Make It Plain MIP with Rev. Mark Thompson

It’s #ThursdayKos and Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs, is back with a discussion on the takeaways from Biden’s meeting with Putin. On the topic of Senator Joe Manchin, Mark shares some of what he learned on the ground from locals while attending the March on Manchin, and voting rights are on their minds. Markos fills us in on the key details from Manchin’s proposed legislation on voting rights--his alternative to the For the People Act--and he’d also like to know what Manchin intends to do when Republicans use the filibuster against him. And by the way...what’s up with Kyrsten Sinema? Turns out there are more questions than answers with the incomprehensible senator from the increasingly-blue Arizona.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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Today you’ll hear a compilation of interviews Mark collected on the ground at the March on Manchin, led by the Poor People’s Campaign with Rev. Dr. William Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis at the helm. He speaks with lifelong residents of the state who voted for Senator Joe Manchin and has left them angry and disappointed. And now, they’re on his doorstep, asking for answers.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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Yesterday, Mark was on the ground in West Virginia, led by Rev. Dr. William Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis of the Poor People’s Campaign, to march on the office of Senator Joe Manchin following his hypocrisy and lack of support for voting rights and access. Mark speaks with his constituents who are angry with the man they elected for failing to follow through on promises and support their basic civil rights. Tension was in the air as Manchin’s staff attempted to placate the crowd with comment cards, but the people who showed up to march were not having it. Today you’ll hear Mark talking to the people as well as march leaders Rev. Barber and Rev. Liz Theoharris, and tomorrow we have exclusive interviews to expand on the discussion of Senator Joe Manchin’s obstruction to voting rights.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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The press coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris’s first trip overseas has been largely negative, which comes as no surprise to Eric Boehlert, Writer and Publisher of Pressrun.media. Not surprising but no less disappointing that they’re framing it as a failure without considering the larger picture, which he explains in today’s episode, and notes that it’s largely based on racism and sexism. This is all part of the press trying to drum up drama within the Biden administration, after they were spoiled for years with the chaos of Donald Trump’s tumult and intrigue.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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DeRay McKesson is an activist, organizer, former teacher, podcast host (Pod Save the People) and leading voice in the Black Lives Matter movement. In today’s episode, DeRay hits us with the data on police murdering civilians, and helps us understand what is actually collected and tracked--and, perhaps more importantly, what isn’t. DeRay also draws an undeniable connection between police and prison reform, explaining how it’s a disservice to discuss the former without the latter.

*Producer's Note: this conversation was recorded in March 2020

Photo Credit: www.deray.com

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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Senator Joe Manchin met with civil rights leaders to discuss the voting rights bill, but he remains opposed (despite the fact that he initially co-signed it). Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs and host of podcast “The Brief,” attempts to unpack Manchin’s recent hypocrisies. Markos also gets into the Wuhan lab leak and Biden’s call for an investigation, but ultimately points out how the virus’s origin doesn’t mean anything in the context of how Trump mishandled its outbreak in the U.S. and failed to protect Americans. And we finish off with some thoughts on Rep. Val Demings running against Marco Rubio for a Florida senate seat.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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Randi Weingarten is President of the American Federation of Teachers, and she recently made an appearance on Fox News that got quite a bit of buzz. Fox News Host Martha MacCallum pressed Randi on the legitimacy of the 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Randi responded by saying she believes in the 1619 Project and also suggested that Fox has some reckoning to do with the legitimacy on their reporting regarding the 2020 election and Joe Biden winning the presidency. Randi unpacks her Fox moment as well as what it's going to take to safely open schools at full capacity in the fall on today's episode.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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June is Gun Violence Awareness Month, and we’ve got our resident expert back on the show to honor the month and discuss where we’re at with congress and gun safety laws. Igor Volsky is Executive Director of Guns Down America and author of “Guns Down: How to Defeat the NRA and Build a Safer Future with Fewer Guns,” and he has a very specific challenge for Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who thinks she can changes the minds of GOP members with her powers of persuasion. Igor also fills us in on where the NRA stands after their failed attempt to file for bankruptcy and flee New York. By the way, did you hear that West Virginia is raffling off rifles in exchange for getting vaccinated? Igor fills us in on that strange program and more in today’s episode.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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The May jobs report is here and Chad Stone, Chief Economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, is back for our monthly chat where he breaks it all down and explains exactly where we stand in our recovery since slipping into a recession in 2020. Chad says we are definitely heading in the right direction, but it’s not going to simply be a steady incline, and he explains that and more, including some insight on unemployment insurance, in today’s episode.

Read Chad’s latest blog post here: https://www.cbpp.org/blog/may-job-growth-strong-but-unemployment-insurance-reform-still-needed

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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The May jobs report is out today, and Mark is joined by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to reflect on the disappointments from April and discuss where we stand now over a year since the pandemic began and our economy fell into recession.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

For additional content: makeitplain.com

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