The Takeaway

Are Millennials Afraid of Gen Z in the Workplace?

There are at least four generations now in the workplace: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z. Last week in one of The Takeaways editorial meetings, a producer brought up a recent New York Times Article by Emma Goldberg titled “The 37-Year-Olds Are Afraid of the 23-Year-Olds Who Work for Them.” And it got our team talking about generational differences in the workplace. We asked our listeners if they felt a generational divide in their workplaces and then we interrogated the idea of generations and whether they’re really affecting workplace dynamics with Lindsey Pollak, a career and workplace expert, author of the book “The Remix: How to Lead and Succeed in the Multigenerational Workplace,” and a proud gen-Xer.

International Travel To US Open Again Amid A Wave of Flight Cancellations

After 20 months of an international travel ban because of the pandemic, the Biden administration is opening up travel into the U.S. for tourists from more than 30 countries. That includes visitors coming from South Africa, Brazil, China, the United Kingdom and more. Here to discuss mass cancellations and what to expect during holiday travel is CNBC airlines reporter Leslie Josephs. 

Behind the Fight to Reinstate Parole in Illinois

Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Ford Foundation Professor of History, Race and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, and journalist Ben Austen co-host the podcast “Some of My Best Friends Are.” They joined The Takeaway to discuss a recent episode of their show examining systems of parole in and outside the United States.

For transcripts, see individual segment pages. 

What is Causing the Truck Driver Shortage?

Truckers are the foundation of the US Economy, hauling more than 70 percent of goods coast to coast across American highways. And right now the trucking industry is short by as many as 80,000 drivers. The Takeaway takes a look at the causes and impacts of a truck driver shortage by speaking to long-haul truckers Gretchen Waters and Tierra Allen (also known as The Sassy Trucker on social media), and also Jennifer Smith, a reporter at The Wall Street Journal covering logistics and the supply chain, who spoke to several truck drivers in a report looking at the driver shortage.  

How A 2-Week Hunger Strike By New York City Cab Drivers Lead To Expansive Debt Relief

After campaigning for better debt relief from the city through a 2-week long hunger strike, taxi drivers in New York City were granted a deal that would adjust their loans. We speak with Bhairavi Desai, the president of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, about the agreement that was reached and the challenges that remain for drivers.

Aging While Queer in Puerto Rico

After living in Massachusetts to attend university, Wilfred Labiosa returned to his native Puerto Rico, where he established support services for the LGBTQ community similar to those he discovered in Massachusetts. Queer elders in Puerto Rico face isolation, discrimination, and depression. Wilfred discusses how his organization, Waves Ahead, is working to address these issues.

For transcripts, see individual segment pages.

Rep. Katie Porter on Building Trust with Voters

Rep. Katie Porter, the white board carrying Congresswoman from California joins us to discuss everything from paid family leave to the difficult task of getting people to trust Congress.

Key Takeaways from COP26 Climate Summit

This week, world leaders began meeting at a UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, known as COP26. This is seen as one of the most important international climate negotiations as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit a record high this year, after trending downward last year due to the pandemic. Umair Irfan, senior staff writer covering climate change and energy at VOX, joins The Takeaway to discuss the key takeaways from the COP26 summit, what commitments have been made, and where countries still fall short. 

Asian Americans Secure Historic Political Wins Across The Country

To get a better understanding of the issues that members of the AAPI community really care about and more on the week's historic wins, we spoke with Jane Junn, a professor at the University of Southern California, and Arun Venugopal, a senior reporter in the Race and Justice Unit at WNYC. 

For transcripts, see individual segment pages.

This month, "Passing," a new film by writer and director Rebecca Hall premieres on Netflix.  Adapted from Nella Larsen’s 1929 Harlem Renaissance novel of the same name, "Passing" is shot in black and white. It’s a complex film likely to revive old debates and provoke new conversations around unresolved and still unspoken meanings of race, class, gender, power, identity, and resistance. For this week’s Deep Dive, Melissa and co-host Dorian Warren use the film as a jumping off point to explore the thorny questions raised by the concept of passing.

