The Takeaway

Checking the Checks and Balances

As the fight between House Democrats and the White House continues to escalate, are the checks and balances between the branches of the government working? 

China Attempts to Undercut Trade Deal; Trump Promises New Tariffs

Negotiations appeared to have been going well, but the Chinese reportedly reneged on a series of key promises.

European Far-Right Leaders May Capitalize on the Rise of Spain's "Vox" Party

It's the first time a far-right party has gained seats since the fall of the dictatorship in 1975.

Other segments: 

Ebola Response in the Democratic Republic of Congo: What Are the Challenges?

More than 1,000 people have died from Ebola since last summer in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

When You Play the Game of Spoilers, Do You Win or Lose?

With spoiler warnings at an all-time high with the release of Avengers: Endgame and the final season of Game of Thrones, we took a look at how rational the fear of spoilers really is.

As Uber Prepares to Go Public, Drivers Across the Country Strike

Drivers are demanding better pay, as the company stands to reap $10 billion after its long-awaited IPO.

Treasury Secretary Refuses Congressional Request to Hand Over Trump's Tax Returns 

Mnuchin said the request lacked a “legitimate legislative purpose” and that he could not authorize the release as a result. 

'It's So Hard:' Military Spouses on the Challenges of Having a Career 

When we asked Takeaway listeners in military families about the biggest challenges they face, many of you said finding employment as a spouse. 

One year ago today, Tanzina Vega made her debut as the host of The Takeaway. At the time, she outlined three gaps in the United States that she felt should be part of The Takeaway's core mission: the wealth gap, the truth gap and the empathy gap. To celebrate Tanzina's one-year anniversary, The Takeaway is broadcasting live from WNYC's The Greene Space and asking, when it comes to inequality, misinformation and understanding, are we further apart today than we were then?

Joining Tanzina to address the empathy gap, and what it takes to more fully imagine the perspectives of others, are Jelani Cobb, a staff writer for The New Yorker who writes about race, politics, history, and culture, Ziwe Fumudoh, a comedian and writer for Showtime’s "Desus and Mero," and Javier Zamora, a poet and writer born in El Salvador, and author of the collection "Unaccompanied."

To delve into the racial wealth gap in the United States, Tanzina speaks with Andre Perry, a Brookings Institution fellow and author of the forthcoming book, "Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in American Cities."

And rounding out the hour is Susan Chira, editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project, who joins Tanzina to discuss the truth gap in our changing media landscape.

President Trump Picks Former Obama Administration Official to Lead ICE in New Direction

On Sunday, President Trump named Mark Morgan as the next director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Last month, the president said he wanted to take ICE in a "tougher direction."

Lila Downs Talks Immigration, Politics and Identity "Al Chile"

When Downs speaks, the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter says things "al chile" — by telling it like it is.

Children in Puerto Rico Suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Since Hurricane Maria

A new study shows seven percent of kids are dealing with significant symptoms of PTSD.

"It’s the economy, stupid."

James Carville is the Democratic strategist who famously coined that phrase while working on Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992. He meant people vote with their pocketbooks. In other words, when the economy is strong, the incumbent wins. That should be good news for the Trump administration because by many measures the economy is doing great. It grew at an unexpectedly high pace of 3 percent in the first-quarter of this year. The stock market is surging. Wages are up. Unemployment is down. Yet despite all this, the President's approval rating is still stuck in the low to mid-40s, putting the old cliche "it's the economy, stupid," to the test. 

Kevin Hassett, the Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, says that he expects the economic growth we have been seeing to continue this year at an even faster rate. We get a fact-check on that from Heather Long, Washington Post's economics correspondent, who tells us about what she sees as the biggest problem facing the U.S. economy today: rising inequality. Plus, she brings us up to speed on Donald Trump's picks for the Federal Reserve. 

Denise Murray, a farmer in Wisconsin, talks about selling her dairy cows because their upkeep had gotten too expensive. Mike Gallagher, a Republican congressman representing the 8th district of Wisconsin, explains how the Trump administration's tariffs on steel and aluminum have impacted farmers like Murray in his state, and whether he thinks his constituents will still support the president in 2020. 

