The Takeaway

How did the country find itself witnessing the erosion of faith in democracy, and what can be done to reverse course?

We take a moment to look at the state of Democracy here in the United States and abroad, along with steps that can be taken to shore up the democratic system.

We’re joined by Susan Stokes, Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor at The University of Chicago and Director of the Chicago Center on Democracy and writer, filmmaker and Black studies scholar Charlene Carruthers.

Producers Ryan and Katerina report on what makes a show or concert accessible to the deaf community and they look at, and try on, some technology from Music: Not Impossible that could help make attending concerts and experiencing music more accessible. Music Not Impossible created what they call “Haptic Suits,” specifically designed for the deaf and hard of hearing. The suits are used to translate music into vibrations that people can then feel throughout their entire body, which can provide a greater connection to music for deaf and hard of hearing communities, and break down barriers between hearing and deaf concert-goers. They spoke with a number of guests about this cutting-edge technology that's making the experience of accessible for all.

One of the Fall’s highly anticipated films is The Woman King starring Viola Davis. It’s the story of the Dahomey empire and their elite fighting force, the Agojie, made up entirely of women.

We talk with director Gina Prince-Bythewood and producer Cathy Schulman about what it took to get this movie made, the inclusion of difficult subjects, and what it means to have a film that centers Black women.

Mason, Tennessee is a small, predominantly Black town of approximately 1,300 residents situated about 40 miles northeast of Memphis in West Tennessee.  The city has struggled with financial mismanagement in the past, but is expected to benefit from a major new economic investment, an electric vehicle plant being built by Ford Motor Company just a few miles away. Recently the Tennessee Comptroller, Jason Mumpower, tried to forcibly take control over the town's finances. We explore the fight Mason is taking on for its financial autonomy.

We speak with:

Virginia Rivers, Vice-Mayor of Mason, Tennessee

Gloria Sweet-Love, President of the Tennessee State Conference NAACP

John Marshall, judicial magistrate in Memphis, Tennessee, amateur historian, and sixth generation Mason native

Otis Sanford, political columnist for The Daily Memphian and a journalism professor at the University of Memphis

We talk about the historical and scientific knowledge gap of women’s bodies and people with vaginas, including trans men, intersex people, and nonbinary people, with Rachel E. Gross, a science journalist and author of the book “Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage.”

Judges have been historically resistant to most kinds of reforms, according to a new report from the Square One Project at Columbia University.

The author of the report, Judge Nancy Gertner, argues that judges must be actively involved in revolutionizing the justice system. She also offers up six key recommendations for reimagining judging, including improvements to judicial selection and community engagement. 

This past weekend, a gunman who appears to have been motivated by white supremacy shot and killed ten people in Buffalo, New York, where he traveled to target the city’s Black community.

The tragic shooting is one of several disturbing massacres motivated by hate that have occurred in recent years. But the history of race based violence dates back to the beginning of what is now the United States, and some of the recent racially motivated attacks call to mind the racist violence that targeted Black communities in the early 20th century.

The Takeaway speaks with Jelani Cobb, historian, staff writer at The New Yorker and incoming dean at the Columbia Journalism School.

In 2017, Andrea Jenkins became the first black openly transgender woman elected to office in the United States.

This year, she became the first openly transgender city council president in Minneapolis. We spoke to her for our Black History Month series, Black.Queer.Rising.

This past Sunday, Operation Save Abortion tackled the question: what can one person do after the Dobbs vs. Jackson decision took away the constitutional right to abortion?  The Takeaway attended the day of learning, action and fundraising.

We hear from five of the panelists and Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show and founder and Chief Creative Officer of Abortion Access Front, to discuss Operation Save Abortion, the movement for abortion access, and securing reproductive justice for all.

All aboard the Takeaway Train! It’s time for the final installment of our mini-series on how trains built America. We'll explore just a few of the many ways that just a few of the many ways that trains have impacted pretty much every aspect of modern life — films, music, food, religious practices, even our sense of time and space. We'll hear from some familiar voices, some new ones, and from Takeaway listeners themselves as we try to answer the enduring question: why do we love trains so much?

In the first episode, we heard stories of train laborers, from those who laid the tracks to those who keep the trains running today. Listen to that episode here: "How Trains Built America's Labor Movement."

In the second episode, we heard more about how trains were prominent sites in America’s long struggle for racial justice. Listen to that episode here:"How Trains Became Engines of Freedom."