Thank you Amy McGrath, Dr. Lisa, Leah Anderson, Chris Conley, Reba, and many others for tuning into my live video with Maria Cardona, Michael Fanone, and Olivia of Troye! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimacosta.substack.com/subscribe

Hi gang — Jim is off today, but we wanted to highlight one of our favorite episodes when Rosie O’Donnell joined us from Dublin to discuss her new Hulu documentary, “Unleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Children with Autism.”

If you haven’t seen the episode, or the documentary, both are certainly worth a watch.

Jim will be back tomorrow with a live program, but for now we hope you enjoy this episode.

-Matt

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimacosta.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you Rebecca Gummere, Amy McGrath, Robin Payes, Sarene Leeds, J. Clark, and many others for tuning into my live video with Thomas E Beller, Michael Fanone, Lauren Windsor, and Mehdi Hasan! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimacosta.substack.com/subscribe

Fanone tells me what the speaker can do with the plaque honoring Jan 6 officers if he doesn’t want it hung in the Capitol.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimacosta.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you Creators Lounge, Rebecca Gummere, Kimberly Anne, Robin Payes, Lisa N. Peterson, and many others for tuning into my live video with Michael Fanone, Olivia of Troye, and Sen. Adam Schiff! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimacosta.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you Caroline Henry, Kristin Lehrer, Caro Henry, Christina Beck, Philippe du Col, and many others for tuning into my live video with Congressman Jared Moskowitz and Paging America! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimacosta.substack.com/subscribe

My interview with Congressman Joaquin Castro on Tuesday’s program got me thinking about my father’s immigrant experience when he came to the U.S. Castro recently visited an 11 year old U.S. citizen who had been deported with her undocumented parents to Mexico. The congressman recounted the family’s story and how the parents of the girl were given the option to leave the U.S. or face separation. Which is not really a choice at all. Add to that, she is being treated for cancer and it is all the more appalling. Is that who we are as a country, Castro asked. It may be who we are now. But that has not always been the case.

Some of you may have heard this before. But my dad’s story about coming to this country teaches us that America need not be the heartless and cruel place it has become since Trump returned to the White House. My dad, A.J. immigrated to the U.S. in 1962, three weeks before the Cuban Missile Crisis. He and my grandmother ended up settling in Vienna, Virginia - just outside Washington, D.C. My dad has told me about how one of his grade school teachers would pull him out of class every day to help him read and write. He likes to talk about how a presbyterian church gave him and my grandmother coats and sweaters so they could survive their first D.C. area winter.

He remembers people being kind and generous. That was back in the 1960’s. That is the America he thinks about when it comes to the immigrant experience. The Trump administration which has placed cruelty first is not who we are. It is not too late to be the country we should be - a place that welcomes the newcomer, leading with the heart, not heartlessness.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimacosta.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimacosta.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimacosta.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you Olivia of Troye, Ally Hamilton, Ramona Grigg, Kristin Lehrer, Amy McGrath, and many others for tuning into my live video with Garry Kasparov and Jocelyn Benson! Join me for my next live video in the app.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimacosta.substack.com/subscribe