Is it okay for reporters to say that President Trump "lies?" Should journalists regurgitate each tweet from the President? Does emerging media in the 21st century require new coverage strategies for the news media? One of the foremost authorities on the subject of journalism, Tom Rosenstiel of the American Press Institute, takes on these questions and others as he joins Michael on the "Mean."

Neera Tanden is the President of the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., and has served as a top policy and political operative for Senator Hillary Clinton and for President Barack Obama. Neera talks about the upcoming Trump presidency, including the fight over the Affordable Care Act, which she played an instrumental role in designing. (Michael served as a Senior Fellow in 2016 at the Center's Democracy and Government Reform Program)

The grandson of a Holocaust survivor, Jonathan Greenblatt now heads up the Anti-Defamation League, one of America's premier civil rights and human relations organizations. Prior to ADL, Jonathan was one of the founders of Ethos Brands and also served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. On this episode of the Mean, Jonathan talks with Michael about his career journey, anti-Semitism trends in the United States, the dangers of the Alt-right and his strategy for leading the ADL into the future.

Paul Lisnek is the Emmy-award winning host of Politics Tonight on CLTV News in Chicago and the political analyst at WGN-TV. In our final episode of 2016, Lisnek weighs in on the historic year in presidential politics, the challenges of social media and the responsibilities of both news providers and news consumers.

David Mendell is an award-winning journalist and author of the 2007 book Obama: From Promise To Power. David covered Barack Obama all the way back in 2003, when the then-State Senator ran as a candidate in Illinois for the U.S. Senate race. Now, with just five weeks left in his second terms in White House, Mendell talks about his memories of the the man when nobody knew him - and about Obama's high points and low points as our country's 44th president.

During the summer of 2016, while covering the Donald Trump presidential campaign for the newspaper owned by Trump's son in law, journalist Ross Barkan took a stand. He saw a conflict of interest, called it out, and risked his own career to do what he believed was right. Ross tells his true tale on this edition of the Mean.

On this Thanksgiving Day, David Scherer and Michael Golden talk about the community college scholarship program they cofounded 10 years ago. One Million Degrees has raised over $12 million and currently serves 668 scholars in the state of Illinois. With a graduation rate above 70 percent, OMD is empowering individuals to achieve their degrees and build their careers. David tells the story of how it all started and why the program continues to thrive!

Three days after the election of Donald Trump and Republican majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, the "Mean" breaks it all down. In the first part of the program, Michael shares his thoughts about the race and what may lay ahead. Then we hear from Jonathan Rauch, Brookings Scholar and author of "Political Realism: How hacks, machines, big money, and back-room deals can strengthen American democracy."

Some random thoughts on Election Day 2016 about the craziest national election campaign in our lifetimes!

Josh Kraashaur knows the numbers as well as anybody, and the Managing Editor of Politics at National Journal breaks down the presidential race and Senate matchups just a day away from Election Day! Who'll win the White House? Who'll hold the majorities on Capitol Hill? Listen to Josh!