The Tent

The Tent returns this week with an interview with veteran Democratic strategist Jennifer Palmieri, who joins the pod to talk about her new book She Proclaims: Our Declaration of Independence from a Man’s World. She also discusses with Daniella and Jesse Joe Biden’s announcement of Kamala Harris as his running mate in the 2020 presidential election. Plus, Ed and Jesse debrief on the state of negotiations between Congress and the White House on the next coronavirus relief package.  

With our hosts off again this week, we'll be revisiting another interview from earlier in the year in lieu of new content. Back in April, Daniella and Ed spoke with Columbia University virologist Dr. Angela Rasmussen about the early days of the pandemic and her work studying infectious diseases. They also talk about public health responses to pandemics and debunk myths about COVID-19.

This week on “The Tent” we revisit a conversation Ed and Daniella had earlier in July with filmmaker Dawn Porter, who spoke about her new documentary John Lewis: Good Trouble. The late Congressman, who passed away on July 17, 2020, represented the 5th Congressional District of Georgia, and spent a life devoted to fighting for voting rights and equality in the United States. Our host’s conversation with Dawn Porter reflects on Lewis’s legacy and how the struggles of yesteryear linger into today.

On The Tent this week, Daniella, Ed, and Jesse reflect on the life and death of civil rights icon John Lewis, and react to the shocking and deeply disturbing situation in Portland, Oregon where the Trump administration has deployed unmarked federal agents on peaceful demonstrators. Plus, we speak with Amber Torres, the chairwoman for a Native tribe located in Nevada about how the pandemic has affected life in Indian Country. 

As the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to grow in the United States, the Trump administration has sought new ways to distract the public from their inadequate pandemic response. Ed and Jesse break down the White House’s efforts to undermine public health officials and the president’s directionless campaign speeches. Later, they connect with New School professor Maya Wiley about the declining state of justice in America and the influence of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Despite efforts to contain its spread, cases of Covid-19 continue to rise across the South and Sun Belt. This week, Daniella, Ed, and Jesse discuss how the pandemic could impact students returning to school this fall and how it shapes polling in the 2020 general election. And in our featured guest interview, Newark, NJ Mayor Ras Baraka shares his perspective on the dialogue taking place in his city around public safety and police reform, as well as lessons they’ve learned from the pandemic.

History holds valuable lessons. This week on “The Tent,” Ed and Daniella explore some of those lessons with Dawn Porter, director of the new documentary “John Lewis: Good Trouble” (out July 3) about the life of civil rights era icon John Lewis and the role that activism plays in shaping U.S. society. In the news, Ed, Daniella, and Jesse discuss President Donald Trump’s latest Russia scandal and the continued rise of coronavirus cases across the United States.

This week on “The Tent,” Daniella and Jesse debrief listeners on President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the culture of corruption Attorney General Bill Barr has permitted at the U.S. Department of Justice; and the latest action Congress has taken on police reform. And as COVID-19 continues to spread in parts of the country, our hosts connect with their CAP Action colleague Adam Conner to discuss digital contact tracing and how it could be successfully used in the United States.

Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David joins The Tent this week to discuss the historic decision from the Supreme Court ensuring LGBTQ workers cannot be fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as the parallels between today’s protests and the ones that sparked the LGBTQ movement 50 years ago. Plus, Daniella and Ed welcome CAP Action Vice President of Communications Jesse Lee to the Tent family for his political analysis of the upcoming campaign season.

A week of organized protests across the United States has created a new urgency for police reform. Roy Austin, the former deputy assistant to President Obama for the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity, joins Ed and Daniella this week to talk about how the conversation around police reform has changed and what policies lawmakers at the federal and local levels of government have proposed to meet this moment.