We The Podcast

We spend a lot of time talking about how important unions are. On this episode, we’re going to see organized labor in action on the streets of my home city, Minneapolis. Right now, almost 5,000 Minnesotan nurses are on strike. I went down to the picket line, and talked with a few of the striking nurses. I wanted to hear, straight from them, why this negotiation was so important that they’ve decided to go on strike.

Music by: Keith Ellison and Podington Bear

How many of you work 40 hours a week? If you’re a salaried worker, guess what: your employer is pretty happy. After all, they’re getting free work. That’s right. Millions of salaried workers are essentially working for free once they pass 40 hours during their work week. That’s because over the past 35 years, we failed to update our overtime pay regulations.

Music by: Keith Ellison and Podington Bear

Let’s be honest, few people enjoy paying their taxes. But most of us understand that taxes serve a critical purpose—the public good. And since we all benefit from these things, you’d figure that we would all contribute. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. According to a recent report by Oxfam America, the top 50 American companies hold $1.4 trillion overseas to avoid paying taxes. These are called tax havens

Music by: Keith Ellison and Podington Bear.

What does "home" mean to you? For millions of people in America, a safe and stable home is something they dream about but is out of reach. There is a housing crisis in this country. To get a better understanding of this problem, I talked with Matthew Desmond, author of the book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.

Music by: Keith Ellison and Podington Bear

Every single American has felt the benefits of the New Deal – and for low-income folks, working families, and seniors, the New Deal has been the difference between security and poverty. A lot of the credit for the New Deal goes to President Franklin Roosevelt, and rightly so. But it’s a little-known fact that the New Deal wouldn't have been as effective if it wasn't for one of FDR's closest friends and advisors - the first female cabinet secretary, Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins.

Music by: Keith Ellison and Podington Bear

This week, We The Podcast took a field trip to the West Wing of the White House to talk with Cecilia Munoz, the Director of the President’s Domestic Policy Council about something We The Podcast has covered before: diaper need. The President recently announced a White House initiative to address diaper need, and Cecilia is the one leading that project.

Music by: Podington Bear

Payday loans aren’t like the kinds of loans you usually see, like car loans or student loans. They’re small dollar amounts, often as small as a few hundred bucks. But they have interest rates as high as 600%. I look into how payday loans got started, how they hurt people, and what we can do about them.

Music by: Podington Bear

When we talk about race, decision makers rarely talk about women. And when we talk about women’s issues, we rarely talk about black girls and women.

This is a concept known as intersectionality, and it has been popularized by UCLA Professor Kimberle Crenshaw. I sat down with Professor Crenshaw to talk about intersectionality, black girls and women, how they are left behind in our economy, and what we can do about it.

Music Credits

Intro: Podington Bear - Dimmy

Outro: Ryan Little - Dawn

In 2014, voter participation was at its lowest since World War II. Why is that? Keith talks with Dr. Theda Skocpol about voter ID laws and how we can reverse declining civic participation.

The Supreme Court is supposed to have 9 justices. Today, we've got 8. On this week's We The Podcast, we talk about what this means for reproductive rights, voting rights, and the environment.