The Tent

Four and half months after the January 6th insurrection, Republicans in Congress find themselves unwilling to commit to a bipartisan commission looking into the tragic and deadly events. Daniella and Jesse discuss the deadlocked negotiations this week on “The Tent” as well as the efforts to de-escalate violence in Israel and Gaza. Plus, they connect with Mother Jones senior reporter Ari Berman to discuss his reporting on voter suppression efforts being pursued in the states.

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Follow us on Twitter @TheTentPod & @CAPAction.

You can also follow Ari Berman on Twitter @AriBerman and read more of his work with Mother Jones here. He is the author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America.

Here are some helpful links for this week’s episode:

“Five Ways a Dark Money Group Is Trying to Rig Our Elections” by Ari Berman

“Lawmakers are targeting the courts that could shoot down voter suppression laws” via The Washington Post

“Opinion: McCarthy, McConnell and the illusion of bipartisanship” via The Washington Post

“Beer, doughnuts and a $1 million lottery – how vaccine incentives and other behavioral tools can help the US reach herd immunity” via The Conversation

Congress returns to Washington this week, with party leaders resuming their negotiations with President Joe Biden over his ambitious infrastructure and jobs package. Daniella and Jesse dissect the status of the negotiations as well as continued Republican infighting in the House of Representatives. Plus, Bill Spriggs, chief economist at the A.F.L.-C.I.O, joins the podcast to explore the state of the economy and how Biden’s jobs plans can help growth—and address decades of racial injustice. 

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Follow us on Twitter @TheTentPod & @CAPAction.

You can also follow William Spriggs on Twitter @WSpriggs and read more about his work at the A.F.L-C.I.O here.

Here are some helpful links for this week’s episode:

The Employment Situation -- April 2021 via the Bureau of Labor Statistics

“It’s not a ‘labor shortage.’ It’s a great reassessment of work in America.” via The Washington Post

“What the April Jobs Report Tells Us About the Economy” via The Takeaway

This week on The Tent, Daniella and Jesse explore infighting amongst congressional Republicans as Trump loyalists in Congress seek to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from her leadership position in the House G.O.P. Caucus for speaking out against the Big Lie. Our hosts also discuss the slowdown in demand for vaccinations and what that means for the pandemic. Plus, we revisit an interview from March with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser about D.C. statehood.

This week, President Joe Biden laid out an ambitious plan to invest in American infrastructure, workers, and families in his first joint address to Congress, continuing his effort to lift the United States out of the pandemic. On this episode of “The Tent,” former Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), a distinguished fellow at CAP, joins Daniella and Jesse to reflect on the first 100 days of the Biden administration and consider how the president is setting up Congress to deliver on his agenda.

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Follow us on Twitter @TheTentPod & @CAPAction.

Former U.S. Senator Doug Jones (@DougJones) joined the American Progress community as a distinguished senior fellow. Here are some helpful links for this week’s episode:

President Biden’s Remarks Addressing Joint Session of Congress via the White House

"For 100 Days, Congressional Republicans Have Undermined the Country and Demonstrated Their Unfitness To Govern" via Center for American Progress Action Fund

“The threat to US democracy goes beyond voter suppression” via CNN

This week on The Tent, Daniella and Jesse react to the conclusion of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who murdered George Floyd last May. Brookings Institution fellow Rashawn Ray joins the pod to dig into what the jury’s guilty verdict means and where police reform in the United States goes from here. Our hosts also reflect on Earth Day and the White House’s effort to lead the world on addressing climate change with an international summit.

Follow us on Twitter @TheTentPod & @CAPAction.

You can also follow Dr. Rashawn Ray on Twitter @SociologistRay and read more about his work at the Brookings Institution. 

“Will the Derek Chauvin Conviction for Murdering George Floyd Change Policing?” by Dr. Rashawn Ray

CAP Statement on Chauvin verdict: https://www.americanprogress.org/press/statement/2021/04/20/498531/statement-verdict-first-step-toward-tackling-systemic-ongoing-problem-police-violence-caps-mara-rudman-says/  

For more information about the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/here-s-what-george-floyd-justice-policing-act-would-do-n1264825

Daniella and Jesse dig into another whirlwind week, covering stories about police violence in Minnesota and Virginia, as well as the Biden administration’s announcement on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Jesse is also joined by Dr. Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine for a conversation on the state of vaccinations against COVID-19 and the decision by the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

We’ve got a short episode for you this week taking a look at the news surrounding Georgia’s recently passed restrictive voting and election laws. Jesse takes a look at how the Republicans in Congress have reacted to backlash from corporations, some of which have denounced the laws as anti-democratic, and how this effort to suppress voters stems from the Big Lie around the 2020 election.

This week on "The Tent" we revisit a conversation Jesse had with Dr. Reed Tuckson, a founder of the Black Coalition Against COVID, about the challenges of addressing racial disparities in public health and how the Black community in Washington, D.C. has overcome challenges during the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the second consecutive week with a horrific mass shooting event, calls for legislation on gun violence prevention have grown once more in the United States. Chelsea Parsons, CAP’s Action’s vice president for gun violence prevention policy, joins Daniella and Jesse this week to talk about how the political landscape in Congress has changed over the last decade and how groups are organizing for changes in state and federal gun laws.

With the passage of the American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration continues its effort to revitalize the U.S. economy after a year of the pandemic. Daniella connects with Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) on the significance of the bill and why it is crucial to demonstrate how government can have a meaningful impact on people’s lives. Plus, the congresswoman discusses the ongoing struggle for women’s representation and how she has blazed trails of her own in honor of Women’s History Month.