April Reign’s #OscarsSoWhite  hashtag shone a spotlight on the lack of diversity in Hollywood, and since then, the Academy and its nominees have become more diverse. Certainly, culture can influence film, but film also shapes our culture – and our politics. In the January 25 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” cohost Drew Courtney and guest host Diallo Brooks chat with progressive strategist Asher Huey about film, culture and politics and how movies have responded to the chaos of the Trump era.

Film and Politics in the Trump Era

People For the American Way’s new podcast, “The Progressive Happy Hour,” is all about talking politics with pop culture, organizing with attitude, and the Constitution with a couple of cocktails. Every week hosts Christin “Cici” Battle, director of PFAW’s Young People For Action, and Drew Courtney, PFAW’s vice president for communications and research, discuss the big stories of the day and strategize about ways to create the America we want.

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William Barr’s letter cherry-picked information from Mueller’s Russia report. Many media outlets took Barr’s letter at face value and reported that Mueller found no proof of collusion, but no one knows the facts. No one outside DOJ has actually seen the report. In the March 29 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” cohosts Drew Courtney and Cici Battle talk to PFAW Executive VP Marge Baker about what we still don’t know about the Mueller report and the questions still unanswered.

What We Don’t Know About the Mueller Report

The Supreme Court and lower federal courts have a direct impact on our rights and liberties, but the president is stacking the bench with narrow-minded elitists who serve the interests of corporations and the rich at the expense of all of us. In the March 20 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” cohosts Drew Courtney and Cici Battle talk to PFAW Senior Fellow Elliot Mincberg about the damage done by Trump-appointed judges and what progressives can do to fight Trump’s judicial takeover.

Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears

One especially shameful detail of the college admissions scandal is that many students faked learning disabilities to game the admissions system. In the March 15 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” cohost Drew Courtney and guest host Diallo Brooks talk to Dara Baldwin, director of national policy for the Center for Disability Rights, about the forms of discrimination that people with disabilities experience and what progressives can do to support disability rights.

Disability Rights are Human Rights

The importance of the census is far reaching and having accurate data is critical to protecting equity, voting rights and civil rights. In the March 6 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” cohosts Drew Courtney and Cici Battle talk to Beth Lynk, the campaign director of Census Counts 2020 at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, about the ways that the census data could disproportionately harm communities of color, low-income people, and LGBTQ+ people.

The Fight for a Fair and Accurate Census

The rise of extremist ideology, leaders and government isn’t just gaining steam in the U.S. – it’s happening in Europe and around the world. In the March 1 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” cohost Drew Courtney and guest host Diallo Brooks talk to PFAW’s Right Wing Watch Research Director Addie Stan about what’s driving the transnational rise of the far Right and what it means for our democracy if these trends continue.

Film and Politics in the Trump Era

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