FEATURING EVE ENSLER – The acclaimed playwright Eve Ensler has spent decades advocating for women and girls who have survived sexual violence. Now, with her latest book, she has focused on her own survival and yet again, blazed a trail for others to follow.

In a short and devastating book titled simply The Apology, Eve Ensler wrote an apology in the voice of her own father for the crimes he committed against her through childhood sexual and physical abuse.

It is not easy at all to read The Apology. But it is necessary. And it comes at a critical moment when women the world over are demanding to be heard for the abuses they’ve survived.

For more information visit https://theapologybook.net.

Eve Ensler, Tony award winning playwright, performer and activist. She is the author of international phenomenon, The Vagina Monologues, which won an Obie and has been published in 48 languages and performed in over 140 countries. She is also the author of the New York Times Bestseller, I Am An Emotional Creature: The Secret Life Of Girls Around The World. She is the founder of V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls, whose central campaign is One Billion Rising. She is considered one of the nation’s most influential women dedicating her life to ending sexual violence against women and girls worldwide.

FEATURING ALISON GRASS – At precisely the moment when industry needed to ramp down the large scale extraction of fossil fuels in order to save humanity, the fracking industry in the US has doubled down against climate and environmental justice activists and dramatically expanded its infrastructure and operations.

A new report by Food and Water Watch examines that expansion and finds that hydraulic fracturing has a new goal – to flood the planet with plastics despite it already being at saturation point.

Alison Grass, Research Director with Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Action and author of the new report, The Fracking Endgame: Locked Into Plastics, Pollution, and Climate Chaos.

President Donald Trump visited Normandy, France after his 3-day visit to Britain, marking D-Day with other world leaders. He visited the cemetery where more than 9,000 American soldiers were buried after dying in battle in World War II. During his remarks, Trump spoke to the ties between Western nations saying, “To all of our friends and partners — our cherished alliance was forged in the heat of battle, tested in the trials of war and proven in the blessings of peace. Our bond is unbreakable.” But during most of his time in office Trump has undermined NATO and the US-European alliance. French President Emmanuel Macron addressed Trump saying, “America, dear President Donald Trump, is never as great as when it fights for the freedom of others.”

Meanwhile Trump is wrapping up his trip to Europe by traveling hundreds of miles out of his way to visit his own private golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland. Ahead of the visit, the Irish Times speculated, “The unique nature of a potential visit – a US president visiting his own private property in Ireland – has thrown up complex issues around protocol, and whether it constitutes a private or official visit.” Trump wanted to meet Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at his golf course but the PM denied Trump the photo-op he apparently desired. The two leaders ended up meeting at an airport lounge. According to the Washington Post, Trump’s private resort has sucked up more than $40 million but never turned a profit. Trump claimed that it was a matter of convenience for him to stay at his own golf resort during official Presidential travel.

Trump’s announced tariffs against Mexico over border crossings appear to still be on, a day after Vice President Mike Pence’s meeting with Mexico’s foreign minister. The government released new figures on Wednesday showing that the number of mostly Central Americans crossing the US-Mexico border and being arrested by US authorities rose to more than 144,000 in May. The figure is the highest monthly total in 13 years. Trump tweeted angrily from Europe that the figures were, “because of Mexico & the Democrats in Congress refusing to budge on immigration reform.” He made no mention of the pressures facing Central Americans in their home countries. Republicans meanwhile are angered that the President unveiled such a sweeping and extreme policy shift as tariffs on Mexico during a week when he was out of the country. In other immigration news a car chase in Texas resulted in the deaths of six migrants who were traveling in an SUV when their vehicle was pursued by police and driven into a ditch. Five others suffered serious injuries. All the victims were from El Salvador.

Trump has also threatened to make good on tariffs against $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. In an announcement on Thursday Trump said whil...

FEATURING NORMAN SOLOMON – Joe Biden continues to poll high in the 2020 Presidential race, but has dropped 7 points since he first announced his candidacy. Many have cast Biden as the most electable Democrat in a very crowded field, who would be capable of beating Trump. But the former Vice President has not shown himself capable of even releasing a policy platform without being accused of plagiarism. He has continued to inappropriately touch little girls even after being widely accused of invading the personal space of women and girls. And, he failed to show up to the recent California Democratic Party Convention that most other serious candidates attended. Is Joe Biden really the best hope of the Democratic Party?

Norman Solomon, National coordinator of RootsAction.org. He was a Bernie Sanders delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention and currently a coordinator of the relaunched independent Bernie Delegates Network.

FEATURING LINDSEY BOYLAN – When Lindsey Boylan, a former advisor to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo decided to run for Congress challenging incumbent Democrat Jerrold Nadler, she received a threatening letter from a prominent party donor and activist. The donor said, “I am totally behind Nadler,” and added, “you may have seriously impaired any realistic chance to run for the other offices you were considering.”

Establishment Democrats were stunned last year when long-time incumbents Joe Crowley in New York and Mike Capuano in Massachusetts were toppled by first time primary challengers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley.

Now the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has instituted new rules for vendors and consultants, barring them from working on primary campaigns against Democratic incumbents.

Follow Lindsey on twitter @Lindsey_Boylan. For more information visit https://lindseyboylan.com/.

Lindsey Boylan, former adviser to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and a candidate running for Congress in New York’s 10th district, mounting a primary challenge to incumbent Rep. Jerrold Nadler.