Joining Melissa and Dorian to discuss her film and her family's history with passing is Rebecca Hall. Adding context on the history of passing is Allyson Hobbs, associate professor of U.S. History and the Director of African and African American Studies at Stanford University and author of "A Chosen Exile." Karla Holloway, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emerita of English at Duke University and author of Legal Fictions and A Death in Harlem: A Novel , discusses how race has been socially constructed over time. Brit Bennett, author of "The Vanishing Half," explains how she explored colorism in her 2020 novel. Lauren Michele Jackson, assistant professor of English at Northwestern University and a contributing writer at The New Yorker, discusses the idea of "Blackfishing," which is when white people and even more notably white women, attempt transgressing racial boundaries by adopting a performance of Blackness through darkening their skin excessively, wearing hairstyles and clothing trends that have been pioneered by Black people. Bliss Broyard, author of the award-winning memoir, "One Drop: My Father’s Hidden Life- A Story of Race and Family Secrets," talks about finding out in her mid twenties that her father had passed as white for most of his life. And finally, Dean Moncel, a freelance writer based in Switzerland and Aryah Lester, deputy director of the Transgender Strategy Center, join the show to discuss the ways passing emerges around gender and sexuality.  

According to an investigation by the New York Times, police across the country have killed more than 400 unarmed drivers or passengers in the past five years. The victims were also not identified to be wielding a deadly weapon, such as a gun or knife. Typically these people were pulled over for common infractions like a broken tail light or speeding, and were not being pursued for a violent crime. Black people were overrepresented in the number of causalities, relative to the population. 

Meanwhile, only five officers have been convicted of crimes in those killings, according to a review of publicly reported cases. The investigation went on to find that at least $125 million dollars have been spent by local governments across the country to resolve legal claims in about 40 cases, with dozens more ongoing. 

So how could so many situations where people are being pulled over for something that could be so minor come to such a violent end?

We discussed the findings of this investigation with David Kirkpatrick, an investigative reporter with the New York Times. 

A Look at Tuesday's Elections 

We were joined by political commentator and host of Breaking Points, Krystal Ball and political scientist and Associate Professor of Political Science and American Studies at Fordham University Dr. Christina Greer to break down the biggest election results and what it all means. 

Former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman discusses Election 2021

Former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman joins us to discuss election wins and losses, her thoughts on the winner of the New Jersey Governor’s race and how she and others are working to better the country across party lines through the Renew America Movement PAC.

Mayors Campaign on Public Safety and Policing

Last year New York officials shifted roughly $1 billion from the police department, but then added $200 million this year. Eric Adams, the former police officer who will be the city’s next mayor, campaigned on fighting crime. The Takeaway took a look at mayoral races across the country from Buffalo to Seattle with Tim Craig, National Correspondent for the Washington Post.

Investigation Finds More Than 400 Unarmed Drivers Or Passengers Killed At Traffic Stops In The Last Five Years

Meanwhile, only five officers have been convicted of crimes in those killings, according to a review of publicly reported cases. The investigation went on to find that at least $125 million dollars have been spent by local governments across the country to resolve legal claims in about 40 cases, with dozens more ongoing. We discussed the findings of this investigation with David Kirkpatrick, an investigative reporter with the New York Times. 

For transcripts, see individual segment pages.

This Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments for three hours on legal challenges to the Texas law that bans most abortions after six weeks.These arguments took place after the court fast-tracked their docket to hear two separate cases on the issue: one by abortion providers and the other by the US Department of Justice.

And while the rulings in these cases may end up being fairly limited in nature, many court watchers predicted on Monday that even some of the court’s conservative members could rule in favor of allowing the legal challenges to proceed against the Texas law.

We speak with NYU professor Melissa Murray about what she took away from Monday’s arguments.

