Talk Cocktail

The decision this week in the Purdue Pharma case emphasizes how the bankruptcy system protects some and fails others, and how the rich and powerful manipulate it to their advantage while perpetuating race, gender, and financial inequality.

My guest Melissa Jacoby (author of "UNJUST DEBTS: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal") is a legal scholar focused on bankruptcy and debt.

Jacoby reveals how the bankruptcy system not only falls short in providing basic debt relief to struggling families, but also how lawyers for big enterprises have transformed bankruptcy into a legal Swiss Army knife, impacting everything from sexual harassment, health care and police violence to employment discrimination and the opioid crisis.

The decision this week in the Purdue Pharma case emphasizes how the bankruptcy system protects some and fails others, and how the rich and powerful manipulate it to their advantage while perpetuating race, gender, and financial inequality.

My guest Melissa Jacoby (author of "UNJUST DEBTS: How Our Bankruptcy System Makes America More Unequal") is a legal scholar focused on bankruptcy and debt.

Jacoby reveals how the bankruptcy system not only falls short in providing basic debt relief to struggling families, but also how lawyers for big enterprises have transformed bankruptcy into a legal Swiss Army knife, impacting everything from sexual harassment, health care and police violence to employment discrimination and the opioid crisis.

The Supreme Court has been eroding democracy for decades. In my recent WhoWhatWhy conversation with Joshua Douglas (The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights) he reveals that since the 1970s, the US Supreme Court has been actively destabilizing democracy in the United States.

The Battle of Seattle, the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization, marked a major turning point not just for an anti-globalization movement, but for the way we would come to see the world between that protest and the rise of the populist right in 2015.

The direct line between those protests and the election of Donald Trump 16 years later is indelible.

It's a story full of enduring lessons about people and power in an age of ascendant corporate influence.

In this WhoWhatWhy podcast I speak with DW Gibson, an accomplished oral historian whose new book One Week to Change the World draws on over 100 original interviews with organizers, officials, observers, and more to bring those momentous days to vivid life.

The Supreme Court has been eroding democracy for decades. In my recent WhoWhatWhy conversation with Joshua Douglas (The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights) he reveals that since the 1970s, the US Supreme Court has been actively destabilizing democracy in the United States.

In this week’s TalkCocktail podcast, Nicholas Kristof, long-time NY Times journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, talks to me about his new memoir, "Chasing Hope." He takes me on a deeply personal journey through a career spanning more than four decades. Kristof's unwavering commitment to exposing injustice and giving voice to the voiceless has taken him to the far corners of the globe, from the front lines of conflicts to the heart of humanitarian crises, as he has borne witness to some of the most significant events of our time.

In this week’s TalkCocktail podcast, Nicholas Kristof, long-time NY Times journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, talks to me about his new memoir, "Chasing Hope." He takes me on a deeply personal journey through a career spanning more than four decades. Kristof's unwavering commitment to exposing injustice and giving voice to the voiceless has taken him to the far corners of the globe, from the front lines of conflicts to the heart of humanitarian crises, as he has borne witness to some of the most significant events of our time.

In a world where the specter of nationalism looms large and the future of democracy hangs in the balance, nowhere is the current rightward shift more evident than in the recently held European Union elections, and in France, where the upcoming national elections may amplify the global surge to the far right.

On this week’s WhoWhatWhy podcast, I talk with Elvire Camus, editor-in-chief of Le Monde’s English language edition, to shed light on the impact of the EU elections, France’s upcoming “snap” election, and the complexities of shifting alliances across Europe. She discusses France’s challenges of immigration and the rise of nationalism — themes that are reshaping political discourse not just in France and Europe, but everywhere, all at once.

Camus focuses on President Emmanuel Macron’s calculated gamble to dissolve the National Assembly and call for immediate elections. The results, she says, could have far-reaching consequences in France and could potentially serve as a precursor to upcoming elections in the US and elsewhere.

As a seasoned journalist with a wealth of experience at Le Monde and The New York Times, Camus shares her insights on the underlying forces driving this surge in nationalism, and a growing sense of disillusionment and economic unease among French voters.

Like every social construct, espeically those impacting women, the divorce landscape is changing. and as usual, California is setting the path. After all, California was the first state to introduce no-fault divorce in 1970 under then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, and celebrity divorces make lots of headlines. My guest on this California Sun podcast, Lauren Petkin, has been practicing family law in Los Angeles for 36 years. She lays out today's divorce landscape, including mediation vs. litigation, the rise in prenups, collaborative divorce, alimony reforms, and the use of private judges.

Like every social construct, espeically those impacting women, the divorce landscape is changing. and as usual, California is setting the path. After all, California was the first state to introduce no-fault divorce in 1970 under then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, and celebrity divorces make lots of headlines. My guest on this California Sun podcast, Lauren Petkin, has been practicing family law in Los Angeles for 36 years. She lays out today's divorce landscape, including mediation vs. litigation, the rise in prenups, collaborative divorce, alimony reforms, and the use of private judges.