Red, White, and Confused

This week on "Red, White, and Confused," join me in a conversation with a panel of individuals focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion at three college campuses. My three guests this week are:

*John Holloway, Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Emory & Henry College

*Tabitha Smith, Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at UVA Wise

*Kelsey R.M. Bush, Chief Diversity Officer for St. Mary’s College of Maryland

Hear our conversation about "moving the needle" regarding DEI on college campuses and within the larger community.

If you have turned on your television recently, you have probably seen a lot of debate over books in general – from what should be taught in schools, to particular books being in libraries, to book burnings sponsored by pastors. This week on the program, I discuss research about book bans with Carol Mason, who is University Research Professor at the University of Kentucky and the author of "Reading Appalachia From Left to Right," and Emily Knox, Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the author of "Book Banning in 21st Century America."

This week continues the in-depth interview series with individuals who are running for the 9th Congressional District in Virginia. My second guest is Elijah Cordle from Russell County, who is running as an independent candidate in the upcoming election. Join me as we chat about his campaign.

"Red, White, and Confused" kicks off this week with an in-depth interview series with individuals who are running for the 9th Congressional District in Virginia. My first guest is Taysha DeVaughan from Wise County (Big Stone Gap). Join me as we chat about her campaign.

It's more than just a smell. It's a humanitarian crisis.

Join me this week in a conversation with Joel Kellogg, Co-Founder and current Chair of HOPE for Bristol, and Samuel Weddington, Senior Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Bristol, TN, about the Bristol landfill and the ways it has been impacting residents for over a year now.

This week, join me in a conversation about the rural/urban digital divide.  My guests this week are Brandon Moore, a resident of Russell County VA who does not have internet access at his home, Christopher Ali, who is an Associate Professor in Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia and the author of "Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics of Rural Connectivity" (MIT Press, 2021), and Joseph Puckett, a Regional General Manager for Point Broadband.

On November 30th, a 15-year old boy in Michigan at Oxford High School opened fire, killing four other children, and wounding several others.  Karen McDonald, the prosecutor in this case, has brought charges not only against the 15-year-old shooter, but also against his parents. 

Today I have invited Professor Evan Bernick (Assistant Professor of Law at Northern Illinois University College of Law) to join me on the show to talk about these developments.  We discuss his recent article in the Washington Post about this case, as well as his new co-authored book, The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment: Its Letter and Spirit. 

The debate over abortion rights has been looming in this country for years – and in early December, the Supreme Court heard arguments about a Mississippi state abortion ban (Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization). On today's show, I chat with Josh Wilson, who is a professor and the chair of the political science department at the University of Denver, about this case, the shifts on the Supreme Court, and what this decision will mean for the court's legitimacy. He has published two books on abortion politics with Stanford University Press, and he recently coauthored Separate But Faithful: The Christian Right’s Radical Struggle to Transform Law & Legal Culture (Oxford University Press) with Amanda Hollis-Brusky.

With the recent not-guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, we have seen just how conflicted Americans are about both the case itself – and about the presence of firearms at protests.  What type of impact will this verdict have on political demonstrations in the future? Join me this week on "Red, White, and Confused" as I chat with Alexandra Filindra (Associate Professor of Political Science and Psychology at the University of Illinois, Chicago) about her research on public opinion surrounding firearms, the NRA, and whether guns produce a "chilling" effect on speech at public protests.

This week on "Red, White, and Confused," I chat with Jonathan Winburn (University of Mississippi) and Stephen Farnsworth (University of Mary Washington) about the Virginia redistricting process. What has happened so far with the commission, and will this new process yield more competitive districts?