and the pandemic-era schools crisis. He recently wrote about chronic absenteeism for The New Yorker and joins Diane to talk about what he learned.

In less than two weeks, the Iowa Caucus will kick off an election year like no other.

Donald Trump leads his Republican rivals by nearly 50 percentage points. Yet, he has been barred from the primary ballot in two states and faces legal challenges to his candidacy in more than a dozen others. And there is the matter of the four pending criminal court cases that have resulted in 91 criminal charges.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s approval ratings have dropped to a record low, and he currently trails Trump in national polls.

“There are two conflicting things here,” says Susan Page, Washington bureau chief for USA Today and a veteran political reporter who has covered 11 presidential campaigns. “A high level of dissatisfaction with the two candidates and also a sense that this election is of such great consequence.”

Susan Page joins Diane for a preview of the questions, issues and legal arguments at the center of the 2024 presidential campaign.

A note from Diane:

For my last interview of 2023, I bring you a special conversation with Mariann Edgar Budde, Episcopal Bishop of Washington -- and my faith leader. She joined me for the December edition of the Diane Rehm Book Club to discuss her work titled "How We Learn to Be Brave."

In it, Bishop Budde explores the decisive moments in life when we are called to push past our fears and act with strength. Using examples from literature, her own life, the gospel, and the lives of others, she writes that being brave is not a singular occurrence, but a journey that we can choose to undertake every day.

I thought this was a perfect message to share as we say goodbye to one year and welcome the next. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

Wishes for peace and joy in 2024!

Will the 14th Amendment prevent Donald Trump from running for president?

It’s an idea that has gone from a longshot hope of liberal activists, to a buzzed about theory among respected legal scholars to a very real threat to Trump’s candidacy.

In a bombshell decision earlier this week the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump engaged in insurrection and should not be allowed to participate in the state’s Republican primary. The former president has said he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to quickly take up the case.

“Whatever happens in this case, I think we’ll likely be surprised,” says Jeffrey Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan organization whose mission is to educate the public about the country’s founding document. He says there is simply no precedent for how to treat a presidential candidate who has been ruled “an insurrectionist." “It’s impossible to predict the outcome according to the ordinary rules of constitutional interpretation, because they just don’t apply,” he adds.

Jeffrey Rosen joins Diane to talk about the Colorado court’s legal arguments, and the consequences of the ruling for Trump, the judiciary, and the country.

Can you be anti-Zionist without being antisemitic? In other words, can you question the actions -- or existence -- of Israel without being seen as prejudiced against Jewish people?

As Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continues, this question, that at one time seemed merely academic, has spilled onto the streets, across campuses, and into the halls of Congress.

“The politicization of antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the United States is doing a grave disservice to Jews, and to Palestinians,” says Jonathan Weisman, political reporter for the New York Times and author of the book “(((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump.”

He joins Diane on this episode of On My Mind to help define these terms, explain why they are being used to score political points, and what the impact of that could be on U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Not long ago, the idea that Donald Trump could return to the White House seemed like a MAGA-fueled fantasy. With his legal troubles piling up, Ron DeSantis surging, and President Biden notching legislative successes, a Trump victory appeared out of reach.

Not anymore. And so, the question becomes, what would a second Trump term look like?

“Chaos,” says David Frum, staff writer at The Atlantic. “It would mean endless questions about presidential power, military obedience. It would be chaos upon chaos, upon chaos.”

Frum joins Diane on today’s episode of On My Mind to discuss “The Danger Ahead,” the lead essay for the January/February edition of The Atlantic. The issue features a series of pieces that consider what Donald Trump might do if he regains the presidency in 2024.

The annual United Nations climate conference, or COP 28, begins in Dubai this week. A big topic on people’s minds: how countries are doing on their pledges to slash production of greenhouse gasses outlined in The Paris Agreement.

The consensus is ... not great.

On this episode of On My Mind, Diane looks at one part of the effort to reduce emissions here in the U.S. -- the transformation away from fossil-fuel-powered machines we use to heat our homes, cook food, and drive to work.

Experts agree households will have to embrace a suite of new low-carbon options to achieve President Biden’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Michael J. Coren writes the “Climate Coach” column for the Washington Post. He joins Diane to explain what those options are – and the barriers to widespread adoption.

In 2008 journalist Martin Walker published the first of his Bruno, Chief of Police novels. Fifteen books later, the internationally bestselling series continues to delight readers with murder, mystery -- and delicious food.

Walker has called the books a love letter to his adopted home of the Périgord region of southwestern France, where he lives in an old farmhouse with his wife, food writer Julia Watson. Indeed, the tales of Bruno take readers into the rich history of the area and its culinary traditions.

The character of Benoît Courrèges – nicknamed “Bruno” – loves to cook and is perhaps known as much for transforming the bounty of his garden into elaborate meals as his ability to crack a case.

Now Walker and his wife Julia Watson have released a cookbook that brings together many of Bruno’s culinary creations. They join Diane this Thanksgiving week to talk about “Bruno’s Cookbook: Recipes and Traditions from a French Country Kitchen” and share a couple of Bruno's favorite recipes, which you can find on our website, dianerehm.org.

Last week, the FDA approved a medication said to be the most potent yet in the treatment of chronic obesity, a condition that affects more than 100 million American adults.

Developed by Eli Lilly, Zepbound is the latest in a new class of drugs doctors now have to help patients lose weight. Others include Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro.

“It’s like this total new world for weight control,” says Gina Kolata, a health reporter for the New York Times. She has written about this issue of obesity for decades and adds that after years with very little progress “these medications are really changing things.”

Kolata joins Diane on the latest episode of On My Mind to break down how these drugs work, possible side effects, and what's next in the development of obesity medications.

Those in favor of abortion access notched several more victories in Tuesday’s elections.  Reproductive rights played a role in  wins for Democratic politicians in Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. In Ohio, voters enshrined the right to abortion access in the state’s constitution.

“It has become very hard for Republicans to distance themselves from these laws that are now on the books,” says Mary Ziegler, professor at U.C. Davis School of Law.

These results came as good news for Democrats after a week that showed Donald Trump leading President Biden in polling in key swing states. But Ziegler warns Democrats shouldn’t count on abortion driving turnout in the presidential race in the same way we have seen in state contests.

Unless, that is, they can connect the dots for voters on exactly what might change if Trump is re-elected. And those changes, she adds, could be dramatic.

Ziegler is one of the country’s leading experts on the law, history, and politics of reproduction in the United States. She joins Diane on On My Mind to discuss where the abortion debate goes from here and whether it will be a deciding factor in 2024.