Skeptical Supreme Court Could Determine Future of Abortion Care Nationwide

This Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments for three hours on legal challenges to the Texas law that bans most abortions after six weeks.These arguments took place after the court fast-tracked their docket to hear two separate cases on the issue: one by abortion providers and the other by the US Department of Justice. We speak with NYU professor Melissa Murray about what she took away from Monday’s arguments.

The Evolution of Abortion Plot Lines on Primetime Television

For decades, abortion on TV was overdramatized and depicted as “debate in narrative form,” writes doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Tanya Melendez for Vox. She joined The Takeaway to discuss how plot lines involving abortion have evolved on television and what those depictions have meant for public attitudes about abortion.

Aging While Queer: Pat and Paulette Martin on Finding Love Later in Life

In our ongoing series, Aging while Queer, we’ve been exploring the lives and labors of members of the LGBTQ community living in their later years. This week we spoke with Pat and Paulette Martin. They discuss the challenges of coming out of the closet, the significance of marriage equality, and how they give back to their community. 

For transcripts, see individual segment pages. 

CDC Expected to Give the Green Light on Covid Vaccine for Kids Aged 5 to 11

We asked listeners to send in questions about the vaccine in anticipation of the CDC’s recommendation, and we invited Dr. Bhakti Hansoti, Director for the Center for Global Emergency Care and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins, to field those questions and provide the latest information. 

How The Ancient Festival Of Día de Muertos Is Lost In Corporate Marketing

Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is an ancient holiday rooted in Mexican culture and celebrated across Latin America and in the diaspora. The festival signifies when the gateway between the living and the dead is said to open, and is meant to honor and remember loved ones who passed on in life with "ofrendas," or offerings, like candles, food and photos. We spoke with Juan Aguirre of Mano a Mano on the true meaning of Día de Muertos.

“Going for Broke,” Looks at Financial Instability in the United States with Personal Stories

The COVID-19 pandemic magnified financial instability and widened margins of economic inequality in the United States. A recent poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found that 38 percent of households across the nation faced serious financial problems in the past few months. The Takeaway speaks with Ray Suarez, the host of “Going for Broke.” 

For transcripts, see individual segment pages. 

The Inscrutable Senator Kyrsten Sinema

During Sinema's brief time in office, she has gained a reputation for being particularly inscrutable. She is known for rarely holding town halls with constituents or taking questions from the press. Last week, five members of Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s Veterans Advisory Council publicly stepped down, calling her “one of the principal obstacles to progress.” The Takeaway talks to one of those members, Sylvia González Andersh, a U.S. Air Force Veteran, to get some more insight on Kyrsten Sinema.

Delays in Reconciliation Deal Hamper Biden's Trip to Europe

President Biden is traveling through Europe this weekend, for a trip that includes meeting with world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Rome and the UN’s climate summit, COP26. Anthony Adragna, Congressional reporter for POLITICO and author of the Congress Minutes, POLITICO’s guide to what’s happening on Capitol Hill, joined The Takeaway to discuss.

The State of Black Women's Representation in American Politics

In 2021, there are a record number of  Black women serving in state legislatures. More Black women than ever before contested for and won Congressional seats in 2020.  But after the Governor of California appointed a man to fill the former Senate seat of Vice President Kamala Harris, there is now not a single Black woman in the U.S. Senate. For more on all this, The Takeaway spoke to Kimberly Peeler-Allen, a visiting practitioner at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University and co-founder of Higher Heights,  a group focused on Black women’s political power as voters and representatives.

The Implications of Private Military Training Complexes in North Carolina

After the riots at the Capitol on January 6th, we learned that a number of the insurrectionists had received training at private, tactical training sites. Laura Flanders, host of The Laura Flanders Show, spoke to residents and council members in North Carolina who have seen these military complexes set up shop in their communities. Our host speaks with Laura and Christina Davis McCoy, secretary of the Hoke County NAACP about the rise in private military training sites, the greater implications, and what residents can do to keep them out of their backyards.

For transcripts, see individual segment pages.