Tuesday's election results have boosted hope for progressives that the tide is turning away from Trumpism. Democrats took the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, and several transgender candidates won seats: Danica Roem of Virginia has become the first openly transgender person elected to a state legislature. And in Minneapolis, two Black transgender representatives were elected to City Council.
Among the wave of progressives getting elected today, we focus on the contentious District Attorney race in Philadelphia. Civil rights advocate and anti-death penalty proponent Larry Krasner overwhelming won his race as the new DA in the city. Krasner considers himself a movement lawyer who supports criminal justice reform, opposes Trumps moves against immigrants, and calls for an end to mass incarceration. He has garnered support among young people, communities of color and low-income women. Are we seeing an uptick of progressive DAs in other cities across the U.S.? Is this an example that sticking to ones progressive principles can mean victory? What role did progressive movements play in Krasners election, and how was a broader electorate so convinced that Krasner defeated his GOP opponent with a whopping 75 percent of the vote? Our guest is Kairol Rosenthal, who was a Neighborhood Engagement Coordinator with the Krasner campaign.
For our Weekly Earth Watch, we return to our coverage of Puerto Rico, where the majority of residents are still facing an unprecedented humanitarian disaster of their island home in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Increasing numbers of residents have become environmental refugees fleeing the island, and now FEMA has announced that they will transport refugees from PR to the U.S. Our guest is Dezaray Lyn, a social, economic and climate justice organizer who recently returned from an aid delivery trip to Puerto Rico with the grassroots network Mutual Aid Disaster Relief.
And "as the new Poor Peoples Campaign is on the rise in the United States, we are taking a look at the hidden poor: people because they have a professional job and therefore not seen as poor. Even as universities raise tuitions and rake in millions, the army of postdocs and Research Assistants who contribute to the work and prestige of the university are all too often underpaid. And at the University of Washington, which has a reputation for being liberal, there is a move to unionize by postdocs "a move being undermined by the administration of the University. Our guest is Max Friedfeld, a research associate in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Washington and a member of UW Postdocs United.