**This segment was originally broadcast on May 1, 2019.

Republican lawmakers are warning President Donald Trump against imposing tariffs on Mexico – a 5% levy on imports that Trump announced last week in relation to migration from Central America through Mexico. The New York Times described how on Tuesday, “Republican senators emerged from a closed-door lunch at the Capitol angered by the briefing they received from a deputy White House counsel and an assistant attorney general on the legal basis for Mr. Trump to impose new tariffs by declaring a national emergency at the southern border.”  Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was among those opposing Trump’s tariffs. He said, “I will yield to nobody in passion and seriousness and commitment for securing the border…But there’s no reason for Texas farmers and ranchers and manufacturers and small businesses to pay the price of massive new taxes.” Senators are considering overturning Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the border in order to counter the tariffs. Meanwhile Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump administration officials are scheduled to meet with Mexico’s foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard on Wednesday to discuss the tariffs.

Trump is still in Britain during a multi-day visit during which he gave an interview to Piers Morgan. Among the many issues discussed was Trump’s meeting with Prince Charles about climate change. Trump during an interview with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain showcased his ignorance on climate change. Meanwhile, here in the US, the Forest Service Chief announced on Wednesday that 1 billion acres of land across the US are at risk for wildfires. Vicki Christiansen warned during an interview of year-round fires saying, “there’s not any place that we’re really at a fire season. Fire season is not an appropriate term anymore.”

Mr. Morgan also asked Trump during his interview about his deferment of military service in the Vietnam War because of “bone spurs.” To that Trump responded that he didn’t like the war. He said, “I thought it was a terrible war, I thought it was very far away, and at that time nobody ever heard of the country — today they’re doing very well.” He also said he has made up for not serving in the military by appropriating massive funds for wars. “I think I make up for it right now. Look, $700 billion I gave last year, and this year $716 billion. And I think I’m making up for it rapidly because we’re rebuilding our military at a level it’s never seen before.” The interview aired just before Trump attended a memorial service along with other world leaders to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, or the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II.

The Department of Health and Human Services this week was revealed to be  

FEATURING SONYA MEYERSON-KNOX – President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner thinks he knows enough about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to solve it. The White House advisor has apparently been working on a secret peace plan for two years and traveled to Israel in late May to roll it out. But his arrival coincided with political chaos in Israel as newly reelected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government.

Meanwhile Kushner’s position on Palestinian self-determination was on full view during a recent Axios interview where he doubted Palestinians’ ability to rule themselves. Separately at a private event State Secretary Mike Pompeo’s remarks were leaked to the Washington Post where he claimed that Kushner’s plan was, “unexecutable.”

Sonya Meyerson-Knox, Media Program Manager with Jewish Voice for Peace.

FEATURING ROB BOSTON – President Donald Trump this week announced the released of a lengthy set of rules that critics say, gives the religious right more cover to discriminate against women and minority groups based on their personal beliefs.

The document, coming ironically from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights, is 440 pages in length and was announced by Trump at the White House during the National Day of Prayer.

The rules include allowing healthcare workers from refusing to offer services such as abortion and sterilization.

Rob Boston, Senior Adviser at Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

**This segment was originally broadcast on May 3, 2019.

President Donald Trump’s visit to the UK has been met with thousands of protesters in cities around the country, but especially in London. A gathering on Tuesday morning centered around a large sculpture of Trump sitting on a golden toilet while tweeting. The protest was organized under the banner of Together Against Trump – stop the state visit and was meant to coincide with his lunch time visit to Downing Street. Also making an appearance at the protests was the infamous Trump baby blimp. Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who could be Britain’s next Prime Minister, tweeted support for the protests and for London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who Trump has attacked. Corbyn said that the, “protest against Donald Trump’s state visit is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those he’s attacked in America, around the world and in our own country – including, just this morning, @SadiqKhan.” Mr. Khan talked about Trump’s visit to the UK on an interview on Sky News.

Meanwhile Trump met with Theresa May on the second day of his 3-day visit. After slamming her for failing to carry out a Brexit plan, Trump praised the out-going Prime Minister and touted a trade deal between the US and UK.

Here in the US, CNN reported that the White House directed former staffers Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson to not cooperate with Congress over subpoenas for information, citing Executive Privilege. Both Hicks and Donaldson’s roles as witnesses to Trump’s shenanigans were outlined in the Special Counsel report and the House Judiciary Committee had set a Tuesday deadline for them to turn over their documents. But, according to CNN, “The White House sent letters to the committee stating that White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney had directed Hicks and Donaldson, the former deputy White House counsel, not to turn over the documents.” Ms. Hicks could still turn over documents requested by the panel that fall outside the period that the White House has power over – namely her time during the 2016 Trump Presidential campaign.

The House Oversight Committee has given Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Attorney General William Barr until this Thursday to comply with a bi-partisan demand for documents related to the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 US Census. If they refuse to comply, Committee Chair Elijah Cummings has threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress. In a letter to the two department heads, Cummings wrote, “The Trump administration has been engaged in one of the most unprecedented coverups since Watergate, extending from the White House to multiple federal agencies and departments of the government and across numerous investigations.”

A federal judge on Monday ruled against a House attempt to

FEATURING RONI GENA AND MARGARET KATCH – Although one in three American women will have an abortion in their lifetimes, most people in this country think abortions happen far less often than they actually do. Polls also show that most Americans think abortion is a dangerous procedure – more so than childbirth – even though that is not at all true.

A big part of the problem is that abortions are deeply stigmatized in our country thanks to the work of the anti-abortion movement – and Hollywood has largely fueled that stigma through plotlines that repeatedly show women considering abortions and then deciding against them.

Now, a web-based TV series that has gained widespread acclaim and won awards hopes to de-stigmatize abortion – through comedy. Roni Geva and Margaret Katch are the co-creators of the abortion comedy “ctrl alt delete,” and just released the second season of their show.

For more information about the show go to www.ctrlaltdeleteshow.com or, visit www.facebook.com/ctrlaltdeleteshow.com.

Roni Geva and Margaret Katch, Co creators of ctrl alt delete.

**This segment was originally broadcast on August 27, 2018.