Scott Clement, the polling director at the Washington Post, tells us about a new Washington-ABC poll that shows that most people feel that our economic system benefits those in power. He says this could be a problem for the president. 

Lastly, Lynn Vavreck, the co-author of "Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America," says that actually, there may be some issues that are even important to voters than the economy.

Read Amy Walter's take here.

AG William Barr Refuses to Testify Before House Panel

After testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Attorney General William Barr is refusing to testify before the House on Thursday.

Labor Dept. Offers Guidance to Gig Economy Companies Looking to Label Workers as Contractors

A recent letter from the Labor Dept. informed an unknown gig economy company that they could call their workers contractors, offering guidance to other companies looking to do the same.

Caster Semenya Will Have to Suppress Testosterone to Compete in Her Top Races

The ruling came as a surprise to many who contend that elevated testosterone levels do not enhance performance to a level that necessitates such regulation. 

Venezuelan Protests: A Failed Coup?

The opposition hoped Maduro would be ousted — what next for their efforts?

Mueller Puts a Stamp on it: Secret Letter to William Barr Overshadows AG's Congressional Testimony

Attorney General Barr faces two days of hearings in Congress this week.

Deteriorating, Unsanitary Conditions in Privatized Military Housing

One-third of all military families live in privatized housing — that’s around 700,000 people. For many, that means facing substandard living conditions.

Undocumented Workers Allege Exploitation at Trump Golf Course

Undocumented workers at Trump’s country club in Westchester, New York say they were told to perform unpaid labor, according to new reporting out from The Washington Post.

Social Media Was Blocked in Sri Lanka, but the Social Fissures Remained

Hours after the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, the government blocked popular social media sites.

Guantanamo Bay May Soon Need Hospice Care

With no end in sight, the Pentagon is having to consider how Guantanamo Bay will provide treatment for geriatric detainees as prisoners get older.

How a Wealth Gap Contributes to a Privacy Gap 

Poor people tend to face far more severe repercussions from a lack of privacy online. 

Who Gets to Make a Living as an Artist?

The more affluent a person's family is, the greater chance they have of landing a career in the arts.

Joe Biden officially announced that he is running for the nation's top job on Thursday. As candidate number 20, he is entering a historically crowded race. Does he have what it takes to stand out from the pack? 

We check in with two campaign reporters, Juana Summers from The Associated Press, and Annie Linskey from The Washington Post, who tell us about what voters seem to be looking for when trying to choose between the candidates. 

For our Biden digest, we turn to Mike Memoli, of NBC News, who has been following Biden's career on the national stage for over a decade. He explains what he thinks we can expect from Biden’s third attempt to reach the highest office. Borys Krawczeniuk, of the Scranton Times-Tribune, gives us the view from Biden's hometown. And Aimee Allison, the founder of the political group She the People, says he has some serious obstacles to overcome if he wants to do well with black women voters. 

Plus, Bloomberg's Joshua Green has been out on the campaign trail trying to gauge where voters stand on the issue of impeachment. His verdict? They are pretty ambivalent. 

Amy's Final Take:

After the  2016 election, the  media was criticized for spending too much time in D.C. absorbed in our Twitter bubbles. Voters were telling us the story of the election, but we weren’t listening to it.

Three years later, the Washington, D.C. and Twitter echo chambers are obsessed with talk of "impeachment" and "Russia" yet that’s not what voters or presidential candidates are talking about out in the states.  

My sense, from listening to voters and to the reporters who are on the ground covering them, is that Democratic voters are more pragmatic than prescriptive. The grassroots demand for Congress to start impeachment just doesn't seem to be there. Now, should Trump win re-election, I'd expect that pragmatism to give way to all out panic and push-back.

That may change, but for now, we should take the lessons of 2016 to heart and stop trying to make the narrative fit neatly into a box we have already pre-built. The race for 2020 has a LONG way to go. The best way to understand where it’s headed is to watch it unfold at its own pace, not the one being set by cable TV.